Editing Partitions of Poland (section)

== History ==
[[File:Allegory of the 1st partition of Poland crop.jpg|thumb|Allegory of the [[First Partition of Poland|first partition of Poland]], showing [[Catherine the Great]] of Russia (left), [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II of Austria]] (middle) and [[Frederick the Great]] of Prussia (right) quarrelling over their territorial seizures]]
[[File:Alegoria Umarlej Polski.jpg|thumb|[[Włodzimierz Tetmajer]], ''Allegory of Dead Poland'', St. Nicholas Cathedral, [[Kalisz]]]]

During the reign of [[Władysław IV Vasa|Władysław IV]] (1632–1648), the {{lang|la|[[liberum veto]]}} was developed, a policy of parliamentary procedure based on the assumption of the political equality of every "[[Szlachta|gentleman/Polish nobleman]]", with the corollary that unanimous consent was needed for all measures.<ref name="Brit" /> A single member of parliament's belief that a measure was injurious to his own constituency (usually simply his own estate), even after the act had been approved, became enough to strike the act. Thus it became increasingly difficult to undertake action. The {{lang|la|liberum veto}} also provided openings for foreign diplomats to get their ways, through bribing nobles to exercise it.<ref name="Brit" /> Thus, one could characterise Poland–Lithuania in its final period (mid-18th century) before the partitions as already in a state of disorder and not a completely sovereign state, and almost as a [[vassal state]],<ref name="Scott" /> with Polish kings effectively chosen in diplomatic maneuvers between the great powers Prussia, Austria, Russia, and France.<ref name="Corwin">{{cite book|last=Corwin |first=Edward Henry Lewinski |year=1917 |title=The political History of Poland |publisher=Polish Book Importing Company |location=New York |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalhistor00corwgoog/page/n306 |pages=286&ndash;288 |oclc=626738}}</ref> This applies particularly to the last Commonwealth King [[Stanisław August Poniatowski]], who for some time had been a lover of Russian Empress [[Catherine the Great]].

In 1730, the neighbors of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ({{lang|pl|[[Rzeczpospolita]]}}), namely Prussia, Austria and Russia, signed a secret agreement to maintain the {{lang|la|status quo}}: specifically, to ensure that the Commonwealth laws would not change. Their alliance later became known in Poland as the "[[Treaty of the Three Black Eagles|Alliance of the Three Black Eagles]]" (or ''{{lang|de|Löwenwolde}}'s Treaty''), because all three states used a black eagle as a state symbol (in contrast to the [[coat of arms of Poland|white eagle]], a symbol of Poland). The Commonwealth had been forced to rely on Russia for protection against the rising [[Kingdom of Prussia]], which demanded a slice of the northwest in order to unite its Western and Eastern portions; this would leave the Commonwealth with a [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] coast only in [[Latvia]] and [[Lithuania]].<ref name="Brit" /> Catherine had to use diplomacy to win Austria to her side.

The Commonwealth had remained neutral in the [[Seven Years' War]] (1756–1763), yet it sympathized with the alliance of France, [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]], and Russia, and allowed Russian troops access to its western lands as bases against Prussia. [[Frederick the Great|Frederick II]] retaliated by ordering enough Polish currency counterfeited to severely affect the Polish economy. Through the [[szlachta|Polish nobles]] whom Russia controlled and the Russian Minister to Warsaw, ambassador and Prince [[Nicholas Repnin]], Empress Catherine the Great forced a constitution on the Commonwealth at the so-called [[Repnin Sejm]] of 1767, named after ambassador Repnin, who effectively dictated the terms of that Sejm (and ordered the capture and exile to [[Kaluga]] of some vocal opponents of his policies,<ref name="Scott">{{cite book |first=Hamish M. |last=Scott |title=The Emergence of the Eastern Powers, 1756–1775 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=0-521-79269-X |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lc8EMD0JYUAC&dq=Repnin+Poland&pg=PA182 |pages=181–182}}</ref><ref name="Steed,">{{cite book |first=H. Wickham |last=Steed |url=http://historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=2&cid=26 |title=A Short History of Austria-Hungary and Poland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070924183148/http://www.historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=2&cid=26 |archive-date=2007-09-24 |year=1914 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |access-date=3 August 2007}}</ref><ref name="Seton-Watson" /> including bishop [[Józef Andrzej Załuski]]<ref name="Cas">{{cite book |title=The Story of My Life |publisher=Penguin Classics |year=2001 |isbn=0-14-043915-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-0F8CRLDPv4C&dq=1773+Siberia+Sejm&pg=PA528 |page=528}}</ref> and others). This new constitution undid the reforms made in 1764 under [[Stanisław August Poniatowski|Stanisław II]]. The {{lang|la|liberum veto}} and all the old abuses of the last one and a half centuries were guaranteed as unalterable parts of this new constitution (in the so-called ''[[Cardinal Laws]]''<ref name="Seton-Watson">{{cite book |author-link=Hugh Seton-Watson |first=Hugh |last=Seton-Watson |title=The Russian Empire, 1801–1917 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1967 |isbn=0-19-822152-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40KbWNve4XkC&q=repnin+polish+1768&pg=PA44 |page=44}}</ref><ref name="RB">{{Cite book |first=Richard |last=Butterwick |title=Poland-Lithuania's Last King and English Culture: Stanisław August Poniatowski, 1732–1798 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1998 |isbn=0-19-820701-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySzrq3JwjBEC&q=Repnin+Poland&pg=PA169 |page=169}}</ref>). Repnin also demanded the Russian protection of the rights of peasants in private estates of Polish and Lithuanian noblemen, religious freedom for the Protestant and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christians]] and the political freedoms for Protestants, Orthodox Christians and [[Eastern Catholics]] (Uniates), including their right to occupy all state positions, including a royal one. The next king could be a member of the Russian ruling dynasty now. The Sejm approved this. Resulting reaction among some of Poland's Roman Catholics, as well as the deep resentment of Russian intervention in the Commonwealth's domestic affairs including the exile to Russia of the top Roman Catholic bishops, the members of the Polish Senate, led to the War of the [[Bar Confederation|Confederation of Bar]] of 1768–1772, formed in [[Bar, Ukraine|Bar]], where the Poles tried to expel Russian forces from Commonwealth territory.<ref name="Scott" /><ref name="Seton-Watson" /> The irregular and poorly commanded Polish forces had little chance in the face of the regular Russian army and suffered a major defeat. Adding to the chaos was a [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] [[Cossacks|Cossack]] and peasant rebellion in the east ([[Koliyivshchyna]]), which erupted in 1768 and resulted in massacres of [[szlachta|Polish noblemen]] ({{lang|pl|szlachta}}), Jews, [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Uniates]], ethnic minorities and Catholic priests, before it was put down by Russian and governmental Polish troops. This uprising led to the intervention of the Ottoman Empire, supported by Roman Catholic France and Austria. Bar confederation and France promised [[Podolia]] and [[Volhynia]] and the protectorate over the Commonwealth to the [[Ottoman Empire]] for armed support.

