General Notes

Stanislas I Leszczynski (1677-1766), king of Poland (1704-09; 1733-35). A
member of an influential old Polish noble family, Stanislas became king in
1704 with the support of Charles XII of Sweden, in opposition to Frederick
Augustus of Saxony (Augustus II of Poland, 1670-1733), who was backed by
Russia. In 1709, when the armies of Charles XII were defeated by the Russians,
Stanislas went into exile. His daughter Maria Leszczynska married Louis XV of
France in 1725. This alliance enabled Stanislas to obtain reelection to the
Polish throne when Augustus died in 1733. Russia and Austria intervened
against him, and despite French aid he was again expelled from Poland in 1735
(see Polish Succession, War of the). Stanislas was given the duchies of
Lorraine and Bar, and he maintained a royal court at Lunéville and Nancy until
his death. He was celebrated as a patron of learning and literature.