Augustus II of Poland
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| August II Mocny | |
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| Reign | From 1697, until 1706 and from 1709, until February 1, 1733 |
| Elected | In 1697 in Wola, today suburb of Warsaw, Poland |
| Coronation | On September 15, 1697 in the Wawel Cathedral, Kraków, Poland |
| Royal House | Wettin |
| Parents | John George III Wettin Anne Sophie |
| Consorts | ? |
| Children | August III Sas Maurice de Saxe |
| Date of Birth | May 12, 1670 |
| Place of Birth | Dresden, Saxony, (now Germany) |
| Date of Death | February 1, 1733 |
| Place of Death | Warsaw, Poland |
| Place of Burial | Dresden Castle (heart) |
Augustus II, nicknamed "the Strong" (May 12, 1670–February 1, 1733; (Polish: August II Mocny; German: August II der Starke) was Elector of Saxony (where he was known as Frederick Augustus I) from 1694 to 1733 and King of Poland from 1697 to 1704 and again from 1709 to 1733. He involved the Commonwealth in the disastrous Great Northern War. His attempts at internal reforms and strengthening the royal power came to naught, but his mistakes allowed the Russian Empire to strengthen its influence over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Royal titles
- Official version (in Latin): Augustus Secundus, Dei Gratia rex Poloniae, magnus dux Lithuaniae, Russie, Prussiae, Masoviae, Samogitiae, Livoniae, Kijoviae, Volhyniae, Podoliae, Smolensciae, Severiae, Czerniechoviaeque, nec non haereditarius dux Saxoniae et princeps elector etc.
- English translation: August II, by the grace of God,King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia (Ukraine), Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Livonia, Kyiv, Volhynia, Podolia, Smolensk, Severia and, Czernichow, and also hereditary duke of Saxony and prince-elector, etc.
Biography
Born in Dresden in Saxony, Frederick Augustus was the son of John George III and Princess Anne Sophie of Denmark. In 1694, upon the death of his elder brother John George IV, he became Elector of Saxony as Frederick Augustus I. Following the death of the Polish king John III Sobieski, Augustus converted to Catholicism and was elected king of Poland in 1697 with the help and support of Russia and Austria, granting him financial aid through the successful Jewish banker, Berend Lehmann. Augustus defeated in the election other candidates: Jakub Ludwik Sobieski, son of the previous king, and the candidate from France, François Louis, Prince of Conti. The legality of the election was questioned by some Poles.
An ambitious ruler, Augustus hoped to make the Polish throne hereditary within his family, and to use his resources as Elector of Saxony to impose some order on the chaotic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, he was soon distracted from his internal reform projects by the possibility of external conquest. He formed an alliance with Frederick IV of Denmark and Peter I of Russia to strip the young king Charles XII of Sweden of his possessions. Poland's reward was to be the Swedish territory of Livonia. Charles proved to be an able military commander, however, quickly forcing the Danes out of the war and then driving back the Russians at Narva, allowing him to focus on the struggle with Augustus. This decision proved as disastrous to Sweden as to Poland. Charles defeated Augustus at Riga on June 17, 1701, forcing the Polish-Saxon army to withdraw from Livonia, and followed this up by an invasion of Poland, seizing Warsaw on May 14, 1702, defeating the Polish-Saxon army again at Kliszow, and seizing Cracow. Another Augustan army was defeated at Pultusk in the spring of the next year, and Charles besieged and captured Toruń.
By this time, Augustus was certainly ready for peace, but Charles felt that he would be more secure if he could establish a more pliable candidate on the Polish throne. The Swedes installed Stanisław Leszczyński in 1704, and Charles invaded Saxony itself in 1706, forcing Augustus to give up the Polish throne to Stanisław by the Treaty of Altranstadt.
In the meantime, Russian Tsar Peter the Great had reformed the army, and dealt a crippling defeat to the Swedes in the Battle of Poltava. This meant the end of the Swedish Empire and the rise of the Russian Empire. The weakened Commonwealth was soon regarded almost as a protectorate of Russia. Augustus returned to the Polish throne under Russian auspices in 1709. Once again, Augustus attempted to establish an absolute monarchy in the Commonwealth, but he was faced with opposition from the nobility (szlachta). This opportunity was seized by Peter the Great, who posed himself as a negotiator, threatened the Commonwealth militarly and forced Augustus and the nobility to sign a pro-Russian compromise at the Silent Sejm (Sejm Niemy) in 1717.
For the remainder of his reign, Augustus was more or less dependent on Russia (and, to a lesser extent, Austria) to maintain his position as King, although it was an uneasy relationship. After the Sejm Niemy, Augustus gave up his ambitions and settled, finally, for attempts at strengthening the Commonwealth, however, faced with both internal and foreign opposition, he achieved little.
Augustus finally died in 1733. Although he was unsuccessful in his attempt to make the Polish kingdom hereditary, his eldest son, Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, followed him as King of Poland as Augustus III, although he had to be installed by a Russian army in the War of the Polish Succession.
Augustus II was called Augustus the Strong for his bearlike strength and also for his numerous offspring. It is sometimes written that he sired 365 children. Although this figure would be extremely difficult to verify, Augustus II did father a very large number of illegitimate children, the most famous of whom was Maurice, comte de Saxe (his son by Aurora von Königsmarck), the brilliant French military commander.
He successfully set out to discover the secret of the "White Gold", as the porcelain he produced in Dresden and Meissen was called. He also gathered many of the best architects and painters from all over Europe in Dresden, and his rule marks the beginning of Dresden's development as a leading centre of technology and art. Augustus's body was buried in Poland — all but his heart, which is in Dresden castle.
Template:Kings and Dukes of Polandda:August 2. af Sachsen de:August II. (Polen) fi:August Väkevä no:Friedrich August II av Sachsen pl:August II Mocny ru:Август Сильный sv:August den starke