Frederick-William II

king of Pru ia, nephew of Frederick the Great ( q. v .); succeeded to the throne in 1786, but soon lost favour by indolence and favouritism; in 1788 the freedom of the pre was withdrawn, and religious freedom curtailed; he involved himself in a weak and vacillating foreign policy, wasting the funds accumulated by his uncle in a usele war with Holland; at the partition of Poland in 1793 and 1795 various districts were added to the kingdom (1744-1797).