Figure 1.--German artist Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805–73) is known for a his portraits of royalty, although few Germans. He had no political orientation, he painted both the Bourbon and Bonparte dynasties from his Paris studio as well as Queen Victoria's growing family on trips across the Channel. By mid-century, Poles including aristocrats had been scattered across Europe by Austrian, Prussian, and Russian efforts to supress Polish nationalism. The French in particular were sympathetic to the Polish cause. And Winterhalter painted several portraits of Elzbieta/Eliza Branicka, Countess Krasinka/Krasińska . The portrait here with her children was painted in 1853, presumably in Winterhalter's Paris studio. We are not sure why Winterhalter was so interested in the Countess. Her family was a celebrated on, although not of royal rank and of course Poland no longer existed as a state. Elżbieta Branicka (c.1734-1800), perhaps the Countesses's mother was a Polish noble lady, political plotter, and mistress of King Stanisław August Poniatowski. Another family member, Countess Katarzyna Potockka from Branicka (1825–1907) was a Polish noblewoman of the Korczak coat of arms, and art collector. Through her father she was rumoured to be a great-grandchild of Catherine the Great. The family is also related to the Italian royal family. Elzbieta is depicted embracing her daughter Maria Beatrix and sons Zygmunt and Władysław. Their father was one of Poland's greatest romantic poets--Zygmunt Krasiński. Maria became the the owner of the Złoty Potok estates. She married to Edward Aleksander Raczyński in Warsaw (1877).

Poland which had been one of the great European powers, as a result of the 18th century Polish Partions, disappeared from the map of Europe. The great bulk of the country becme part iof the Russian Empire, but Prussia and Austria annexed small areas of western Poland. As a result, most of Ploand was rulled by Tsarist Russia for the next 123 years. Russian rule varied considerably during that period which included the Fremch Revolution and Napoleonic War. There was some hope that the Napoleon would reserect a Polish nation, but after the disaster of the Grand Armee in Russia (1812), this never occurred. The Congress of Vienna that reconstructed Europe after the Napoleonic Wars made some provision for Poland, but left it it under Tsarist control. The Russians maintained their control, but Poland from the onset was the most rebelious province ofthe Tsarist Empire as it would be for the Soviet Empire in the 20th century. Most of Poland continued under Russian rule as the Kingdom of Poland in personal union with the Tsar. The Kingdom had its own constitution as Congress Poland. Krakow became a separate republic. Austria regained Galacia. Prussia refained West Prussia and Poznan. Polish revolutionaries in Congress Poland rise against the Tsar (1830). After some initial success they are supressed by the Tsarist Army (1831). The Tsar suspends the constitution. Another insurection in Congress Poland is again supressed by the Tsarist Army (1863). The assaination of Tsar Alexander II brings to the throne his conservative son Aleander III. He launches pogroms against the Jews and initiates a Russification program again the non-Russian nationalities within the Empire (1870s). The attempt to destroy Polish culture in the area of Poland under their control which was most of Poland. Russian is made the official language. Chancellpor Bismarckl persues similar policies in the areas of western Poland under German control. Austrian-Hungary persues different polices alloeing Poles in their area of Poland (Galicia) a degree of autonomy. As a result of Russian policies, large numbers of Poles (both Jews and Christins) emmigrated to the United States in the late-19th and early-20th century. The Jews are often referred to as Russian

Polish Partitions (1772-95)

The Great Northern War destoyed Sweden as a major power in northern Europe, but it left Poland, a decling state, surrounded by three major European powers--Austria, Prussia, and Russia. Andcthose states wereable to interfere in domestic Polish politics through the Sjem. Poland at one time was a major Euorpean power. The sucess of the nobility in emasculting the monarchy caused a disatrous decline in Polish fortunes. And ultimately the neigboring powers (Russia, Prussia, and Austria) partitioned and annexed all of the former Polish kingdom (1772-95). This Poland disappeared grom the maps of Europe until being revived after World War I. Russia acquired the largest share of Poland, including all of eastern and central Poland as well as Warsw. Prussia acquired western Poland, much of which was renamed West Prussia (formerly Royal Prussia) and Posen. This was Wielkopolska or Greater Poland. Austria acquired southern Poland, including Kraków and Lwów and renamed "Galicia". During and after the Napoleonic Wars, Poland briefly reemerged as the small Duchy of Warsaw under Napoleon and the Kingdom of Poland within the Tsarist Empire.

