Partitions of Poland Totally Explained

Everything about the Partitions Of Poland totally explained

The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partitions were carried out by Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria dividing up the Commonwealth lands among themselves. Three partitions took place:

The First Partition: August 5, 1772.
The Second Partition: January 23, 1793 (in which Austria didn't participate).
The Third Partition: October 24, 1795.

The less often used term "Fourth Partition of Poland" may refer to any subsequent division of Polish lands, specifically:

after the Napoleonic Era, the 1815 division of the Duchy of Warsaw at the Congress of Vienna;

the 1832 incorporation of the "Congress Kingdom" into Russia, and the 1846 incorporation of the Republic of Kraków into Austria; and

the 1939 division of Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union pursuant to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.

History

Prelude

During the reign of Władysław IV (1632-48), the liberum veto had evolved. This policy of parliamentary procedure was based on the assumption of the political equality of every "gentleman", with the corollary that unanimous consent was required for all measures. A single MP's belief that a measure was injurious to his own constituency (usually simply his own estate), even after the act had already been approved, became sufficient to strike the act. It became increasingly difficult to get action taken. The liberum veto also provided openings for foreign diplomats to get their ways, through bribing nobles to exercise it. Thus one could characterise Poland-Lithuania in its final period (mid-18th century), prior to the partitions as already not a completely sovereign state: it could be seen almost as a vassal,, including bishop Józef Andrzej Załuski and others). This new constitution undid the reforms made in 1764 under Stanisław II. The liberum veto and all the old abuses of the last one and a half centuries were guaranteed as unalterable parts of this new constitution (in the so-called cardinal laws). Repnin also demanded religious freedom for the Protestant and Orthodox Christians (those demands were the official "cover" for the pro-dependence "reforms" nonetheless several battles and sieges took place, as Polish troops refused to lay down their arms (most noably, in Tyniec, Częstochowa and Kraków).
The partition treaty was ratified by its signatories on September 22, 1772. Frederick II of Prussia was elated with his success; Prussia took most of the Polish Royal Prussia that stood between its possessions in Kingdom of Prussia and Margraviate of Brandenburg, taking Ermland (Warmia), Royal Prussia without the city of Danzig (Gdańsk) (which in 1773 became a new province called West Prussia), northern areas of Greater Poland along the Noteć River (the Netze District), and parts of Kuyavia (including the city of Thorn [Toruń]). Polish poets, politicians, noblemen, writers, artists, many of whom were forced to emigrate (thus the term Great Emigration) became the revolutionaries of 19th century, as desire for freedom and liberty became one of the defining parts of Polish romanticism. Polish revolutionaries participated in uprisings in Prussia, Austrian Empire and Imperial Russia Polish legions fought alongside Napoleon and under the slogan of For our freedom and yours participated widely in the Spring of Nations (particularly Hungarian Revolution (1848)) Concerning Russia, some scholars point out that Russia annexed primarily Ukrainian and Belorussian provinces with Eastern Slavic inhabitants which were no more enthusiastic about Poland than about Russia. Some, particularly older historians from countries that carried out the partitions, such as 19th century Russian scholar Sergey Solovyov argued that partitions were justified, as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had degenerated to the point of being partitioned because of the counterproductive principle of liberum veto that made decision-making on divisive issues, such as a wide-scale social reform, virtually impossible. Solovyov specified the cultural, language and religious break between the supreme and lowest layers of the society in the east regions of the Commonwealth, where the Bielorussian and Ukrainian serf peasantry was Orthodox. Russian authors emphasized the historical connections between Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, as former parts of the medieval old Russian state where dynasty of Rurikids reigned (Kievan Rus) . A new justification for partitions arose with the Russian Enlightenment, as Russian writers such as Gavrila Derzhavin, Denis Fonvizin, and Alexander Pushkin stressed degeneration of Catholic Poland and the need to "civilize" it by its neighbors. Nonetheless other 19th century contemporaries were much more sceptical; for example, British jurist Sir Robert Phillimore discussed the partition as a violation of international law; German jurist Heinrich Bernhard Oppenheim presented similar views. Other old historians who challenged such justifications for the Partitions included French historian Jules Michelet, British historian and politician Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, and Edmund Burke. More recent studies claim that partitions happened when Poland had been showing the beginning signs of a slow recovery and see the last two partitions as an answer to strengthening reforms in the Commonwealth and the potential threat they represented to its neighbours. Further Information

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