Landmarks of Polish History August Zaleski 1916

8/14/2019 Landmarks of Polish History August Zaleski 1916

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THE LIBRARYOFTHE UNIVERSITYOF CALIFORNIALOS ANGELES


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LANDMARKS OFPOLISH HISTORYBYAUGUST ZALESKI

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BYR. W. SETON-WATSON, D.Litt.

PUBLISHED FOR THE POLISH INFORMATION COMMITTEEBY

GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD., LONDONRUSKIN HOUSE 40 MUSEUM STREET, W.C.


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M DSD.W

First published in igi6

(All rights resented)

The Polish Information Committee leaves full freedom tothe authors of the Studies published by it, and thus itsviembers do not necessarily endorse the individual viewsof the authors.

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4 INTRODUCTIONaccentuated those sympathies still farther. But inthe fifty years which followed there has been asnapping of old sentimental ties, a loss of inter-course, and an almost sepulchral silence. Polandhas been almost forgotten, and is only slowlyswimming back into our ken, as the result of theghastly tragedies of a world war. It is fitting thatour reviving interest should take the form ofhumanitarian help ; for the Entente Powers havemade the cause of small nations their own, andof these Poland has suffered not less cruelly thanBelgium and Serbia. But our interest cannot restupon a merely humanitarian basis. To-day thePolish Question has once more become one of thekeys of the European situation. During the centuryand a half which have elapsed since the first par-tition Poland has been in very great measure thedetermining factor in the relations between Russia,Prussia, and Austria. Prussia, by identifying Russiawith herself in holding down the Poles, has createda permanent breach between the two main branchesof the Slavonic race, and at the same time main-tained and strengthened the community of interestsbetween the two chief exponents of reactionary andnon -representative government in Europe. Nowthat war has rudely severed the main threads whichunited Berlin to Petrograd, it ought to be possibleto restore confidence and friendship betweenRussians and Poles. It is obvious that realconcord in the Slav world is unrealizable unless


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INTRODUCTION 5lishment of Russo-Polish amity on sure founda-tions would be welcomed with enthusiasm byiverv branch of the Slavonic race. Fortunately,there is a growing perception, among all chisscsof Russians, of the root-fact that friendship withGermany means the perpetuation of the unnaturalfeud with Poland and German exploitation ofRussian and Pole alike. Equally clear is thecorollary that Russia's lasting reconciliation withPoland would deal a death-blow to Germanic influ-ence in Russia, both in the political and in theeconomic field. The mistakes of the Russianadministration in Galicianow frankly admittedas such in Petrograd and Moscowand the Germanconquest of Russian Poland have combined to createa situation to which the old ostrich policy ofbureaucratic Russia is obviously incapable of pro-viding a solution.

But if the Polish Question vitally affects Russiaand her whole future, it is also of the greatestpossible importance for the Western Powers in theirstruggle against German " kultur." At the eleventhhour British public opinion has suddenly awakenedto the significance of Germany's political plan. Therealization of the programme of " Berlin-Bagdad 'has ceased to be Utopian ; it is assuming a con-crete form under our very eyes. It involves thecreation of a new " Central Europe : {Mittel-europa)a huge State dominated by Germany andsubjecting the Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Magyars,Roumanians, and Southern Slavs to its thrall. The


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G INTRODUCTIONeconomic exploitation of Poland, already inaugu-rated by (he German conquerors of Warsaw, wouldform an essential feature of this scheme.The Allies are to-day confronted with a sternalternative. Either they must confess themselvesbeaten and reconcile themselves to a German hege-mony over the whole territory which lies betweenHamburg and Basra, or they must answer theprogramme of " Central Europe " by a rival pro-gramme, not less practical and more ideal thanthat of the Germans. The " rights of the smallernationalities of Europe," more than once publiclyadvocated by Mr. Asquith in the name of hisGovernment, represent an abstract statement ofsuch a programme ; but the phrase is absolutelymeaningless unless it is restated to-day in concreteterms of the European situation. The first steptowards the creation of a new Europe must be theemancipation and regeneration of the democraticand progressive Slav nations. Free Poland, freeBohemia and Jugoslavia (based on the nationalunity of Serb, Croat, and Slovene)side by sidewith a free Magyar State and an enlarged Roumaniaall these will be so many barriers on the path ofaggressive Germanism. Without them no barrieris possible ; and of them all Poland will be themost powerful, the richest, the best organized, and,with Bohemia, the most highly cultured. With itspopulation of probably not less than twentymillions, in close and intimate alliance with other

take rank in the hierarchy


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INTRODUCTION 7of nations immediately after the Great Powers.Poland can never be revived in its old historicform as the mistress of other races ; but it has lessto tear from a strict application of ethnographicprinciples than any of its neighbours. The countryof Sobieski and Kosciuszko, of Copernicus, Mickie-wicz, and Chopin has nothing to fear from thefree development of its own destiny, on those linesof self-help, co-operation, and intense patriotismof all elasses which have enabled it to survive120 years of national extinction and foreignoppression.

Mr. Zaleski's brief survey of Polish history formsan admirable introduction to a series whose aim isthe interpretation of Poland to British readers, andwill be welcomed by all those who have the causeof Slavonic freedom and progress at heart and bythe even larger number of those who realize thevital part which the relations of Slav and Britonwill play in the future development of Europe.