In 1769, the [[Habsburg monarchy]] annexed a small territory of [[Spiš|Spisz]] and in 1770 it annexed [[Nowy Sącz]] and [[Nowy Targ]]. These territories had been a bone of contention between Poland and [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]], which was a part of the Monarchy. Nevertheless, the Ottoman Empire, the Bar confederation and its French and European volunteers were defeated by Russian forces and Polish governmental ones with the aid of Great Britain. As Russia moved into the Crimea and the Danubian Principalities (which the Habsburg monarchy long coveted), King Frederick II of Prussia and Maria Theresa were worried that the defeat of the Ottoman Empire would severely upset the balance of power in Eastern Europe. Frederick II began to construct the partition to rebalance the power in Eastern Europe.

=== First Partition ===
{{Main|First Partition of Poland}}
[[File:Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1773-1789.PNG|thumb|right|upright=1.4|The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth after the First Partition, as a protectorate of the Russian Empire (1773–1789)]]

In February 1772, the agreement of partition was signed in [[Vienna]]. Early in August, Russian, Prussian and Austrian troops occupied the provinces agreed upon among themselves. However, fighting continued as Bar confederation troops and French volunteers refused to lay down their arms (most notably, in [[Tyniec]], [[Częstochowa]] and [[Kraków]]). On August 5, 1772, the occupation manifesto was issued, to the dismay of the weak and exhausted Polish state;<ref name="Brit">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/466910/Partitions-of-Poland |title=Partitions of Poland |year=2008 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] Online |access-date=8 June 2011}}</ref> the partition treaty was ratified by its signatories on September 22, 1772.

Frederick II of Prussia was elated with his success; Prussia took most of [[Royal Prussia]] (except [[Gdańsk]]) that stood between its possessions in [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] and the [[Margraviate of Brandenburg]], as well as Ermland ([[Warmia]]), northern areas of [[Greater Poland]] along the [[Noteć]] River (the [[Netze District]]), and parts of [[Kujawy|Kuyavia]] (but not the city of [[Toruń]]).<ref name="Brit" />

Despite token criticism of the partition from Empress [[Maria Theresa]], Austrian statesman [[Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg]], was proud of wresting as large a share as he did, with the rich salt mines of [[Bochnia]] and [[Wieliczka]]. To Austria fell [[Zator, Lesser Poland Voivodeship|Zator]] and Auschwitz ([[Oświęcim]]), part of [[Lesser Poland]] embracing parts of the counties of [[Kraków]] and [[Sandomierz|Sandomir]] and the whole of [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]], less the city of [[Kraków]].

