193 



POLAND. 



POLAND. 



194 



also ceded during his reign to the elector of Brandenburg, whose 

 independence of Poland was further recognised by the treaty of Velau, 

 in 1 657. The country was depopulated by constant war and pestilence, 

 and emigration to adjoining countries, which was caused by the horrors 

 of war and by relit;ioua persecution. In the election of a successor 

 to John Casimir, the minor nobility, jealous of the overgrown influence 

 of the magnates, united to place upon the throne Michael Prince 

 AVisniowietzki, a young man who had no pretensions to this dignity. 

 It was during his reign that the heroic John Sobieski rose, displaying 

 great military skill, and performing prodigies of valour, in the service 

 of his country. 



On the death of Michael in 1673, Sobieski was elected king of 

 Poland in his stead, notwithstanding the competition of numerous 

 candidate*. Almost immediately after his election to the throne the 

 Turks invaded Poland with a large force, and Sobieski was obliged to 

 shut himself up with a few thousand men in Lemberg, which was 

 speedily invested. Taking advantage of a snowstorm which blew right 

 into the face of the Turks, the king issuing out of the town with his small 

 devoted band and a simultaneous cry of 'Christ for ever ! ', completely 

 routed- the besiegers. A fresh Turkish army headed by the brave 

 Pasha of Damascus advanced to the Dniester, where John Sobieski, 

 with 10,000 men, entrenched himself between two villages, and sus- 

 tained for 20 days the attacks of the enemy and a continued cannonade 

 from a formidable artillery. At last (Oct 14, 1676), the king left his 

 entrenchments and drew up in order of battle against the Turks, who 

 numbered between 200.000 and 300,000 ineo. The Turkish Pasha, 

 notwithstanding the odds in his favour, knowing that a levy en mane 

 of the whole of Poland was at hand, offered the king an honourable 

 peace, which was accepted. 



A few years of external peace followed, during which unfortunate 

 Poland was harassed by the obstinate conduct of her untractable 

 nobles, who by their veto dissolved every diet that attempted to reform 

 or remedy the evils and grievance! of the state. But soon the noble 

 energies of John Sobieki were again called into action by the moot 

 terrible storm which had threatened Christendom since the days of 

 Charles MartL A most formidable Turkish army, commanded by 

 the grand vizier Kara Mustapba, after sweeping over Hungary invested 

 Vienna, from which the emperor Leopold and his family had fled in 

 July ]i;>3. Without hesitation the Polish king, at the head of only 

 16,000 men, marched from Cracow to the Danube, where contingents 

 from Lorraine and Germany joined him, railing hi* force to 70,000. 

 On the morning of the llth of September he reached the ridge of the 

 Kal'-'mbenf which overlooks Vienna and gave him a view of the wide- 

 spread tenU of the infidels. Next day rushing down be attacked the 

 Turks, and after a hard contest obliged them to take refuge in their 

 fortified entrenchments, which seemed too strong to be forced. After 

 a re- pile of a few hours thee too were assaulted. The Polish lancent 

 cleared the ditch right into the Turkish camp ; the infantry poured in 

 at their heels, and the Ottomans were driven in a confused mass to the 

 tent, where a abort stand was made, and all was lost ; Kara 

 If uatapha fled with all the Turks that were left alive, and John Sobieski 

 remained maiter of thewholecamp,artillery,andbaggage. Christendom 

 was thus saved from the heel of the Turk. All Europe rang with accla- 

 mations, while Sobieski pursued the Turks into Hungary, and although 

 defeated once at Parang, he checked not his career till he had swept 

 the infidels acroes the Danube. Returning to Poland, he spent the 

 remainder of his life in Tain endeavours to regenerate his country by 

 reforming abuses and the vicious system engrafted upon its constitu- 

 tiun, but in every attempt be made he was thwarted by the veto of the 

 turbulent nobles. He died after a short illness on Corpus Christ!, 1896, 

 and with him the greatness of Poland may be said to have expired. 



During therein* of hi* successor! Augustus II. of Saxony (1690-1733) 

 and Augustus III. (1733-1763), the crown of Poland became subservient 

 to the Russian court. This gave rise to two parties among the nobles. 

 The majority headed by the Potockil and RadzivilU, wished to main- 

 tain all the privileges of their order, and were strongly attached to 

 the Saxon dynasty, which was favourable to their opinions. This 

 Saxon or court party was opposed by the Czartoryskis, who, perceiving 

 tliat a liberty which was destroying national independence was only 

 an idle name, wished to establish a strong government as the only 

 means of raising the country from its deplorable condition. 



1'rince Michael Czartoryski and his brother Augustus, who were 

 descended from a collateral branch of the Jagellon dynasty, possessed 

 at that time immense wealth and great influence. Both of them also 

 I unrseed great abilities and activity. They undertook to change the 

 republican constitution of Poland into a well-organised monarchy, 

 which, they thought, was the best means of raising Poland from 

 the humiliating position into which she had fallen through her 

 feeble government. They encouraged science and literature, sought 

 ill and patronised men of superior talent, and such as by their writings 

 exerted an influence on public opinion, by which means they power- 

 mtributed to the restoration of literature in Poland. Some of 

 t.i patriotic plans of the Czartoryskia were carried into effect, some 

 of them with the aid of the Russian power ; but on the accession of 

 'ne II. to the throne of Russia, the Muscovite power was 

 directed against the Curtoryski policy. 