R. W. SETON-WATSON.


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CONTENTSTAfiKINTRODUCTION

ITHE GROWTH OF THE POLISH STATE . . .11

II

POLAND AT THE HEIGHT OP HER DEVELOPMENT . 17

IIITHE DECLINE OF POLAND . . . .21

IVTHE BEGINNING OF REGENERATION AND THE FALL

OF POLAND . . . . . .27V

THE TEMPORARY RECONSTRUCTION OF AN INDEPEN-DENT POLISH STATE . . . . .32VI

THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY . . . .38


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12 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYing results. It divided the Slavonic race into twogroups, which developed along different lines. TheCzechs and the Poles evolved a civilization essen-tially of the Western type, while the Southern Slavs,Ruthenians, and Russians embraced the Church ofConstantinople and developed along Eastern models.The former followed Rome, the latter Byzantium.This difference remains to this day the basis ofthe Slavonic Question.The last King of the Piast dynasty began to

transplant Western civilization to that part ofRuthenia which came to him as an inheritanceafter the death of one of his distant relations, andwhich is now known as Galicia. Nearly half acentury later the young Queen Jadviga, by hermarriage with the Lithuanian Prince Jagiello, de-termined a similar movement in the North, withthe dilTerence that Ruthenia was a member of theEastern Church when it came under Polish rule,while Lithuania was pagan. In Lithuania, how-ever, the Poles encountered formidable competitors,who, under the pretext of converting the Lithuaniansto Christianity, tried to establish their authorityover this country by means of the sword. Thesewere the two Teutonic religious orders (Cruciferiand Ensiferi) settled on the shores of the Baltic.They succeeded in overcoming some of the Lithu-anian tribes, while the rest were united into oneStale, and, being strongly pressed from the north-west, advanced in a south-easterly direction, where


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 13Duchies. Thus, by the union with Lithuania, Polandacquired an enormous field for her activity. Thisfield was further extended after the defeats whichPolish and Lithuanian forces inflicted repeatedlyon the German military Orders. In 1 1()(5 theTeutonic Knights of the Cross had to abandon alltheir possessions on the Baltic with the exceptionof Eastern Prussia, held by them under the suze-rainty of the Polish Grown. The last of the GreatMasters of that Order, Albert of Brandenburg, em-braced the Protestant religion at the beginning ofthe sixteenth century, secularized the Order, andproclaimed himself Hereditary Duke of Prussia,whilst remaining a vassal of the Polish Crown.The same fate befell the Knights of the Sword.They ceded to Poland the Province of Livland,retaining that of Courland as vassals. The Jagiellonswere also able to establish Polish influence inBohemia and Hungary, where a younger Princeof that dynasty, Vladislav, was elected King by theCzechs in 1471, and by the Hungarians in 1491.The power of Poland rose to its highest point.The rule of the Jagiellons extended from theBaltic to the Adriatic and the Black Sea.

But military and political power is not the essenceof true greatness. Something more is required.A spiritual supremacy means far more thansupremacy of the sword. From the time of theiradoption of Christianity, the Poles paid specialattention to the furtherance of civilization. TheItalian missionary and monk brought with him


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14 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYfrom the West the first wonders of science. Schoolswere opened under the influence of the Church.Poles entered into the great family of Westerncivilization. Early in the thirteenth century thismovement was checked for a time by the appear-ance of the Tartars in Europe ; they vanquishedthe Eastern Slavs and moved towards the Westwith all their forces. The Poles broke their ad-vance and threw them back. From that time thePoles were constantly engaged in opposing incur-sions of Tartars and Turks, and were the acknow-ledged defenders of Christianity from the Easternperil. But even the stress of this conflict couldnot slop the advance of civilization.From the thirteenth century we hear of many

Poles who sought knowledge at the Italian Uni-versities. The scholars brought back not only theirquota of knowledge, but new social and politicalideas. The fourteenth century marked the ap-proaching end of the Middle Ages. Poland enteredon a road of great internal reforms, and theology,philosophy, and the knowledge of classical litera-ture and law advanced quickly. In 1367 a Facultyof Law was opened in Cracow. In 1100 this wastransformed into a University with four facultiestheology, philosophy, law, and medicine. Whilesome teachers were brought from abroad, themajority were Poles, and it may be mentioned thatmany of the latter were derived from the burgessesof Cracow. And the standard of these Polish

place


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 15they occupied as lawyers and theologians at theCouncils of the Church. Numerous students fromFrance, Germany, Hungary, and Italy sought learn-ing in Cracow. The teachers, who had amongsttheir disciples such men as Copernicus and St. JohnKanty, must themselves have been men of no littleknowledge. When the University was instituted thePoles fully realized its importance. It served onlyin part to leach the young. At the time of itsopening the Poles had already prominent scientistswho, hesides lecturing, devoted much of their limeto the general advancement of high science. Athis inaugural lecture, given in the presence of theKing and Queen, the first Chancellor of the Uni-versity, Peter Wysz, after expressing his thanks totheir Majesties, declared that "this University shallstand and fulfil its duty so long as the King ofPoland's sceptre is unbroken." It not only justi-fied this hope, but did better. The sceptre wasbroken, but the University still stands and dis-charges its task by bringing up new generationsof workers, who, in the toil of everyday life, strivefor the uplifting of their country.

With the advance of science came a great de-velopment of art and literature. Magnificent build-ings in the Renaissance style were erected. Muchfine work in prose and poetry was published, bothin Polish and Latin. Through the constant inter-course with the West, the ideas of the Reformationflowed into Poland, and the new ideas were receivedwith applause both by the nobility and the


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16 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYburgesses. But the Protestantism of Poland hada somewhat different character from that ofWestern Europe. The quiet agricultural Polishpopulation did not care much about discussionsand quarrels about diverse religious dogmas. Whatthe Poles desired was to keep the religious dogmas,hierarchy, and rituals intact. And the whole move-ment was rather national than religious. It hadas its chief aim the release of the Church fromdependence on Rome, and the formation of a Councilof Bishops, under the presidency of the King, asthe supreme power in religious matters. Owingto the masterful policy of Rome this plan fellthrough ; but the great national movement con-tinued, its chief result being to free Polish literaturefrom an excessive Latin element, and to induce anaccentuation of national feeling and a broadening ofideas which were bound up with the Reformation.It may be added that from early times the Polesdisplayed a natural disposition towards religioustolerance. Ample proof of this can be found inthe fact that the Inquisitions, so common in otherStates, were unknown among them. It has alwaysbeen a fact that, themselves fervent Catholics, thePoles have not forced their religion on the unwilling.There is a good deal of truth in the assertion thatthis was one of the many reasons why the Romanreligion flourished in Poland and Protestantism lostground.


