Jelgava Gymnasium or Academia Petrina is the oldest higher educational establishment in Latvia . Based on an idea by Friedrich Wilhelm von Raison [ de ] , it was established in Mitau , capital of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia , by Duke Peter von Biron in 1775. The duke wanted to attract professors like Immanuel Kant and Johan Gottfried Herder , but they refused.
66-743: After the partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Jelgava became part of the Russian Empire and the gymnasium unsuccessfully petitioned to become a university. Nevertheless, it became an important cultural hub not only for Latvians, but also Lithuanians . Many famous professors had lectured in Academia Petrina for example Johann Benjamin Koppe (1775), Johann August von Starck (1777–1781) and Wilhelm Gottlieb Friedrich Beitler [ de ] (1775–1811). During World War I,
132-519: A Ukrainian Cossack and peasant rebellion in the east ( Koliyivshchyna ), which erupted in 1768 and resulted in massacres of Polish noblemen ( szlachta ), Jews, 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
198-487: A vassal state , with Polish kings effectively chosen in diplomatic maneuvers between the great powers Prussia, Austria, Russia, and France. 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 ( Rzeczpospolita ), namely Prussia, Austria and Russia, signed
264-531: A cautionary tale for the writers of the U.S. Constitution . Grodno Sejm Grodno Sejm ( Polish : Sejm grodzieński ; Lithuanian : Gardino seimas ) was the last Sejm (session of parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . The Grodno Sejm, held in autumn 1793 in Grodno , Grand Duchy of Lithuania (now Grodno, Belarus) is infamous because its deputies, bribed or coerced by
330-526: 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. After having occupied their respective territories, the three partitioning powers demanded that King Stanisław and the Sejm approve their action. When no help
396-545: A secret agreement to maintain the status quo : specifically, to ensure that the Commonwealth laws would not change. Their alliance later became known in Poland as the " Alliance of the Three Black Eagles " (or Löwenwolde 's Treaty ), because all three states used a black eagle as a state symbol (in contrast to the white eagle , a symbol of Poland). The Commonwealth had been forced to rely on Russia for protection against
462-559: A wide-scale social reform, virtually impossible. Solovyov specified the cultural, language and religious break between the supreme and lowest layers of the society in the east regions of the Commonwealth, where the Belarusian and Ukrainian serf peasantry was Orthodox. Russian authors emphasized the historical connections between Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, as former parts of the medieval old Russian state where dynasty of Rurikids reigned ( Kievan Rus' ). Thus, Nikolay Karamzin wrote: "Let
528-517: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Partitions of the Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian Commonwealth The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years. The partitions were conducted by
594-588: Is sometimes used geographically as toponymy , to mean the three parts that the partitioning powers divided the Commonwealth into, namely: the Austrian Partition , the Prussian Partition and the Russian Partition . In Polish, there are two separate words for the two meanings. The consecutive acts of dividing and annexation of Poland are referred to as rozbiór (plural: rozbiory ), while
660-625: The Habsburg monarchy , the Kingdom of Prussia , and the Russian Empire , which divided up the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively in the process of territorial seizures and annexations. The First Partition was decided on August 5, 1772, after the Bar Confederation lost the war with Russia. The Second Partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish–Russian War of 1792 and
726-721: The Hungarian Revolution of 1848 ). Poland would be briefly resurrected—if in a smaller frame—in 1807, when Napoleon set up the Duchy of Warsaw . After his defeat and the implementation of the Congress of Vienna treaty in 1815, the Russian-dominated Congress Kingdom of Poland was created in its place. After the Congress, Russia gained a larger share of Poland (with Warsaw ) and, after crushing an insurrection in 1831 ,
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#1732854782398792-529: The Kościuszko Uprising began. 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
858-526: The Persian Empire ), and reserved a place in its diplomatic corps for an Ambassador of Lehistan (Poland). Several scholars focused on the economic motivations of the partitioning powers. Hajo Holborn noted that Prussia aimed to take control of the lucrative Baltic grain trade through Gdańsk . In the 18th century the Russian peasants were escaping from Russia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (where
