jan 1, 1735 - Frederick of Prussia

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Frederick William has been King of Prussia since 1713. He has reclaimed marshes, stored grain in good times, encouraged frugality and work, given military commissions according to merit rather than to the highest bidder and has invented marching in step and formation in military training. He has left in place various traditional punishments such as branding, pinching with hot tongs, beheading, drawing and quartering, breaking on the whee, and hanging. Infanticide is punished by sewing the offending woman into a leather bag and throwing her into a river to drown. But he removes from public squares all stakes upon which accused witches have been burned.

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