French Revolution/Napoleonic Wars: Duchy of Warsaw

There was considerable sympathy in Western Europe for Poland, especially in France. With the outbreak of the French Revolution ideals of democracy and national liberation began to affect areas of Europe. And then Napoleon's campaigns, there was hope that Napoleon would create a Polish state. He did set up the small Duchy of Warsaw (1807). The Duchy (Księstwo Warszawskie) was established from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. It covered the central and eastern part of modern and small parts of present Lithuania and Belarus. The Duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony rather than a Polish nobelman. The Duchy did not last long. Napoleon launched a massive invasion of Russia (1812). The defeat of Napoleon's Grand Armee in Russia ended any possibility for an independent Poland. After Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia (1812-13), the Duchy was occupied by Prussian and Russian troops. It was then partitioned by the two countries at the Congress of Vienna.

Congress of Vienna: Polish Provisions (1814-15)

The Congress of Vienna reconstruct Europe after the Napoleonic Wars began five months after Napoleon I ’s first abdication (September1814). It vompleted its 'Final Act' (June 1815). This was just before the Waterloo campaign and the final defeat of Napoleon. The Congress made some provision for Poland, creating a Polish Kingdom even with a liberal cobstitution, but left it largely under Tsarist control. This is often referred to as the Fourth Partition. Most of Poland continued under Russian control as the Kingdom of Poland in personal union with the Tsar. Because of the role of the Congress of Vienna, it was also known as Congress Poland. The Kingdom had its own constitution, but as it was controlled by Tsarist Russia, the constituion proved inadequate to protect the Polish people and state. Kraków became a tiny separate republic. Austria regained Galacia. Prussia regained West Prussia and Poznan. The liberal constitution of Congress Poland only affected the Tsarist controlled area which of couse was an uncomfortable fit.

Congress Poland (1815-31)

The Kingdom of Poland often known as Congress Poland or Russian Poland was created as part of the Congress of Vienna settlement after the Napoleonic wars (1815). The territory ws the Duchy of Warsaw, a French client state that had been created by Napoleon. The territory of the Kingdom of Poland roughly correspondeds to the Kalisz Region and the Lublin, Łódź, Masovian, Podlaskie and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeships of Poland, southwestern Lithuania and part of Grodno District of Belarus. It was to be a sovereign state of the Russian controlled portion of Poland which was the largest section of Poland that had been was partitioned. It was connected with the Tsarist Empire through personal union with the Russian Empire under the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland. The Constitution that came out of the Congress of Vienna was a liberal document, creating a Poland that was guaranteed considerable political autonomy. This was a phenomenal development given the conservative nature of the Congress of Vienna. At the time the only other important written constitution restricting state power was the American Constitution. The idea of a written constutution was controversial even in liberal Britin. In sharp contrast to the absolutist Russian state, the Polish constitution was a liberal document. The Constitution proved to be a fiction, not unlike the Soviet Constitution of the 20th century. [Nance, pp. 169-188.] The Tsarist rulers, however, for the most part simply disregarded any restrictions on their power making Congess Poland little more than a puppet state of the Tsarist Empire. [Nicolson, p. 171.] Very early in the history of Congress Poland, the Russians declined to respect the Congress of Vienna resolutions. Poland as a result of its history had more liberal traditions than the absolutist Tsarist Russian state. Absolutist Tsarist rule was difficult to establish immdiately in Poland as a result of Poland's liberal traditions and institutions. Alexander I at first used the title of the King of Poland and to an extent observed some resolutions of the constitution. Tsarist officials very quickly moved to change this. Alexander authoruzed the viceroy, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, to exercise virtual dictatorial powers. [Miłosz, , p. 196.] Alexander I abolished freedom of the press and introduced what Tsarist officials referred to as 'preventory' censorship (1819). As a result Polish resistance to Russian rule began very early in Congress Poland and grew throughout the 1820s. The Russian secret police commanded by Nikolay Nikolayevich Novosiltsev began focusing on Polish secret organizations. The Tsar acting asing ordered the abolition of Freemasonry (1821). Free masonry was not allowed in Russia and was a stronghold of liberal and national traditions in Poland. THe Sejm had to begin holding its sessions in secret (1825). Alexander I's successor, Nicholas I was crowned King of Poland in Warsaw (1829). He refused to swear or abide by the Constitution. He continued Alexander's policies of limiting the independence of the Polish kingdom. Nicholas promoted the policies described as 'Official Nationality' which included three cores, Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality. For the Poles thiss meant assimilation or turning patriotic Catholic Poles into loyal Orthodox Russians. Polish revolutionaries in Congress Poland rose against the Tsar (1830). After some initial success they are supressed by the huge Tsarist Army (1831). The Tsar suspends the constitution. After the defeat of the 1831 Polish uprising, Tsarist officials curtailed even the nominal autonomy that existed previously. The Kingdom at this time lost its status as a sovereign state. The administrative divisions were reorganized (1831). Congress Poland had become so recognized that the term continued to be use even after the Tsarist armies defeated the Pole. Eventually the Russians adopted the designation Privislinsky Krai (Привислинский Край).