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II

POLAND AT THE HEIGHT OF HERDEVELOPMENTIn Poland the scientific, literary, and religiousmovement of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuriescould not fail to influence political ideas and theirbearing on the existing social and political structureof the country. The study of classical philosophersand political writers, modified by the trend ofProtestant thought, gave rise to a special schoolof Polish political philosophers. This was basedon two main principles : firstly, the best form ofgovernment is a republic ; secondly, ail men areequal before the law and absolutely free in so faras they act within the limit of that law. Theseideas, however, were subject to the same limita-tion as in the classic republic. Only men of acertain class were accounted full-citizensnamely,the nobility. This principle, however, was appliedvery differently in Poland as compared with otherEuropean countries. Feudalism was unknown. Atthe outset there was an attempt on the part of themore influential aristocracy to take the governmentof the country into its hands through the agencyof the Crown, but this venture met with stout re-sistance from the Knighthood. The conflict wasshort. Owing to the stronger position of the


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18 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYhad even to abandon its special rights and influ-ence and merge into the Knighthood. From thecoalescence of these two classes the Polish nobilityarose. Within it all were equal. There were notitles. The only distinction in rank depended onexecutive offices, to which any noble could aspire.But the nobility adopted the Aristotelian view ofthe other classes. Both burgesses and villains werelooked upon as citizens without full rights. Theirstatus, however, was much better than that ofsimilar classes in other European countries of thetime, excepting England, where, owing to peculiareconomic circumstances due to an insular positionand the loss of population caused by the BlackDeath, villainage decayed spontaneously.While achieving internal equality as nobles, the

dominant class was also able to secure for itselfrights and privileges which practically placed thegovernment of the country in its hands. By theend of the fifteenth century the Polish Parliament,called " Sejm," was organized, and, by securingKnights, Hie power of voting supplies and con-trolling the military service of the Knights becamevirtually the Government. Parliament consisted oftwo Chambers : the Upper Chamber or the Senate,composed of higher officials of the State, and theLower Chamber, consisting of members elected byconstituencies. The powers of the King weresubject to constitutional limitations. In 1430 theKing had to sign an Act ensuring the personal


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 1!)Liberty was reached when, after the death of thelast Jagiellon King (1572 , the throne was madeelective, every nobleman having a right to ascendit. The State was called a Republic, and the King'sposition became that of Primus inter pares. Thesechanges were not brought about in a haphazardway ; they resulted from deep thought and scientificinquiries. Even if mistakes were made andeventually produced disastrous consequences, intheir time the reforms were the wonder of Europe.The works of such Polish political writers asGoslicki were translated into various Europeanlanguages, and subsequently suppressed by Govern-ments as dangerously liberal in their outlook.Goslicki's principal work, first published in 1568,was translated into English under the title :The counsellor . . . wherein the offices of magistrates, the

happie life of subjects, and the felicities of Commonwealesis pleasantly and pithlie discoursed. A golden worke, re-plenished with the chief learning of the most excellent Philo-sophers and Lawgivers, and not only profitable and verienecessarie for all those that be admitted to the administrationof a well-governed Commonweale.

London, 1598.Its purpose can be seen from the opening

phrases :As every man well knoweth those Commonweales be most

blessed where men do live in peace ; so are those countriesmiserable where people are not maintained in securitie. Andas everie Commonweale is happie wherein subjects are good,so in good Commonweales no subject can be unfortunate.

This


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20 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYworth. In the preface to the latter issue the trans-lator says that even in his time the work is stilllooked upon as " advanced,"' and tries to safeguardhimself against its possible suppression by invokingthe protection of many eminent men of the time.He goes on to say :There have been many Authors who have written freely

of the Office and Duty of a King ; and they have met withFavourable Reception, whilst they kept their Pens within theBounds of that Deference and Submission, which is due to theSuperior Grandeur and Dignity of the Sceptre. Goslicki haswith great Delicacy touched upon this Subject. . . .When the Differences between a British and Polish Govern-

ment are removed and set aside or amicably compromised andadjusted, what Goslicki hath advanced in Defence of Loyaltyand Liberty, and to make these Two Principles compatiblewill, I hope deserve the attention of such Patriots, as are alikeZealous for the Prerogatives of the Crown, and the Interests ofthe People.

In conclusion, Oldisworth says :As the People of Poland have all along been noted for their

Great Learning and Knowledge, the Inseparable Companionsand Sure Supporters of Liberty, so they have in midst of adisadvantageous Soil and Clime always maintained a Characterof Dignity and Grandeur ; have often Distinguished them-selves by their "Wisdom, Bravery, and Conduct ; and at onetime particularly in so Glorious a Manner, that they seemed tohave Good Claim to the Title of The Deliverers of Europe fromInfidelity and Slavery ; on which account, there is perhapsa good dea of Deference due to them ; and they may wellbe admitted as Advocates of That Liberty, which by theirArms they so bravely Defended ; At least they may expectto be Heard with Patience upon so Agreeable a Subject, by Us,their Constant and Firm Allies, of whom, for our Love ofLiberty, they have had so Good an Opinion, that Remote as we


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Ill

THE DECLINE OF POLANDAfter the splendid development of Poland in thefourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, whenthat country reached the zenith of her power andwon the esteem of Europe, both for her eminencein the arts and sciences and her liberal constitu-tional and social systems, a decline ensued. It isa commonplace that the essence of good politicsis compromise, and a lack of compromise largelyaccounted for Poland's retrogression. The ideasof liberty put forward so ably by Polish politicalthinkers of the sixteenth century and carried intopractice so admirably at the time began todegenerate in the seventeenth century.The principle of personal freedom when carried

too far may easily lead the way to disintegration ;popular control of the Government under similarconditions may end in an undesirable weakeningof the executive. To a citizen of a State so wellorganized as Great Britain social order in its widestsense seems a necessity to be taken for granted,and it requires an effort of imagination to realizehow much careful thought has been expended inadjusting such principles as those of personal free-


