Pleasure and Ambition: The Life, Loves and Wars of Augustus the Strong

320 Pages·2001·1.13 MB·English

by  Tony Sharp

PLEASURE AND
AMBITION
For
Gail
Gill
Joan & Peter
and
Polly
PLEASURE AND
AMBITION
THE LIFE, LOVES AND WARS OF
AUGUSTUS THE STRONG
1670–1707
T S
ONY HARP
I.B.Tauris Publishers
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Map x
Introduction xi
‘A prince of great hopes’
Trials of a second son 1670–1694
1. ‘Nothing other than a sword’: A portrait of Augustus
1670–91 3
2. ‘This marriage will not end well’: John George IV,
Eleonore and ‘the Family’ 1692 17
3. ‘To engage the Elector’: England and Saxony 1692–93 27
4. ‘Carrying my cloak on both shoulders’: Stepney in Saxony
1693 41
5. ‘So many extraordinary changes’: Stepney in Saxony 1694 51
6. ‘Je payeray la folie bien cher’: The deaths of Billa and
John George 1694 59
‘A restless ambitious spirit’
His Electoral Highness 1694–1696
7. ‘To the ruin of that house’: Politics and poison 1694 69
8. ‘So much to do’: Personal affairs 1694 79
9. ‘Setting his government upon the hinges’: State affairs
1694 89
10. ‘Upon another scent’: Augustus and the command in
Hungary 1695 99
11. ‘At last got out of their nests’: Preparing for Hungary
1695 111
12. ‘Able to do nothing’: Commander in Hungary 1695–96 119
‘My greatest ambition is glory’
King’s ransom 1697–1702
13. ‘Whoever bids most’: Purchasing the Polish crown 1697 131
vi CONTENTS
14. ‘The intestine broils of the kingdom’: At the court of
King Augustus 1698–99 147
15. ‘The chief promoters of this present war’: Patkul, Tsar
Peter and Augustus 1698 155
16. ‘To make war on Sweden’: Patkul, Augustus and Peter
1699–1700 165
17. ‘But by the ruin of my foes’: Charles XII strikes 1700–02 175
18. ‘In a lucky minute’: The origins of English intervention
1701–02 187
‘A long train of miseries’
King on the run 1703–1707
19. ‘Wholly at a stand’: The failure of mediation 1703 197
20. ‘A scission is likely’: Poles apart 1704 205
21. ‘His crown is not worth any longer struggle’: Stand-off
1705 217
22. ‘His coming into Saxony’: The shattered sanctuary 1706 227
23. ‘To please the King of Sweden’: Occupational hazards
1707 241
Appendix 1: ‘Connaissance de ses forces’: The ‘memoirs’ of
Augustus (1705?) 255
Appendix 2: ‘Famous alike for his virtues and his vices’:
Flemming’s character sketch of King Augustus 1722 257
Notes 263
Index 299
Acknowledgements
The letters of English diplomats used in this work are three centuries
old, while most of the German-language articles upon Augustus date
from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I would have been
unable to write this biography, had it not been for the courteous effi-
ciency of the staffs of the Public Records Office in Kew, the British
Library in Central London, the British Lending Library in Boston
Spa and Worthing Public Library. I express my deep indebtedness to
them all for their help.
Mike Shaw and Gill Regan were kind enough to read an earlier
draft of this book and offer many perceptive comments. Christine
Napthine gave me invaluable assistance in readying the manuscript
for publication.
At a much earlier stage, Professor Norman Davies and Dr Derek
McKay, both of the University of London, generously gave of their
time to discuss sources which I might pursue. The Royal Commission
on Historical Manuscripts provided me with an excellent guide
through the maze of George Stepney’s papers.
Dr Lester Crook at I.B.Tauris never wavered in his support of this
work, and I remain profoundly grateful for his kindness and encour-
agement.
Tony Sharp
Godalming

Le plaisir et l’ambition sont ses passions dominantes, cependant
le plaisir est la plus dominant, bien souvent son ambition a e´te´
traverse´e par ses plaisirs, mais ses plaisirs ne l’ont jamais e´te´
par son ambition.
Jakob Heinrich von Flemming, 1722