Treaty of Thorn

The Treaty of Thorn in 1709 was a Saxon - Russian alliance and was signed on October 9th ^./ October 20, 1709 ^greg.in the city of Thorn (now Toruń in Poland ) between the Elector Augustus the Strong and the Russian Tsar Peter I closed.

prehistory

After the alliance between Denmark-Norway and Saxony had been renewed in the Treaty of Dresden , Russia and Saxony also renewed their treaties of 1701 and 1703.

The Russian Tsar Peter I still felt abandoned by August the Strong in the summer of 1709. In the Altranstadt Peace Treaty (1706), he abandoned Russia's ally in the fight against Sweden. After winning the battle of Poltava , in which the Swedish army was defeated and the Swedish king had to flee into exile, the Saxon elector began again negotiations with the tsar.

But this makes it clear from the start that he dictates the terms of an alliance. August II, who was losing more and more influence in Poland at this time, had to bow to the Russian monarch. Nevertheless, Russia also needs its partner in the West in order to increase its influence on Central Europe. The fight against Sweden is far from over and Peter I needs every partner.

Peter I tried to consolidate his own dynasty with the help of marriages into German rulers. But August the Strong has no daughter who would be considered. His wife Christiane Eberhardine moved a princess of Wolfenbüttel ( Charlotte Christine von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel ) to whose sister had married the brother of the emperor. Peter I wanted to marry his first-born son and heir to the throne Alexei with this princess and the Saxon elector promised to support him.

The contract

In the treaty, the negotiations of which lasted twelve days, the two monarchs decided to forget everything that had happened so far and to renew the alliance.

The tsar promised the Saxon regent 4,000–5,000 infantry and 10,000–12,000 cavalrymen to fight the rebels in Poland. In return, August II promised to maintain his own army of around 10,000-11,000 men permanently in Poland.

In addition, August II is lifted back to the royal throne of Poland. The anti-Swedish king Stanislaus I. Leszczyński and his supporters flee into exile in Sweden. Peter I forces almost the entire Polish nobility to re-elect the Saxon Elector as king. With the support of the Roman Catholic Church and Pope Clement XI. all offending nobles are threatened with excommunication from all religions.

In the treaty, August II confirmed that he owed the royal dignity to the Russian tsar. Only through his overwhelming victory at Poltava and his support was it possible for the Saxon elector to regain the Polish crown.

In addition, the Saxon elector assured the Tsar of all lands and cities that he has conquered so far and will conquer in the further course of the war.

In a secret article, the tsar assured that he would attack the provinces of Livonia and Estonia again. After the conquest of Livonia, this should become the hereditary property of the House of Wettin.

The consequences

On March 31, 1710, August II returned to Warsaw as king .

Individual evidence

^ Illustration of the Thorn alliance treaty (original document). Retrieved February 11, 2013 .
^ Hoffmann: Constantia von Cosel and August the Strong. 1984, p. 360.
↑ Large: The Wettins. 2007, p. 186.

literature

General German real encyclopedia for the educated classes. (Conversations Lexicon). Volume 7: M to N. 7. Original edition. FA Brockhaus, Leipzig 1827, p. 906 .
Gabriele Hoffmann : Constantia von Cosel and August the strong. The story of a mistress. Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 1984, ISBN 3-7857-0379-1 .
Reiner Groß : The Wettiner (= Urban pocket books. 621). Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-17-018946-1 .

[1] Illustration of the Thorn alliance treaty (original document). Retrieved February 11, 2013 .

[2] Hoffmann: Constantia von Cosel and August the Strong. 1984, p. 360.

[3] Large: The Wettins. 2007, p. 186.