George Christian, Prince of East Frisia, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetGeorge Christian, Prince of East Frisia
Prince of Ostfriesland
Date of Birth: 06-Feb-1634
Place of Birth: Aurich, Lower Saxony, Germany
Date of Death: 06-Jun-1665
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius 
About George Christian, Prince of East Frisia
- George Christian (6 February 1634, Aurich – 6 June 1665, Aurich) was a member of the Cirksena family and succeeded his brother Enno Louis as ruler of East Frisia.
- He ruled from 1660 to 1665.
- Under his reign, the Cirksena family acquired on 18 April 1662 the hereditary title of Imperial Prince. George Christian grew up with his brother at the court in Aurich.
- After 1649, they received further education at the academies of Breda and Tübingen.
- In Tübingen he met his future wife, Christine Charlotte, a daughter of Duke Eberhard III of Württemberg from his first marriage to Anna Dorothea of Salm-Kyrburg.
- He could only marry her after had he received the hereditary title of Imperial Prince on 18 April 1662.
- This gave him the proper rank to marry a Princess of Württemberg (German: Ebenbürtigkeit), and so the marriage was finally performed on 10 May 1662 in the city of Stuttgart.
- The union produced only two short-lived daughters during George Christian's lifetime: Eberhardine Katharina (25 May 1663 - 10 July 1664) and Juliane Charlotte (3 January 1664 - 3 June 1666). Immediately after his accession he was trying to establish his rule, which led to severe conflicts with the Estates.
- This soon reached the threshold of a civil war and could be settled only by Dutch mediation.
- After lengthy negotiations with the Estates on 19 June 1662 and 4 October 1663, a compromise was reached.
- The Netherlands became the guarantor power.
- In both treaties, the relationship between the prince and the Estates was regulated.
- The estates were given back their old privileges, in exchange for a substantial cash payment. Under George Christian, the conflict with Münster escalated.
- This conflict was based on compensation East Frisia had to pay under the Treaty of Berum, in exchange for the acquisition of the Harlingerland.
- Under the pretext of enforcing the payments, the Bishop of Münster marched his troops into East Frisia in 1663.
- Colonel Elverfeld conquered Hampoel and the Sconce at Diele on East Frisia's southern border.
- These were recaptured by Dutch troops in 1664.
- George Christian preferred to leave this kind of problem of his officials or the Estates. Four months after his untimely death, George Christian's third child was born: a son named Christian Everhard.
- His widow, Christine Charlotte, led a rather unfortunate regency for the next 25 years.
Read more at Wikipedia