August-Wilhelm I of Liothidia
| August-William I | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | |||||
| Liothidian Emperor (more...) | |||||
| Reign | 10 May 1846 - 12 December 1858 | ||||
| Coronation | 13 May 1846 | ||||
| Predecessor | monarchy established | ||||
| Successor | Heinrich I | ||||
| Minister-Presidents | |||||
| King of Rahdenburg (more...) | |||||
| Reign | 4 October 1834 - 12 December 1858 | ||||
| Predecessor | August-Heinrich III | ||||
| Lord Minister | See list
| ||||
| Born | 22 March 1799 Schloss Engelweg, Rixdorf, Kingdom of Rahdenburg | ||||
| Died | 12 December 1858 Ersbwalde Palace, Rahden, Liothidian Empire | ||||
| Spouse | Charlotte-Augusta von Wissenland (m. 1826) | ||||
| Issue |
| ||||
| |||||
| House | Hechenreyt | ||||
| Father | August-Friedrich III | ||||
| Mother | Margarete von Verrenhalle | ||||
| Religion | Fabrian Catholic | ||||
August-William I, or in Liothidian: August-Wilhelm I (full name: August William Frederick of Hechenreyt, Liothidian: August-Wilhelm Friedrich von Hechenreyt, 22 March 1799 – 12 December 1856), of the House of Hechenreyt, was King of Rahdenburg from 4 October 1834 and the first Liothidian Emperor from 10 May 1846 to his death, the first Head of State of a united Liothidia. Under the leadership of August-William and his Minister President Karl Franz von Auerswald, Rahdenburg achieved the unification of Liothidia and the establishment of the Liothidian Empire, following the Glorious Revolution. Following unification, August-William left much of governance to his Minister President Karl-Franz Auerswald.
The death of his wife and new-born son in 1837, denied August-William a male heir and failing to secure changes to the laws of succession, to enable his daughter, Hildegard, to succeed him brought the emperor into a decades-long depression. Toward the end of his life, he withdrew from the public and died of a heart attack within weeks of his daughter's wedding to Ghantish Prince Nathan III. He was succeed by his younger brother, Heinrich, Grand Prince of Stalendorf.
Early life and career
Born to August-Henry III by his wife Queen Margarete, he was the latter's favourite son, well documented in being the resentment of his brother, and successor, Heinrich. August-William was educated by private tutors, many of whom were experienced civil servants, such as Ruprecht-Franz von Voss. He was known to be a quick learner, an astute mathematician and held a keen passion for history.
He also gained military experience by serving in the Rahdener Army during the XXX War against XX in 1818, although he was an indifferent soldier. He preferred studying architecture, botany and had a strong interest in nascent industry emerging in Rahdenburg. Throughout his youth as the heir presumptive to the Kingdom of Rahdenburg, he became a prominent patron of science, arts and music. In 1829, he championed the construction of the Kaiserliches Opernhaus in Rahden and the König August-Heinrich Auditorium in Vechta.
In 1826, he married Charlotte-Augusta von Dannenburg, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Dannenburg. This marriage, though arranged by his father to maintain the dual-dominance of Rahdenburg and Dannenburg in the Liothidian Realm, was solidified by a much lauded love between the two. The marriage would produce two children, Hildegard (b. 1836) and Heinrich-Joachim (b. 1837 d. 1837), the latter died at childbirth, further complications would also see his wife, pass away three days later.
King of Rahdenburg
August-William became King of Rahdenburg on 4 October 1834, following the death of his father. His first act as King was to reconstitute Tag des Königs (Day of the King), a fair held on the grounds of the Erbswalde Palace in Rahden, at the crown's expense. This was followed by the donation of the Uckermark Palace to the city as a hospital for the poor and homeless.
From 1834 until 1837, August-William and his wife were common sights across Rahden, as both were known to thoroughly enjoy communicating and mingling with the city's inhabitants. Both took interest and active roles in improving the health of the Rahdener capital, becoming patrons of numerous schools and guilds.
Although a staunch conservative, August-William did not seek to be a despot, and so he toned down the reactionary policies pursued by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to create an elected legislative assembly, preferring to work with the nobility through "united committees" of the provincial estates. A pious man, he did however maintain his father's strict laws against other christian sects in defence of Fabrian Catholicism. He also patronized further construction of Holzminden Cathedral. In 1837, he attended the celebrations marking the completion of the cathedral, this was followed by further constructions of Catholic cathedrals across Rahdenburg.
The death of his first-born son and wife in April 1837 drove the King into a deep depression, leading to him missing numerous public events and the first convention of the United Diet of Rahdenburg. So severe was his depression, that senior members of the Royal Council of the Esteemed reportedly debated removing him from the throne. However, August-William, with the aid of his sister and daughter recovered by June and he slowly resumed his public duties.
Under the advice of his former tutor, Ruprecht-Franz von Voss, the King fought off his depression by focusing his energies on establishing the first elected legislative assembly. On August 4 1841, he convened the first United Diet of Rahdenburg, comprised solely of representatives from the provincial estates. This Diet was provided the means of levying taxes, debating some policy areas and advising the crown on military matters. However, attempts to see the Diet produce a written constitution were defeated by August-William's refusal to allow such a move.
