A BRIEF HISTORY OF POLAND

 

Copyright 1994 - AngloPol Corporation -- Distributed by the Polonia Media Network

Part 7

 

END OF EXPANSION --

CRISIS OF THE SYSTEM

 

As early as the end of the 16th century perils appeared for the Republic, which continued to grow throughout the 17th century.

 

The international balance of forces was not favorable for Poland and Lithuania. Sweden, whose power was growing, began struggling to rule the Baltic and its coast. That led to a clash with Poland.

Russia planned to conquer all lands inhabited by peoples professing the Orthodox faith. That placed her in conflict with Lithuania and the Crown. Having subjugated Hungary, Turkey faced, among others, the southern territories of the Republic, which also fell victim to the Tartar's plundering incursions. The Hapsburgs, vying with the Republic for domination over central Europe, but weakened by the 30-year war, were not credible allies.

 

At the turn of the 17th century the prosperous Republic still had enough resources and strength to stave off those dangers and even to try and continue expansion.

 

During the long rule of Sigismund III (1587-1632) of the Swedish Vasa dynasty, the growth in economy and reform-oriented aspirations of the gentry was diminishing. On the other hand, fears on the part of the gentry of the royal absolutism were growing. The monarch's attempts in that direction were blocked by an armed mutiny of the noblemen, called the Zebrzydowski rebellion.

 

A group of magnates, interested in expansion in the East, tried to take advantage of the chaos in the Grand Duchy of Moscow that ensued from the extinction of the Rurykhovich dynasty. That drew Poland into a war with Russia. Following a crucial victory scored by Hetman Stanislaw Zolkiewski at Kluszyn (1610), the Polish army entered Moscow. That, however, was a short-lived success, as opposition to foreign rule increased in Russia. Mikhail Romanov was elected tsar, giving rise to a new dynasty in Russia. The truce of 1619 left Poland with Smolensk, which was reaffirmed by the peace treaty of 1634 concluded in Polanowo.

 

In the war against Turkey (1620-1621), troops of Cossacks distinguished themselves on the Polish side. They were people who founded a sort of a republic of warriors in the lower stretch of the Dnieper River (Zaporozhe). The far-off borderland of the Ukraine, the so-called Wild Fields, attracted fugitive peasants and pauperized noblemen. They were courageous people, independent and very often adventurers. They made excellent soldiers. A large part of their incomes were war spoils. The state authority was not in a position to control the Cossacks.

 

The year 1648 saw a serious mutiny by the Cossacks, led by Bohdan Chmielnicki. That mutiny was joined by Ukrainian peasants and quickly transformed into a social and national uprising against Polish rule. The uprising rocked the foundations of the Republic, whose ruling circles did not manage to resolve the problem in the spirit of the Polish-Lithuanian solutions, refusing to grant the Ukraine the rights of a third member of the Republic. The interests of the magnates stood in the way, as their spheres of influence and wealth laid directly in Ukraine. Religious and ethnic conflicts compounded the problem.

 

King John Casimir (1648-1668) tied to negotiate with Bohdan Chmielnicki, whose army approached Lwow, having devastated the conquered lands and killed noblemen in its path. In towns, the rebel army was murdering Jews. The Cossacks wavered about their policy. They concluded alliances with Turkey, Poland or Russia, depending on the situation.

 

In 1654, during the so-called Pereyaslav Council, the Cossacks committed themselves to accept the protection of Moscow. Two Russian armies then cut deep into the weakened Republic. In that extremely dangerous situation, the Republic was invaded by the Swedes (1655). Within several months, Swedish troops occupied the majority of Polish territory (apart from that which was already occupied by the Russian troops.) Warsaw fell, as did Krakow, which had been defended by Stefan Czarniecki. Only Gdansk held out against the Swedes. King John Casimir fled to Silesia.

 

The sudden defeat of the Republic so much infringed upon the balance of forces in central-eastern and in northern Europe that Poland received the assistance of the Empire, and Russia ended its hostilities.

 

In the Republic itself, which the Swedes were treating like a spoil of war, plundering it cruelly, armed resistance was growing. Noblemen, burghers and, for the first time on such a scale, peasants, organized guerrilla units. In November and December, the Swedes besieged Jasna Gora, the Pauline Monastery at Czestochowa and national Shrine of the Holy Virgin Mary. The successful defense of the Shrine was a call to mount an even greater resistance. King John Casimir returned to Poland, but the greatest fame as military commander was won by Stefan Czarniecki.

 

The Swedes were driven from Poland. In May 1660, the Republic and Sweden signed a peace treaty at Oliwa, restoring the prewar statu quo. The Cossacks were also defeated. By virtue of the truce of Andruszow (1667), Russia won Smolensk, the Ukraine (left-bank) and, for two years, Kiev. Those terms were re-affirmed by a peace treaty of 1686 which left Kiev to Russia.

