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Polish Australians

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Tadeusz Kościuszko

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96-728: Polish Australians refers to Australian citizens or residents of full or partial Polish ancestry. In 2021, 45,884 Australian residents declared that they were born in Poland . The Australian states with the largest Polish populations were Victoria (14,202), New South Wales (13,830), and Queensland (5,740). The Polish-born Australian resident population predominantly were Australian citizens (86.9%), Roman Catholic (66.8%) and used Polish at home (70.4%). Around 77% arrived in Australia before 2000. The first Pole known to have arrived in Australia

192-449: A Polish Society both established in the city as early as 1863. A "Polish Festival @ Federation Square" has been yearly event there since 2004. Australians Australians , colloquially known as Aussies , are the citizens , nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia . This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, these connections exist and are collectively

288-422: A career in administration or the military - the traditional career paths of Polish nobles. It also meant that they could not own any land, another blow to their former noble status. But for Orthodox Christian peasants of Western Ukraine and Belarus , the partition may have brought the decline of religious oppression by their formal lords, followers of Roman Catholicism . However, Orthodox Christians were only

384-608: A constitution", elaborating that a strong Commonwealth would likely demand the return of the lands Prussia acquired in the First Partition . The Constitution was not adopted without dissent in the Commonwealth itself, either. Magnates who had opposed the constitution draft from the start, namely Franciszek Ksawery Branicki , Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki , Seweryn Rzewuski , and Szymon and Józef Kossakowski , asked Tsaritsa Catherine to intervene and restore their privileges such as

480-470: A crew set out from Sydney on an expedition into the Australian Alps . In 1840, he climbed the highest peak on mainland Australia and named it Mount Kosciuszko . He reached Melbourne on 28 May 1840. From 1840 to 1842 Strzelecki explored Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land ). Having travelled 11,000 kilometres (7,000 miles) through New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, examining the geology along

576-586: A distinct people of Melanesian ancestry, indigenous to the Torres Strait Islands, which are at the northernmost tip of Queensland near Papua New Guinea , and some nearby settlements on the mainland. The term "Aboriginal" is traditionally applied to only the indigenous inhabitants of mainland Australia and Tasmania , along with some of the adjacent islands. Indigenous Australians is an inclusive term used when referring to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders (the "first peoples"). Dispersing across

672-407: A distinctive Australian identity and national character began in the 19th century. The primary language is Australian English . Australia is home to a diversity of cultures , a result of its history of immigration . Since 1788, Australian culture has primarily been a Western culture strongly influenced by early Anglo-Celtic settlers. The cultural divergence and evolution that has occurred over

768-581: A distinctly Australian context. Other influences include Australian Aboriginal culture , the traditions brought to the country by waves of immigration from around the world, and the culture of the United States . The Colony of New South Wales was established by the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1788, with the arrival of the First Fleet , and five other colonies were established in the 19th century, now forming

864-574: A large number of Polish migrants, many arriving as refugees who soon got a reputation for being hard working. In 1991, an independent, voluntary organisation was established to inform the Australian public about issues related to Polish history, politics, society and culture. The immediate trigger for establishing the Australian Institute of Polish Affairs was strong public interest in the historic changes that swept Central Europe in 1989 and led to

960-477: A proportion of the total population was as follows: 57.2% European (including 46% North-West European and 11.2% Southern and Eastern European ), 33.8% (including 29.9% Australian) Oceanian , 17.4% Asian (including 6.5% Southern and Central Asian , 6.4% North-East Asian , and 4.5% South-East Asian ), 3.2% North African and Middle Eastern , 1.4% Peoples of the Americas , and 1.3% Sub-Saharan African . At

1056-493: A result of many shared linguistic, historical, cultural and geographic characteristics, Australians have often identified closely with New Zealanders in particular. Australian citizenship prior to 1949 was a social, moral, and political concept. Prior to the introduction of Australian citizenship , Australians had the status of " British subjects ". The High Court of Australia in Potter v Minahan (1908) stated that "Although there