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22 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYdom and supremacy of the State, of popular con-trol and stable government. It is commonlyacknowledged by Polish and foreign historians alikethat the maladjustment of personal freedom andpopular control, on the one hand, and Stateguidance, on the other, were the chief causes ofthe internal disruption of Poland during the seven-teenth century. The principle of freedom wascarried to such excess that every law passed bythe Chamber of Deputies required a unanimousvote. A single veto threw out a Bill ! This madelegislation by Parliament almost impossible ; themain power passed into the hands of local councils,which became almost autonomous. These councils,called "sejmik," were composed of the localnobility, and began to pass laws special to the areain which they acted without reference to nationalrequirements. This system divided the country intoa number of small provinces too loosely connected,and thus greatly diminished the coherence of theState as a whole. As electors of the Kings, thenobles were in a position to curtail the centralizedauthority until it almost disappeared. The fact thatthe King could be elected not merely from amongthe Polish nobility but from one of the foreignroyal families, gave foreign monarchs the oppor-tunity to interfere in the internal affairs of thecountry. Poland became the ground on whichFrance and Austria tried to gain supremacy inEurope by extending their influence, while Russia


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 23annexation of the country. Two other factorstended to weaken Poland. In the first place, theRoman Catholic reaction which affected all Europein the seventeenth century was very marked inPoland. The admirable laws of the sixteenthcentury, granting perfect freedom of conscience toall inhabitants of Poland and resulting in an inflowof Protestants from many European countries, wereforgotten. Indeed, in 1733 all non-Catholics weredeprived of the right of entering Parliament andthe Civil Service. The second factor was the limita-tion of the franchise to the nobility. It cannotbe too strongly impressed on the student of Polishaffairs that the term "nobility' in Poland con-noted a status peculiar to the country. The classof nobles formed by the amalgamation of the aris-tocracy with the Knighthood was very numerousin fact, it amounted to over 10 per cent, of thepopulation. A franchise limited to this proportionmight have been a success in the sixteenthcentury, for then the prosperity of the Polishbourgeoisie had not been damaged by the nobility,who pursued their agriculture and did not interferewith the traders ; and the burgesses, on their side,were not strong enough to better their position.But when Russia began to export large quantitiesof corn and so damaged the interests of the Polishgentlemen farmers, the nobility, unable to meet thiscompetition, used their power as a privileged classto free themselves from the burden of taxation andto increase that of the burgesses. This gave


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24 LANDMARKS OF. POLISH HISTORYrise to considerable friction, and the strainedrelations between the classes resulted in oppression.

Simultaneously Poland was engaged in a seriesof wars. She was subject to constant invasionsby Swedes, Moscovites, Turks, and Tartars. Sostrong, however, was the organization of Polandin the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that all themisgovernment of the subsequent century did notmaterially weaken her for a time. She withstoodall the attacks of the Turks and Tartars of theperiod, and even proceeded to the rescue of Viennain 1683, when that city, and with her all ChristianEurope, was threatened by a great Mussulman in-vasion. The coup was so splendid that it wonfor King John Sobieski, the commander of the army,a fame that is fresh to-day.

All Europe united in his praise. Innumerablebooks and poems were written in various languagesto commemorate this victory, England not beingthe last to honour the Polish King. Among others,Alexander Tyler published in 1685 a poem extend-ing to 155 pages, in which he gave a full biographyof King John III and described his gallant deeds.This is how Tj^ler began his poem:

When the whole world of men in Christendom,The Eastern Church of Greece, Western of Rome,The Orthodox, Reformed, purer Church,And all their sev'ral sects lay at the Lurch . . .Then like a mighty Angel sent from Heaven,Or like those Cherubims to Eden given,With Flaming sword to fence the tree of life,


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LANDMARKS OF. POLISH HISTORY 25But internal disorder could not remain without

effect on the military power of the country, cspeci-ally as the governing class, fearing an increase ofthe prerogatives of the Crown, would not votesupplies for the maintenance of an Army, and stillclung to the old system of mobilizing the wholenobility in case of war. As an outcome, Polandsuffered severe losses. Not only was she deprivedof a part of her territory, but also lost her statusas a Great Power.

Her territory beyond the Dnieper and Kieff wereceded to Moscow. Sweden took the Livland. Therulers of Prussia, Moldavia, and Wallachia, whowere vassals of the Polish Crown, refused allegi-ance ; and much against the wish and interests ofPoland, the Prussian Prince went so far as toassume the title of King within his territory.

Standing aside from the Thirty Years War,Poland had no influence on the internationalarrangements adopted at the Conferences ofMunster and Osnabruck, and finally establishedby the Westphalian Treaty. Exhausted by constantwars and misgoverned, she had to endure the arro-gance of her former Prussian vassal. Such a stateof things could not continue long with a nationlike the Poles. In the second quarter of the eigh-teenth century a strong regenerating movementbegan. At first this was the work of individualmen, but shortly it widened, and by the middle ofthe century had grown to a great national move-ment. Sweeping reforms on a democratic basis


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26 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYwere initiated, hut unfortunately they came too late.The neighbouring Powers could not but view thisrevival with disfavour, as it was already their objectlo dismember the weakened country. As early as1732 the Courts of Berlin, St. Petersburg, and Viennasigned a convention whereby the high contractingparties made it their business to prevent reformsin Poland. As they could not attain their purposeby diplomacj'', they subdued Poland by arms whenshe was alread}' on the upward path. By this actthey not only increased their territory, but destroyeda neighbour, whose liberal and democratic methodsmight have had a perilous influence on their ownautocratically-governed people.

01*-"


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IVTHE BEGINNING OF REGENERATION ANDTHE FALL OF POLAND

The regenerating movement in Poland was gainingground when King August III died in 1763. Thusan election was in prospect. Parliament began byintroducing reforms to enforce the Executive ; tofacilitate the proceedings of the Houses, hampereduntil then by the need of unanimous decisions ;to improve the position of burgesses and peasants ;to strengthen the economic condition of the coun-try ; and, finally, to increase the military powerof the State. Several of these reforms were carriedinto effect, but the most salient never reached theStatute Book because Prussia and Russia, whosearmy occupied the chief towns in Poland, wishedto ensure the election of Russia's candidate,Stanislas August Poniatowski.

