The Reign of Anarchy:
The wars of the 17th. Century had left Poland ruined; her population had decreased by a
third and the victory at Vienna
was the Commonwealth's last military success. The need for reform had become
obvious even during the reign of Zygmunt III Vasa and the Jesuit preacher, Piotr
Skarga, had blamed social injustice as the main cause
of evil. The general decline was especially noticed in the Sejm;
the parliamentary system grew awkward and ineffective as deputies used the
notorious "Liberum Veto", which allowed any
deputy to prevent legislation since all resolutions had to be carried
unanimously.
The idea of consensus rule was, in principle, a good one but the
"liberum Veto" was first used in 1652 by a
deputy in the pay or power of a magnate. It soon became obvious to Poland's neighbours that the veto could be used to their own
political ends and they soon clubbed together to "defend Polish
freedoms". The "szlachta" themselves,
becoming less influential as they lost their military valour
and, in many cases, impoverished, saw the veto as the last symbol of their
ability to play a role in the running of the Commonwealth.
The Decline of Poland:
In 1697 the Elector of Saxony, Augustus,
was elected King. From 1700 - 1721, Augustus II allied himself with Russia and became involved in war with Sweden for
control of the Baltic (the Great Northern War). Poland became a battlefield and the
Polish throne the prize. In 1704 Sweden won, Augustus was removed
and the Voivode of Poznan, Stanislaw Leszczynski, was elected in his place. In 1709 the Russians
defeated the Swedes at Poltava
and Augustus was returned to the throne.
Conflict between Augustus and the Sejm
almost ended in civil war in 1717, only prevented by a Russian offer of
mediation; 18,000 Russian troops surrounded the chamber where the deputies met,
they were denied the right to speak whilst the Russian "mediator"
dictated the Russian " solution". This Sejm became known as the "Dumb Sejm"
and the Republic became little more than a Russian client state; this was the
start of the Russian "Protectorate" in which Poland was
forced to reduce her standing army. On Augustus' death, in 1733, Leszczynski was again elected King but the Russians
interfered by sending in an army and rerunning the election; Augustus' son, Frederick
Augustus, was elected.
The sixty-six years of Saxon rule, from 1697 - 1763, were a
national disaster and drove the country to the brink of anarchy. Most ominous
was the fact that in 1732 Russia,
Prussia and Austria had entered into a secret alliance to
maintain the paralysis of law and order within Poland. This pact became known as
the "Alliance
of the Three Black Eagles" (since all three powers had a black eagle in
their coat-of-arms).
The reign of the magnate, Stanislaw August Poniatowski,
1764 - 1795, a favourite of Catherine the Great,
Empress of Russia, was totally controlled by Russia. Poniatowski
was to become the last King of Poland.
From 1768 - 1772, an anti-Russian rising known as the
"Confederation of Bar" was crushed by the Russians. Over 5000
captured "szlachta" were sent to Siberia. Among the few who escaped was Kazimierz Pulaski who was to play an important role in the United States'
struggle for independence.
The Partitions of Poland: 1772 - 1795.
Taking advantage of a now weakened Poland, Prussia,
Russia and Austria agreed to annex parts of
the country in 1772. The Commonwealth lost 733,000 sq.km
(23%) of her former territory and 4,500,000 of her population; Prussia took the smallest, but economically
best, area; Austria took the
most heavily populated areas, whilst Russia took the largest, but least
important. To give the crime some legality the Sejm
was forced to ratify the partition in 1773, despite the resistance of some
Deputies, led by Tadeusz Rejtan.
Despite the disaster of this first partition, Poland underwent a national revival
in 1773, thanks to the efforts of Poniatowski. The
first step was the creation of the "Komisija Edukacji Narodowej"
("Committee of National Education"), the first Ministry of Education
in Europe. Hundreds of schools were founded
and the standard of education was raised. Writers, poets, artists and scholars
were encouraged by the King and the ideas of the Enlightenment were taking
hold. This was the period of Adam Naruszewicz, the
historian, Ignacy Krasicki,
satirist and poet, Wojciech Boguslawski,
"father" of the Polish theatre, and Franciszek
Karpinski, whose hymns are still sung in Poland
to this day.
Taking advantage of Russia's involvement in a war against Turkey,
the King launched a reform programme (1788-1792) and
the task was carried out by the "Four-Year" or "Great Sejm" which established a new Constitution; the
Constitution of the Third of May. Established in 1791, under this Constitution
the "liberum Veto" was abolished and a
majority rule introduced, and personal freedoms guaranteed to all the people.
The Constitution was hailed in the United States,
England and France, but was seen as a threat to the absolute
rulers of Prussia, Austria and, especially, Russia. So, in
1792, at Russia's
instigation a handful of magnates led by Ksawery Branicki, Szczesny Potocki and Seweryn Rzewuski betrayed the Commonwealth and formed the
Confederation of Targowica against the new
Constitution and then "asked" for help. Russian troops crossed the
borders and war broke out. The King's nephew, Joseph Poniatowski
and Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a
veteran of the American War of Independence, put up heroic resistance but all
hope faded away when the Prussians joined in, attacking the Polish armies in
the rear. Many patriots were forced to flee.
In 1793 Russia
and Prussia
signed the Second Partition Treaty, seizing more than half the country and
about four million more of the population. The last Sejm
of the Commonwealth, which met at Grodno,
was forced to legalise the partition and abolish most
of the reforms of the "Great Sejm".
Popular discontent led to Insurrection, proclaimed by Kosciuszko (as Supreme Commander) in Krakow's
Market Place on March 24th, 1794. Thousands of Poles rallied to the standard
followed by a victory at Raclawice in which peasant scythbearers played an important role. The people of Warsaw, led by the cobbler Jan Kilinski,
rose against and defeated the strongest Russian regiment in Poland. Berek Joselewicz commanded the
first Jewish military formation since Biblical times. In May 7th, Kosciuszko issued the Polaniec
Manifesto which abolished serfdom.
Eventually, in October, the combined strength of Russia and Prussia
defeated Kosciuszko's forces at Maciejowice
(where he was captured) and, in November, Warsaw
was taken by the Russians who slaughtered the population of the suburb, Praga, including women and children.
Then, in 1795, the third partition wiped what was left of Poland
off the map. The King was forced to abdicate and taken to St. Petersburg (where he died in 1798). Many
captured Poles were sent to Siberia but thousands more escaped to Italy where, in 1797, they formed a Polish
Legion, led by General Henryk Dabrowski,
fighting for Napoleon Bonaparte against Austria. The Poles hoped that by
fighting on the French side against the Powers that had partitioned Poland they could
free their country. Dabrowski's Legion wore
traditional uniforms which bore the motto: "All free men are
Brothers!" They marched to a song written by Jozef
Wybicki:
"Jeszcze Polska nie zginiela bugy
my zyjemy,
Co nam obca przemoc wziela, szabla odbierzemy.
Marsz marsz, Dabrowski, z ziemi Wloskiej do Polski!
Za twoim przewodem zlaczym sie z narodem."
"Poland
is not dead whilst we live,
What others took by force, with the sword will be taken back.
March march, Dabrowski, from Italy's
soil to Poland!
Through your leadership we will reunite the nation."
When, in the twentieth century, Poland became and independent
nation once more this marching song became the National Anthem
Originally published at http://www.kasprzyk.demon.co.uk/www/HistoryPolska.html
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