Empress [[Catherine II of Russia]] was also satisfied despite the loss of Galicia to the Habsburg monarchy. By this "diplomatic document" Russia gained [[Inflanty Voivodeship|Polish Livonia]], and lands in eastern [[Belarus]] embracing the counties of [[Vitebsk]], [[Polotsk]] and [[Mstsislaw|Mstislavl]].<ref name="Brit" />

[[File:Jan_Matejko_-_Upadek_Polski_(Reytan).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|''[[Rejtan (painting)|Rejtan at Sejm 1773]]'', oil on canvas by Jan Matejko, 1866, {{convert|282|x|487|cm|0|abbr=on}}, [[Royal Castle, Warsaw|Royal Castle in Warsaw]]]]
By this partition, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lost about 30% of its territory and half of its population<ref name="Brit" /> (four million people), of which a large portion had not been ethnically Polish. By seizing northwestern Poland, Prussia instantly gained control over 80% of the Commonwealth's total foreign trade. Through levying enormous customs duties, Prussia accelerated the collapse of the Commonwealth.<ref>{{cite book|last=von Guttner|first=Darius|title=The French Revolution|year=2015|publisher=Nelson Cengage|pages=139}}</ref>

After having occupied their respective territories, the three partitioning powers demanded that King [[Stanisław August Poniatowski|Stanisław]] and the [[Sejm]] approve their action. When no help was forthcoming and the armies of the combined nations occupied Warsaw to compel by force of arms the calling of the assembly, the only alternative was passive submission to their will. The so-called [[Partition Sejm]], with Russian military forces threatening the opposition, on September 18, 1773, signed the treaty of cession, renouncing all claims of the Commonwealth to the occupied territories.

In 1772, [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] was invited to present recommendations for a new constitution for the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], resulting in the ''[[Considerations on the Government of Poland]]'' (1782), which was to be his last major political work.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last = Gourevitch |editor-first = Victor |title = Rousseau: 'The Social Contract' and Other Later Political Writings |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=kcvseZCgQKMC |year = 1997 |publisher = Cambridge University Press |page = ix |isbn = 978-0-521-42446-2 |access-date = 8 February 2017 |archive-date = 16 February 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170216213853/https://books.google.com/books?id=kcvseZCgQKMC |url-status = live }}</ref>

=== Second Partition ===
{{Main|Second Partition of Poland}}
[[File:Rzeczpospolita Rozbiory 2.png|thumb|upright=1.4|right|The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth after the Second Partition (1793)]]
[[File:Medal commemorating the reunification of Western Rus, reverse.jpeg|right|thumb|1793 Russian campaign medal]]
By 1790, the Commonwealth had been weakened to such a degree that it was forced into an unnatural and terminal alliance with its enemy, Prussia. The [[Polish–Prussian alliance|Polish–Prussian Pact]] of 1790 was signed. The conditions of the Pact contributed to the subsequent final two partitions of Poland–Lithuania.

The [[Constitution of May 3, 1791|May Constitution of 1791]] enfranchised the bourgeoisie, established the separation of the three branches of government, and eliminated the abuses of the [[Repnin Sejm]]. Those reforms prompted aggressive actions on the part of its neighbours, wary of the potential renaissance of the Commonwealth. Arguing that Poland had fallen prey to the radical [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobinism]] then at high tide in France, Russian forces invaded the Commonwealth in 1792.

In the [[Polish–Russian War of 1792|War in Defense of the Constitution]], pro-Russian conservative Polish [[magnate]]s, the [[Targowica Confederation|Confederation of Targowica]], fought against Polish forces supporting the constitution, believing that Russians would help them restore the [[Golden Liberty]]. Abandoned by their Prussian allies, Polish pro-constitution forces, faced with Targowica units and the regular Russian army, were defeated. Prussia signed a treaty with Russia, agreeing that Polish reforms would be revoked, and both countries would receive chunks of Commonwealth territory. In 1793, deputies to the [[Grodno Sejm]], last Sejm of the Commonwealth, in the presence of the Russian forces, agreed to Russian territorial demands. In the Second Partition, Russia and Prussia helped themselves to enough land so that only one-third of the 1772 population remained in Poland. Prussia named its newly gained province [[South Prussia]], with [[Poznań]] (and later Warsaw) as the capital of the new province.

Targowica confederates, who did not expect another partition, and the king, [[Stanisław August Poniatowski]], who joined them near the end, both lost much prestige and support. The reformers, on the other hand, were attracting increasing support, and in 1794 the [[Kościuszko Uprising]] began.

=== Third Partition ===
{{Main|Third Partition of Poland}}
Kosciuszko's ragtag insurgent armies won some initial successes, but they eventually fell before the superior forces of the Russian Empire. The partitioning powers, seeing the increasing unrest in the remaining Commonwealth, decided to solve the problem by erasing any independent Polish state from the map. On October 24, 1795, their representatives signed a treaty, dividing the remaining territories of the Commonwealth between their three countries. One of Russia's chief foreign policy authors, [[Alexander Bezborodko]], advised [[Catherine the Great|Catherine II]] on the Second and Third Partitions of Poland.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Alexander Bezborodko |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-Bezborodko |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica|date=April 17, 2024 }}</ref>

The Russian part included {{convert|120000|km2|0|abbr=on}} and 1.2&nbsp;million people with [[Vilnius]], the Prussian part (new provinces of [[New East Prussia]] and [[New Silesia]]) {{convert|55000|km2|0|abbr=on}} and 1&nbsp;million people with Warsaw, and the Austrian {{convert|47000|km2|0|abbr=on}} with 1.2&nbsp;million and [[Lublin]] and Kraków.