Constant intrigues by the Ambassadors of theneighbouring Powers caused great discontent amongthe Poles, who started a counter-movement : theConfederation of Bar. This led to much internaldisorder, as the King and his party were underRussia's protection, and had no thought of dis-carding it.


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28 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYMeanwhile Russia vanquished Turkey, and

Austria, intimidated by the victory, drew nearerto Prussia and Turkey in order to cripple Russia.A remedy was soon found by Prussia. Wishing

to use Turkey as an ally against Russia, she pro-posed that the latter should not make the mostof her victory, but take instead a part of Poland,while Austria and Prussia compensated themselvesin the same way. All agreed to the proposal, anda formal treaty was signed in February 1772. InAugust the occupation of the annexed territory wasan accomplished fact. The Powers concerned re-quested the Polish Government to sanction thepartition. The King appealed to the WesternPowers, but the allied armies speedily occupiedWarsaw, and Parliament was coerced by arms tosanction treaties with Austria, Prussia, and Russia,ceding to them the territories which they hadpreviously arranged among themselves to seize.At the same time Russia inserted a clause inher treaty to the effect that no change of the PolishConstitution should take place without her consent,and to back this policy her Ambassador in Warsawhad a Russian garrison at his disposal. Neverthe-less many reforms wrere initiated and established.In 1778 the so-called Commission of Education wasformed, and all business concerning public edu-cation fell to it. This was the first Roard ofEducation established in Europe. Its earliest workwas to secularize the schools and to reform them


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 29of the time. Care was also taken to further agri-culture, industry, and commerce, the Governmentassisting those who undertook new enterprises inindustry or sought to improve old ones on a soundeconomic basis and with a reasonable prospect ofsuccess. Political reforms were also in preparation.Polish scientists, besides devoting lime to the studyof social and political questions, entered into touchwith such eminent thinkers of the period asRousseau, Mably, and others ; these latter, on re-quest, wrote treatises on Polish affairs and recom-mended reforms. Unfortunately, promising reformscould not always be put into practice, as the RussianAmbassador used the treaty against them. In 1787,however, the international situation was greatlychanged. Turkey declared war on Russia ; Austria,according to her treaty with Russia, in her turndeclared war on Turkey. Profiting by this situa-tion, Sweden broke off diplomatic relations withRussia and began hostilities. England, Holland,and Prussia were ready to back Turkey. The Poleshad two roads open to them : to enter into analliance with Russia and Austria, or to join theother Powers standing by Prussia. King FrederickWilliam II made very profitable offers to Poland,promising her to free her from the influence ofRussia. On March 29, 1790, a defensive and offen-sive treaty was signed between Poland and Prussia,by which each Power was bound to intervene shouldthe other be attacked.But the international situation speedily changed.


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30 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYRussia's ally, Joseph II. died, and his successorLeopold, breaking off the alliance with Russia inJuly 1790, concluded a Ireaty with Prussia. Thisweakened the position of Poland, as her alliancewith Prussia was no longer of vital importanceto the latter. Moreover, in August of the sameyear, the King of Sweden concluded peace withRussia. Poland felt her insecurity, but continuedher constructive work ; to remedy most of the evilsof the governmental system a new Constitution wasenacted by Parliament and aceepted by the Kingon May 3, 1791. The Throne was made hereditary,the right of libcram veto abolished. The positionof burgesses and peasants was substantial!}'' im-proved. The Constitution, acknowledged through-out Europe as a model of its kind, won the highappreciation of many scientists and philosophers,among them Edmund Rurke. Austria and Prussiajoined in the chorus of appreciation, but it wasa cause of anxiety in Russia. Shortly afterwardsthe international situation changed in favour of thelast Power. France declared war on Austria. WithAustria out of the field, Russia no longer fearedPrussia. In May 1792 the Russian Ambassadorformally declared war on Poland. But Poland hadnot had time to carry out reforms under the newConstitution, and was unprepared for war. Inaccordance with the treaty of 1790, the PolishEnvoy at Berlin asked for Prussia's support, butthe King answered that he did not consider himselfbound to intervene, as Poland had changed her


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 31Constitution without his assent. Poland beingpractically without an army, Russia enteredWarsaw.

Meanwhile between the Courts of Berlin, St.Petersburg, and Vienna negotiations were proceed-ing for a new partition, but as Austria was occu-pied with France, Prussia and Russia alone tookpart in it. The Polish Parliament, meeting atGrodno, was again compelled to sanction the par-tition. A Russian garrison of thirty thousand menremained in Poland at the disposal of the RussianAmbassador, and the Constitution of 1791 wasshelved.

Yet again the Poles resisted. A revolution wasproclaimed in Cracow on May 7, 1794, the leader-ship being placed in the hands of General TadeuszKosciuszko. By the promise of liberation of thepeasants and their enlistment as volunteers a con-siderable army was formed, and war declared onRussia. At first the Poles were victorious, but theKing of Prussia came to Russia's assistance, and thePoles could not withstand the combination. Whilehostilities were actually carried on negotiations fora third partition proceeded. A treaty was signedbetween Austria, Prussia, and Russia in January1795. On November 25th of the same year KingStanislas August was forced to abdicate. The threeparticipating Powers believed that now the PolishQuestion was finally settled. They were to learnhowever, that they had become masters of a racewhose individuality could not be killed.


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THE TEMPORARY RECONSTRUCTION OF ANINDEPENDENT POLISH STATE

By the 1795 partition the ancient Polish Statewas brought to an end. The territory of a once-flourishing Republic was divided among her threeneighbours. Russia annexed the Lithuanian andRuthenian provinces, while the territory formingethnographical Poland was unequally dividedbetween Austria and Prussia, the latter takingthe largest share, with Warsaw, the capital of thecountry.

