PINYL #22: The Balance of Power (Patreon)

[PATRONS]

This latest episode is chock full of the diplomacy you love, and researching it was made possible thanks the generous support of my patrons - Go Patrons Go!

Welcome to episode 22! Herein we see why and how Marie Lechynski, a penniless and mostly unremarkable princess, became the Queen of France. We go in great detail on the French royal family, and lookt at the general state of Europe by the mid 1720s. How does this all relate to Poland? Well, because the activities of the other European powers couldn't seem to help but rebound back to Warsaw. This was in spite of King Augustus II's general wish, which was to be left to scheme over the Polish throne alone. 

With the death of Tsar Peter in 1725 though, and the turbulent succession underway in Russia, for a time at least, the Polish King was faced with a serious dilemma. It would all culminate with the return of his old nemesis and rival to the Polish throne, Stanislaus Lechynski, whose daughter had just become one of the most powerful women in all of Europe, by virtue of her marriage to King Louis XV of France!