First Partition of Poland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The First Partition of Poland or First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions

Partitions of Poland

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, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...

that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...

by 1795. Growth in the Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

's power, threatening the Kingdom of Prussia

Kingdom of Prussia

The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...

and the Habsburg

Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...

, was the primary motive behind this first partition

Partition (politics)

In politics, a partition is a change of political borders cutting through at least one territory considered a homeland by some community. That change is done primarily by diplomatic means, and use of military force is negligible....

. Frederick the Great engineered the partition to prevent Austria, jealous of Russian successes against Turkey, from going to war. The weakened Commonwealth's land, including that already controlled by Russia, was apportioned among its more powerful neighbors—Austria, Russia and Prussia—so as to restore the regional balance of power

Balance of power in international relations

In international relations, a balance of power exists when there is parity or stability between competing forces. The concept describes a state of affairs in the international system and explains the behavior of states in that system...

in Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

among those three countries. With Poland unable to effectively defend itself, and with foreign troops already inside the country, the Polish parliament (Sejm

Sejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....

) ratified the partition in 1773 during the Partition Sejm

Partition Sejm

The Partition Sejm was a Sejm lasting from 1773 to 1776 in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, convened by its three neighbours in order to legalize their First Partition of Poland. During its first days in session, that Sejm was the site of Tadeusz Rejtan famous gesture of protest...

convened by the three powers.

Background

In the late 17th century and early 18th century the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had been reduced from the status of a major European power to that of a Russian protectorate

Protectorate

In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...

(or vassal

Vassal

A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...

or satellite state

Satellite state

A satellite state is a political term that refers to a country that is formally independent, but under heavy political and economic influence or control by another country...

), with the Russian tsar

Tsar

Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

effectively choosing Polish-Lithuanian monarchs during the free elections and deciding the outcome of much of Poland's internal politics, for example during the Repnin Sejm

Repnin Sejm

The Repnin Sejm was a Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1767 and 1768 in Warsaw. This session followed the Sejms of 1764 to 1766, where the newly elected King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, attempted with some successes to push through reforms to...

, named after the Russian ambassador who unofficially presided over the proceedings.

The First Partition occurred after the balance of power

Balance of power in international relations

in Europe shifted, with Russian victories against the Ottomans in the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) strengthening Russia and endangering Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

interests in that region (particularly in Moldavia

Moldavia

Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...

and Wallachia

Wallachia

Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...

). At that point Habsburg Austria started to consider waging a war against Russia.

France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, friendly towards both Russia and Austria, suggested a series of territorial adjustments, in which Austria would be compensated by parts of Prussian Silesia, and Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

in turn would receive Polish Ermland (Warmia)

Warmia

Warmia or Ermland is a region between Pomerelia and Masuria in northeastern Poland. Together with Masuria, it forms the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship....

and parts of the Polish fief, Duchy of Courland and Semigallia

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia

The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia is the name of a duchy in the Baltic region that existed from 1562 to 1569 as a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and from 1569...

—already under Baltic German hegemony. King Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...

had no intention of giving up Silesia gained recently in the Silesian Wars

Silesian Wars

The Silesian Wars were a series of wars between Prussia and Austria for control of Silesia. They formed parts of the larger War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years' War. They eventually ended with Silesia being incorporated into Prussia, and Austrian recognition of this...

; he was, however, also interested in finding a peaceful solution — his alliance with Russia would draw him into a potential war with Austria, and the Seven Years' War

Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

had left Prussia's treasury and army weakened. He was also interested in protecting the weakening Ottoman Empire, which could be advantageously utilized in the event of a Prussian war either with Russia or Austria. Frederick's brother, Prince Henry

Prince Henry of Prussia

Frederick Henry Louis , commonly known as Henry , was a Prince of Prussia. He also served as a general and statesman, and, in 1786, was suggested as a candidate for a monarch for the United States....

