HIST 1003 Chapter 15: ch15
Document Summary
He began the process of learning to be a master apothecary but never finished. In 1701, b ttger made one of the few boasts likely to draw the attention of an absolutist monarch to the work of a mere apothecary"s apprentice: he claimed that he could manufacture gold. News of b ttger"s boast traveled fast, and soon the luxury-loving prussian king frederick i wanted the humble apprentice to appear at his court. But he immediately landed himself a job, and virtual life-imprisonment, with a neighboring king equally eager to own the secret to making gold, augustus the strong, elector of saxony and king of poland. When experiment after experiment failed, b ttger tried to escape, but was captured and confined to a workshop in the medieval palace of meissen. B ttger spent several years trying to discover the recipe for making porcelain. All the while confined to his workshop, lest he share his secrets with another prince.
