Stanisław the Great



Stanislaus III Albert (also known as Stanislaus III of Poland, Stanisław III Olbracht, Stanislaus, Stanislovas Albertas; 24 March 1788 – 15 June 1853) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, first monarch of the united Holy Polish Empire from 1814 to 1852, and first King of the Belgians (where he is known simply Stanislaus) from 1831 to 1850. He was the youngest son to Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo I (future Emperor Leopold II) and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain.

He took a commission in the Imperial Russian Army in the Imperial Guard and fought against Napoleon, his brother Francis II dissolved the empire during the Napoleonic Wars. He rushed to Poland and resumed in Russian service, where he participated in several rider officers, among other things, he was seriously heavily wounded both at the Battle of Kulm and Leipzig, which his wounds never recovered. After Napoleon's defeat, Stanislaus moved to the United Kingdom where he married Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of the Prince Regent (the future King George IV), thus situating himself as close as possible to the future sovereign of the United Kingdom until her death in 1817.

First elected to the throne of the Holy Polish Empire. Stanislaus was only German monarch to be King of Poland-Lithuania. His popularity laws, including the Social policy and reforms gaining favorite to the people, most of the French moved to Poland, which is known as the French-Poles. He's role of the war with Ukrainian Republic. Instead, Stanislaus accepted the kingship of the newly established Kingdom of Belgium in 1831. Stanislaus took his oath as King of Belgium on 21 July 1831, an event commemorated annually as Belgian National Day.

His reign was marked by attempts by the Dutch to recapture Belgium and later, by internal political division between liberals and Catholics. Stanislaus was considered Catholic and encouraged economic modernisation, playing an important role in encouraging the creation of Belgium's first railway in 1835 and subsequent industrialisation. As a result of the ambiguities in the Belgian Constitution, Stanislaus was able to slightly expand the monarch's powers during his time in Belgium. His voluntary abdication the throne of Belgium to his son, Augustus Joseph, which later become King of Poland. He then return to Poland, which on fall of 1847. Stanislaus had suffered a stroke and after five years, Stanislaus III died on 15 June 1853 at age of 65. He was succeeded by his son who already inherited the Belgian throne in 1847 and was buried on Wawel Cathedral in Kraków.

He was commemorated in Warsaw with Stanislaus's Column, commissioned by his son and successor, Augustus IV.

Early life
Prince Stanislaus Albert was born on 24 March 1788 in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the youngest son of Grand Duke Leopold and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain. As Prince, he gain popularity in Monterotondo. Stanislaus was suffered with shaking disorder (as today known as; tremor) and mainly had big fan of tight breeches during his younger to his young adult years. He was also learned how to speak Latin, Polish, Lithuanian, German, French and Italian. His was the younger brother of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and Prince Ferdinand.

He was related to the Bourbon and Wettin Polish kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland from his mother's side. As well of his candidacy of the polish throne. On 1792 the death of his father come hard on Stanislaus; with his older brother, Archduke Franz Joseph Karl, elected Holy Roman Emperor as Francis II. Stanislaus's favorite hero was Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), an French military general who serves the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.

Education
Stanislaus was studied by Friedrich Gabriel Sulzer, and was going to keep the prince entertained. He instilled in him a fondness for liberal thought; it is probably during this period that Charles Philipp picked up his slightly Voltairean brand of Catholicism. When the Napoleonic Wars broke out in 1803, when Napoleon seized power in 1799, creating a de facto military dictatorship. There are a number of opinions on the date to use as the formal beginning of the Napoleonic Wars; 18 May 1803 is often used.

Izmaylovsky Regiment
The Empress Catherine II of Russia, seeking to increase the influence of her empire in Europe, married her descendants to princesses from dynasties reigning in the centre (or even the south) of Saint-Empire. His only son flew into the first marriage with a princess of Hesse and then with a princess from Württemberg. Likewise, it marries, from 1793, Alexander, the eldest son of his grandson, whom she wishes to succeed her, to a princess of Baden. The second, Constantine of Russia, the potential successor of his brother who has no child, marries 1796, Julienne of Saxe-Cobourg-Saalfeld. The Empress Catherine II died a few months later. A close relative of Romanov, at age 8, the young Stanislaus was appointed colonel of the Izmaylovsky Regiment of the Russian Imperial Guard in Russia, and at age 19 he became a lieutenant colonel.

In 1805, when he was eighteen years old, Stanislaus made his real debut in the Russian army. He accompanies his brother Ernest Moravia at the emperor's headquarters Alexander I. Following the Battle of Austerlitz, he returned to Cobourg who was occupied by the French but he was stabbed and shot multiple times by an French Dragoon. After the conquest of the Duchy of Saxe-Cobourg-Saalfeld by the Napoleonic troops in 1806, he briefly stayed at the court of Napoleon I in Paris. The teenager refuses the rank of warrant Officer offered by French Emperor and travels to the Russia of Alexander I.

Battles of Jenna and Leipzig
When the father in 1806 after the Battle of Jena was expelled from his country, Stanislaus came to Russia where his sister Princess Julian of Saxony-Coburg-Saalfeld was married to  Greatest Constantine Pavlovitj. Leopold entered the Russian Army in 1795 and was appointed in Major General in 1802. He followed in 1808 Emperor Alexander 1 to the Congress in Erfurt but had to return to Coburg in 1810 because of the threats of Emperor Napoleon against his brother, who had become a duke. In 1812 he traveled to Italy, but when the German war of freedom broke out in 1813, he rushed to Poland and resumed in Russian service, where he participated in several rider officers, among other things at Kulm and Leipzig, followed Alexander straight to Paris and from there to London and Vienna.