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1152-531: A small minority in Eastern Belarus at that time; the prevailing majority of the country's population was Eastern rite Catholics . Peasants were flogged just for mentioning the name of Kościuszko and his idea of abolishing serfdom . Platon Zubov , who was awarded estates in Lithuania, was especially infamous, as he personally tortured to death many peasants who complained about worsening conditions. Besides this,

1248-747: A sustainable population of around 750,000. Ko%C5%9Bciuszko Uprising [REDACTED] Alexander Suvorov The Kościuszko Uprising , also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 , Second Polish War , Polish Campaign of 1794 , and the Polish Revolution of 1794 , was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland-Lithuania and

1344-770: A veteran of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War , announced the general uprising in a speech in the Kraków town square and assumed the powers of the Commander in Chief of all of the Polish forces. He also vowed not to use these powers to oppress any person, but to defend the integrity of the borders of Poland, regain the independence of the nation, and to strengthen universal liberties. In order to strengthen

1440-455: Is no Australian nationality as distinguished from British nationality, there is an Australian species of British nationality." The Australian Bureau of Statistics does not collect data on race , but asks each Australian resident to nominate up to two ancestries each census . These ancestry responses are classified into broad standardised ancestry groups. At the 2021 census, the number of ancestry responses within each standardised group as

1536-509: Is thought to be higher than the numbers captured in the census as those nominating their ancestry as "Australian" are classified within the Oceanian group, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry are Anglo-Celtic Australians . Since soon after the beginning of British settlement in 1788, people of European descent have formed

1632-585: The de facto national language. Australian English is a major variety of the language with a distinctive accent and lexicon, and differs slightly from other varieties of English in grammar and spelling. General Australian serves as the standard dialect. At the 2021 census, English was the only language spoken in the home for 72% of the population. The next most common languages spoken at home are Mandarin (2.7%), Arabic (1.4%), Vietnamese (1.3%), Cantonese (1.2%) and Punjabi (0.9%). Over 250 Indigenous Australian languages are thought to have existed at

1728-632: The Australian colonies . From the mid-19th century, Chinese dubbed Australia the New Gold Mountain after the Gold Mountain of California in North America. They typically sent money to their families in the villages, regularly visited their families, and retired to their home villages after many years working as market gardeners , shopkeepers or cabinet-makers . As with many overseas Chinese groups

1824-550: The Battle of Terespol (19 September), the new army started its march towards Warsaw. Trying to prevent both Russian armies from joining up, Kościuszko mobilised two regiments from Warsaw and with General Sierakowski's 5,000 soldiers, engaged Fersen's force of 14,000 on 10 October in the Battle of Maciejowice . Kościuszko was wounded in the battle and was captured by the Russians, who sent him to Saint Petersburg . The new commander of

1920-595: The English language , the existence of a parliamentary system of government drawing upon the Westminster system , constitutional monarchy , American constitutionalist and federalist traditions, Christianity as the dominant religion, and the popularity of sports including cricket , rugby football and tennis are evidence of a significant Anglo-Celtic heritage derived from the descendants of early settlers who form an ancestral group known as Anglo-Celtic Australians . As

2016-709: The Kościuszko Uprising and the American Revolutionary War General Tadeusz Kościuszko , because Strzelecki perceived resemblance to the Kościuszko Mound in Kraków . Melbourne, Victoria, has the largest Polish population in Australia which comprises a large part of the city's eclectic multicultural community . In 1986, the state of Victoria accounted for 36.4 percent of Australia's Polish-born population compared with 25.8 percent of

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2112-742: The Ottoman Empire (the Russo-Turkish War, 1787–1792 and the Austro-Turkish War, 1787–1791 ); the Russians also found themselves simultaneously fighting in the Russo-Swedish War, 1788–1790 . A new alliance between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Prussia seemed to provide security against Russian intervention, and on 3 May 1791 the new constitution was read and adopted to overwhelming popular support. With

