Józef was considered as the richest magnate in Poland at that time. He was
Voivode of
Kijów Voivodship (
Kyiv, also Kiev) from 1702 to 1744,
Regimentarz generalny of the Crown Army since 1733, Great Crown
Hetman since 1735, voivod of
Poznań Voivodship since 1743,
castellan of
Kraków since 1748 and
starost of
Halicz,
Warsaw,
Leżajsk,
Kołomyja,
Czerwonogród,
Śniatyn and
Bolemów. In 1703 he suppressed a peasant revolt led by
Semen Paliy in
Ukraine. He was originally a supporter of King
August II of Poland but in 1705 he changed sides and became a supporter of King
Stanisław I Leszczyński. Józef was defeated at the battles of
Kalisz 1706 and
Koniecpol in 1708 and since 1709 after the
Battle of Poltava he lived in exile in Hungary and Turkey. In 1714 he came back to Poland and became together with
Teodor Potocki, the leader of the opposition to the "
Familia" and the royal court. As part of this opposition, he contributed to the breaking-up of 9 sejms and prevented an increase of the army. In 1733 during the
War of the Polish Succession he again supported Stanisław I Leszczyński. He became a
regimentarz of the
Confederation of Dzików and guided the Polish confederate army against Russian and Saxon forces in several battles. On 28 February 1735 he recognized
August III as King of Poland, becoming the Grand Hetman of the Crown, but conspired against him and the royal court with Turkey, Sweden and
Prussia. In 1719 he was granted the
Order of the White Eagle, the highest decoration in Poland, and in 1742 became a chevalier of the Russian Orders of
St. Andrew and
St. Alexander Nevsky. ==Personal life==