THE PIETY OF CROWN PRINCE FREDERICK WILLIAM

The impressive growth of the Halle Anstalten after 1700 and the sense of solidarity and self-consciousness that developed among the Pietist cadres initiated a new phase in relations between Halle Pietism and the Hohenzollem state. Thanks to its economic strength and worldwide missionary connections, Francke's movement was no longer so dependent on the Brandenburg-Prussian government. Partly because of this increase in the power of Halle Pietism and partly because of circumstantial political factors in Berlin, the nature of the relationship between the Pietists and the state underwent a series of changes between 1700 and 1713. During this period of transition, all the possibilities inherent in the situation were realized. The Pietists contemplated using the state for their own purposes; the Berlin regime took steps to cut the Pietists “down to size,” and the impending ascension to the throne of an intensely religious prince offered the prospect of close collaboration between the two parties. Since this interaction between Pietists and Hohenzollerns took place at a time of acute political instability in Berlin, the final outcome was by no means predetermined. Ultimately, however, the decisive factor was the precise character of the religious convictions of the heir apparent, who in 1713 ascended the throne as Frederick William I.

As we have seen, Francke's strategy for achieving “world reform” developed in the years immediately following 1700.