Search results
- But his hopes of establishing a strong monarchy came to naught. By the end of his reign, Poland had lost its status as a major European power, and when he died the War of the Polish Succession broke out. A man of extravagant and luxurious tastes, he did much to develop Saxon industry and trade and greatly embellished the city of Dresden.
www.britannica.com › biography › Augustus-II
People also ask
Was Augustus II a good king?
What did Augustus II do?
Who was Augustus the strong?
Why was Augustus a strong king?
May 9, 2024 · Augustus II (born May 12, 1670, Dresden, Saxony [Germany]—died February 1, 1733, Warsaw, Poland) was the king of Poland and elector of Saxony (as Frederick Augustus I). Though he regained Poland’s former provinces of Podolia and Ukraine, his reign marked the beginning of Poland’s decline as a European power.
Jun 27, 2018 · Augustus II (1670-1733), called Augustus the Strong, was elector of Saxony and king of Poland. Better known for his extravagance and promiscuity than for political shrewdness, he failed in his modest attempts to create a strong and independent Poland.
Augustus spent lavishly and converted to Catholicism to ensure his electoral victory as king of the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania in 1697. He levied oppressive taxes upon his Saxon subjects, the majority of whom were Lutheran, to finance the election.
He was Elector of Saxony from 1694 and succeeded John III (John Sobieski) as King of Poland in 1696. He joined Russia and Denmark against Charles XII of Sweden without Polish support but was defeated.
By becoming a Catholic and granting the Polish nobility unprecedented privileges he was elected king with the support of the Holy Roman emperor and the pope. With help from Patkul, Augustus allied himself (1699) with Peter I of Russia and Frederick IV of Denmark for an attack on young Charles XII of Sweden.
Oct 4, 2023 · Augustus the Strong, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Elector of Saxony, was remarkable for his physical strength, his many mistresses and illegitimate children. Pleasure-seeking, unhappily married, deposed and reinstated, a patron of the arts and science, he resisted Russian interference.