2208-657: The Philippines , while many are descendants of such immigrants. The very early history of Chinese Australians involved significant immigration from villages of the Pearl River Delta in Southern China. More recent Chinese migrants include those from Mandarin and other Chinese dialects or forms. Less well-known are the kinds of society Chinese Australians came from, the families they left behind and what their intentions were in migrating. Gold rushes lured many Chinese to

2304-686: The Polish Independent Carpathian Brigade . Between 1947 and 1954, the Poland-born population increased from 6,573 to 56,594 people. In the early 1980s there was further Polish migration to Australia. The emergence of the Solidarity trade union movement and the declaration of martial law in Poland at the end of 1981 coincided with a further relaxation of Polish emigration laws. During the period 1980–1991 Australia granted permanent entry to

2400-648: The Prussian partition in 1794. It was a failed attempt to liberate the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from external influence after the Second Partition of Poland (1793) and the creation of the Targowica Confederation . By the early 18th century, the magnates of Poland and Lithuania controlled the state – or rather, they managed to ensure that no reforms would be carried out that might weaken their privileged status (the " Golden Freedoms "). Through

2496-651: The Roman Catholic Church (20% of the population) and the Anglican Church of Australia (9.8%). Multicultural immigration since the Second World War has led to the growth of non-Christian religions, the largest of which are Islam (3.2%), Hinduism (2.7%), Buddhism (2.4%), Sikhism (0.8%), and Judaism (0.4%). In 2021, just under 8,000 people declared an affiliation with traditional Aboriginal religions. According to Australian Aboriginal mythology and

2592-563: The animist framework developed in Aboriginal Australia, the Dreaming is a sacred era in which ancestral totemic spirit beings formed The Creation . The Dreaming established the laws and structures of society and the ceremonies performed to ensure continuity of life and land. The current Australian resident population is estimated at 27,837,000 (28 November 2024). This does not include Australians living overseas . In 2015, 2.15% of

2688-526: The collapse of communism . Some Australians have Polish-Jewish roots. They organised the Association of Polish Jews and Their Descendants . Both organisations are based in Melbourne. Mount Kosciuszko , the highest mountain in Australia (not including its external territories), was named by the Polish explorer Count Paul Edmund Strzelecki in 1840, in honour of the Polish and American national hero and hero of

2784-478: The gentry and on the third of May 1791 turned into a revolution and a conspiracy." The Confederates declared an intention to overcome this revolution. We "can do nothing but turn trustingly to Tsarina Catherine, a distinguished and fair empress, our neighboring friend and ally", who "respects the nation's need for well-being and always offers it a helping hand", they wrote. The Confederates aligned with Catherine and asked her for military intervention. On 18 May 1792

2880-458: The world's eighth-largest immigrant population, with immigrants accounting for 30 percent of the population in 2019. Between European colonisation in 1788 and the Second World War , the vast majority of settlers and immigrants came from the British Isles (principally England , Ireland , Wales and Scotland ), although there was significant immigration from China and Germany during

2976-400: The " Proclamation of Połaniec ", in which he partially abolished serfdom in Poland, granted civil liberty to all peasants and provided them with state help against abuses by the nobility. Although the new law never fully came into being and was boycotted by much of the nobility, it also attracted many peasants to the ranks of the revolutionaries. It was the first time in Polish history that

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3072-497: The "scythemen". To destroy the still weak opposition, Russian Empress Catherine the Great ordered the corps of Major General Fiodor Denisov to attack Kraków. On 4 April both armies met near the village of Racławice . In what became known as the Battle of Racławice Kościuszko's forces defeated the technically superior opponent. After the bloody battle the Russian forces withdrew from

3168-517: The 19th century. Many early settlements were initially penal colonies to house transported convicts . Immigration increased steadily, with an explosion of population in the 1850s following a series of gold rushes . In the decades immediately following the Second World War, Australia received a large wave of immigration from across Europe , with many more immigrants arriving from Southern and Eastern Europe than in previous decades. Since

3264-420: The 2016 census. Australia has no official religion; its Constitution prohibits the Commonwealth government, but not the states, from establishing one, or interfering with the freedom of religion . At the 2021 Census, 38.9% of the population identified as having "no religion" , up from 15.5% in 2001. The largest religion is Christianity (43.9% of the population). The largest Christian denominations are