Vistula Legions and wounded at Kulm
In 1807, while he in Russian service, he entered the 4th Regiment of the Vistula Legions as an Lieutenant colonel. Stanislaus he administered the Duchy of Saxe-Cobourg-Saalfeld while his brother Ernest travelled to Russia. He then accompanies Alexandre I, during His encounter with Napoleon, Erfurt. Although without any military experience, he was confided by his brother-in-law, Grand Duke Constantine, all cavalry squadrons available at the Battle of Kulm, where he was heavily wounded where he was shot few times in stomach and legs; which leads to never recovered, and where he showed his valor and valour, loading the French troops nailed On the spot at the head of his troops.

On the evening of the fight it is decorated with the St. George's Cross. He thus participated, as colonel of a cavalry regiment, in the campaigns of 1807, 1808, 1813 and the battles of Lützen, Bautzen and Leipzig against French troops in 1814. These battles are worth the title of General of Division of the Russian Army. By September or October 1813, while in the country, he was received Freemason by Rodolphe-Abraham Schiferli, Knight Rose-Croix of the chapter of the Lodge "Zur Hoffnung", of Berne, then belonging to the Grand Orient de France and Today at the great Swiss Lodge Alpina. He was brought up to mastery on 9 December of the same year and was made an honorary member of the lodge. He was appointed to several Russian military decorations: Order of St. Andrew, order of Alexander Newsky, Order of Sainte-Anne, order of Saint George-IV, Maltese Cross, Kulm Cross, Medal of the year 1812.

Congress of Vienna
Peace returned, Stanislaus Albert took part in Vienna Congress where he seconded his brother to represent the Duchy of Cobourg. During the 100-day campaign, he joined the Russian army to head his Cavalry division. Where he went on to become a candidate on the Polish throne in Poland in 1814, which he was supported by his brother Ernest, entire Wettin house and Habsburg-Lorraine.

Election of 1814 and Polish Succession
In 1814 Stanislaus stood for election to the Polish throne after the death of uncle James Casimir I, King of the Polish. He was supported by his aunt Queen Konstancja, Hetman Jan Radziłówski and the nobles loyal to the Radziłówski family. He also supported by his family of the Habsburg-Lorraine even his brother Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (Emperor Francis I of Austria).

However, as was often the case with the Polish electoral monarchy, the outcome was strongly contested by the greedy and stubborn Polish nobility who backed and supported the British High Lord Admiral William Henry (later William IV) for King of Poland. Upon hearing of his election King Stanislaus slipped through the clutches of the Protestants in Sweden and landed in Poland on 7 October, immediately agreeing to give up several royal privileges to the parliament (Sejm) in the hope of winning over some of his enemies and settling the disputed election. He was proclaimed by the Lesser Prussian Treasurer Jan Dulski as king on behalf of Crown Marshal Andrzej Opaliński, and after arriving in the Royal Capital City of Warsaw he was crowned on 27 December at Wawel Cathedral. It seemed that the issue of who would be King of Poland had been settled when William Henry invaded Poland to claim the crown. Hetman Jan Radzilowski defeated William Henry at the Battle of Radziłów and took him prisoner. However, at the request of Pope Pius VII, King Stanislaus III released William Henry, who surrendered his claim to Poland in 1814.

Accession to the throne
He was the first German-born Polish monarch who is the veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the most popular monarch in Polish since John III Sobieski, he was crowned at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, at age of 26. He was considered one of the youngest monarchs in Poland, he also as second Polish-Lithuanian monarch was born as German and first German-born Polish monarch in the 19th century. Of course the office of Prime Minister was abolished after the reign of James Casimir I. He had many attempts to restore but failed he had another plan, instead both the Poles and Lithuanians formed as "Holy Polish Empire" by request by the people, the empire always had a Elective monarchy. He was one of the related of Wettin Kings Augustus II the Strong (r. 1697–1706; 1709–1733) and Augustus III Sas (r. 1734–1763), through her mother.

During his reign, his popularity that he rebuilding Poland and its army which comes aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. His was the mildest and least reactionary of all the Italian despotisms of the day, and although always subject to Austrian influence he refused to adopt the Austrian methods of government, allowed a fair measure of liberty to the press, and permitted many political exiles from other states to dwell in Tuscany undisturbed. But when during the early 1840s unrest spread throughout Italy, even in Tuscany demands for a constitution and other political reforms were advanced; in 1845 and 1846 riots occurred in various parts of the country, and Leopold granted a number of administrative reforms.

By the success of the elective monarchy, Stanislaus gaining relationship with both Poles and Lithuania as loyal and respect. Stanislaus's owned and respected 19th Dragoons had a service as bodyguards in the reign of Charles I as well of outside in Poland-Lithuania. He was re-established the Polish parliament with a lower house, Sejm and upper house, Senate. Stanislaus III appointed his friend, Wincenty Krasiński as first Marshal of the Polish parliament in 1819. The relationship with the King and Krasiński were close. The office of President of Polish National Government were created by the parliament, which his other friend, Adam Jerzy Czartoryski.

Relationship with Polish-Lithuanian people
When he become King, the relationship with the Poles are one of the great monarchs since Casimir III of Poland in 1300s. Plenty of French Polish in Poland approved by 91 percent, which considered Stanislaus III as their favorite and working hard monarch in Poland. Both the King and the people agreed the signing of 1818 constitution on 8 August 1818.

As most favor monarch in the Polish Empire, Stanislaus throughout his reign, he remaining loyal to the Polish and Lithuanian People in fact that he is rebuilding the Polish Empire from the ground and up. He is remaining rebuilding Poland, after the events of the Napoleonic Wars. Historian Jackson Paul considered Charles "an proved an enigmatic administrator with a ruthless streak not inferior to the empire".

