Encyclopedia
The
Duchy of Warsaw was a
Polish state established by
Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the
Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the
Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of
Saxony. Following
Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia, the duchy was occupied by Prussian and Russian troops until 1815, when it was formally partitioned between the two countries at the
Congress of Vienna.
The duchy is often referred to, incorrectly, as the
Grand Duchy of Warsaw.
Formation of the duchy
The area of the duchy had already been liberated by a popular uprising that had escalated from anti-conscription rioting in 1806. One of the first tasks for the new government included providing food to the French army fighting the Russians in
East Prussia.
The Duchy of Warsaw was officially created by
Napoleon Bonaparte, as part of the
Treaty of Tilsit with
Prussia. Its creation met the support of both local republicans in partitioned Poland, and the large Polish diaspora in France, who openly supported Napoleon as the only man capable of restoring Polish sovereignty after the
Partitions of Poland of late
18th century. Although it was created as a satellite state , it was commonly hoped and believed that with time the nation would be able to regain its former status, not to mention its former borders.
The newly created state was formally an independent duchy, allied to
France, and in a personal union with the Kingdom of
Saxony. King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony was compelled by
Napoleon to make his new realm a
constitutional monarchy, with a parliament . However, the duchy was never allowed to develop as a truly independent state; Frederick Augustus' rule was subordinated to the requirements of the French
raison d'état, who largely treated the state as a source of resources. The most important person in the duchy was in fact the French ambassador, based in the duchy's capital, Warsaw. Significantly, the duchy lacked its own diplomatic representation abroad.
In 1809, a short war with Austria started. Although the Battle of Raszyn was lost and Austrian troops entered Warsaw, Polish forces then outflanked their enemy and captured
Kraków, Lwów and much of the areas annexed by Austria in the
Partitions of Poland. The ensuing Treaty of Schönbrunn allowed for a significant expansion of its territory southwards with the regaining of once-Polish lands.
Geography and demographics
According to the
Treaties of Tilsit, the area of the duchy covered roughly the areas of the 2nd and 3rd
Prussian partitions, with the exception of
Danzig , which was made
Free City of Danzig under joint French and Saxon "protection", and the district around
Bialystok, which was given to Russia. The Prussian territory was made up of territory from the former Prussian provinces of
New East Prussia,
Southern Prussia, New Silesia, and West Prussia. In addition, the new state was given the area along the Notec river and the "
Land of Chelmno".
Altogether, the duchy had an initial area of around 104,000 km˛, with a population of approximately 2,600,000. The bulk of its inhabitants were
Poles.
Following the annexation in 1809 of Austrian Galicia and the areas of
Zamosc and
Kraków , the duchy's area was increased significantly, to around 155,000 km˛, and the population was also substantially increased, to roughly 4,300,000.
The "departments"
The duchy was divided into several "departments", each named after their capital city. Initially, there were six:
- Departament warszawski
- Departament poznanski
- Departament kaliski
- Departament bydgoski
- Departament plocki
- Departament lomzynski
The additional territory acquired in 1809 was organised into four further departments:
- Departament krakowski
- Departament lubelski
- Departament radomski
- Departament siedlecki
Military and economic demands
The duchy's armed forces were completely under French control via its war minister, Prince Józef Poniatowski, who was also a Marshal of France. In fact, the duchy was heavily militarised, bordered as it was by Prussia, the
Austrian Empire, and Russia, and it was to be a significant source for troops in various campaigns of Napoleon.
The standing army was of a considerable size when compared to the duchy's number of inhabitants. Initially consisting of 45,000 of regular soldiers , its numbers were to rise to over 100,000 in 1810, and by the time of
Napoleon's campaign in Russia in 1812, its army totalled almost 200,000 troops .
The heavy drain on its resources by forced military recruitment, combined with a drop in exports of grain, caused significant problems for the duchy's economy. To make matters worse, in 1808 the French Empire imposed on the duchy an agreement at
Bayonne to buy from France the debts owed to it by
Prussia. The debt, amounting to more than 43 million
francs in
gold, was bought at a discounted rate of 21 million francs. However, although the duchy made its payments in instalments to France over a four-year period, Prussia failed to pay it, causing the Polish economy to suffer heavily. Indeed, to this day the phrase "sum of Bayonne" is a synonym in Polish for a huge amount of money. All these problems resulted in both inflation and overtaxation.