Kraków/Cracow Republic (1815-46)

The Republic of Kraków/Cracow was also known as the Free City of Kraków (Rzeczpospolita Krakowska or Wolne Miasto Kraków). It was a tiny state formed in Polish territory (1815–46). It was established like Congress Poland by the Congress of Vienna at the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars (1815). Its territory consisted of of the ancient city of Kraków and the territory surrounding it, including two other cities and over 200 villages. It comprised only 450 square miles (1,165 square km) with a population of only about 140,000. The Republic was placed under the joint protection of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, which had divided the rest of Poland among themselves following the precent of the 18th century partition of Poland. Although only a tiny state, Kraków flourished. This was especially true after Tsarist Russia basically supressed the autonomy of Congress Poland (1831). Tiny Kraków became the only important independent political entity. A vibrant intellectual, artistic, and political climate developed Kraków. It became the one place in Poland that Polish patriots were free to operate and express thmselves. The Poles in neighboring Galicia staged an uprising against Austrian rule (1846). Galicia was the area of Poland seized by Austria in the 18th century partitions. Austrian officials blaned the Kraków Republic. They held that Kraków’s independence and intence Polish nationalist fervor acted as a stimulus as well as a spring board for planning of the Polish revolt in Galicia. The Austrians obtained the approval of Russia and Prussia to suppress the Kraków Republic. Tsarist Rssia in particular to see this cener of Polish nationalism on the southern border its area of Poland elimninated. Kraków resisted, but its small army could not stand up to the Austrian Army. It was was occupied (March 1846). Austria annexed the Kraków Republic and anscorbed into Galicia.

Greater Poland Uprising (1848)

The Prussians like the Austrians and Russians were conened about Polish nationalism because of the areas of the Empire inhabited by ethnic Pole. Prussia durung the November Uprising in Russian-held Congress Poland, supported the Russians (1830-31). Prussian aithories worked with Russia to suppress the effort at Polish independence. A state of emergency was introduced, police surveillance was instituted, and th Prussian Army moved 80,000 soldiers into Poznan and border areas. [Zdrada, pp. 268, 273-291, 359-370.] The Prussian Foreign Ministry declared that Prussia would oppose the creatin of an independent Polish state because it would claim Prussian territories acquired in the 18th century partition. The Prussians supplied Russians soldiers fighting Poles in Congress Poland supplies, including food and equipment, as well as intelligence. Prussin authorities wanted to enter Congress Polabd to join the Russians in supressing Polish forces. France threateed to intervene ad the Prussians held back. On the end the Russians did not need Prussian militarry assistace. Revolution swept Europe in 1848. The revolutions began in France and the monarchy was replaced with a republic. Most of Europe was rocked, but ultimately with less success. The revolutions of 1848 in Europe is commonly reffered to as the Spring of Nations, not because the nationalities in the great European empires (Austria, Ottoman, Prussian, and Russian Empires) gained independence, but it is often seen as the beginning of the independence struggle. The Greater Poland uprising of 1848 is also refrred to as the Poznań Uprising (powstanie wielkopolskie 1848 roku or powstanie poznańskie). It was a military insurrection largely occuring in the area of the Grand Grand Duchy Warsaw obtaine by the Prussians which became known as the Greater Poland area. Most of the fighting occurred in Greater Poland region, bit there was violence in other part of the Prussian Partition of Poland, and protests were held in Polish inhabited regions of Silesia. The politics was complicatd. Some Poles had become won over by the Prussian state which at first did not pursue Germaniuzation and has abolished serfdom. By the time of the 1848 revolutions, however, the Prussians concerned with the substntial Polish population in the east had begun to press germanization policies. The French supported the Poles, in part to get radical Poles out of France. There was some common cause between Poles in Prussia with Prussian revolutionaries seeking to unify Germany under a democratic constitutiom. A Polish Legion was formed in Berlin.

