At the beginning of the 17th century, theology, law, medicine, astronomy, mathematics, and music were favored subjects of interest. An exemplary German astronomer of this period was Johann Kepler. German intellectual life was integrated into the needs of the court, the princes and competing interests of the Catholic Church, which still held strong influence in Bavaria and Southern Germany, and the Lutheran areas where the local princes variously supported research into mathematics, medicine, science and military arts. In the aftermath of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) Prussia was reorganized along the lines of this pre-war configurations of principalities and aristocratic privileges of the landed elite. Prussian rivalry over the Baltic trade led to episodic wars through the later 17th century and into the Seven Years War.
By the early 18th century we find the establishment of numerous academies of science and humanities that were dependent on court sponsorship and were held tothe preferences of the court. and emperor. For more go to this page on this blog.
Issues in World History and Humanities 