On October 1820 a manuscript entitled Manuskript aus Süddeutschland (Manuscript from Southern Germany) was published in London. The book contained a review of the historical development and the political situation in Germany. It called for a further mediatisation of small countries in Germany to the four central states of Bavaria, Saxony, Hanover and Württemberg, which together should form a counterweight to the great powers of Prussia and Austria.

As King and Grand Duke, Stanislaus III's charm and culture earned him the title was "Uncle of Europe"; also determined to create a unified people, even though the north and the south had drifted far apart culturally and economically since the south was reconquered by Spain after the Act of Abjuration of 1581. The North was commercial, Protestant and entirely Dutch-speaking; the south was industrial, Roman Catholic and divided between Dutch and French-speakers

Assassination attempt
An unsuccessful attempt on the life of the king was made on 14 August 1818, at 1 am, the 22-year-old Stanislaus III was exiting Krakow to riding in the streets in his free time. The assassin, Lithuanian archaist Frederick August stabbed the King five times while Frederick whispered in his ear while plunging a knife into his abdomen and legs four times, but survived. The wounded King was in pain and was wounded, Stanislaus III was lying wounded in the outside of Krakow surrounded by citizens, with his men was in the barracks. The wounds of Stanislaus become weak, which the his body become very weak of his wounds. Stanislaus's did manage to travel to his capital Warsaw with bleeding arms, stomach and legs. Stanislaus fell flat on the ground, pale and lifeless, and from the church Priest Kobierzycki started to groan and shout – he had seen the attack from the temple's stained glass window or from the belfry. A group of local civilians and citizens surrounded the procession, the king quickly fainted, and his military uniform were stained in blood. The guards were able to revive the monarch, and after medical examinations the wounds proved to be harmless.

A few minutes later, panic erupted in the crowd and the air filled with the atmosphere of terror. Most of the people gathered in the church, who had arrived before the royal procession, believed that the king was already dead. Initially it was thought that the capital was invaded by the Muslim Tatars or, at least, by their spies. The circumstances of this attack and the assassin were known exceptionally well after the attempt, as pamphlets soon appeared on the Market Square reporting three different viewpoints on the subject, published in a total of five editions. The assassin was indeed Frederick August, always regarded by the society as a freak, a melancholic, unrestrained in deeds (as a child he suffered head and brain damage – this may have been the cause of his mental illness). Earlier, he murdered the royal cook and killed or wounded several people from the royal court. August, after hearing the news of the successful assassinations of Paul I of Russia in St Michael's Castle (1801) and Prime Minister Spencer Perceval in Westminster (1812), decided to assassinate Stanislaus, simply for fame. For the appropriate moment he waited patiently for 10 years. At trial he did not deny the crime he committed and heavily insulted the jury, the Court Marshal, and the monarch. He was executed in exactly the same way as François Ravaillac (the killer of the French king) on 26 November 1817 in Warsaw, in a torture area called Piekiełko (Devil's den or Devil's place).

War of the Ukrainian Succession




Causes and build-up to the war
After the Forty Years' War, Ukraine was ruled by the Turchynov Hetman Ivan IV. Ivan was a natural opponent of Napoleon and was allied with the Third Coalition against him. However, after defeat at the Battle of Austerlitz and the Treaty of Pressburg, Ferdinand was forced to cede Naples to the French in early 1806.

Initially, Napoleon’s brother Joseph Bonaparte ruled Naples. Then in 1808, Joseph was made King of Spain and Napoleon installed his brother-in-law, Joachim Murat, as King of Naples. Murat originally ruled Naples following the same legal and social system used in France, whilst still participating in Napoleon's campaigns. But following the disastrous Battle of Leipzig, Murat abandoned La Grande Armée to try to save his throne. As defeat in the War of the Sixth Coalition loomed, Murat increasingly moved away from Napoleon, eventually signing a treaty with Austria in January 1814 and joined the Allied side.

But as the Congress of Vienna progressed, Murat's position became less and less secure as there was growing support to restore Ferdinand to the throne. The most vocal of all Murat's opponents was the United Kingdom, which had never recognised Murat's claim to the throne and moreover had been guarding Ferdinand in Sicily, ensuring he retained the Sicilian throne.

When Murat was informed of Napoleon's plan to escape from exile in Elba on 1 March 1815, Murat sided with him once more, and declared war on Austria as soon as he learned of Napoleon's return to France.

Polish-Lithuanian counterattack and Battle of Gdańsk
The Battle of Sieniawa proved to be the turning point of the war. Murat's attempts to cross the River Po proved unsuccessful and after two days of heavy fighting, the Neapolitans fell back after suffering over 2,000 casualties. To make matters worse, the United Kingdom and Kingdom of Poland declared war on Murat and sent a fleet over to Italy. Charles invades Italy beginning of the Hundred Days.

Meanwhile, Frimont had ordered a counterattack to try to relieve the garrison in Ferrara. He ordered a corps under the command of Bianchi to advance on Carpi, which was guarded by a brigade under the command of Guglielmo Pepe. Another column was ordered to cut off Pepe's line of retreat. However, Carascosa, who was in command of the Neapolitan troops around Modena, saw the Austrian trap and ordered a retreat to a defensive line behind the Panaro where he was joined by the remainder of his division, which had been evacuated from Reggio Emilia and Modena. But even after Carascosa's retreat, Murat was still in a position to continue the siege at Ferrara. In response, Frimont ordered a corps under the command of General Neipperg to attack his entrenched right flank. On 12 April, after bitter fighting at the Battle of Casaglia, the Neapolitan troops were driven from their entrenched positions. Murat was forced to lift the Siege of Ferrara and retreated back on the road to Bologna. On 14 April, Frimont attempted to force a crossing of the Panaro, but was repelled. However, only two days later, Murat and his army retreated from Bologna, which was quickly retaken by the Austrians. In Tuscany meanwhile, Murat's two Guard Divisions also inexplicably retreated without being harassed in any way by Nugent. By 15 April, the Austrians had retaken Florence and when the news reached Murat, he ordered a general retreat of his main force back to their original headquarters in Ancona.