January Rising (1863-64)

The January Uprising (powstanie styczniowe) was an uprising in the Tsarist Empire centered in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth which had been absorbed into the Tsarist Empire as a result of the Polish Partitions. Tsarist Russia was defeated in the Crimean War (1854-56). The Empire was weakened economically by the heavy expenditures during the War. And conscription became very unpopular, especially in the non-Russian areas of the Empire. Numerous demonstrations and protest were reported in what is now Poland, Belarus, and the Baltics. The January Rising began (1863). It was a spontaneous protest by young Poles resisting conscription into the Imperial Russian Army, but unlike the many protests that had been occuring, it proved to be neither non-violent or brief. The students and other young Poles were soon joined by high-ranking Polish-Lithuanian officers in the Tsarist Army as well as Polish political figures. The insurrectionists were not strong enough in numbers or arms to openly confront the Tsarist Army. Instead they pursued guerrilla warfare. They won no important military victories and failed tio seize control of important cities or fortresses. They did, however, manage to keep the idea pf the Polish nation alive. Tsar Alexander II abolished swefdom in the Russian Empire. This included Russian-controlled Partioned Poland. Tsarist officials had hoped that this action would win support of the peasantry away from Polish nationalists. Russian reprisals were brutal. There were mass executions of the insurgents as well as deportations to Siberia. Arrests continued through 1865. This was the last major Polish insurrection. Poles for the most part abandoned armed struggle. Many decided to emograte, dispairing of ever expelling the Russians. Others adopted the idea of 'organic work', meaning economic and cultural self-improvement.

Russification (1870s)

Another insurection in Congress Poland is again supressed by the Tsarist Army (1863). The assaination of Tsar Alexander II brings to the throne his conservative son Aleander III. The Tsar made Poland an official part of the Russian Empire (1867). He launched pogroms against the Jews and initiates a Russification program again the non-Russian nationalities within the Empire (1870s). The attempt to destroy Polish culture in the area of Poland under their control which was most of Poland. Russian is made the official language. Chancellpor Bismarckl persues similar policies in the areas of western Poland under German control. Austrian-Hungary persues different polices alloeing Poles in their area of Poland (Galicia) a degree of autonomy.

Emigration

Large numbers of Poles emigrate during the late-19th and early 20th century. This included both Jews and Roman Catholics. Moist of the emigrants come from the area of Poland under Russian control. As a result, Poles becomecan important part of the American melting pot. About 4 million out of 22 million Poles emigrated. This appears to be the highest rate of emigration of any national group. About half of the emigrants went to the United States. The lack of economic opportunity and military conscription were primary factors fueling the emigration. After the Irish and Italians, the Poles were the largest group of Catholic immigrants from Europe. At the time they arrived, however, Poland did not exist. Most Polish immigrants came from Russia and to a lesser extent Austro-Hungary. Polish immigration exploded in the late 19th century. A range of factors were involved, including both economic factors and the Tsarist's regime's steps to promote Russification of the ethnic minorities in the Empire. The Jewish immigrant in America are commonly referred to as Russian Jews. In fact they were mostly Polish Jews.

Sources

Miłosz, Czesław The History of Polish Literature (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983).

Nance, Agnieszka Barbara. "Nation Without a State: Imagining Poland in the Nineteenth Century," (Dissertation for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Texas at Austin).

Nicolson, Harold George. The Congress of Vienna: A Study in Allied Unity, 1812-1822 (New York: Grove Press. 2001).

Zdrada, Jerzy. Historia Polski 1795-1918 (Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 2007).

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Polish pages:
[Return to the Main Polish page]
[Polish choirs] [Polish movies] [Polish orphanages] [Polish school uniforms] [Polish sailor suits] [Polish youth groups]

Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to the Return to main Polish history page]
[Return to the Return to main country page]
[Return to the Main European history country page]
[Australia] [Canada] [England] [France] [Germany] [Ireland] [Italy] [New Zealand] [Poland] [Scotland] [United States]

Created: 3:17 AM 9/12/2011
Last updated: 12:35 AM 10/16/2017