, spent the winter of 1770–71 as a representative of the Prussian court at Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

. As Austria had annexed 13 towns in the Hungarian Szepes region in 1769 (violating the Treaty of Lubowla

Treaty of Lubowla

Treaty of Lubowla of 1412 was a treaty between Władysław II, King of Poland, and Sigismund of Luxemburg, King of Hungary. Negotiated in the town of Stará Ľubovňa in modern Slovakia, it was confirmed later that year in Buda....

), Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...

and her advisor General Ivan Chernyshyov suggested to Henry that Prussia claim some Polish land, such as Ermland. After Henry informed him of the proposal, Frederick suggested a partition of the Polish borderlands by Austria, Prussia, and Russia, with the largest share going to the party most weakened by the recent changes in balance of power, Austria. Thus Frederick attempted to encourage Russia to direct its expansion towards weak and non-functional Poland instead of the Ottomans. Austrian statesman, Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz, counter-proposed that Prussia take lands from Poland in return for relinquishing Silesia to Austria, but this plan was rejected by Frederick.

Although for a few decades (since the times of the Silent Sejm

Silent Sejm

Silent Sejm is the name given to the session of the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of 1 February 1717. A civil war in the Commonwealth was used by the Russian Tsar Peter the Great as an opportunity to intervene as a mediator...

) Russia had seen weak Poland as its own protectorate, Poland had also been devastated by a civil war in which the forces of the Bar Confederation

Bar Confederation

The Bar Confederation was an association of Polish nobles formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence and against King Stanisław August Poniatowski and Polish reformers who were...

attempted to disrupt Russian control over Poland. The recent Koliyivschyna

Koliyivschyna

Koliyivshchyna 1768-1769 was a Ukrainian Cossack and peasant rebellion against Poland, which was responsible for the murder of noblemen , Jews, Uniates, and Catholic priests across the part of the country west of the Dnieper river...

peasant and Cossack uprising in Ukraine also weakened the Polish position. Further, the Russian-supported Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, was seen as both weak and too independent-minded; eventually the Russian court decided that the usefulness of Poland as a protectorate had diminished. The three powers officially justified their actions as a compensation for dealing with troublesome neighbor and restoring order to Polish anarchy (the Bar Confederation provided a convenient excuse); in fact all three were interested in territorial gains.

After Russia occupied the Danubian Principalities

Danubian Principalities

Danubian Principalities was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th century. The term was coined in the Habsburg Monarchy after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in order to designate an area on the lower Danube with a common...

, Henry convinced Frederick and Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa of Austria

Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...

that the balance of power would be maintained by a tripartite division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth instead of Russia taking land from the Ottomans. Under pressure from Prussia, which for a long time wanted to annex the northern Polish province of Royal Prussia

Royal Prussia

Royal Prussia was a Region of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . Polish Prussia included Pomerelia, Chełmno Land , Malbork Voivodeship , Gdańsk , Toruń , and Elbląg . It is distinguished from Ducal Prussia...

, the three powers agreed on the First Partition of Poland. This was in light of the possible Austrian-Ottoman alliance with only token objections from Austria, which would have instead preferred to receive more Ottoman territories in the Balkans

Balkans

The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...

, a region which for a long time had been coveted by the Habsburgs. The Russians also withdrew from Moldavia

Moldavia

Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...

away from the Austrian border. An attempt of Bar Confederates to kidnap king Poniatowski on 3 November 1771 gave the three courts an excellent pretext to showcase the "Polish anarchy" and the need for its neighbors to step in and "save" the country and its citizens.

Partition begins

Already by 1769—71, both Austria and Prussia had taken over some border territories of the Commonwealth, with Austria taking Szepes County

Szepes (county)

Szepes is the Hungarian name of the historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary officially called Scepusium before the late 19th century. It now lies in northeastern Slovakia, with a very small area in southeastern Poland...

in 1769-1770 and Prussia incorporating Lauenburg and Bütow. On February 19, 1772, the agreement of partition was signed in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

. A previous agreement between Prussia and Russia had been made in Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

on February 6, 1772. Early in August Russian, Prussian and Austrian troops simultaneously entered the Commonwealth and occupied the provinces agreed upon among themselves. On August 5, the three parties signed the treaty on their respective territorial gains on the commonwealth's expense.