Immediately after the three Powers, in the wordsof Frederick, " partook and communicated of thebody of Poland," a fact which, in his opinion, wouldbind the countries in an eternal friendship, thePrussian Government sought to destroy everythingPolish. Even the old names of districts were re-placed by German ones, the areas of New EastPrussia and New Silesia being constituted. Further,the Government introduced Prussian administration,suspended Polish laws, forced the German languageon all State institutions ; also it removed Polesfrom all official positions, and in general prevented


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 33people were subjected to the regime of the Prussianbureaucracy. The property of the Church wasseized by the Treasury. The great improvementsmade in the position of the peasantry during thelast years of independence were abolished, theirstatus being reduced to the Prussian standard.Similar methods were adopted in the Austrianpart, called now the Kingdom of Galicia andLodomeria.

In Russian Poland Catherine II confiscated manyestates, and proved anything but a friend to theChurch. Her successors, however, the EmperorsPaul and Alexander I, were less arbitrary in theirmethods. The latter discountenanced harsh treat-ment of the Poles, for some time at any rate. Heentrusted the supervision of education among themto a Pole, Prince Adam Czartoryski, who introduceda system based on the principles laid down by I liePolish Parliament before the dismemberment.

But the daily struggle against Austrian andPrussian schemes did not occupy the whole atten-tion of the Poles. They were busily engaged informing plans for the reconstitution of their countryas a sovereign State. There were two possibilitiesopen to them at the moment : they could turntowards Russia or France. The kindly disposi-tion of Alexander I towards the Poles made themhope that he would be willing to reconstruct Polandas an independent kingdom under his rule. Theproject was laid before the Czar by Prince Czar-toryski. The Czar hesitated for some time, but


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34 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYunfortunately accepted advice tendered by the Kingof Prussia, and rejected the proposal. All the hopesof Poland now turned towards France, where agood many Polish emigrants found shelter, andfrom whence the message of liberty had gone forthto all Kurope. The Poles in France had organizedlegions of their countrymen, and these fought sideby side with the French.

In 1806, when the King of Prussia declared waron France, Napoleon decided to avail himself ofthe services of the Poles. He proclaimed the inde-pendence of Poland as the chief aim of his cam-paign, and called for an insurrection in that country.The Poles took to arms, Napoleon was victorious,and by the following Treaty of Tilsit an independentPolish State once more appeared on the map pfEurope. But the Powers which took part in thedivision of Poland used all their influence to preventthe new State from retaining its name. Thus theDuchy of Warsaw was set up, and consisted of nomore than a part of Prussian Poland. All theBaltic coast, with the exception of Dantzig, nowmade a free city, went to Prussia, while the districtof Bialvstok was handed to the Czar by way ofcompensation.The Duchy of Warsaw was given as an hereditary

possession to the King of Saxony by Napoleon, whogranted it an ostensibly liberal Constitution, whichensured religious toleration, the equality of allcitizens in the eyes of the law, the use of thenational language, a two-chamber Legislature with


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 35a Ministry responsible to it, and an army of fiftythousand.The creation of a small Duchy inevitably failed

to satisfy the Poles. Moreover, its Constitutionwas in reality very unsatisfactory. The franchisewas very limited, personal liberty was not guaran-teed, and there was no freedom of the Press ; andthough emancipation of the peasants was a feature,no provision was made for their subsistence, sothat they remained essentially dependent on thelandowners. Again, the Poles understood thatNapoleon created the Duchy for his own purposes,and therefore did not feel safe against some newturn of his policy. Notwithstanding all this, theDuchy represented a great improvement on the con-ditions to which the Poles were subjected prior toits creation. At once the huge task of organizingthe country was started, and once more the Polesshowed their characteristic vitality. They paidspecial attention to economic development andeducation. But the new order of things hadscarcely been established when Austria declaredwar on Napoleon in 1809. Simultaneously theAustrian armies crossed the frontier of the Duchy.The Archduke Ferdinand, commanding the Austrianarmy, declared that he was entering the Duchynot as an enemy, but as the liberator of Polandfrom French rule. The Poles, however, effectivelyopposed the " liberator," and when hostilities wereended found themselves in the possession of a greatpart of Austrian Poland, in the peace negotia-


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36 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYlions, conducted in Vienna, however, Napoleon wasactuated by the same motives as at Tilsit. TheEmperor Alexander, Napoleon's ally at the time,particularly feared the success of that ally, since hehad no wish to see Poland under the House ofSaxony. Finally an agreement was reached by thetwo allies, under which the Duchy attached a partof Austrian Poland. The Czar was compensatedby the cession to him of the Tarnopol district,Napoleon promising that he would keep the Duchyto the limits described at the time. On their side,the Poles hoped that the Franco -Russian Alliancewould prove transient, and meanwhile were busilyengaged on the internal organization. Very soontheir hopes were fulfilled by the crisis of 1812.Both Alexander and Napoleon made handsomepromises, but the Poles were bound by treaty andgratitude to France ; their forces joined Napoleon'sgreat army, and suffered defeat with it. Austriaand Prussia, the two other allies of Napoleon inthis adventure, turned round and joined the vic-torious Czar. Again offers and promises were madeto the Poles, but for them treaties were not merescraps of paper, and they stood to the last byFrance. Perhaps they would have profited moreby imitating Austria and Prussia. Be that as it may,they honoured their bond.

So, having linked its fate with Napoleon's, theDuchy of Warsaw was at the disposal of the Con-gress of Vienna. During the Congress the Polish


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 37between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. A Europeanwar was imminent, but the return of Napoleonforced the Powers to settle their differences. Asettlement was reached by a new partition ofPoland. From a part of the Warsaw Duchy theGrand Duchy of Posen was formed and given tothe King of Prussia, to whom also the free city ofDantzig returned. Cracow and a small strip ofterritory round it was declared a free Republicunder the protection of Russia, Austria, and Prussia.Austria received again the Kingdom of Galicia andLodomeria. The remainder of the Duchy consti-tuted the Kingdom of Poland, and was given to theCzar of Russia.


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VITHE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY

The Congress of Vienna laid down in a very vagueway the principle that all parts of Poland shouldreceive a Constitution compatible with a normalnational development.

