Ignacy Ścibor Marchocki
Encyclopedia
Ingacy Scibor Marchocki (1755–1827) of Ostoja coat of arms was a Polish noble, famous in the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Ścibor Marchocki proclaimed his estates an independent state and installed on its borders pillars with the name plates, identifying that this is “The border of Minkowce state” in Ukraine
-Podole
. He was a benefactor for his peasants; he liberated them from serfdom
and was concerned about their household improvement. For his eccentricity, especially for introduction of pagan feasts
, Marchocki was convicted and even imprisoned.
. His father, Mihal Ścibor Marchocki died when his son was still little and so Ignacy was raised by his uncle Wojciech who did his best to provide for boy's education. Much of the property of the family was supposed to be passed to Ignacy. However, due to the eccentric character
of both Ignacy and his uncle, passing over the estate took much more time than expected.
He was send by Wojciech to join the Prussian Army
in order to train the character of Ignacy, hard terms implemented by the uncle taking the risk of Ignacy being killed in the war. Surviving hard time in Prussian army, Ignacy come back home from this expedition with character made of steel.
However, as both had strong will, conflict between arise and Ignacy left the Minkowce estates. During the time in Prussian army Ignacy learned several languages including French and German, he was also studying Roman law, literature and mythology
.
As Ingacy left for Warsaw
, he continued his military career and reached the rank of Major
. His efforts was recognized and he because respected person. On his suggestion, his uncle was nominated for the Order of Saint Stanislaus
and he received it in year 1790. I the end Wojciech died prematurely and Ignacy could enter the estate as new Landlord.
became Russian territory following the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. There was around 4.200 people living in the new created State. He liberated the serfs and gave all the people same rights, no matter of any origin or religion. Jewish had exactly same rights that other citizens had. Central body of the State was the County Court
as well as Court of Appeal. The main thing in the State was to give all citizens equal legal rights.
The estate had its own paper production and so did also Ścibor Marchocki print the law of the State for everyone to read. He furthermore sent information about the State all around but all this have been burned down by Russian authorities. Furthermore there was several different kind of article production since all citizens could produce whatever they wanted, there were cloths production and some oil production as well. The only thing citizens had to pay was the rent of their places they was living in and of course for local when producing.
There was a hospital, there were doctors that specially during the time of plague did fantastic work, there were schools for children and Marchocki planned even to open the university on his estates. The social care extremely well organized and the Stat flourished. Other noble families could not avoid what happened specially because Marchocki showed his economic model to be superior to any other. Very soon he bought more land in order to expand his State.
Inside the Minkowce State, Ścibor Marchocki build beautiful gardens with sculptures, he also build four castles, each one for each season of the year. The place looked like a paradise.
In summertime, Ścibor Marchocki was often seen wearing roman toga
on his estates, something nobody saw as something strange.
Reports about the Minkowce State and the activity outside the State reached of course the Russian side but in the beginning Russians was just stunned by the situation. They could not believe that there could be such a madness as the Minkowce State. Of course, Russian side wanted to prove that living in Russia
was much better than in Poland and Ścibor Marchocki was the one that really wanted to show that happen. However, Russian side did of course react about all this information that Ścibor Marchocki spread around outside his possession. This was not considered as funny so they decided to burn down all of it so the plague would not spread to all over the Empire but they could not do much more according to the law. The Law clearly stated that the Landlord had free hands to do whatever he likes inside his property. The Russian side could had no evidence of violation of the law and therefore did nothing more in the beginning. Ścibor Marchocki paid his taxes and he was a citizen of the Empire.
The information about the Minkowce State did however spread like a fire around and he was the subject of discussion all around in former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Specially because the State prosper and showed exceptional benefits to the owner. Russian side was not found of this at all. They seized the danger of what was happening in the Minkowce State since this could cause the way to revolution inside the Empire and so they had to act. There were already printed publications about the Ścibor Marchocki and his State, one of the most famous is the play of Juliusz Słowacki in 1832 called "King of Ladawa".
The Russian side had to close down the Minkowce State and imprison Ścibor Marchocki for conspiracy against Russian Empire but the fame and the memory about Scibor-Marchocki and his State live in several publications. In the end, if the Constitution of May 3, 1791
would copy what Marchocki did, the Polish side would most probably not have difficulties with forming the biggest army in the history of the nation. Several landlords reconsidered their management of their estates and in the end of the century most people in Podolian Voivodeship and Volhynia
lived good life on their estates living in harmony with the Landlords - thanks to the humanistic movement of Ignacy Scibor-Marchocki. He succeeded to run Minkowce state for about 30 years.
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
-Podole
Podole
Podole may refer to:*Podolia, a region in Ukraine*Podole, Aleksandrów County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship *Podole, Lipno County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship...
. He was a benefactor for his peasants; he liberated them from serfdom
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
and was concerned about their household improvement. For his eccentricity, especially for introduction of pagan feasts
Sol Invictus
Sol Invictus was the official sun god of the later Roman empire. In 274 Aurelian made it an official cult alongside the traditional Roman cults. Scholars disagree whether the new deity was a refoundation of the ancient Latin cult of Sol, a revival of the cult of Elagabalus or completely new...
, Marchocki was convicted and even imprisoned.
Early life
Ingacy Ścibor Marchocki was born in the noble family being part of the Clan of OstojaClan of Ostoja
The Clan of Ostoja was a powerful group of Knights and Lords in late medieval Europe. The clan encompassed several families in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Upper Hungary , Hungary, Transylvania, Belorus, Ukraine and Prussia....