The meeting of the Diet in 1842 brought to prominence, the popular noble, Karl Franz von Auerswald. This enigmatic and nationalistic politician sought to see a constitution, elected legislature and a unified Liothidia. While August-William opposed these moves, he managed to build a friendship with Von Auerswald that would prove pivotal in later years.
.jpg)
In 1844, he caused controversy within the Liothidian Realm after he gave sanctuary to a group of nationalist intellectuals who fled persecution by the Duke of Rügen, Wilhelm-Gabriel II. During the Council of Talheim in early December 1844, August-William came under-fire from his fellow Liothidian monarchs for his saving of the intellectuals. In a rebuttal, August-William is recorded to have said, "the day Liothidia becomes a barren waste of intellectualism is the day we burn away our mental capacities and talents, through debate, we raise ourselves to be Belisaria's betters."
His rebuttal was widely re-printed by the Rahdener press, with the King lauded for his "defence of the ideas of Liothidian minds." However, his defence also gave fuel to the rapidly growing unification movement within academia. This Council meeting also further alienated the monarchs of the Realm from August-William, with some reportedly feeling he held expansionist ambitions.
The continued decline of public affinity for monarchs outside of Rahdenburg increased in pace throughout 1845, historical documents reveal that many of the future revolutionaries, plotted and planned a nationalist uprising from within Rahdenburg, doing so unimpeded by the authorities. Whether they did so due to the King's apparent support for their cause is still debated to this day.
Glorious Revolution
On February 19 1846, tensions within Dannenburg, the Realm's second greatest state (after Rahdenburg), erupted into mass civil disobedience, when prominent liberal noble, Ludwig von Disentis was executed by hanging for "anti-monarchist agitations." The unrest quickly spread from Dannenburg, with commoners and reformist nobles alike rising up in face of high taxes, censorship and political oppression.
On February 24, revolutionaries overthrew the Duke of Hachenland, forcing his family to exile in Rahdenburg. This was followed by the collapse of the monarchies in Nordenland and Wittenland on March 1 and March 10 respectively. The sudden loss of two major monarchies within the Realm pushed the Dannenburger ruling family to accede to the reformists demands, by introducing a provisional legislature and constitution.
However, on March 20, Dannenburg was further wracked with unrest after it was discovered that King Franz-Joseph II sought to pack the provisional legislature with loyal aristocrats. He and his family were besieged in their summer residence, unable to coordinate with their military forces. Realising the possibility of Dannenburg becoming a republic, August-William with the aid of his Lord-Minister, Karl-Franz von Auerswald vowed to save the Hohenstaffen family and other ruling dynasties of Liothidia by mediating with the revolutionaries.
On April 1, the Council of Idstein was convened with Von Auerswald chairing. During the first few days, Von Auerswald worked to unite the revolutionaries in their demands, initially struggling to overcome the regional nuances that permeated the revolutionaries. On April 6, August-William addressed the Council where he lauded their dream of a united Liothidia, but chastised them for the violence, loss of life and brutishness. August-William also expressed his desire to see a united Liothidia with an elected legislature and where the common-folk would enjoy more rights. His speech was well received by the revolutionaries.
On April 7, Von Auerswald in a vague speech hinted at the possibility of a unified Liothidia, operating through the Liothidian Realms, where an elected legislature would assume most powers from the Great Council of the Realm. This was immediately followed by the Nordenland delegation proposing abolishing the Realm for a unified federal Liothidian kingdom. Von Auerswald replied that such a system would require the maintenance of the current monarchies, subject to a national-level monarch, supported by a powerful elected legislature.
Von Auerswald's proposal was well received, aided by his constant lobbying of delegates in support of a Hechenreyt-ruled Liothidian kingdom. Many of the revolutionaries saw inspiration in Rahdenburg, with August-William's early decision to constitute a United Diet as indication of his liberal and reformist leanings. Von Auerswald, also guaranteed monarchist acquiescence by ensuring the revolutionaries continued besieging the ruling families across Liothidia.
On April 9, the Council voted on Von Auerswald's proposal and agreed 111-43. The decision sent shock waves across Liothidia, as it became clear that House Hechenreyt would now unite Liothidia as its ruling family, while using the revolutionaries as enforcers. On April 11, the Unberstollens of Miesitz-Ravensberg rejected the Idstein Convention, their ancestral home was soon attacked by revolutionaries, forcing the family to flee in exile to Seredinia. The exile of the Unberstollens resulted in the acquiescence of the other families, cementing the Convention and the new Hechenreyt domination.
On April 14, a Provisional National Convention was established to draw up a constitution for the united Liothidia, of which, Von Auerswald played a prominent role.
On April 20, August-William attended a special session of the Convention, where he symbolically thanked the "Liothidian people for the humbling gift of the united crown." There he vowed to establish his name as "first", in recognition of the new realm and would serve as "father of the fatherland."
On May 10, the new constitution was formally adopted by the states of the Realm, officially establishing the new Liothidian Empire. On May 13, August-William was crowned Emperor of Liothidia and Supreme Prince of the Realm, with all state families in attendance.