3360-516: The 2021 Census. Germans formed the largest non-English-speaking group in Australia up to the 20th century. Although a few individuals had emigrated earlier, the first large group of Germans arrived in South Australia 1838, not long after the British colonisation of South Australia . Asian Australians are Australians with ancestry wholly or partially from the continent of Asia. At the 2021 census,

3456-536: The 2021 census finding 4.4% of the population claiming ancestry from Italy be they migrants to Australia or their descendants born in Australia of Italian heritage. Australia's long-history of Italian immigration has given rise to an Italo-Australian dialect of the Italian language. German Australians are Australians of German ancestry . The German community constitutes the second largest non-Anglo Celtic European ethnic group in Australia, amounting to 4% of respondents in

3552-516: The 2021 census, 3.2% of the Australian population identified as being Indigenous — Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders . Indigenous Australians experience higher than average rates of imprisonment and unemployment, lower levels of education, and life expectancies for males and females that are, respectively, 11 and 17 years lower than those of non-indigenous Australians. Some remote Indigenous communities have been described as having " failed state "-like conditions. In 2019, 30% of

3648-593: The 2021 census, the most commonly nominated individual ancestries as a proportion of the total population were: European Australians are Australians of whose descent is wholly or partially European. Australians of European descent are the majority in Australia, with the number of ancestry responses categorised within the European groups as a proportion of the total population amounting to 57.2% (including 46% North-West European and 11.2% Southern and Eastern European ). The proportion of Australians with European ancestry

3744-468: The 20th century's hostile policies to the new generation of skilled professional migrants of the 21st century... India became the largest source of skilled migrants in the 21st century." Indigenous Australians are descendants of the original inhabitants of the Australian continent . Their ancestors are believed to have migrated from Africa to Asia around 70,000 years ago and arrived in Australia around 50,000 years ago. The Torres Strait Islanders are

3840-410: The Australian continent over time, the population expanded and differentiated into hundreds of distinct groups, each with its own language and culture. More than 400 distinct Australian Aboriginal peoples have been identified across the continent, distinguished by unique names designating their ancestral languages, dialects, or distinctive speech patterns. In 1770, fearing he had been pre-empted by

3936-738: The Australian population lived overseas, one of the lowest proportions worldwide. This ratio is much lower than many other countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member developed countries ). The data in the table is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics . The population estimates do not include the Aboriginal population before 1961. Estimates of Aboriginal population prior to European settlement range from 300,000 to one million, with archaeological finds indicating

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4032-510: The Australian resident population, or 7,529,570 people, were born overseas. The following table shows Australia's population by country of birth as estimated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2021. It shows only countries or regions or birth with a population of over 100,000 residing in Australia (for more information about immigration see Immigration to Australia and Foreign-born population of Australia ): Although Australia has no official language, English has always been entrenched as

4128-429: The Commonwealth's territory. This event reduced Poland's population to only one-third of what it was before the partitions began in 1772 . The rump state was garrisoned by Russian troops and its independence was strongly curtailed. Such an outcome was a giant blow for the members of the Targowica Confederation , who saw their actions as a defense of the centuries-old privileges of the magnates, but now were regarded by

4224-1127: The Constitution, the Army was reduced to about 36,000. In 1794 Russians demanded a further downsizing of the army to 15,000. The dissent in the Polish Army was one of the sparks that would lead to the coming conflict. The King's capitulation was a hard blow for Kościuszko, who had not lost a single battle in the campaign. By mid September he was resigned to leave the country, and he departed Warsaw in early October. Kościuszko settled in Leipzig , where many other notable Polish commanders and politicians formed an émigrée community. Soon he and some others began preparing an uprising against Russian rule in Poland. The politicians, grouped around Ignacy Potocki and Hugo Kołłątaj , sought contacts with similar opposition groups formed in Poland and by spring 1793 had been joined by other politicians and revolutionaries, including Ignacy Działyński . While Kołłątaj and others had begun planning for

