August III of Poland, Groskurt's coronation medal 1734 - RARE

format_quoteWe have collected in this article all the medals (No. 370 - 374) minted for the election and coronation of Augustus III, the Polish king.

We should deal with this subject in more detail here. The convocation sejm convened after the death of Augustus II was very stormy, especially due to the widespread hostility at that time against such wealthy dissidents, i.e. dissenters, whom the council unanimously declared unfit to hold offices in the country, with the addition that they should not dare seek support from foreigners. manors. This reservation, in line with the rules of prudent policy, seemed unpleasant and burdensome in a country where for almost two centuries, every political party, when it felt weaker, had sought support from outside powers.

As for the election itself, the states undertook an oath not to elect king only a native Pole, a Catholic, and one who had neither an army nor hereditary lands abroad.—

This was obvious, although covered by the exclusion from the throne of the Elector of Saxony, the son of Augustus II, who was the only one among the pretenders to the Polish crown in this category.

The elector, offended by this action, went to foreign powers to gain the Polish crown.

Charles VI, Emperor, promised him his help as long as it did not oppose the freedoms of the Polish nation. Not so moderate, or rather not so hypocritical, was Anna, the Russian empress, who promised to support the elector's demands with her army.

On the other hand, Louis VI, the French king, recommended his father-in-law, Stanisław Leszczyński, to the throne, whose side he promised to support with weapons. But France's promises were an illusion, and her help was too great against the Muscovite army, which had already entered the borders of the Polish Republic.

The Russian leader's manifesto published at that time declared that Empress Anna was against the election of Stanisław Leszczyński, in the spirit of the treaty concluded between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Peter I in 1716 and 1717, by virtue of which Stanisław was forever removed from the Polish throne, General Lascy also proclaimed, that he had entered the borders of the republic for no other purpose than to preserve its freedom.

The Poles themselves gave reason for this insidious statement, because shortly before the death of Augustus II, the news spread that the king was planning to hand out some offices, contrary to the law; the Primate and some other gentlemen wrote to the Russian Empress and the German Emperor, asking for their support against alleged usurpations of the court.

The disunity of Poles, an incurable disease of this nation, made it easier for foreigners to bring to fruition their plans that were disastrous for our country. The assemblies were incompatible with each other, some insisted on the regulations adopted at the convocation sejm, while others did not want to adopt its laws. Amid this double-mindedness, the election sejm began in Warsaw on August 25, 1733.

An unequal number of deputies were favorable to the French side. After all, there was an opposition who, fearing the influence of Russia and the German Emperor, declared in favor of the Elector of Saxony. The supporters of this prince, including Prince Wiśniowiecki, Lithuanian vice-chancellors, Jan Lipski, bishop of Krakow, Stanisław Hozyusz, bishop of Poznań, Antoni Poniński, crown instigator and several others, raised their opposition against the actions of the Sejm and moved to Prague.

On September 9, King Stanisław arrived in Warsaw, disguised as a merchant and under a foreign name, making his journey from France to Poland.

On September 11, the primate toured the voivodeships and collected votes, the vast majority of which were in favor of Stanisław. It was true that before the announcement of the new king, the opposing party, gathered in Praga, was requested to unite with the majority of the nation, but the enthusiasm of Stanisław's supporters did not allow this formality to be completed. Compelled by the insistence of Stanisław Leszczyński's staunch supporters, the Primate proclaimed him king around noon on September 12, 1733.

The new monarch swore a pacta conventa on September 21, but when the Moscow army approached, not feeling safe in Warsaw, he went to Gdańsk.

After his departure, the supporters of the Saxon house, whose number was barely one hundredth of the voters gathered near Warsaw, gathered near the village of Kamienie on the Vistula, where Henry Valois had once been called to the throne, and there, under the cover of Russian troops, they proclaimed the Saxon elector king on October 5. .

His coronation took place on January 17, 1734.

What has been said here proves that it was not a free choice, but the weapon of a foreign soldier, that placed Augustus III on the Polish throne.

The effects of this influence of foreign powers soon became visible in our country, when Russian and Austrian ministers, when Russian and Saxon commanders sat in the secret council of the Polish king and wrote national laws. This is evidenced by the minutes of the meetings of the secret royal council held in July and August 1734, shortly after the capture of the city of Gdańsk by Russian troops and when no European power except Austria and Russia had recognized Augustus III as the Polish king.format_quote