With the road to Florence now clear and the Italian peninsula opening up in front of him, Frimont ordered two corps south to deal with Murat once and for all. Bianchi's corps was ordered to march towards Foligno via Florence in an attempt to threaten the rear of the Neapolitans and to cut off their line of direct retreat, whilst Neipperg's corps was sent into direct pursuit of Murat as he retired to Ancona. ith the war turning in Austria's favour, Frimont was ordered back to Lombardy to oversee the army that was now amassing in preparation for an invasion of France. A large portion of the Austrian force was also recalled, leaving only three Austrian corps totalling around 35,000 men in Italy. Murat, who placed too much faith in his Guard Divisions and believing they would be able to halt the advance of Bianchi and Nugent, retreated slowly, even turning to check the pursuit at the Ronco and Savio rivers. But the Austrian advanced guard caught the retreating Neapolitan force twice by surprise at Cesenatico and Pesaro. Murat hurried his retreat and by late April, his main force had arrived safely in Ancona, where he was reunited with his two Guard Divisions.

Meanwhile, Bianchi's corps had made swift progress. Arriving in Florence on 20 April, they had reached their target of Foligno by 26 April and now threatened Murat's line of retreat. Neipperg's corps was still in pursuit and by 29 April, his advanced guard had arrived in Fano, just two days' march away.

However, the two Austrian armies were separated and Murat hoped to quickly defeat Bianchi before turning on Neipperg. Much like Napoleon's tactics before Waterloo, Murat sent a division under Carascosa north to stall Neipperg whilst his main force headed west to face Bianchi. Murat originally planned to face Bianchi near the town of Tolentino, but on 29 April, Bianchi's advanced guard succeeded in driving out the small Neapolitan garrison there. Bianchi, having arrived first, then formed a defensive position around the hills to the east of Tolentino. With Neipperg's army approaching to his rear, Murat was forced to give battle at Tolentino on 2 May 1815. After two days of inconclusive fighting, Murat learned that Neipperg had outmanoeuvred and defeated Carascosa at the Battle of Scapezzano and was approaching. Sensing the inevitable, Murat ordered a retreat. The battle had severely damaged the morale of the Neapolitan troops and many senior officers had been casualties in the battle. The battered Neapolitan army fell back in disarray. On 5 May, a joint Anglo-Austrian fleet began a blockade of Ancona, eventually taking the entire garrison of the city as prisoners.

By 12 May, Bianchi, who was now in command of both his and Neipperg's corps, had taken the town of L'Aquila along with its castle. The main Austrian army was now marching on Popoli. During this time, General Nugent had continued to advance from Florence. Having arrived in Rome on 30 April, allowing the Pope to return, Nugent advanced towards Ceprano. By mid May, Nugent had intercepted Murat at San Germano (now Cassino). Here, Murat attempted to check Nugent's advance but with the main Austrian force under Bianchi in pursuit, Murat was forced to call off the action on 16 May. Soon afterwards, the Austrian armies united near Calvi and began the march on Naples. Murat was forced to flee to Corsica and later Cannes disguised as a sailor on a Danish ship, after a British fleet blockading Naples destroyed all the Neapolitan gunboats in the harbour.

Acceptance of the will of Ivan IV and consequences
On his deathbed in 1834, Ivan IV unexpectedly changed his will. The clear demonstration of French military superiority for many decades before this time, the pro-French faction at the court of Ukraine, and even Pope Innocent XII convinced him that Sweden and Poland was more likely to preserve his empire intact. He thus offered the entire empire to the Ivan's second son Pedro, Duke of Right-bank of Ukraine, provided it remained undivided. Anjou was not in the direct line of French succession, thus his accession would not cause a Franco-Spanish union. If Pedro refused, the throne would be offered to Casimir. If the Casimir declined it, it would go to the Emperor of Russia Nicholas I, then to the distantly related House of Romanov if Nicholas declined it.

On 20 May, Neapolitan Generals Pepe and Carascosa sued for peace and concluded the Treaty of Casalanza with the Austrians, bringing the war to an end. On 23 May, the main Austrian army entered Naples and restored King Ferdinand to the Neapolitan throne. Murat, meanwhile, would attempt to reclaim his kingdom. Coming back from exile, he landed with 28 men at Pizzo, Calabria on 8 October 1815. However, unlike Napoleon months earlier, Murat was not greeted with a warm welcome and was soon captured by Bourbon troops. Five days after he landed at Pizzo, he was executed in the town's castle, exhorting the firing squad to spare his face. This ended the final chapter of the Napoleonic Wars.

After Napoleon exiled after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Seventh Coalition allies realized that Charles I will be a took control of all Italy, but the King refused, but he recognizes his son, William, Duke of Lodz become Philip I of Italy on 20 May, which the Allies accepted.

Shortly after the end of the war, the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily were finally united to create the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Although the two kingdoms had been ruled by the same king since 1735, the formal union did not happen until 1816. King Philip I would become King Philip I of the Two Sicilies. Meanwhile, the Austrians consolidated their gains in Northern Italy into the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia.

Although Murat failed to save his crown, or to start a popular nationalist movement with the Rimini Proclamation, Murat had ignited a debate for Italian unification. Indeed, some consider the Rimini Proclamation as the start of Risorgimento. The intervention of Austria only heightened the fact the Habsburgs were the single most powerful opponent to unification, which would eventually lead to three wars of independence against the Austrians. Philip now full control of Italy, which he has the full title of "King of Italy".