924-433: The Russian Empire , passed the act of Second Partition of Poland . The Sejm started on 17 June and ended on 23 November 1793. It ratified the division of the country in a futile attempt to prevent its subsequent complete annexation two years later in the 1795 Third Partition of Poland . The Sejm was called to Grodno by the Russian Empire after the Polish–Russian War of 1792 ended with the victory of Russia and its allies,
990-594: The Russian Enlightenment , as Russian writers such as Gavrila Derzhavin , Denis Fonvizin , and Alexander Pushkin stressed degeneration of Catholic Poland and the need to "civilize" it by its neighbors. Nonetheless, other 19th century contemporaries were much more skeptical; for example, British jurist Sir Robert Phillimore discussed the partition as a violation of international law ; German jurist Heinrich Bernhard Oppenheim presented similar views. Other older historians who challenged such justifications for
1056-617: The Russian Revolution and the Treaty of Versailles finally allowed and helped the restoration of Poland's full independence after 123 years. The term "Fourth Partition of Poland" may refer to any subsequent division of Polish lands, including: If one accepts more than one of those events as partitions, fifth, sixth, and even seventh partitions can be counted, but these terms are very rare. (For example, Norman Davies in God's Playground refers to
1122-543: The Targowica Confederation when Russian and Prussian troops entered the Commonwealth and the partition treaty was signed during the Grodno Sejm on January 23, 1793 (without Austria). The Third Partition took place on October 24, 1795, in reaction to the unsuccessful Polish Kościuszko Uprising the previous year. With this partition, the Commonwealth ceased to exist . In English, the term "Partitions of Poland"
1188-523: The Targowica Confederation , in order to confirm Russian demands. Grodno was chosen for the Commonwealth's capital, as Warsaw was deemed too unsafe for Russians (and indeed it would prove so during the Warsaw Uprising next year). Many of the deputies were Russian supporters (like marshal of the Sejm , Stanisław Kostka Bieliński ), with Russian representatives bribing some deputies and Russian armies forcing
1254-531: The once dire conditions had improved, unlike in Russia ) in significant enough numbers to become a major concern for the Russian Government sufficient to play a role in its decision to partition the Commonwealth (one of the reasons Catherine II gave for the partition of Poland was that thousands of peasants escaped from Russia to Poland to seek a better fate"). Jerzy Czajewski and Piotr Kimla assert that in
1320-424: 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
1386-568: The 1807 creation of the Duchy of Warsaw as the fourth partition, the 1815 Treaty of Vienna as the fifth, the 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as the sixth, and the 1939 division of Poland between Nazi Germany and the USSR as the seventh.) However, in recent times, the 1815 division of the Duchy of Warsaw at the Congress of Vienna and the 1939 division of Poland have been sometimes called the fourth and fifth partitions, respectively. The term "Fourth Partition"
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#17328547823981452-454: The 18th century until the partitions solved this problem, Russian armies increasingly raided territories of the Commonwealth, officially to recover the escapees, but in fact kidnapping many locals; Piotr Kimla noted that the Russian government spread international propaganda, mainly in France, which falsely exaggerated serfdom conditions in Poland, while ignoring worse conditions in Russia, as one of
1518-452: The Austrian 47,000 km (18,147 sq mi) with 1.2 million and Lublin and Kraków. The King of Poland , Stanisław August Poniatowski , under Russian military escort left for Grodno where he abdicated on November 25, 1795; next he left for Saint Petersburg , Russia, where he would spend his remaining days. This act ensured that Russia would be seen as the most important of
1584-424: The Commonwealth had been showing the beginning signs of a slow recovery and see the last two partitions as an answer to strengthening reforms in the Commonwealth and the potential threat they represented to its power-hungry neighbours. As historian Norman Davies stated, because the balance of power equilibrium was observed, many contemporary observers accepted explanations of the "enlightened apologists" of
