Hello all,
As I understand things, when Frederick III ascended to the throne of the
German Empire in 1888, he had a bunch of liberalization plans which he
was never able to implement.
What if either Frederick never had cancer, or somebody more competent
than Bergman had performed the tracheotomy without screwing it up? Given
that his father, William I lived to 91 and his son, William II lived to
82, so what if Frederick III lived 86 years until 1917?
Prussia did not have universal male suffrage, like the rest of the
German Empire. As such the Emperor often needed seek majorities from two
different legislatures with two different franchises, so it would be
reasonable to think that Frederick's liberalizations included a
democratization of Prussia equal to that in the rest of the German
Empire to make things easier for and his Chancellor. I have also read of
Frederick being described as "an Anglophile" thanks to his marriage to
the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria.
So we have a liberal (for the times) German Emperor who wants to keep
relations with Britain good, and one who presumably would keep Otto von
Bismarck and his peace-making policies in place.
After Bismark's death in 1898, would the longer surviving Frederick III
appoint a new chancellor with similar politics? Was there somebody as
skillful as Bismarck to take his place?
Since the William II is not in charge Germany's relations with Britain
and Russia do not sour. Does the Reinsurance treaty with Russia get
renewed in 1890, keeping the second Dreikaiserbund alive? Would this
last long enough discourage Russian mobilization on behalf of Serbia,
thus preventing the chain reaction that started World War I? Could
Frederick's Anglophilia turn it into a Vierkaiserbund?
Can it be assumed that an older William II, taking the throne in 1917 at
age 58 instead of age 29, would be less impetuous, understanding the
value of Bismarckian Realpolitik and strive to maintain good relations
with Britain, Russia and others?
What would today's Europe and the world beyond it be like if Frederick
II had live until 1917?
Thanks in advance.
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