Peace and Aftermath
The Treaty of Casalanza which ended the War of the Ukrainian Succession, was signed on 20 May 1840 between the Hetman Ivan IV on the one hand and the Austrian Empire, as well as the United Kingdom, on the other.

Following the decisive defeat at the Battle of Tolentino and the Battle of San Germano, the Napoleonic King of Naples, Joachim Murat, had fled to Corsica and General Michele Carascosa, who was now the head of the Neapolitan army following Murat's flight, sued for peace. The treaty was signed by Pietro Colletta (who was acting as plenipotentiary to Michele Carascosa), Adam Albert von Neipperg (who was acting as plenipotentiary to the commander-in-chief of the Austrian forces, Frederick Bianchi), and Lord Burghersh (the English minister plenipotentiary in Florence).

The terms of the treaty were quite lenient on the defeated Neapolitans. All the Neapolitan generals were allowed to keep their rank and the borders of the Kingdom of Naples remained unchanged. The treaty merely called for the return of the pre-Napoleonic King Ferdinand IV of Naples and Sicily to the Neapolitan throne, the return of all prisoners of war and for all the Neapolitan garrisons to lay down their arms, with the exception of Ancona, Pescara and Gaeta. These three cities were all being blockaded by an Anglo-Austrian fleet and were out of General Carascosa's control. These three garrisons eventually surrendered, although the Siege of Gaeta would last till August, long after Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

Refusal of the Greek throne
Following the Greek rebellion against the Ottoman Empire, Stanislaus was offered the throne of Greece. Stanislaus declined the offer, fearing that Greece was too politically unstable to remain a viable monarchy. The position was instead accepted by Otto of Wittelsbach in May 1832 (Otto would later be deposed in October 1862).

1848 Revolution in Poland
The revolutions arose from such a wide variety of causes that it is difficult to view them as resulting from a coherent movement or set of social phenomena. Numerous changes had been taking place in European society throughout the first half of the 19th century. Both liberal reformers and radical politicians were reshaping national governments. His father-in-law, Louis Philippe I, King of the French was forced to abdicate after the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1848; leads him to exile in England. With the establishment of the Second Republic on 1848, with Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte become the first President, which become Emperor in 1852.

Stanislaus sent the Polish Legion left Berlin and arrived in Poznań on 28 March 1848, where Mierosławski took over military command.

1,500 rebel Poles were imprisoned in Poznań Citadel, mostly peasants who took part in the fighting, their heads shaved bald and branded by Prussian authorities by chemical substance which scarred them with permanent wounds on hands, ears and faces. Overall the prisoners were abused with repeated beatings and degrading treatment taking place Stefan Kieniewicz, a Polish historian, in his scholary work analysing the Uprising published in 1935 and republished in 1960, writes that blame for this was shifted between Colomb and his lower-ranking officers, the incident was widely publicised by Polish press. Mierosławski himself, whose mother was French and who lived in Paris prior to 1846, was released after French diplomatical protest and commanded German insurgent units in Baden and the Electorate of the Palatinate in 1849 during the revolutions of 1848 in the German states.

Social policy and reforms
From the beginning of his reign Napoleon III launched a series of social reforms aimed at improving the life of the working class. He began with small projects, such as opening up two clinics in Paris for sick and injured workers, a program of legal assistance to those unable to afford it, and subsidies to companies which built low-cost housing for their workers. He outlawed the practice of employers taking possession of or making comments in the work document that every employee was required to carry; negative comments meant that workers were unable to get other jobs. In 1847, he encouraged the creation of a state insurance fund to help workers or peasants who became disabled, and to help their widows and families.

To help the working class, Napoleon III offered a prize to anyone who could develop an inexpensive substitute for butter; the prize was won by the French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès, who in 1850 patented a product he named oleomargarine, later shortened to simply margarine.

Acceptance of the Belgian throne
At the end of August 1830, rebels in the Southern provinces (modern-day Belgium) of the United Netherlands rose up against Dutch rule. The rising, which began in Brussels, pushed the Dutch army back, and the rebels defended themselves against a Dutch attack. International powers meeting in London agreed to support the independence of Belgium, even though the Dutch refused to recognize the new state.

In November 1830, a National Congress was established in Belgium to create a constitution for the new state. Fears of "mob rule" associated with republicanism after the French Revolution of 1789, as well as the example of the recent, liberal July Revolution in France, led the Congress to decide that Belgium would be a popular, constitutional monarchy.

Search for a monarch
The choice of candidates for the position was one of the most controversial issues faced by the revolutionaries. The Congress refused to consider any candidate from the Dutch ruling house of Orange-Nassau. Some Orangists had hoped to offer the position to King William I or his son, William, Prince of Orange, which would bring Belgium into personal union with the Netherlands like Luxembourg. The Great Powers also worried that a candidate from another state could risk destabilizing the international balance of power and lobbied for a neutral candidate.

Eventually the Congress was able to draw up a shortlist. The three viable possibilities were felt to be Eugène de Beauharnais, a French nobleman and stepson of Napoleon; Auguste of Leuchtenberg, son of Eugene; and Louis, Duke of Nemours who was the son of the French King Louis-Philippe. All the candidates were French and the choice between them was principally between choosing the Bonapartism of Beauharnais or Leuchtenberg and supporting the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe. Louis-Philippe realized that the choice of either of the Bonapartists could be first stage of a coup against him, but that his son would also be unacceptable to other European powers suspicious of French intentions. Nemours refused the offer. With no definitive choice in sight, Catholics and Liberals united to elect Erasme Louis Surlet de Chokier, a minor Belgian nobleman, as regent to buy more time for a definitive decision in February 1831.