4320-503: The French, James Cook changed a hilltop signal-drill on Possession Island in Torres Strait , into a possession ceremony, fabricating Britain's claim of Australia's east coast. Eighteen years later, the east coast was occupied by Britain and later the west coast was also settled by Britain. At that time, the indigenous population was estimated to have been between 315,000 and 750,000. At

4416-567: The Poles that Prussia did not support the constitution and refused to help the Commonwealth in any form, even as a mediator, as it was not in Prussia's state interest to see the Commonwealth strengthened as it could threaten Prussia in the future. The Prussian statesman Ewald von Hertzberg expressed the fears of European conservatives: "The Poles have given the coup de grâce to the Prussian monarchy by voting

4512-474: The Polish border to conduct personal observations, and to meet some sympathetic high-ranking officers in the remaining Polish Army, including general Józef Wodzicki . The preparations in Poland were slow and he decided to postpone the outbreak, and left for Italy, planning to return in February. However, the situation in Poland was changing rapidly. The Russian and Prussian governments forced Poland to again disband

4608-441: The Polish borders and joined the 9,000 Russian soldiers operating in northern Poland. On 6 June Kościuszko was defeated in the Battle of Szczekociny by a joint Russo-Prussian force and on 8 June General Józef Zajączek was defeated in the Battle of Chełm . Polish forces withdrew towards Warsaw and started to fortify the city under directions from Kosciuszko and his 16,000 soldiers, 18,000 peasants and 15,000 burghers. On 15 June

4704-531: The Polish forces, Kościuszko issued an act of mobilisation, requiring that every 5 houses in Lesser Poland delegate at least one able male soldier equipped with carbine , pike , or an axe . Kościuszko's Commission for Order in Kraków recruited all males between 18 and 28 years of age and passed an income tax. The difficulties with providing enough armament for the mobilised troops made Kościuszko form large units composed of peasants armed with scythes , called

4800-474: The Polish leftist movement. Many prominent Polish politicians who were active during the uprising became the backbone of Polish politics, both at home and abroad, in the 19th century. Also, Prussia had much of its forces tied up in Poland and could not field enough forces to suppress the French Revolution , which added to its success and briefly restored a Polish state . In the lands of partitioned Poland,

4896-473: The Praga massacre; the number includes both military personnel and civilians. Zajaczek fled wounded, abandoning the Polish army. On 16 November, near Radoszyce , Wawrzecki surrendered. This marked the end of the uprising. The power of Poland was broken and the following year the third partition of Poland took place, after which Austria , Russia and Prussia annexed the remainder of the country. The uprising

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4992-540: The Prussian army captured Kraków unopposed. Warsaw was besieged by 41,000 Russians under General Ivan Fersen and 25,000 Prussians under King Frederick William II of Prussia on 13 July. On 20 August, an uprising in Greater Poland started and the Prussians were forced to withdraw their forces from Warsaw. The siege was lifted by 6 September when the Prussians and Russians had both withdrawn their troops. Although

5088-409: The Prussian lines, forcing the Prussians to withdraw most of their forces from central Poland. However, the Poles did not stay long in Prussian territories, and soon retreated to Central Poland. Meanwhile, the Russians equipped a new corps commanded by General Aleksandr Suvorov and ordered it to join up with the corps under Ivan Fersen near Warsaw. After the Battle of Krupczyce (17 September) and

5184-510: The Russian ambassador to Poland, Yakov Bulgakov , delivered a declaration of war to Polish Foreign Minister Joachim Chreptowicz . Russian armies entered Poland and Lithuania on the same day, starting the Polish–Russian War of 1792 . The war ended without any decisive battles, with a capitulation signed by Polish King Stanisław August Poniatowski , who hoped that a diplomatic compromise could be worked out. King Poniatowski's hopes that

5280-686: The Russian-guaranteed Cardinal Laws abolished under the new statute. To that end these magnates formed the Targowica Confederation . The Confederation's proclamation, prepared in St. Petersburg in January 1792, criticized the constitution for contributing to, in their own words, "contagion of democratic ideas" following "the fatal examples set in Paris". It asserted that "The parliament ... has broken all fundamental laws, swept away all liberties of