 

The Republic also had to fight Turkey (1672-1673) and concluded an alliance with the Habsburgs. When in 1683 a powerful Turkish army lay siege to Vienna, the imperial capital was relieved, thanks to Polish assistance. The united allied armies were under the command of King John III Sobieski (1674-1696).

 

The majority of wars in the latter part of the 17th century was fought on Poland's and Lithuania's territory. The Republic repelled the invasions with utmost effort. It emerged from those wars, however, horribly ruined and depopulated. The wars were accompanied by plagues and famine. In effect, the population, which before 1645 amounted to some 10,000,000 dwindled to 6,000,000 at the end of the century. Exports shrank, currency lost in value and economic reconstruction was slow.

 

The crisis also swept through the political organization of the state. The position of the gentry was weakened, as a result of its impoverishment and loss of independence. Magnates gained an edge by turning many noblemen into their clientele. The Sejm was weakened through the application of liberum veto. Generally, the Sejm Constitutions had been adopted with the consent of all deputies, but until the middle of the 17th century the minority yielded to the majority. In 1652, for the first time ever, it was declared that the imposition of will of the majority upon even one dissenting deputy would be tantamount to the violation of freedoms. So, the Sejm could be rendered powerless to act by the opposition of only one deputy. Quickly, the liberum veto became an instrument of the competing groups of magnates, and later for foreign influence. As the Sejm was hamstrung that way, its role was taken over by local sejms. That resulted in the decentralization of the state.

 

Polish tolerance, one of the pillars of the noble's democracy, declined. Counter-Reformation had already been supported by Sigismund III Vasa. As an ardent Catholic he had striven to subordinate the Orthodoxies living in the Republic to Rome. In 1696, the so-called Union of Brest was concluded, which founded the Eastern Rite of the Catholic Church (Uniate), recognizing papal authority. That divided the faithful in Ukraine into two camps.

 

The wars of the 17th century enhanced the religious feelings of the Catholic majority in the Republic. Those wars were waged against the neighbors of different religious rites--against Orthodox Russia, Protestant Sweden and Muslim Turkey. The opinion about Poland being the bulwark [antemurale] of Christianity became widely popular. Tolerance was still valid in the domain of the law, but it was trimmed down in daily life and customs.

 

The 17th century was the heyday of Baroque and of the specifically Polish culture of Sarmatism. A number of valuable and original works were created at that time, for instance the Baroque royal residence at Wilanow, the magnate residences at Lancut, Wisnicz, Zolkiew, Podhorce and the bishopric residence at Kielce. A unique style and type of Baroque developed in Wilno [now called Vilnius]. The Vasa's court in Warsaw was the center of painting (Dolabella), theater and opera (patronage of Ladislaus IV) and of science (patronage of Queen Louise Maria Gonzaga). The garments, weapons, decorations, way of life and views of Polish noblemen represented a unique synthesis of Baroque and eastern influence. The dramatic years of the wars produced many a diarist and memoirist (both noblemen and burghers.)

 

The 17th century also saw the bloom of poetry, both epic and patriotic, as well as lyrical and amatory. On the other hand, however, chaos and a poor economy brought a crisis in schooling and education at all levels.

Part 8

 

ATTEMPTS AT REFORM

ENLIGHTENMENT & FALL OF THE STATE

 

The beginning of the 18th century brought the Republic's deepest crisis. Under Augustus II the Strong (1697-1733), during the Northern War, Poland was the submissive battleground for wars fought by foreign armies. The royal throne became the object of foreign power-plays. The centralized and absolute monarchies of the neighboring countries built up their armies, with Russia commanding 330,000 soldiers, and Prussia and Austria had 150,000 each.

 

Unaware of the gravity of the situation, the gentry rested, convinced that since the Republic with its 24,000-strong army was threatening no one, she was immune from any invasion. The noblemen stood by their "golden freedom" in internal politics, not comprehending that the system, in disrepair, could no longer secure them any freedoms.

 

Reforms ran against two obstacles, seemingly insurmountable. The first was the policy pursued by the neighboring powers, seeing their interest to be in maintaining the political inertia in the Republic. The other one laid in the narrow-mindedness of a large part of the gentry and their reluctance to agree to material and political sacrifices. For these reasons the preparation of reforms called for educating a selfless and enlightened generation of people, free from prejudice and illusions.

 

In 1740, Stanislaw Konarski founded a modern school for young noblemen, Collegium Nobilium, in Warsaw. The numerous schools later operated by the Piarists were patterned after that example. Bishop Jozef Zaluski set up the first public library in Warsaw consisting of some 300,000 volumes.

 

When King Augustus III died in 1763, the Czartoryski faction ruling Poland agreed with Russia on the candidacy of Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski for King of Poland (1764-1795). The first years of his rule were devoted to military and financial reforms. In 1765, the king founded the Knights School, which produced such graduates as Tadeusz Kosciuszko, J. Jasinski and J.U. Niemcewicz, each of whom later made their mark on the nation's history. A new periodical was founded, the "Monitor." The municipal economy was put into order and new and modern workshops were set up.

