Augustus I_1

Augustus I. (Frederick), first King of Saxony, son of the Elector Frederick Christian, succeeded to the electorate as a minor in 1763. He was one of the most enlightened princes of his age, and devoted his best energies to the improvement of his country, especially from the point of view of education, commerce, and judicial reform. After the peace of Posen, 1806, he was recognised as king and received from Napoleon the duchy of Warsaw, in return for which he lent his aid against Prussia and Russia. He afterwards joined the Confederation of the Rhine, but was never looked on very favourably by the Continental powers. In 1815 Warsaw was taken from him and his entire kingdom was in imminent peril. However, the danger was tided over chiefly by the influence of England, and the King of Saxony continued to reign until his death in 1827.