To counter the threat of
bankruptcy, the authorities intensified the development and modernisation of
agriculture. Also, a protectionist policy was introduced to protect
industry.
The end of the duchy
Napoleon's campaign against Russia
Poles expected in 1812 that the duchy would be upgraded to the status of a kingdom and that during Napoleon's march on Russia, it would be joined with the liberated territories of the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Poland's historic partner in the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. However, Napoleon did not want to make a permanent decision that would tie his hands before the anticipated peace settlement with Russia. Nevertheless he proclaimed attack on Russia as a
second Polish war.That peace was not to be, however. Napoleon's Grande Armée, including a substantial contingent of Polish troops, set out with the intention of bringing the Russian Empire to its knees, but his military ambitions were frustrated by a combination of the Russians and an appalling winter climate; few returned from the march on Moscow. The failed campaign against Russia proved to be a major turning point in Napoleon's fortunes.
After Napoleon's defeat in the east, most of the territory of the Duchy of Warsaw was taken by Russia in January of 1813 in their advance on France and its German allies. The rest of the duchy fell to Prussia. Although several isolated fortresses held out for more than a year, the existence of the state in anything but name came to an end.
Alexander I of Russia created a Provisional Highest Council of the Duchy of Warsaw to govern the area through his generals.
The Congress of Vienna, and the Fourth Partition
Although many European states and ex-rulers were represented at the so-called
Congress of Vienna in 1815, the decision-making was largely in the hands of the major powers. It was perhaps inevitable, therefore, that both Prussia and Russia would effectively partition Poland between them; Austria was to more-or-less retain its gains of the First Partition of 1772.
Russia kept all its gains from the three previous partitions, together Bialystok and the surrounding territory that it had obtained in 1807.
Prussia regained territory it had first gained in the First Partition, but had had to give up to the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807. It also regained as the "
Grand Duchy of Posen" some of the territory it had obtained in the Second Partition, and had again had to give up in 1807. This territory formed an area approximately 29,000 km˛ in size.
The city of
Kraków and some surrounding territory, previously part of the Duchy of Warsaw, were established as a semi-independent
Free City of Kraków, under the "protection" of its three powerful neighbours. The city's territory measured some 1164 km˛, and had a population of about 88,000 people. The city was eventually annexed by Austria in 1846.
Finally, the bulk of the former Duchy of Warsaw, measing some 128,000 km in area, was re-established as what is commonly referred to as the "
Congress Kingdom" of Poland, in personal union with the
Russian Empire. It maintained its autonomy only until 1831, when it was effectively annexed to the Russian state.
The duchy's legacy
Superficially, the Duchy of Warsaw was just one of various states set up during Napoleon's dominance over the European continent, lasting only a few years and passing with his fall. However, its establishment a little over a decade after the Second and Third Partitions had appeared to wipe Poland off the map meant that Polish nationalists had their hopes rekindled of a resurrected Polish nation. Even with Napoleon's defeat a Polish state continued in some form until the increasingly autocratic Russian state eliminated Poland once again as a separate entity. Altogether, this meant that an identifiable Polish state was in existence for at least a quarter of a century.
When a Republic of Poland was established in the aftermath of
World War I, its initial borders were similar to those of the duchy that had preceded it a century before.
"Duchy of Warsaw" vs. "Grand Duchy of Warsaw"
The Duchy of Warsaw is commonly referred to today as the "Grand Duchy of Warsaw". However, the duchy was not referred to as such in
French, which was both the diplomatic language of the time, and of course the language of the
French Empire which created the state.
Article 5 of the , which created the duchy, the which transferred it to Saxony, and Article 1 of the , which effectively abolished it, all refer to it in French as the "Duché de Varsovie".
Similarly, the duchy's refers to it in German as
Herzogtum Warschau, and its coins bore the
Latin inscription FRID·AVG·REX SAX·DVX VARSOV· .
See also
External links
Further reading
- E. Fedosova, , The Journal of the International Napoleonic Society, 1/2/98
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