 

The reforms, however, were not appreciated by the Russian Empress Catherine II. Under Russian military pressure, the Sejm of 1768 passed the so-called Cardinal Rights, which amounted to free election, liberum veto, the right to mutiny against the king and the gentry's monopoly on political activity. Those rights were guaranteed by the Empress which meant that no future reforms were possible without Russia's consent.

 

The brutality of the Russian intervention provoked an armed resistance by the noblemen, who established the Confederation of Bar. The ensuing guerrilla-type fighting went on for four years, but the Confederation, being the first Polish uprising, suffered defeat. For the first time, thousands of Poles were transported to Siberia.

 

The Russian policy towards Poland then faced a dilemma--either maintain Russia's domination over the entire Poland or accept the repeated propositions by Prussia to partition Poland. Russia was the most powerful neighbor of the Republic and the choice was in the hands of Catherine II. She gave up the exclusive rule over Poland and Lithuania for fear of a reborn Republic. That fear was well founded. Before 1772, the Republic had a territory of 733.000 sq. km. with a population of some 14 million, the population density being 19.1 people per sq. km. Russia's population amounted to some 29 million which, given its enormous territory, resulted in a density of 5.5 people per sq. km. The population of Austria, together with that of Bohemia and Hungary, was some 18 million, while that of Prussia 2.5 million. So the Republic had a considerable potential and, given effectively implemented reforms, could play an independent role in Central-Eastern Europe.

 

An agreement between the three powers was achieved at the expense of the helpless Republic in 1772. The Republic lost 211,000 sq. km. of territory and 4.5 million people of its population.

 

The trauma of the first partition and the processes of economic and demographic development shook Polish society out of its lethargy. Moreover, the first results of the educational programs and political journalism started to appear. A better educated generation of Poles, capable of making sacrifices, came to the fore. Growing importance of towns and a good education for the "middle class" put that social group onto the stage of political life.

 

The Commission for National Education, called into being in 1773, introduced modern school textbooks and subordinated schools to universities, which were also newly reformed. The ideas of the Enlightenment, together with patriotic and reform-minded programs, were being promoted by the press, literature, theater, painting, music and historical geography.

 

Warsaw, with a population of 100,000, the National Theater under Wojciech Boguslawski, the editorial offices of periodicals, libraries and the royal court, became the center of the Enlightenment's culture. The wish for reforms became universal, but their realization depended on Russia, the guarantor of the political system in the Republic.

 

When war broke out between Russia and Turkey, King Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski (at left) decided to call the Sejm as a confederation (that is, without the liberum veto) and beef up the armed forces. In an atmosphere of great political animation, the four-year Sejm [also called the Great Sejm] (1788-1792) resolved to increase the army up to 100,000 officers and men, passed the law on royal towns increasing the political rights of the bourgeoisie, annulled the Russian guarantees and concluded an alliance with Prussia, crowning its activities with the adoption of the Constitution of May 3, 1791. It was the second constitution (after the American) in the world and the first one in Europe. The Constitution's articles envisaged the consolidation of royal power, a reorganization of the government and improvement of the Sejm's work while the civil liberties of the gentry were to be preserved and extended onto a part of the bourgeoisie. The division of the state into the Crown and Lithuania was abolished and the political system made uniform.

 

The government, based on the Constitution, stood every chance of pulling the country out of its political crisis, but the Constitution evoked fierce opposition from Russia. Incited by Russia, a group of magnates established the Confederation of Targowica to defend the old system. Russian troops entered Poland. Despite stout Polish resistance (commanders being Prince Jozef Poniatowski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko) the war of 1792 ended in defeat, abolishment of the Constitution of May 3rd and the second partition was made by Russia and Prussia. What was left to Poland's territories--some 200,000 sq. km. inhabited by four million people--became a Russian protectorate.

 

In 1794, Tadeusz Kosciuszko's uprising broke out, as an attempt to overcome the partitions. Krakow, Warsaw and Wilno [now called Vilnius] were liberated. Prussia joined Russia in the war. Prussian troops besieged Warsaw. Despite the enormous military and material effort, despite the heroism of the soldiers and civilians, including burghers and peasants, the uprising fell.

 

The fate of the uprising was sealed by the defeat suffered at Maciejowice. Praga (the right-bank district of Warsaw) was then taken by Suvorov and its population exterminated. Terrorized by the carnage, Warsaw surrendered. During the third partition (1795) Prussia seized Mazovia with Warsaw, as well as the lands all the way to the Niemen River; Austria took the lands between the Pilica, Wisla [Vistula] and Bug Rivers; while Russia took the territory between the Bug and Niemen Rivers. The Polish state was destroyed at a time when internal reforms and the state of education and economy were providing solid foundations for its existence and development.

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