Silent Sejm
Encyclopedia
Silent Sejm is the name given to the session of the 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 ....

 (parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

) 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...

 of 1 February 1717. A civil war in the Commonwealth was used by 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...

 Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...

 as an opportunity to intervene as a mediator. It marked the end of Augustus II of Poland's attempts to create an absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...

 in Poland, and the beginning of 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 increasing influence and control over the Commonwealth.

Background

Augustus II the Strong
Augustus II the Strong
Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....

 of the Saxon
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....

 House of Wettin was elected to the throne of Poland in 1697. The Wettins, used to absolute rule
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...

, attempted to govern through intimidation and the use of force, which led to a series of conflicts between Wettin supporters and opponents (including another pretender to the Polish throne, King Stanisław Leszczyński). Those conflicts often took the form of confederations
Confederation (Poland)
A konfederacja was an ad hoc association formed by Polish-Lithuanian szlachta A konfederacja (Polish for "confederation") was an ad hoc association formed by Polish-Lithuanian szlachta A konfederacja (Polish for "confederation") was an ad hoc association formed by Polish-Lithuanian szlachta...

 – legal rebellions against the king permitted under the Golden Freedoms.

Augustus II wanted to strengthen royal power in the Commonwealth and to that end he brought in troops from Saxony (by the summer of 1714 more than 25,000 Saxon troops were inside Commonwealth's borders). This produced dissent within the Commonwealth. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...

, which marked the rise of 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...

 (1721), the growing conflict between Augustus II and the Polish nobility (szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...

) was used by the powerful 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...

 Peter the Great
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...

, victor of the Great Northern War. At the time Russia was not yet strong enough to conquer and absorb the Commonwealth outright, nor could it easily and openly assume control of it, despite the Commonwealth's dysfunctional politics; the "Polish anarchy" was not to be easily reigned. Hence Peter's goal was to weaken both sides, and to prevent Augustus from strengthening his position, which he feared would lead to a resurgent Commonwealth that could threaten Russia's recent gains and growing influence. He succeeded in forcing through conditions (such as reduction of the Commonwealth army's size) that increased the Commonwealth's political status relative to Russia. Peter used Augustus' recent policies, aiming at the reduction of power of the hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....

s (Polish military commanders in chief), as well as the occurrence of a bad harvest and some Polish-French negotiations, to stir opposition to Augustus.

Tarnogród Confederation

The nobles, spurred by Russian promises of support, formed the Tarnogród Confederation
Tarnogród Confederation
The Tarnogród Confederation was a confederation of szlachta in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, in the years 1715–1716. It was formed on 26 November 1715 in Tarnogród by nobility angered by illegal taxation, levied for Saxon forces operating in Grand Duchy of Lithuania on behalf of Augustus II the...

 on 26 November 1715. The Confederation's marshal was Stanisław Ledóchowski. The Tarnogród Confederation was only the last and most notable of several confederations formed against Augustus at that time. The Confederates were supported by most of the Commonwealth's own army.

The Russians entered the country, but did not participate in any major engagements. They bided their time, as Peter posed as the mediator between the Commonwealth's king and its szlachta. Crucially, the Russians did not support the Confederates as promised, and instead insisted on bringing both sides to the negotiating table. The civil war lasted for a year and the outcome hung in the balance. Saxon forces under the command of Jacob Heinrich von Flemming
Jacob Heinrich von Flemming
Jakob Heinrich von Flemming was a Saxon count, military officer and politician. He was born in Hoff, Prussian Province of Pomerania to a noble family. He completed his law studies in 1688, after which he entered service with Brandenburg...

 enjoyed military superiority, advanced south-eastwards and took Zamość
Zamosc
Zamość ukr. Замостя is a town in southeastern Poland with 66,633 inhabitants , situated in the south-western part of Lublin Voivodeship , about from Lublin, from Warsaw and from the border with Ukraine...

 (this victory was however accomplished less through military tactics than through diplomacy and a treachery). The confederates then pushed back, entered Wielkopolska, and took Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...

. They gained some support from a local Wielkopolska confederation and from Lithuania. Neither side was however posed to achieve victory, and the Russian pressure mounted; eventually the Russians declared that they would consider any side that refused to enter into negotiations an enemy, and open hostilities against them. Unable to defeat the Confederates, many of whom still saw Peter as the protector of their rights (and some of whom hoped for Augustus to be deposed), Augustus agreed to open the negotiations with Russians acting as arbitrators. The Russians were represented by a delegation headed by prince Gregory Dolgoruky. A peace treaty between the Confederates and the Augustus was signed on 3 or 4 November 1716, as relations between the Confederates and the Russians deteriorated. The Russians made it increasingly apparent that their goals were not wholly benign to the Commonwealth. Finally, a Sejm session was called for 1 February 1717.

Sejm

To prevent the use of 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...

 from disrupting Sejm proceedings, the session was turned 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...