1650-482: The Commonwealth's population, Austria with 32%, and Russia with 45%. (Wandycz also offers slightly different total annexed territory estimates, with 18% for Austria, 20% for Prussia and 62% for Russia.) During the Napoleonic Wars and in their immediate aftermath the borders between partitioning powers shifted several times, changing the numbers seen in the preceding table. Ultimately, Russia ended up with most of
1716-691: The Congress Kingdom's autonomy was abolished and Poles faced confiscation of property, deportation, forced military service, and the closure of their own universities. After the uprising of 1863 , Russification of Polish secondary schools was imposed and the literacy rate dropped dramatically. In the Austrian sector which now was called Galicia , Poles fared better and were allowed to have representation in Parliament and to form their own universities, and Kraków with Lemberg (Lwów/Lviv) became centers of Polish culture and education. Meanwhile, Prussia Germanized
1782-509: The New Castle and commanded by Russian ambassador to Poland , Jacob Sievers , to ensure the obedience of all deputies; dissidents were threaten with beatings, arrests, sequestration or exile. Majority of the Senators chose not to attend the proceedings. Many deputies were not allowed to speak, and the main issue on the agenda was the project of 'Eternal Alliance of Poland and Russia', sent to
1848-457: The Partitions included French historian Jules Michelet , British historian and politician Thomas Babington Macaulay , and Edmund Burke , who criticized the immorality of the partitions. Nonetheless, most governments accepted the event as a fait acompli . The Ottoman Empire was either the only, or one of only two countries in the world that refused to accept the partitions, (the other being
1914-531: The Polish core at the expense of Prussia and Austria. Following the Congress of Vienna , Russia controlled 82% of the pre-1772 Commonwealth's territory (this includes its puppet state of Congress Poland ), Austria 11%, and Prussia 7%. As a result of the Partitions, Poles were forced to seek a change of status quo in Europe. Polish poets, politicians, noblemen, writers, artists, many of whom were forced to emigrate (thus
1980-617: The Polish economy. Through the 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, including bishop Józef Andrzej Załuski and others). This new constitution undid
2046-461: The Polish sovereign state after 1918. During the reign of Władysław IV (1632–1648), the liberum veto was developed, a policy of parliamentary procedure based on the assumption of the political equality of every " gentleman/Polish nobleman ", with the corollary that unanimous consent was needed for all measures. A single member of parliament's belief that a measure was injurious to his own constituency (usually simply his own estate), even after
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2112-449: The Russian partition. In Polish historiography, the term "Fourth Partition of Poland" has also been used, in reference to any subsequent annexation of Polish lands by foreign invaders. Depending on source and historical period, this could mean the events of 1815 , or 1832 and 1846 , or 1939 . The term "Fourth Partition" in a temporal sense can also mean the diaspora communities that played an important political role in re-establishing
2178-456: The Sejm adjusted the administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and created 18 new voivodeships : brasławskie, brzeskie, chełmskie, ciechanowskie, grodzieńskie, krakowskie, lubelskie, mazowieckie, mereckie, nowogrodzkie, podlaskie, sandomierskie, trockie, warszawskie, wileńskie, włodzimierskie, wołyńskie, and żmudzkie (see map). The Sejm ended on 23 November. Targowica confederates, who did not expect another partition, and
2244-579: The Sejm by Russian Tsarina Catherine the Great , and presented to the Sejm as the 'request of Polish people' by the Polish supporters of Russia. Nonetheless out of 140 deputies present about 25 vocally protested against the proposal, especially against the Prussian territorial demands. On 2 July the Russian troops surrounded the town, and several deputies ( Szymon Szydłowski , Dionizy Mikoreski , Antoni Karski and Szymon Skarżyński ) were arrested. With further threats and actions by Russians, on 14 October 1793
2310-470: The academy was based on an idea by Friedrich Wilhelm von Raison : "But the whole province owes him excellent thanks for the effective part, which he took at the foundation of the Mitauian Gymnasium. He was actually the one who persuaded Duke Peter to do so; it was he who corresponded with Sulzern regarding the plan to be drawn up and because of the appointment of the first teachers and he who prescribed
2376-437: The act had been approved, became enough to strike the act. Thus it became increasingly difficult to undertake action. The liberum veto also provided openings for foreign diplomats to get their ways, through bribing nobles to exercise it. 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