In order to comply with this principle theEmperor of Austria established, in the part ofPoland which came under his rule, a sham Parlia-ment, composed entirely of the clergy and thewealthiest nobles. This body had no legislativerights ; its only business was to apportion taxes andwrite petitions asking the Sovereign to make laws.Coincidently, the bureaucratic system in existencebefore the loss of the Polish provinces (1809) wasreinforced ; its object was to set class against classand so weaken national unity.The Prussian Government, as usual, made nopretence of discharging its obligations to the Con-

gress. The treaty was ignored and a system ofbureaucratic persecutions begun without ceremony.The Emperor Alexander alone acted in accord-

ance with the intentions of the Congress, andgranted a fairly liberal Constitution. The King-


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 39the fact that the Czar was the hereditary ruler,but nevertheless it had its own Parliament andExecutive and a separate army and administration ;its foreign policy alone was purely Russian. TheRussian Government and military caste were verydissatisfied with Alexander's liberalism towards aconquered nation, an altitude hardly surprisingwhen it is considered that Russia did not enjoy Ihesame benefits. Pressure was brought to bear onthe Czar by his Court, and eventually this influencetoldpartly, no doubt, because Alexander mean-while discovered that it was difficult for the auto-cratic Czar of Russia to submit to the limitationsof a constitutional Kingship in Poland. Likeothers of his time, he found that liberal principleswere one thing, liberal practice another. Conse-quently a systematic infringement of the PolishConstitution was permitted at the hands of hisbrother, the Tsarevitch Constantine, the ViceroyPrince Zajonczek, and the Imperial CommissionerNovosiltzev. Little by little the legalized rights ofthe people were annulled. Censorship of the Pressand other publications began. Secret police mademany arrests. Parliament was not convoked. Andall these reactionary measures were increased whenthe Emperor Nicholas I succeeded to the throne.The Poles, unable to retain the management ofState affairs by constitutional means, took to arms.Revolution broke out on November 29, 1830. Notfeeling strong enough to sustain the Revolutionalone, the Poles sought in vain for foreign help


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10 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYAustria, not satisfied to stand aside from the insur-n clion, closed her frontiers and made communica-tion with the West difficult. Prussia entered intotreaty with Russia, promising to put sixty thousandtroops at her disposal. The Revolution collapsed,but not without having a great effect elsewhere.Owing to the Polish rising the Czar could not goto stamp out the Revolution in Belgium, as washis intention. It may therefore be said that Polandsaved Belgium by her revolt.

After suppressing the Revolution, the RussianGovernment's attitude towards Poland hardened.The Constitution was suspended, the national Polisharmy abolished, and the administration of thecountry subjected to the central authorities at St.Petersburg. Also State lands were distributedamongst officers and officials in order to russifythe country. Many Poles were sent to Siberia.The Uniat Church was abolished and its followersforced to become Orthodox. The Polish Universi-ties at Warsaw and Vilna were closed and schoolsreduced in number, with the apparent object ofminimizing Western influence.To escape these conditions many Poles emigrated

to France and England, where they were sympa-thetically received. Still, the whole thought of thepeople was centred in a single idea : the recon-stitution of Poland. Whatever differences ofopinion existed on social problems were mergedin this common desire. A revolt was planned andprepared in 1846. No outbreak took place in the


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 41Duchy of Posen, because there the organizers werealready in the hands of Prussian gaolers, butCracow rose and Galicia made ready. The attempt,however, ended disastrously, for the Galicianpeasants were used by the Austrian Governmentagainst the insurgents.

During the previous few decades the system ofthe Austrian Government had been to demoralizethe peasants and awaken in them a hatred of theirlandlords. The Austrian law maintained the rightof landlords to labour dues, forced on the squiresthe duty of apportioning taxes, and made the latterselect recruits for the army and act as rural police.No better means could have been employed to sapthe popularity of the landed classes among thepeasantry. On the other hand, the bureaucracytook the peasants under their care, protectingthem whenever they were prosecuted by the land-lords for theft, and so forth. The ignorant poorfailed to realize the object of this system. To themall oppression originated with landlords, while thebureaucracy figured as defenders of the weak.Hence, when the revolt against Austrian rule began,nothing was easier than to persuade the peasantthat a victory of the insurgents would leave themat the mercy of landlordism. Criminals were letloose from prisons to start riots, and the peasantryaccepted the lead. Many nobles were massacredwith their wives and children, some two thousandpersons being killed. This ended the rising. The


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42 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYwas occupied by a garrison composed of Austrians,Prussians, and Russians. In all parts of Polandthe gaols were filled with prisoners suspected ofsympathizing with the insurgents. The free cityof Cracow, instituted at the Congress of Vienna,was absorbed by Austria.

The severity of the measures directed againstthe Galician rising left the Poles undaunted, as thewider revolutionary movements of 1848 showed.The Prussian revolutionists requested the Govern-ment to grant internal autonomy to the Duchy ofPosen, and having apparently obtained for them-selves a liberal Constitution, clamoured for warwith Russia as a means of extending this liberty.Frederick William solemnly promised to fulfil theirwishes. The Poles were allowed to raise their ownarmy for service against Russia, and at once set towork. But as soon as Berlin was in hand Frederickavailed himself of the privilege, always claimed bythe Prussian Kings, of breaking his word. Heordered his troops to fall on the Polish camps andto massacre the young men who were trained thereto fight in his name.The revolution in Austria followed a similarcourse, so far as the Poles were concerned.

Promises were lavishly made, reforms initiated ;but when the position in Vienna became secureGalicia was drowned in blood.

