Dodo Heinrich zu Innhausen and Knyphausen

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Baron Dodo Heinrich zu Innhausen and Knyphausen (born August 3, 1729 in Berlin ; † May 31, 1789 ibid) was a Prussian diplomat . He negotiated British support for Prussia during the Seven Years' War .

His parents were the Prussian Minister Friedrich Ernst zu Innhausen and Knyphausen (1678–1731) and his wife Charlotte von Ilgen (1702–1751), daughter of the Minister Heinrich Rüdiger von Ilgen . His father was a representative of an English parliamentary group at the Prussian court and thus a proponent of a marriage between a Prussian prince and an English princess. Therefore his father Friedrich Ernst was banned from the court in 1730 .

Life

He began his diplomatic career as secretary to Jakob Friedrich von Rohd (1703–1784), who had been the Prussian envoy in Stockholm since 1747 . When George Keith became the Prussian envoy in Paris in 1751, Knyphausen came with him as his secretary. All his life he was a great admirer of Keith, who also thought very highly of Knyphausen, who had a very good memory and great caution. When Keith was replaced at his own request in 1754, the Prussian King Friedrich II appointed Knyphausen, who was only 24 years old, to represent Prussia at the French court. When the French diplomat Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini was sent to Prussia in the run-up to the Seven Years' War in 1755 , the Prussian court was already prepared. Ultimately, the Franco-Prussian alliance did not materialize, instead the Westminster Convention with Great Britain was signed on January 16, 1756 . The French court was very bitter and on May 1st, with the Treaty of Versailles, concluded an alliance with Austria and Russia.

In August 1756 the Seven Years' War broke out. In November the Prussian ambassador was brought back and France withdrew its ambassador, the Marquis de Valory, from Berlin. In June 1758 Knyphausen was sent to London. There was Louis Michell Prussian envoy, but this has not moved ahead with the negotiations on the subsidy contracts in the opinion of the king. As a representative of Prussia, Knyphausen concluded several contracts with the English Prime Minister William Pit . After the first treaty of April 11, 1758, others followed on December 7, 1758, November 9, 1759 and December 12, 1760. As a result of these treaties, English soldiers were soon marching in the west of the German Empire under the command of Ferdinand von Braunschweig . As a result, the French army was so tied that it could no longer send any reserves to America. In view of this, Pitt is said to have said: I conquered America in Germany . Only the fleet presence in the Baltic Sea desired by Prussia was refused. In 1760, Knyphausen was awarded the Drostei Stickhausen for his services .

The collaboration ended when George III. on October 5, 1761 replaced the government and replaced it with one under John Stuart . This was against an alliance with Prussia. The contract was not renewed because the Stuart government imposed conditions that Berlin did not accept. Knyphausen wanted to keep the alliance under all circumstances. When Tsarina Elisabeth died in January 1762 and the Prussian-friendly Tsar Peter took power, the Prussian ambassador from London was recalled. He left the English court on February 13th. Now he had fallen out of favor with the Prussian king and it was not until the Peace of Hubertusburg that he was offered a new post. He was supposed to be the Prussian ambassador in Vienna , but the salary of 5,000 thalers offered to him did not seem sufficient for the necessary representative budget. He therefore asked for his departure, which was granted to him in May 1763.

In 1765 Frederick II brought him back and made him General Commissioner for Trade and Finance. So he was responsible for the revenue from the tobacco monopoly and other taxes. When Friedrich Christoph von Görne (1734-1817) became the responsible minister, Knyphausen demanded his departure in December 1774 because he deeply distrusted Görne. He also declined the offer of an appointment as secret budget and directing minister of the general directorate . Therefore, he was released on January 11, 1775. The king was very angry and also withdrew the Drostei Stickhausen from him. How right Knyphausen was soon became apparent when Görne was arrested for embezzlement in 1782 and interned in the Spandau Fortress.

Knyphausen then no longer held any public office. He enjoyed the trust of Prince Heinrich and was popular in Berlin society. He died on May 31, 1789 in Palais Dönhoff in Wilhelmstrasse in Berlin. His portrait bust of Christopher Hewetson (1783) was in Tamsel Castle in Neumark until 1945 .

family

He was married to Sophie Friederike von Wreech (* May 27, 1732; † June 19, 1784) since March 1776 , she was the widow of Count Stanislaus Gerhard von Dönhoff and daughter of General Adam Friedrich von Wreech (1689–1749). The couple had no children. After her death, both were buried in the Tamsel church.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Theodor Fontane : Walks through the Mark Brandenburg . Volume 2, p. 507, digitized
predecessor Office successor
George Keith Prussian envoy to France
1754–1756 		vacant
Wilhelm Bernhard von der Goltz (from 1768)
Abraham Louis Michell , chargé Prussian envoy to the United Kingdom
1758–1761 		Abraham Louis Michell
personal data
SURNAME Innhausen and Knyphausen, Dodo Heinrich too
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH August 3, 1729
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH May 31, 1789
Place of death Berlin