The regiments of the Bar Confederation, whose executive board had been forced to leave Austria (which previously supported them) after that country joined the Prusso-Russian alliance, did not lay down their arms. Many fortresses in their command held out as long as possible; Wawel Castle

Wawel Castle

The Gothic Wawel Castle in Kraków in Poland was built at the behest of Casimir III the Great and consists of a number of structures situated around the central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland. Their reign saw the addition of the tower called the Hen's...

in Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

fell only at the end of April; Tyniec

Tyniec

Tyniec is a historic village in Poland on the Vistula river, since 1973 a part of the city of Kraków . Tyniec is notable for its famous Benedictine abbey founded by king Casimir the Restorer in 1044.-See also:...

fortress held until the end of July 1772; Częstochowa

Czestochowa

Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...

, commanded by Kazimierz Pułaski, held until late August. In the end, the Bar Confederation was defeated, with its members either fleeing abroad or being deported to Siberia by the Russians.

Division of territories

The partition treaty was ratified by its signatories on September 22, 1772. It was a major success for Frederick II of Prussia

Frederick II of Prussia

: Prussia's share

Prussian partition

The Prussian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia.-History:...

might have been the smallest, but it was also significantly developed and strategically important. Prussia took most of Polish Royal Prussia

Royal Prussia

, including Ermland, allowing Frederick to link East Prussia

East Prussia

East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...

and Brandenburg

Margraviate of Brandenburg

The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....

. Prussia also annexed northern areas of Greater Poland

Greater Poland

Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...

along the Noteć

Notec

Noteć is a river in central Poland with a length of 388 km and a basin area of 17,330 km². It is a tributary of the Warta river and lies completely within Poland....

River (the Netze District

Netze District

The Netze District or District of the Netze was a territory in the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 until 1807. It included the urban centers of Bydgoszcz , Inowrocław , Piła and Wałcz and was given its name for the Noteć River that traversed it.Beside Royal Prussia, a land of the Polish Crown...

), and northern Kuyavia

Kuyavia

Kujawy , is a historical and ethnographic region in the north-central Poland, situated in the basin of the middle Vistula and upper Noteć Rivers, with its capital in Włocławek.-Etymology:The origin of the name Kujawy was seen differently in history...

, but not the cities of Danzig (Gdańsk)

Gdansk

Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...

and Thorn (Toruń)

Torun

Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....

. The territories annexed by Prussia became a new province

Provinces of Prussia

The Provinces of Prussia constituted the main administrative divisions of Prussia. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the various princely states in Germany gained their nominal sovereignty, but the reunification process that culminated in...

in 1773 called West Prussia

West Prussia

West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...

. Overall, Prussia gained 36,000 km² and about 600,000 people. According to Jerzy Surdykowski Frederick the Great soon introduced German colonists on territories he conquered and engaged in Germanization of Polish territories According to Christopher Clark

Christopher Clark

Christopher M. Clark is an Australian historian working in England. He was educated at Sydney Grammar School, the University of Sydney and the Freie Universität Berlin.-Life:...

54 percent of the area's and 75 percent of the urban populace were German-speaking Protestants. In the next century this was used by nationalistic German historians to justify the partition, but was irrelevant to contemporary calculations; Frederick, dismissive of the German culture, was instead pursuing an imperialist policy, acting on the security interests of his state. The new-gained territories connected Prussia with Germany proper, and were of major economic importance. By seizing northwestern Poland, Prussia instantly cut off Poland from the sea, and gained control over 80% of the Commonwealth's total foreign trade. Through levying enormous custom duties, Prussia accelerated the inevitable collapse of the Polish-Lithuanian state.

Despite token criticism of the partition from Austrian Empress Maria Theresa

Maria Theresa of Austria

, Austrian statesman Wenzel Anton Graf Kaunitz considered the Austrian share

Austrian partition

The Austrian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired by the Austrian Empire during the partitions of Poland in late 18th century.-History:...

an ample compensation; despite Austria being the least interested in the partition, it received the largest share of formerly Polish population, and second largest land share (83,000 km² and 2,650,000 people). To Austria fell Zator and Auschwitz (Oświęcim

Oswiecim

Oświęcim is a town in the Lesser Poland province of southern Poland, situated west of Kraków, near the confluence of the rivers Vistula and Soła.- History :...