In order to save the country from foreign influence, a confederation 

 was organised at Bar, a little town in Podolia, by the patriotic bishop 



OsXXl, DIT. YOU IV. 



of Kainieuiec, Adam Krasinski. Ill supported and without any regular 

 troops, it struggled for several years against the forces of Russia, 

 until it fell by exhaustion. The Turks, who had taken up arms in 

 favour of Poland, after having represented in vain to the cabinets of 

 Europe the danger of Russian predominance in Poland, were defeated, 

 and the first partition of Poland, which was planned by Frederick II. 

 of Prussia, took place in 1772. By this partition Poland lost of its 

 territory above 83,000 square miles, which comprehended its best 

 provinces, and were unequally divided between Russia, Prussia, and 

 Austria. This great calamity roused the nation, which now strove to 

 compensate- its heavy loss by internal improvements. An excellent 

 system of public education was introduced, and literature was encou- 

 raged ; industry was re-animated, and every kind of improvement 

 rapidly advanced. The chancellor, Andrew Zamoyski, an enlightened 

 and patriotic nobleman, prepared a new code, which removed many 

 ancient abuses and partly emancipated the peasants. The code was 

 rejected however by the diet of 1780. The diet which assembled in 

 1788, having declared itself permanent, continued till 1792, when, on 

 the 2nd of May, it proclaimed a new constitution, which abolished 

 the veto, made the throne hereditary in the Saxon family (which was 

 to succeed after the demise of Poniatowski, the reigning king), and 

 introduced some useful regulations. Russia, which had guaranteed 

 the former state of things in Poland, excited a party composed of a 

 few factious nobles, who, assisted by her troops, formed a confederation 

 at Targovitza, in order to overthrow the new constitution. The king 

 soon became a party to this infamous confederation. The king of 

 Prussia, who had encouraged the patriots to amend the constitution, 

 then joined the Russians and invaded Poland. The consequence was 

 a second partition of the Polish territory in 1793, by which Prussia 

 took 22,500, Russia 83,000, and Poland retained 85,000 square miles. 

 The remaining part of Poland was subjected to every kind of vexation 

 from the confederates of Targovitza, who, encouraged by the presence 

 of Russian troops, persecuted the patriots in every possible manner, 

 and the chief persons among them were obliged to seek refuge abroad. 

 An extensive conspiracy was organised, and insurrections broke out 

 in several parts of Poland. In 1794 Kosciusko arrived at Cracow, 

 and having assembled a number of peasants armed with scythes, he 

 defeated a superior number of Russian troops. The inhabitants of 

 Warsaw, which was occupied by a strong Russian army, rose against 

 their oppressors, and expelled them after a bloody contest. Vilua did 

 the same. Several individuals were convicted of high treasou and 

 executed, but the king was treated with respect. The Poles fought 

 with the utmost bravery, but their courage and patriotism proved 

 unavailing against the overwhelming numbers of Russia and Prussia. 

 Kosciusko was defeated, wounded, and taken prisoner at the battle of 

 Maciejovice, and Praga, the suburb of Warsaw, was carried by storm 

 by Suvaroff, and all the inhabitants were massacred. Warsaw capitu- 

 lated, and the remainder of Poland was divided in 1795 among Russia, 

 Prussia, and Austria. 



The fate of the dismembered provinces differed according to the 

 governments under which they fell The Prussian part was well 

 treated in some respects, but the advantages it enjoyed were more 

 than counterbalanced by a decided tendency to establish Germanism 

 on the ruin of everything that was national. The Austrian govern- 

 ment was not more favourable to the nationality of its Polish subjects ; 

 it introduced some few improvements, such as roads, but it exhausted 

 the Poles by heavy taxes and levies of soldiers in its long wars with 

 France. The Russian part may be considered as having been in some 

 respects the most favoured of all The national language was pre- 

 served in all official transactions, and an excellent system of public 

 education, which was carried on in the same language, was introduced 

 by the university of Vilna under the superintendence of its curator 

 Prince Adam Czartoryski, who, supported by the friendship of the 

 emperor Alexander, whose minister he had become, preserved with 

 his sanction the nationality of Poland in the Russian provinces, where 

 the ancient laws relating to civil affairs were also retained. 



The success of the French arms against Prussia in 1806 reanimated 

 the hope of the Poles to see their country restored. As soon as the 

 French entered the Polish territory, the inhabitants rose in their 

 favour, and organising themselves into a military force with amazing 

 rapidity, immediately joined the French in combating the enemy. 

 Yet Napoleon, after his success against the Russians, stopped at the 

 banks of the Niemen, and concluded at Tilsit a peace with Russia. 

 The Polish territory which had been taken by Prussia in 1793-5 was 

 erected into a sovereign state under the name of the Duchy of Warsaw, 

 with the exception of the province of Bialystok, which was given to 

 Russia. A representative constitution was granted, the French code 

 of laws introduced, and the sovereignty declared hereditary in the house 

 of Saxony. In 1809 the Austrians invaded the duchy and occupied 

 Warsaw, which the Polish forces were obliged to evacuate after an un- 

 equal contest ; but having entered Austrian Poland, their numbers were 

 rapidly swelled, so that their insignificant force soon became a consider- 

 able army, and compelled the Austrians to evacuate the duchy of War- 

 saw, and also a large part of the Polish territory which they held. 



At the congress of Vienna in 1815, the affairs of Poland were 

 arranged in the following manner : A part of the duchy of Warsaw 

 was given to Prussia under the title of the duchy of Posen. The 

 salt-mines of Vieliczk and some districts were given to Austria. 



o 