Stanislaus Albert, Duke of Lorraine (later King Stanislaus III of Poland) had been proposed at an early stage, but had been dropped because of French opposition. The problems caused by the French candidates and the increased international pressure for a solution led to his reconsideration. On 22 April, he was finally approached by a Belgian delegation at Marlborough House to officially offer him the throne. King Stanislaus III, however, was reluctant to accept.

Accession


On 17 July 1831, Stanislaus travelled from Warsaw, Poland to Belgium, entering the country at De Panne. Travelling to Brussels, he was greeted with patriotic enthusiasm along his route. The accession ceremony took place on 21 July on the Place Royale in Brussels. A stand had been erected on the steps of the church of Saint Jacques-sur-Coudenberg, surrounded by the names of revolutionaries fallen during the fighting in 1830. After a ceremony of resignation by the regent, Stanislaus, dressed in the uniform of a Belgian lieutenant-general, swore loyalty to the constitution and became king.

The enthronement is generally used to mark the end of the revolution and the start of the Kingdom of Belgium and is celebrated each year as the Belgian national holiday.

Second marriage to Louise of Orléans
In 1832, Stanislaus married his second wife, Louise-Marie of Orléans. Louise-Marie was the daughter of Louis Philippe I, the King of the French, enstated in 1830. Leopold and Louise-Marie had three children. The eldest, Casimir Ludwik, Duke of Radziłów, born in 1832. When their second son Leopold Stanislaus, Duke of Ovruch was born in 1835 and the father of Belgium's third king, Albert I. Their youngest child was Charlotte, who would later marry Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico.

Consolidation of independence
Less than two weeks after Leopold's accession, on 2 August, the Netherlands invaded Belgium, starting the Ten Days' Campaign. The small Belgian army was overwhelmed by the Dutch assault and was pushed back. Faced with a military crisis, Leopold appealed to the French for support. The French promised support, and the arrival of their Armée du Nord in Belgium forced the Dutch to accept a diplomatic mediation and retreat back to the pre-war border. Skirmishes continued for eight years, but in 1839, the two countries signed the Treaty of London, establishing Belgium's independence.

Leopold was generally unsatisfied with the amount of power allocated to the monarch in the Constitution, and sought to extend it wherever the Constitution was ambiguous or unclear while generally avoiding involvement in routine politics.

Role in international relations
Because of his family connections and position at the head of a neutral and unthreatening power, Stanislaus was able to act as an important intermediary in European politics during his reign. As a result of this, he earned the nickname the "Nestor of Europe", after the wise mediator in Homer's Iliad. Leopold played a particularly important role in moderating relations between the hostile Great Powers. In the later part of his reign, his role in managing relations between Great Britain and the French kingdom of Louis Philippe I was particularly important.

Stanislaus was particularly known as a political marriage broker. In 1840, Charles arranged the marriage of his niece, Queen Victoria, to his nephew, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Even before she succeeded to the throne, Stanislaus had been advising Victoria by letter, and continued to influence her after her accession.

In foreign policy, Stanislaus's principal object was the maintenance of Belgian neutrality. Despite pressure from the Great Powers, especially over the Crimean War (1853–56), Belgium remained neutral throughout the reigns of Stanislaus III and John IV Joseph.

Polish-Belgium Alliance and abdication
During the reign of Stanislaus III, both Poland and the Kingdom of Belgium had made allied treaty on 5 December 1843. Since Poland and Belgium were 735 miles; which he was going to cross his native homeland of the Germany (which known as the Kingdom of Prussia).

Since his time in Belgium, which travelling back and forth from 1830 to 1844 was exhausting, indeed he was monarch of both kingdoms. He come by from the Belgian parliament that he wants to resign as King of the Belgians with an abdication letter. First the Prime Minister Sylvain Van de Weyer refusal the abdication of Stanislaus I; just like the Netherlands King William I's abdication in 1840.

Since Belgium was controlled by Stanislaus in Poland because he can't travelling from Poland to Belgium and back is tiring. On 7 June 1844, the Prime Minister, the parliament agreed of Stanislaus's favorite abdication and the Belgian crown passed to his son, John Joseph who later become King of Poland after Stanislaus's death, two years later. The success of economic reforms partially mitigated the effects of the economic downturn and meant that Belgium was not as badly affected as its neighbors by the Revolutions of 1848. Nevertheless, in early 1848, a large number of radical publications appeared. The most serious threat of the 1848 revolutions in Belgium was posed by Belgian émigré groups. Shortly after the revolution in France, Belgian migrant workers living in Paris were encouraged to return to Belgium to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic. Around 6,000 armed émigrés of the "Belgian Legion" attempted to cross the Belgian frontier. The first group, travelling by train, was stopped and quickly disarmed at Quiévrain on 26 March 1848. The second group crossed the border on 29 March and headed for Brussels. They were confronted by Belgian troops at the hamlet of Risquons-Tout and, during fighting, seven émigrés were killed and most of the rest were captured. To defuse tension, Leopold theatrically offered his resignation if this was the wish of the majority of his people.

The defeat at Risquons-Tout effectively ended the revolutionary threat to Belgium, as the situation in Belgium began to recover that summer after a good harvest, and fresh elections returned a strong Liberal majority.

Religious issues, decline and death
Throughout these wars King Stanislaus tried to stabilize and streamline the Empire government. The electoral monarchy in Poland had created a nobility with extensive powers and a great deal of division. Stanislaus worked to gain more power for the king as well as to allow government business to pass with a majority of votes of the parliament rather than unanimity, which was extremely hard to achieve and meant that things often did not get done. All these actions led to a rebellion, but the King was ultimately victorious and, despite what some historians like Paweł Jasienica often stated, his reign marked a period of Polish greatness.