), part of Little Poland

Little Poland

Little Poland may refer to:*Lesser Poland , a historical region of southern Poland*Lesser Poland Voivodeship , a present-day administrative region in southern Poland...

embracing parts of the counties of Kraków and Sandomierz (with the rich salt mines of Bochnia

Bochnia

Bochnia is a town of 30,000 inhabitants on the river Raba in southern Poland. The town lies approximately in halfway [] between Tarnów and the regional capital Kraków . Bochnia is most noted for its salt mine, the oldest functioning in Europe, built circa 1248...

and Wieliczka

Wieliczka

-External links:***...

), and the whole of Galicia, less the city of Kraków.

Russia received

Russian partition

The Russian partition was the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that were acquired by the Russian Empire in the late-18th-century Partitions of Poland.-Terminology:...

the largest, but least-important area economically, in the northeast. By this "diplomatic document" Russia came into possession of the commonwealth territories east of the line formed roughly by the Dvina

Dvina

Dvina may refer to:* Daugava river, also known as "Western Dvina", a river in Russia, Belarus, and Latvia.* Northern Dvina, a river in northern Russia.* R-12 Dvina, a theatre ballistic missile from the Soviet Union....

, Drut

Drut

Drut is the concluding section, in fast tempo , between 160 and 320 beats per minute, of the performance of a vocal raga in Hindustani classical music.-See also:*Khyal*Vilambit*Madhyalaya...

, and Dnieper rivers — that section of Livonia

Inflanty

Inflanty is the Polish name for Livonia.Inflanty may also refer to*the Inflanty Voivodeship, also known as Polish Livonia.*the Principality of Inflanty, also known as the Duchy of Livonia....

which had still remained in commonwealth control, and of Belarus

Belarus

Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...

embracing the counties of Vitebsk

Vitebsk

Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...

, Polotsk

Polatsk

Polotsk , is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river. It is the center of Polotsk district in Vitsebsk Voblast. Its population is more than 80,000 people...

and Mstislavl. Russia gained 92,000 km² and 1,300,000 people, and reorganized its newly acquired lands into Yekaterinoslav Governorate

Yekaterinoslav Governorate

The Yekaterinoslav Governorate or Government of Yekaterinoslav was a governorate in the Russian Empire. Its capital was the city of Yekaterinoslav .-Administrative divisions:...

and Mogilev Governorate

Mogilev Governorate

The Mogilev Governorate or Government of Mogilev was a governorate of the Russian Empire in the territory of the present day Belarus. Its capital was in Mogilev....

.

By the first partition the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth lost about 211,000 km² (30% of its territory, amounting at that time to about 733,000 km²), with a population of over four to five million people (about a third of its population of 14 million before the partitions).

Aftermath

After having occupied their respective territories, the three partitioning powers demanded that King Stanisław August Poniatowski and the Sejm

Sejm

approve their action. The king appealed to the nations of Western Europe

Western Europe

Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...

for help and tarried with the convocation of the Sejm. The European powers reacted to the partition with utmost indifference; only a few voices — like that of Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....

— were raised in objection.

When no help was forthcoming and the armies of the combined nations occupied Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

to compel by force of arms the calling of the assembly, no alternative could be chosen save passive submission to their will. Those of the senators who advised against this step were threatened by the Russians, represented by the ambassador, Otto von Stackelberg

Otto Magnus von Stackelberg (ambassador)

Reichsgraf Otto Magnus von Stackelberg was a diplomat of the Russian Empire, an envoy in Madrid from 1767 to 1771, ambassador in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1772 to 1790 and in Sweden from 1791 to 1793....

, who declared that in the face of refusal the whole capital of Warsaw would be destroyed by them. Other threats included execution, confiscation of estates, and further increases of partitioned territory; according to Edward Henry Lewinski Corwin

Edward Henry Lewinski Corwin

Edward Henry Lewinski Corwin was a New York City-based author of historical books, Polish activist and physician who worked in the public health sector of the city and state, publishing several reports and other works....