. His father, Mihal Ścibor Marchocki died when his son was still little and so Ignacy was raised by his uncle Wojciech who did his best to provide for boy's education. Much of the property of the family was supposed to be passed to Ignacy. However, due to the eccentric character
Eccentricity (behavior)
In popular usage, eccentricity refers to unusual or odd behavior on the part of an individual. This behavior would typically be perceived as unusual or unnecessary, without being demonstrably maladaptive...
of both Ignacy and his uncle, passing over the estate took much more time than expected.
He was send by Wojciech to join the Prussian Army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
in order to train the character of Ignacy, hard terms implemented by the uncle taking the risk of Ignacy being killed in the war. Surviving hard time in Prussian army, Ignacy come back home from this expedition with character made of steel.
However, as both had strong will, conflict between arise and Ignacy left the Minkowce estates. During the time in Prussian army Ignacy learned several languages including French and German, he was also studying Roman law, literature and mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
.
As Ingacy left for 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...
, he continued his military career and reached the rank of Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
. His efforts was recognized and he because respected person. On his suggestion, his uncle was nominated for the Order of Saint Stanislaus
Order of Saint Stanislaus
The Order of Saint Stanislaus , also spelled Stanislas, was an Order in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Kingdom of Poland between 1765 and 1831 and of Russian Empire from 1831 to 1917.-History of the Order of Saint Stanislaus:Stanisław August Poniatowski, King of Poland, established the...
and he received it in year 1790. I the end Wojciech died prematurely and Ignacy could enter the estate as new Landlord.
The Minkowce State
The Minkowce State was something nobody ever experienced before in Europe, it was far more progressive than any other constitution or model. The first Ścibor Marchocki did was to set up boarder pillars in 1793 that declare the Minkowce State surrounding the area of one town and eighteen villages. it was at the time when the area of PodolePodole
Podole may refer to:*Podolia, a region in Ukraine*Podole, Aleksandrów County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship *Podole, Lipno County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship...
became Russian territory following the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. There was around 4.200 people living in the new created State. He liberated the serfs and gave all the people same rights, no matter of any origin or religion. Jewish had exactly same rights that other citizens had. Central body of the State was the County Court
County Court
A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of county courts held by the High Sheriff of each county.-England and Wales:County Court matters can be lodged...
as well as Court of Appeal. The main thing in the State was to give all citizens equal legal rights.
The estate had its own paper production and so did also Ścibor Marchocki print the law of the State for everyone to read. He furthermore sent information about the State all around but all this have been burned down by Russian authorities. Furthermore there was several different kind of article production since all citizens could produce whatever they wanted, there were cloths production and some oil production as well. The only thing citizens had to pay was the rent of their places they was living in and of course for local when producing.
There was a hospital, there were doctors that specially during the time of plague did fantastic work, there were schools for children and Marchocki planned even to open the university on his estates. The social care extremely well organized and the Stat flourished. Other noble families could not avoid what happened specially because Marchocki showed his economic model to be superior to any other. Very soon he bought more land in order to expand his State.
Inside the Minkowce State, Ścibor Marchocki build beautiful gardens with sculptures, he also build four castles, each one for each season of the year. The place looked like a paradise.
In summertime, Ścibor Marchocki was often seen wearing roman toga
Toga
The toga, a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a cloth of perhaps 20 ft in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. The toga was made of wool, and the tunic under it often was made of linen. After the 2nd century BC, the toga was a garment worn...
on his estates, something nobody saw as something strange.
End of the State
The difference between living inside the Minkowce State and outside the same was like comparing heaven and hell. As Ścibor Marchocki was printing documents and posters, those have been delivered widely outside his estates. Such actions was of course not popular among the nobility that considered their serfs as something they, like a furniture. Killing a serf at that time within Russian boarders could at most cause financial penalty that nobility did not pay anyway.Reports about the Minkowce State and the activity outside the State reached of course the Russian side but in the beginning Russians was just stunned by the situation. They could not believe that there could be such a madness as the Minkowce State. Of course, Russian side wanted to prove that living in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
was much better than in Poland and Ścibor Marchocki was the one that really wanted to show that happen. However, Russian side did of course react about all this information that Ścibor Marchocki spread around outside his possession. This was not considered as funny so they decided to burn down all of it so the plague would not spread to all over the Empire but they could not do much more according to the law. The Law clearly stated that the Landlord had free hands to do whatever he likes inside his property. The Russian side could had no evidence of violation of the law and therefore did nothing more in the beginning. Ścibor Marchocki paid his taxes and he was a citizen of the Empire.
The information about the Minkowce State did however spread like a fire around and he was the subject of discussion all around in former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Specially because the State prosper and showed exceptional benefits to the owner. Russian side was not found of this at all. They seized the danger of what was happening in the Minkowce State since this could cause the way to revolution inside the Empire and so they had to act. There were already printed publications about the Ścibor Marchocki and his State, one of the most famous is the play of Juliusz Słowacki in 1832 called "King of Ladawa".
The Russian side had to close down the Minkowce State and imprison Ścibor Marchocki for conspiracy against Russian Empire but the fame and the memory about Scibor-Marchocki and his State live in several publications. In the end, if the Constitution of May 3, 1791
Constitution of May 3, 1791
The Constitution of May 3, 1791 was adopted as a "Government Act" on that date by the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Historian Norman Davies calls it "the first constitution of its type in Europe"; other scholars also refer to it as the world's second oldest constitution...
would copy what Marchocki did, the Polish side would most probably not have difficulties with forming the biggest army in the history of the nation. Several landlords reconsidered their management of their estates and in the end of the century most people in Podolian Voivodeship and Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
lived good life on their estates living in harmony with the Landlords - thanks to the humanistic movement of Ignacy Scibor-Marchocki. He succeeded to run Minkowce state for about 30 years.