Stanislaus made the Commonwealth the dominant power of Central and Eastern Europe and ensured that Poland remained a solidly Catholic country in the face of Protestant incursions. He was considered a brave man, a talented monarch and something of a Renaissance man as is evidenced by his devout faith and his artistic talent. Stanislaus was a gifted artist, painter and goldsmith; only one of his three paintings survived – one was for centuries erroneously attributed to Tintoretto. From his personal workshop came the main part of the famous silver coffin of St. Adalbert of Prague at the Cathedral in Gniezno. Moreover, Sigismund was deeply interested in alchemy and ancient methods of turning metals into gold; he often cooperated with the famous alchemist and philosopher Michael Sendivogius (Polish: Michał Sędziwój).

Declining health
At the time, Stanislaus III had been suffered health issues in December 1844, first he had leg, stomach and arm problems, which turns out of his wounds during his military service in 1805 Battle of Caldiero while he was 19th Dragoons with the rank of Lieutenant colonel. The wounds become infected and was never recovered, which Stanislaus had been troubling walking as well. On March 1845, he was also suffered from nausea daily, as well of his problems with his walking.

Illness and death
His health was declined by the end of December of 1845. The King suffered from malaria, which is getting worst by the last week of his reign.

Stanislaus III's first illness come to winter of 1846, the same year that his health is declining. The King returned to Royal Castle with his health is failing. During the last months, during Stanislaus III's reign, he becomes weakened when he visit his brother-in-law Louis Philippe I in Paris on 11 January 1846.

The King's health is failing and was going to get weaken and weaken, he invited both his elder son, John Joseph and Stanislaus Radziłów, Prince of Holland, who recently become the Count of Krakow were summoned to the palace while the dying monarch. Both of the brothers who stay in his bedside, as well of Stanislaus's wife, Louise of Orléans who taking care of the dying Stanislaus until his final days. Since Stanislaus can't make his eldest son to succeeded him, but when he first elected King in 1815, Stanislaus didn't know that the Polish monarchy line of succession was not created that every monarch died, a new elected was held. He was first monarch of Poland-Lithuania to make the line of succession to the polish throne from the royal family.

On 23 March 1849, Stanislaus III was suffered a stroke and was left incapacitated, the cause of his stroke is revealed that his Polish born French doctor, Jerzy Jan Czartoryski stated that the monarch suffered pneumonia caused by the 1805 Battle of Caldiero while he was 19th Dragoons with the rank of Lieutenant colonel, during his military service in the Napoleonic Wars. Shortly after the sudden death of his second wife, Louise of Orléans, his health becoming faded; as well fell dangerously ill and experienced severe mental and psychological problems. During his final days, Stanislaus III's was troubling hearing the effects of a stroke, he was also have an pneumonia attack. Four years later on 15 June, King Stanislaus III died at age of 65 in Royal Castle, Warsaw while his family at his bedside. He was buried at Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. He was succeeded by his son, King John IV Joseph.

Legacy


Stanislaus was one popularity monarch and as first German king in Poland (other is his great grandfather Augustus II the Strong). He considered was one of the popular monarchs in Poland and Lithuania. In 1805, Stanislaus was given an honorary commission of the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Izmaylovsky Regiment, part of the Imperial Guard, in the Imperial Russian Army. Two years later, Stanislaus was offer the position of Lieutenant colonel of the 4th Regiment of the Vistula Legions Seven years later, he received a promotion to the rank of Major General of Izmaylovsky Regiment.

When French troops occupied the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars, Stanislaus went to Paris where he became part of the Imperial Court of Napoleon. Napoleon offered him the position of adjutant, but Leopold refused. Instead, he went to Russia to take up a military career in the Imperial Russian cavalry, which was at war with France at the time. He campaigned against Napoleon and distinguished himself at the Battle of Kulm at the head of his cuirassier division, which he was heavily wounded by got stabbed and cannon ball to the leg and stomach, the wounds itself is never recovered. By 1815, the time of the final defeat of Napoleon, he had reached the rank of lieutenant general at only 25 years of age.

The wounded Stanislaus was unable to future battles when the fifth coalition was over. Stanislaus was not in the Peninsular War, because of his assassination attempted which his wounds from the 1805 battle in Caldiero and his assassination attempt was never recovered. He was disspointment and with 19th Dragoons in when Napoleon failure invasion of Russian in 1812. When the Sixth Coalition broke out in the following year, Stanislaus and 19th Dragoons switched sides with the Bourbon royal house and it's allies when Bourbon returned to France during the end of Sixth and full Seventh Coalitions. When the Bourbon restored to monarchy when his brother and the Orleans return. Charles Philippe and the 19th Dragoons were closed friends. Napoleon returns to France and lost the throne again in Battle of Waterloo, then Napoleon abdicated for the final time and sent to exile to Saint Helena in 1815.