2442-579: 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;
2508-623: 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. In February 1772,
2574-431: The alliance was passed by " acclamation ". In fact, after a long debate, around 4 a.m., with Russian forces present and preventing anybody from leaving the room, the marshal of the Sejm asked three times if there is agreement to pass the act. When not a single deputy spoke, Józef Ankwicz , another known supporter of foreign powers, declared that it was as unanimous vote of support ("He who is silent means agreement"). It
2640-450: The books for the library and the instruments for the observatory; just as he also continuously participated in the perfection of the institute until his death". The intention was to establish a complete university with all four faculties in Mitau. This plan was rejected because of Kurland's dependence on Catholic-Polish rule. Under the law of Poland a university could not be founded without
2706-402: The city of Toruń ). 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 and Auschwitz ( Oświęcim ), part of Lesser Poland embracing parts of the counties of Kraków and Sandomir and
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2772-642: The consent and confirmation of the Pope, and it was unclear whether and when the permission by the papal curia to establish a Protestant theological faculty could have been obtained. Therefore, this intention was abandoned and it was decided to found an academic gymnasium which - half school, half university - should enjoy all the rights of a university, with the exception of the privilege of granting academic dignity. 56°39′0″N 23°43′45″E / 56.65000°N 23.72917°E / 56.65000; 23.72917 This Latvian education-related article
2838-543: The election of their favoured candidate at local sejmiks . The Russians needed to use their army, as well as rely on bribery, in order to bypass the opposition of Polish–Lithuanian deputies, as initially, the sejmiks refused to elect enough deputies to satisfy the requirements of a national Sejm. The Sejm was eventually called on 17 June. It was held in New Castle in Grodno in presence of Russian garrison stationed in and around
2904-681: The entire school system of its Polish subjects, and had no more respect for Polish culture and institutions than the Russian Empire. In 1915 a client state of the German Empire and Austria-Hungary was proposed and accepted by the Central Powers of World War I: the Regency Kingdom of Poland . After the end of World War I, the Central Powers' surrender to the Western Allies , the chaos of
2970-651: The exile to Russia of the top Roman Catholic bishops, the members of the Polish Senate, led to the War of the Confederation of Bar of 1768–1772, formed in Bar , where the Poles tried to expel Russian forces from Commonwealth territory. 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
3036-421: The foreigners denounce the partition of Poland: we took what was ours." Russian historians often stressed that Russia annexed primarily Ukrainian and Belarusian provinces with Eastern Slavic inhabitants, although many Ruthenians were no more enthusiastic about Russia than about Poland, and ignoring ethnically Polish and Lithuanian territories also being annexed later. A new justification for partitions arose with
3102-560: The justification for the partitions. Il Canto degli Italiani , the Italian national anthem, contains a reference to the partition. The ongoing partitions of Poland were a major topic of discourse in The Federalist Papers , where the structure of the government of Poland, and of foreign influence over it, is used in several papers ( Federalist No. 14 , Federalist No. 19 , Federalist No. 22 , Federalist No. 39 for examples) as
3168-628: 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 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 Kuyavia (but not
3234-625: The partitioning powers. With regard to population, in the First Partition, Poland lost over four to five million citizens (about a third of its population of 14 million before the partitions). Only about 4 million people remained in Poland after the Second Partition which makes for a loss of another third of its original population, about a half of the remaining population. By the Third Partition, Prussia ended up with about 23% of
3300-428: The partitioning state. 19th-century historians from countries that carried out the partitions, such as 19th-century Russian scholar Sergey Solovyov , and their 20th century followers, argued that partitions were justified, as the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had degenerated to the point of being partitioned because the counterproductive principle of liberum veto made decision-making on divisive issues, such as