. (It was also a pacification sejm
Pacification sejm
Pacification sejm refers to a type of the sejm in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The pacification sejms were held after a period of conflict to bring peace and unity to the country, usually after a disputed royal election. Pacification sejms were held in 1586, 1673, 1698, 1699, 1717 and 1736....

). Threatened by a strong Russian army, with Russian soldiers "guarding" the proceedings, the Silent Sejm was known as such because only the speaker (marshal of the Sejm) Stanisław Ledóchowski (podkomorzy krzemienicki), and a few selected other deputies were allowed a voice, outlining the terms of the settlement. Other names for the Sejm in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 include Dumb or Muted. The terms themselves were significantly designed by Peter the Great. The Sejm lasted for one day only, or more precisely, six hours.

This settlement stipulated that:
  • Tarnogród Confederation (and older, Sandomierz Confederation
    Sandomierz Confederation
    The Sandomierz Confederation was a confederation formed on May 20, 1704 in defense of the King of Poland, August II the Strong. It was formed in reaction to the Warsaw Confederation. Its marshal was Stanisław Ernest Denhoff. The confederation lasted until 1717, when it was disbanded by the...

    ) were dissolved;
  • the right to form confederations in the future was abolished;
  • Golden Freedoms (Cardinal Laws
    Cardinal laws
    The Cardinal Laws were a constitution enacted in Warsaw, Poland, by the Repnin Sejm of 1767–68. Ostensibly the Cardinal Laws were intended to ensure the "Golden Liberty" of the Polish-Lithuanian nobility, as demanded by nobles united in the Radom Confederation...

    ) are reaffirmed (in particular, 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...

     still held);
  • the king was not to imprison people based on his whim (reaffirmation of the neminem captivabimus
    Neminem captivabimus
    Neminem captivabimus is a legal term in Lithuanian and Polish historical law.Short for , ....

    );
  • the king had to avoid offensive wars;
  • Poles and Saxony
    Saxony
    The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....

     (Augustus homeland) should not intervene into each other's domestic affairs (the king had to avoid negotiations on Polish affairs with foreign (Saxonian) powers);
  • hetman
    Hetman
    Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....

    s and 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 (local parliaments) had lost some of their prerogatives (notably, sejmiks no longer could change local taxation);
  • Saxony troops stationed in Poland were to be significantly limited in size (banished totally, or reduced to 1,200 of royal guard, which no further foreign recruits allowed)
  • Saxon officials were to be removed from Poland (or were limited to six) and the king was to not give any further offices to foreign officials;
  • the rights of Protestants in Poland were curtailed (some Protestant churches were to be demolished to punish "Swedish partisans")
  • establishment of an estimate of the state's income and expenditure (in essence, a budget
    Budget
    A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...

    , one of the first in Europe)
  • established taxes for Commonwealth army (consuming over 90% of the state's income);
  • the army was to be billeted on the crown estates;
  • reduction of the army to 24,000 (or 18,000, or 16,000 – sources vary) for Poland and 6,000 (or 8,000) for Lithuania. An army of that size was insufficient to protect the Commonwealth; a normal soldier's wages meant that after factoring officer pensions and other military needs, the effective army was perhaps 12,000 strong, several times weaker than those of its neighbours – at that time the Russian army numbered 300,000;
  • Russia was recognized as the power that would guarantee the settlement.

Aftermath and significance

The Silent Sejm marked the end of Augustus II's attempts to create an absolute monarchy in Poland; he subsequently focused his rfforts on securing the succession of his son
Augustus III of Poland
Augustus III, known as the Saxon ; ; also Prince-elector Friedrich August II was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.-Biography:Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector...

 to the Polish throne.

While some beneficial reforms were passed (such as the establishment of standing taxes for the military), the Sejm is regarded negatively by modern historians. The reduction in the size of the army and the establishment of Russia's position as the settlement's guarantor reinforced Commonwealth military inferiority compared to its neighbors, and unofficially, put it in the position 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...

. The Russian tsar, as the guarantor, now had a convenient excuse to intervene in Polish politics at will. With a reduced army, removal of Saxon troops and the right to form confederations, the nobility and the king had less power to fight one another – or, not coincidentally, to resist outside forces. Russian troops remained in the Commonwealth for two years, supporting opposition to Augustus, and Russia soon reached an agreement with other powers to put an end to further attempts at the reform and strengthening of the Commonwealth. Thus the Silent Sejm is regarded as one of the first precedents for the Russian Empire dictating Polish internal policy, and a precursor to the partitions of Poland
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...

, which erased the Commonwealth from world maps by 1795. Historian Norman Davies
Norman Davies
Professor Ivor Norman Richard Davies FBA, FRHistS is a leading English historian of Welsh descent, noted for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland, and the United Kingdom.- Academic career :...

 wrote that this Sejm "effectively terminated the independence of Poland and Lithunia".

The system created by the Silent Sejm dominated the Polish political scene until the late 18th century, when a new wave of reforms led to the Constitution of the 3 May, soon followed by partitions of Poland
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...

and loss of Polish sovereignty for 123 years.
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