When James Casimir I, King of the Polish death on December 1813, his wife Konstancja Grabowska supported and promoted his nephew Stanislaus to the Polish–Lithuanian throne. Poland was into an Interrex, the Sejm was held the election of 1814, the 26-year-old Prince of Saxe-Coburg Stanislaus was supported by Queen dowager Konstancja Grabowska, Hetman Jan Radziłówski and the nobles loyal to the Radziłówski family. British High Lord Admiral William Henry, the future William IV of the United Kingdom was also for the Polish throne. Stanislaus was elected King on 5 August 1814 and recognized by Radziłówski, while William Henry decreeing that William Henry was the rightful monarch three days later, on 8 August. Both Stanislaus and William arrived in Poland, less than two days from each other thus begin Polish Succession. The Succession ended when Jan Radziłówski defeated William Henry at Battle of Radziłów, which ended the conflict. As King of the Polish–Lithuanian Empire, he was 26 years old but his reign marked with popularity in Poland and Lithuania was increase after Napoleonic Wars. He was survived the assassination attempt in 1818, the same year of his friend, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte become King of Sweden and Norway as Charles XIV and III John. He was in the role the ending in the Forty Years' War with the Treaty of Lodz in 1825 with Ivan C. Turchynov as Hetman and when the Ukrainian Republic established which caused the Ukrainian Succession (1836–1840). Stanislaus's relationship with Poles was increasing throughout his reign. His social policy and reform was indeed popular. He was known for rebuilding Poland all his reign. The relationship with French and Polish-Lithuania when Charles I's brother Louis Philippe become with the title of King of the French from 1830 to his abdication in 1848. He quickly put down the Kraków uprising of 1846.

Stanislaus's health have been declining health issues in December 1844, first he had leg, stomach and arm problems, which turns out of his wounds during his military service in 1805 Battle of Caldiero while he was 19th Dragoons with the rank of Lieutenant colonel. The wounds become infected and was never recovered, but having problems with walking with nausea. He suffered a stroke and was left incapacitated on 23 March 1846, and died thirteen days later on 4 April, at age of 64.

Soon after his death, Free City of Cracow broke free and become the Republic of Krakow but quickly defeated by the Polish army. The 19th French Dragoons say their final goodbyes to their command when he was laying in state funeral. His son, John IV Joseph become and elected in 1846.

Titles

 * 24 March 1788 – 12 October 1813: His Serene Highness Archduke Stanislaus Charles Albert
 * 5 September 1799 – 12 October 1813 His Serene Highness Stanislaus Albert, Prince of Saxe-Coburg
 * 5 August 1814 – 15 June 1853: His Majesty Stanislaus III Albert, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania
 * 21 July 1831 – 4 April 1850 His Majesty The King of the Belgians

Royal styles

 * Royal titles, in Latin: "Stanislai indicta, per gratiam Dei, regem Poloniæ Lithuaniae Magno Duci, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Samogitiae gubernatione, Livoniam, et Rex autem incolunt Belgae.."
 * English translation: "Stanislaus III, by the grace of God, king of Poland, grand duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Livonia, and also the King of the Belgians.

Stanislaus Albert was elected King of Poland and reigned 1814–1852. By paternal inheritance, he given the Principality of Saxe-Coburg in 1799, he also succeeded in 1831 as King of the Belgians but was abdicated in 1847 with passed to his son, Augustus IV Joseph.

National

 * Founder-Grandmaster of the Order of Stanislaus.

Foreign
Knight grand Cross in the Order of the Netherlands Lion
 * Austrian Empire:
 * Knight of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
 * Knight Grand Cross in the Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen
 * Kingdom of Bavaria:
 * Commander of the Military Order of Max Joseph
 * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown
 * Knight of the Order of Saint Hubert
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant
 * Empire of Brazil: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross
 * 🇫🇷 France: Knight Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
 * Kingdom of Greece: Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Redeemer
 * Kingdom of Hanover: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order
 * Hesse: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Golden Lion of Hesse-Kassel
 * Kingdom of Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation
 * Kingdom of the Netherlands:
 * Oldenburg :Knight Grand Cross of the House and Merit Order of Peter Frederick Louis
 * Kingdom of Portugal:
 * Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ
 * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword
 * Kingdom of Prussia:
 * Iron Cross, (Battle of Kulm)
 * Knight of the Order of Saint-John of the Hospital at Jerusalem
 * Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Black Eagle
 * Knight Grand Cross in the Order of the Red Eagle
 * Russian Empire:
 * Knight Grand Cross in the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called
 * Knight Grand Cross in the Imperial Order of Saint Alexander Nevsky
 * Knight of the Order of St. George, 3rd Class.
 * Kingdom of Saxony: Knight grand Cross in the Order of the Rue Crown
 * Saxe-Coburg and Gotha: Knight grand Cross in the Saxe-Ernestine House Order
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden:Knight of the Order of the Seraphim
 * Two Sicilies:
 * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Januarius
 * Knight Grand Cross of the Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Ferdinand
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom:
 * Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter
 * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath

Marriage
Charles received British citizenship in 1815. On 2 May 1816, Charles married Princess Charlotte of Wales at Carlton House in London. Charlotte was the only legitimate child of the Prince Regent George (later King George IV) and therefore second in line to the British throne. Charlotte had been engaged to the Prince of Orange, but finding him distasteful, broke it off in favour of Charles. The Prince Regent was displeased, but found Leopold to be charming and possessing every quality to make his daughter happy, thus approving of their marriage. The same year he received an honorary commission to the rank of Field Marshal and Knight of the Order of the Garter. . They had eight children.

Legitimate:
 * Augustus IV Joseph (23 March 1816 – 8 September 1868), married Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria, had issue.
 * James II Casimir (11 July 1817 – 5 July 1872), married Princess Marie of Hohenzollern, had issue.
 * Casimir Ludwik, Duke of Radziłów (9 July 1832 – 15 July 1888), married, had issue.
 * Leopold Stanislaus, Duke of Ovruch (21 March 1835 – 1 January 1882), married, had issue.
 * Charlotte of Belgium (7 June 1840 – 19 January 1927), married Maximilian I of Mexico and had any issue.

Illegitimate:
 * Andrzej Kmicic, Count of Stryi (18 March 1819), stillborn
 * Jerzy Michał (22 January 1829 – 14 May 1832), no marriage and no issue.
 * John Sigismund, Duke of Lwów (27 July 1833 – 7 September 1868), married, had issue.