3366-424: 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
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#17328547823983432-631: The protectorate over the Commonwealth to the Ottoman Empire for armed support. In 1769, the Habsburg monarchy annexed a small territory of Spisz and in 1770 it annexed Nowy Sącz and Nowy Targ . These territories had been a bone of contention between Poland and 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
3498-660: The radical Jacobinism then at high tide in France, Russian forces invaded the Commonwealth in 1792. In the War in Defense of the Constitution , pro-Russian conservative Polish magnates , the 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
3564-474: The reforms made in 1764 under Stanisław II . The 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 ). 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 Orthodox Christians and
3630-443: 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
3696-537: The remaining territories of the Commonwealth between their three countries. One of Russia's chief foreign policy authors, Alexander Bezborodko , advised Catherine II on the Second and Third Partitions of Poland. The Russian part included 120,000 km (46,332 sq mi) and 1.2 million people with Vilnius , the Prussian part (new provinces of New East Prussia and New Silesia ) 55,000 km (21,236 sq mi) and 1 million people with Warsaw, and
3762-750: 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 coast only in Latvia and Lithuania . 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, Austria , and Russia, and allowed Russian troops access to its western lands as bases against Prussia. Frederick II retaliated by ordering enough Polish currency counterfeited to severely affect
3828-490: The school was evacuated to Taganrog in Rostov Oblast while its 42,000-volume library was burned by troops of Pavel Bermondt-Avalov . During World War II, the historical school building was almost completely destroyed, therefore school was reestablished in new premises. The original building was later restored and now functions as the Ģederts Eliass [ lv ] Jelgava History and Art Museum. The establishment of
3894-558: The term zabór (plural: zabory ) refers to parts of the Commonwealth that were annexed in 1772–1795 and which became part of Imperial Russia, Prussia, or Austria. Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the borders of the three partitioned sectors were redrawn; the Austrians established Galicia in the Austrian partition, whereas the Russians gained Warsaw from Prussia and formed an autonomous polity known as Congress Poland in
3960-432: The term Great Emigration ), became the revolutionaries of the 19th century, as desire for freedom became one of the defining parts of Polish romanticism . Polish revolutionaries participated in uprisings in Prussia , the Austrian Empire and Imperial Russia . Polish legions fought alongside Napoleon and, under the slogan of For our freedom and yours , participated widely in the Spring of Nations (particularly
4026-464: The whole of 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 Polish Livonia , and lands in eastern Belarus embracing the counties of Vitebsk , Polotsk and Mstislavl . By this partition, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lost about 30% of its territory and half of its population (four million people), of which
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#17328547823984092-492: Was also used in the 19th and 20th centuries to refer to diaspora communities who maintained a close interest in the project of regaining Polish independence. Sometimes termed Polonia , these expatriate communities often contributed funding and military support to the project of regaining the Polish nation-state. Diaspora politics were deeply affected by developments in and around the homeland, and vice versa, for many decades. More recent studies claim that partitions happened when
4158-432: 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
4224-405: 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. 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 Pact of 1790
4290-492: Was not the first time Russian Empire used such strategy: the fate of the Grodno Sejm resembled that of the Silent Sejm of 1717 – where the only person allowed to speak was the marshal of the Sejm or the Repnin Sejm of 1767–1768, where opponents of Russian intervention were arrested and exiled to Russia. The Sejm passed the following acts: The Russian Empire guaranteed this new constitution, and sanctions for its violation were stated. Due to significant territorial losses,
4356-452: Was signed. The conditions of the Pact contributed to the subsequent final two partitions of Poland–Lithuania. The 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
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