, some senators were even arrested by the Russians and exiled to Siberia.

The local land assemblies (Sejmik

Sejmik

A sejmik was a regional assembly in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and earlier in the Kingdom of Poland. Sejmiks existed until the end of the Commonwealth in 1795 following the partitions of the Commonwealth...

s) refused to elect deputies to the Sejm, and after great difficulties less than half of the regular number of representatives came to attend the session led by Marshals of the Sejm, Michał Hieronim Radziwiłł and Adam Poniński

Adam Poninski (1732-1798)

Adam Poniński Adam Poniński Adam Poniński (1732 or 1733 – 23 July 1798 was a Polish nobleman, Prince, one of the leaders of the Radom Confederation of 1767, Grand Treasurer of the Crown (from 1775), member of the Permanent Council, he is remembered as the infamous Marshal of the Sejm (together with...

; the latter in particular was one of many Polish nobles bribed by the Russians and following their orders. This sejm became known as the Partition Sejm

Partition Sejm

. In order to prevent the disruption of the Sejm via liberum veto

Liberum veto

The liberum veto was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It allowed any member of the Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify any legislation that had already been passed at the session by shouting Nie pozwalam! .From the mid-16th to the late 18th...

and the defeat of the purpose of the invaders, Poniński undertook to turn the regular Sejm into a confederated sejm

Confederated sejm

Confederated sejm was a form of sejm in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. After 1764, sejms were frequently confederated...

, where majority rule prevailed. In spite of the efforts of individuals like Tadeusz Rejtan

Tadeusz Rejtan

Tadeusz Reytan was a Polish nobleman. He was a member of the Polish Sejm from the constituency of Nowogródek . Rejtan is remembered for a dramatic gesture he made in September 1773, as a deputy of the Partition Sejm...

, Samuel Korsak, and Stanisław Bohuszewicz to prevent it, the deed was accomplished with the aid of Poniński, Radziwiłł, and the bishops Andrzej Młodziejowski, Ignacy Jakub Massalski

Ignacy Jakub Massalski

Prince Ignacy Massalski was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman.Ignacy was Bishop of Vilnius and one of the initiators of the Commission for National Education. After few years he was removed from the Commission for embezzlement of public funds...

, and Antoni Kazimierz Ostrowski

Antoni Kazimierz Ostrowski

Antoni Kazimierz Ostrowski was a Polish priest and politician. He was bishop of Inflanty , bishop of Kujawy and archbishop of Gniezno . He was one of the Polish nobles in Russian service and supported their position, including presiding over the Partition Sejm in 1773–1775.- External links :*...

(primate of Poland), who occupied high positions in the Senate of Poland

Senate of Poland

The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...

. The Sejm elected a committee of thirty to deal with the various matters presented. On September 18, 1773, the committee formally signed the treaty of cession, renouncing all claims of the commonwealth to the lost territories.

External links

James Fletcher First Partition Of Poland
D. B. Horn, review of The First Partition of Poland by Herbert H. Kaplan, The English Historical Review, Vol. 79, No. 313 (Oct., 1964), pp. 863-864 (review consists of 2 pages), JSTOR
O. Halecki, Reviewed work(s): British Public Opinion and the First Partition of Poland. by D. B. Horn, American Slavic and East European Review, Vol. 4, No. 3/4 (Dec., 1945), pp. 205-207 JSTOR
J. T. Lukowski, Guarantee or Annexation: a Note on Russian Plans to acquire Polish Territory prior to the First Partition of Poland, Historical Research, Vol. 56 Issue 133 Page 60 May 1983, http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1468-2281.1983.tb01759.x?cookieSet=1
The Three Partitions, 1764-95: First Partition, Library of Congress Country Study
The Period of Partitions (1772-1918) - resources Photos of some contemporary documents Polish-Russian and Polish-Austrian treaties of the First Partition
Map of the 1st Partition

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Background

Partition begins

Division of territories

Aftermath

See also

Further reading

External links