FREDERICK AUGUSTUS I

This article appears in Volume V11, Page 61 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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FREDERICK AUGUSTUS I . (17501827), king of Saxony, son of the elector Frederick Christian, was born at Dresden on the 23rd of December 1750. He succeeded his father under the guardianship of Prince Xavier in 1763, and was declared of age in 1768. In the following year (January 17, 1769) he married Princess Maria Amelia, daughter of Duke Frederick of Zweibrucken, by whom he had only one child, Princess Augusta (born June 21, 1782). One of his

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

aims was the reduction
of taxes and imposts and of the army. He was always extremely methodical and conscientious, and a good example to all his officials, whence his surname " the Just." On account of the claims of his mother on the

inheritance

INHERITANCE

of her brother, the elector of Bavaria, he sided with Frederick the

Great

GREAT

in the short Bavarian succession war of 1778 against Austria. At the peace of Teschen, which concluded the war, he received 6 million florins, which he employed partly in regaining those parts of his kingdom which had been lost, and partly in favour of his relatives. In 1785 he joined the league of German princes (Deutsche?' Filrstenbund) formed by Prussia, but without prejudice to his neutrality. Thus he remained neutral during the quarrel between Austria and Prussia in 1790. In the following year he declined the crown of Poland. He refused to join the league against France (February 7, 1792), but when war was declared his duty to the Empire necessitated his taking part in it. Even after the peace of Basel (April 5, 1795) he continued the war. But when the French army, during the following year, advanced into the heart of Germany, he was compelled by General Jourdan to

retreat

RETREAT (O. Fr. retrete, mod. retraite, from Lat. retrahere, to draw back)

(August 13, 1796). He maintained his neutrality during the war between France and Austria in 18o5, but in the following year he joined Prussia against France. After the disastrous battle of Jena he concluded a treaty of peace with

Napoleon

NAPOLEON

at Posen (December 1 r, 18o6), and, assuming the title of king, he joined the Confederation of the Rhine. But he did not alter the constitution and administration of his new kingdom. After the peace of Tilsit (July 9, 1807) he was created by

Napoleon

NAPOLEON

grand-duke of Warsaw, but his sovereignty of Poland was little more than nominal. There was a kind of friendship between Frederick

Augustus

AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)

and Napoleon. In 1809 Frederick

Augustus

AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)

fought with him against Austria. On several occasions (18o7, 1812, 1813) Napoleon was entertained at Dresden, and when, on his return from his disastrous Russian campaign, he passed through Saxony by Dresden (December 16, 1812), Frederick Augustus remained true to his friend and ally. It was only during April 1813 that he made overtures to Austria, but he soon afterwards returned to the side of the French. He returned to Dresden on the loth of May and was present at the terrible battle of August 26 and 27, in which Napoleon's army and his own were defeated. He fell into the hands of the Allies after their entry into

Leipzig

LEIPZIG

on the 19th of October 1813; and, although he regained his freedom after the congress of Vienna, he was compelled to give up the northern partthree-fifthsof his kingdom to Prussia (May 21, 1814). He entered Dresden on the 7th of July, and was enthusiastically welcomed by his people. The remainder of his life was spent in repairing the

damages

DAMAGES (through O. Fr. damage, mod. Fr. dommage, from Lat. damnum, loss)

caused by the Napoleonic wars, in developing the agricultural, commercial and industrial resources of his kingdom, reforming the administration of justice, establishing hospitals and other charitable institutions, encouraging art and science and promoting education. He had a

special

SPECIAL

interest

INTEREST

in botany, and originated the beautiful park at Pillnitz. His reign through-out was characterized by justice, probity, moderation and prudence. He died on the 5th of May 1827.
See Bottiger-Flathe, History of Saxony, vol. iii. ; R. Freiherr von Friesen, Erinnerungen (2 vols., Dresden, 1881); F. F. Graf von Beust, Aus drei-viertel Jahrhunderten (2 vols., 1887) ; Flathe, in Allg. deutsche Biogr. (J. Hsi.)

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