In this way all Poland suffered severe reprisals,under which the nation seemed to be losing its iden-


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 43activity. Unobtrusive development took the placeof resistance ; science, literature, and art flourished ;the people, unbroken, were preparing to assertagain their right to nationality. It was not, how-ever, until Napoleon III introduced the principleof racial unity into European politics thai the Polesfound an opportunity. An armed insurrectionstarted at Warsaw in 1863. The hopes of theinsurgents centred in Napoleon, who, after thevictories of Magenta and Solferino, was regardedin Poland as the champion of the oppressed. ButNapoleon was absorbed in home affairs and, actingwith Great Britain and Austria, limited his actionto the presentation of pacific notes to Russia. Theresulting diplomatic correspondence dragged onwhile the insurrection was being stamped out byforce. A period of civil suppression followed.What remained of self-government disappeared,the Poles lost the right of entering the Civil Service,and the Russian language was introduced into theschools and courts. Everything Polish was pro-hibited, the very name of the country being changedto "The District of the Vistula."The Prussian Government took similar measures,and enforced them with German ruthlessness. In

1880 a Colonization Commission was constitutedin Posen to push the purchase and settlement ofthe land by Germans. A hundred million markswere made over to the Commission by the Govern-ment for this purpose. In addition, in 1891,


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44 LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYSociety for the Germanization of the Duchy ofPosen. Three Prussians, Hennemann, Kennemann,and Tiedemann, organized this body, which, inkeeping with their initials, was called the Hakata.It started work by fomenting German national feel-ing in Prussia and Posen. Not content with thefact that the Government deprived the Poles ofthe right to enter the Civil Serviceeven, indeed,to fill such a post as that of porter at a Governmentrailway-station the Hakata began a boycott ofPolish merchants, artisans, doctors, lawyers, etc.Some years later the Prussian Diet voted anotherhundred million marks to the Colonization Com-mission for the acquisition of land. The Poleswere forbidden to build new premises of any kindwithout a special permit. Many Polish towns andvillages received German names. Children inschools were punished for speaking Polish. Thelanguage was also forbidden at public meetings.Finally, the Prussian Diet passed a law for de-priving Poles of their land if it were required forGerman immigrants.

The Poles protested through their representativesin the Prussian Diet and the Imperial Parliament,but could make no headway ; most of the Germanrepresentatives replied in effect with Bismarck'swar cry, "Ausrotten."

Under Austrian rule the Poles fared differently.The defeat of 18G6 left the Austrian bureaucracybankrupt. The inefficiency of her administration


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LANDMARKS OFPOLISH HISTORY

BYAUGUST ZALESKI

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BYR. W. SETON-WATSON, D.Litt.

PUBLISHED FOR THE POLISH INFORMATION COMMITTEEBYGEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD. LONDON

RUSKIN HOUSE 40 MUSEUM STREET, W.C.


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LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORY 15Empire regarded the central Government as tooweak to maintain its supremacy. So-calledFundamental Statutes proclaimed by the Emperoraccorded a Constitution, based on the autonomyof the divers countries and the equality of allnationalities, Galicia received a separate Diet,which decided matters of local importance. Polishbecame the official language of Ihe country, althoughin Eastern Galicia Ruthenian was equally recog-nized. The usual constitutional liberties weregranted. There were two Polish Universities, inCracow and Lemberg, and an Academy of Sciencewas opened in the former city. Primary andsecondar}' education was entrusted to the Polishauthorities and Poles were admitted to all Govern-ment appointments.

Such is, in brief, the history of the rise and fallof Poland. Her fate is that of a nation whoattempted to practise democracy while the rest ofEurope was largely autocratic in Government andhad not entirely thrown off the traditions offeudalism. Much has been said of internal dissen-sions which shook Poland in her free days ; butis it not a fact that even now advances indemocracy mean internal conflict? The democraticsystem was persisted with and failedbecause con-tinental Europe was not ripe for it. And so itwas that Poland paid very dearly for her love ofinternal freedom. Surely it is a stain on the


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4G LANDMARKS OF POLISH HISTORYhave been forgotten for the best part of a century.Rut Poland sees her opportunity at last and knowsthat what is made of iL depends largely on thosewho will be called upon to settle the boundariesof European Stales after the present tremendousstruggle. Unfortunately, she is hidden awaysur-rounded by great States. These States form abarrier across which her voice does not easilytravel. The tragedy of war waged on her terri-tory has again brought the Polish Question to thefront. The Poles hope that from the tumult ofthe world's struggle a united and independentPoland will emerge.

Printed in Great Britain byUNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON


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GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN Ltd .TOWARDS A LASTING SETTLEMENTByG. LOWES DICKINSON, II. X. BRAILSFORD, |. A. HOBSON, VERNONLEE, PHILIP SNOWDEN, M.P., A. MAUDE ROYDEN, II. SIDEBOTHAM, etcEdited by Charles Roden Buxton. Crown 8vo, Cloth, 2>. bd. net.[Second Impression. Fifth Thousand.

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By the Rt Hon. J. M. ROBERTSON, M.P. Crown 8vo, Cloth, 2s. bd. net.Profess. 11 Steffen has produced a book in which he justifies the policy of Germany in terms of herImperial need tor expansion and her " Kultur," and he considers incredible the charges broughtagainst her by the Allies, even as regards the invasion of Belgium. Mr. Robertson, putting hisreply in the form of an Open Letter, traverses the whole case, analysing the political and thesociological argument, and presenting a strong counter indictment.THE WAR AND THE BALKANSBy XOEL BUXTON, M.I'., and CHARLKS R. BUXTON. Crown 8vo, Cloth,

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[Third Edition." Profoundly interesting. Well worth most careful attention." Observer." Will be studied eagerly by the very large number of people who prize the eloquent teaching of

this humane and sincere thinker." Manchester Guardian.A SHORT HISTORY OF ENGLISH RURAL LIFE:FROM THE SAXON INVASION TO THE PRESENT DAYBy MONTAGUE FORDHAM, M.A. Larg'e Crown 8vo, 2s. bd. net.A book not only written by a countryman for people interested in English country life, but ahandbook for students, well schemed, and full of valuable information.RUSKIN HOUSE, 40 MUSEUM STREET, W.C.


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Dictionaries and ReferenceBooks

ENGLISH QUOTATIONS. By Col. P. H. Dalbiac. Demy 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d.net Cheap Edition, 3s. 6d. net [Sixth Edition.

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