[May 5] Frederick Augustus I, king of Saxony

True Name: Frederick Augustus Joseph Maria Anton Johann Nepomuk Aloys Xavier
Parents: Frederick Christian, elector of Saxony, and Maria Antonia of Bavaria

Date of Birth: 23 December 1750

House: Wettin
Spouse: Amalie, daughter of Frederick Michael, count palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler, and Maria Francisca of Palatine-Sulzbach

Predecessor: Frederick Christian

Reign: 1806 – 1827

Summary: Saxony was a Holy Roman Imperial Electorate when Frederick Augustus was born in 1750, and it remained so for many years of his early reign. Frederick was a minority when he became elector, so his mother, Maria Antonia, ruled as regent until 1768 when Frederick turned eighteen. His uncle, Franz Xavier, served as his representative in international affairs and, in 1765, was instrumental in handing the Polish throne to Stanislaw August, a relative of the Saxon ruler. Frederick Augustus, however, was named heir to Stanislaw according to the Polish constitution. Frederick eventually declined the Polish throne in 1798 due to conflicts with Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Saxony sided with the French monarchists in 1791 after the French Revolution started but he did not go so far to sign a treaty stating as much. Frederick wanted to stay out of the growing conflict between France, Prussia, and Austria. But Austria would have none of it. In a formal proclamation by the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, Austria was demanding unilateral warfare against France. Saxons avoided most of the fighting and managed to renege on their obligations in 1796 after Prussia pulled out of the alliance. Between 1797 and 1803, Frederick personally refused to accept new land exchanges and new constitutional amendments to the Holy Roman Empire and its charter, fearing that imperial order was falling apart. He also refused to join Napoleon I's Confederation of the Rhine, which led to the breakup of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Fearing French encroachment, Frederick joined in alliance with Prussia against France and at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt, Saxony was soundly defeated. Frederick was forced to join the Confederacy and surrender land to the new Kingdom of Westphalia. In exchange, Saxony was elevated to the status of kingdom with Bavaria and Württemberg. In 1807, he was also named Duke of Warsaw.

Frederick Augustus did not relish being a member of France's puppet Confederacy. He was constantly forced to make territorial revisions and Poland was constantly harassed by Austria. In 1812, Frederick Augustus proclaimed the Kingdom of Poland, which upset Napoleon and the Austrians. During the 1813 War of Liberation, Saxony became the battlefield of nations. Over a million soldiers came to Saxony to fight and Frederick could do nothing but watch, fearing retribution from either side should he choose the wrong side. Yet by the end of the year, Frederick had joined sides with the other German powers and been caught between a rock and a hard place. Napoleon recalled him and forced the king to side with the French in the battle. The Germans were unable to dislodge Napoleon from Saxony. Yet every time Saxon soldiers fought against Germans, increasing numbers would defect with Frederick's secret blessing. At the Battle of Leipzig, the Saxon armies remained on the French side, but many defectors fought for the Germans. Napoleon was defeated and the Congress of Vienna commenced. Frederick was taken into custody as an enemy of the state. Poland was confiscated from him and given to the Russians. Saxony was reduced to half its size, in fear that Prussia would grow too large otherwise, but Frederick was allowed to remain as king. The Saxons praised his return but those Saxons now finding themselves in Prussian territory were bitter at their sudden separation. Frederick Augustus spent the final years of his life ruling in a conservative manner, neglecting reform movements and modernizing the economy, which would come to bite his successor, Anthony, in the behind. Frederick died in 1827 and was buried at the Catholic Cathedral in Dresden.

Date of Death: 5 May 1827

Successor: Anthony

Other Monarch Deaths:

Galerius, emperor of Rome (311)

Alfonso V, king of Castile, León, and Galicia (1028)

Casimir II, king of Poland (1194)

Leo II, king of Armenia (1219)

Charles II, king of Naples (1309)

Frederick IIII, elector of Saxony (1525)

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1705)

Napoleon I, emperor of the French (1821)