5376-576: The St. Petersburg court. It is estimated that 650,000 former Polish serfs were transferred to Russian officials in this manner. Some among the nobility, especially in Lithuanian and Ruthenian regions of the former Commonwealth, were expelled to southern Russia, where they were subject to Russification. Other nobles were denied their nobility status by Russian authorities, which meant loss of legal privileges and social status , significantly limiting any possibility of

5472-584: The abuse of the liberum veto rule which enabled any deputy to paralyze the Sejm (Commonwealth's parliament) proceedings, deputies bribed by magnates or foreign powers or those simply content to believe they were living in an unprecedented "Golden Age", paralysed the Commonwealth's government for over a century. The idea of reforming the Commonwealth gained traction starting from the mid-17th century. It was, however, viewed with suspicion not only by its magnates but also by neighboring countries, which were content with

5568-428: The battlefield. Kościuszko's forces were too weak to start a successful pursuit and wipe the Russian forces out of Lesser Poland. Although the strategic importance of the victory was close to none, the news of the victory spread fast and soon other parts of Poland joined the ranks of the revolutionaries. By early April the Polish forces concentrated in the lands of Lublin and Volhynia , ready to be sent to Russia, joined

5664-574: The capitulation would allow an acceptable diplomatic solution to be worked out were soon dashed. With new deputies bribed or intimidated by the Russian troops, a new session of parliament, known as the Grodno Sejm , took place, in fall 1793. On 23 November 1793, it concluded its deliberations under duress, annulling the constitution and acceding to the Second Partition . Russia took 250,000 square kilometres (97,000 sq mi), while Prussia took 58,000 square kilometres (22,000 sq mi) of

5760-538: The centuries since European settlement has resulted in a distinctive Australian culture. As the Asian Australian population continues to expand and flourish as a result of changes in the demographic makeup of immigrants and as there has been increased economic and cultural intercourse with Asian nations, Australia has observed the gradual emergence of a "Eurasian society" within its major urban hubs, blending both European and Asian material and popular culture within

5856-481: The commander of 1st Greater Polish National Cavalry Brigade (1,500 men) decided to disobey the order to demobilise, advancing his troops from Ostrołęka to Kraków . This sparked an outbreak of riots against Russian forces throughout the country. The Russian garrison of Kraków was ordered to leave the city and confront Madalinski, which left Kraków completely undefended, but also foiled Kosciuszko's plan to seize their weapons. On 24 March 1794, Tadeusz Kościuszko ,

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5952-533: The cultural point of view the partitions may have given a step forward towards the development of national Polish literature and arts, since the inhabitants of partitioned lands could acquire the cultural developments of German and Russian Enlightenment . The conditions for the former Polish elite were particularly harsh in Russian partition. Thousands of Polish szlachta families who supported Kościuszo's uprising were stripped of their possessions and estates, which were awarded to Russian generals and favourites of

6048-634: The deterioration of the Commonwealth and abhorred the thought of a resurgent and democratic power on their borders. With the Commonwealth Army reduced to around 16,000, it was easy for its neighbors to intervene directly (The Imperial Russian Army numbered 300,000; The Prussian Army and Imperial Austrian Army , 200,000 each). A major opportunity for reform presented itself during the " Great Sejm " of 1788–92. Poland's neighbors were preoccupied with wars and unable to intervene forcibly in Polish affairs. Russia and Austria were engaged in hostilities with

6144-439: The expense of the local population. The schooling system was also degraded as the schools in those territories were given low priority. The Commission of National Education , the world's first Ministry of Education, was abolished, because the absolutist governments of the partitioning powers saw no gain in investing in education in the territories inhabited by restless Polish minorities. The creation of educational institutions in

6240-466: The failure of the uprising meant economic catastrophe, as centuries-old economic markets became divided and separated from each other, resulting in the collapse of trade . Several banks fell and some of the few manufacturing centres established in the Commonwealth were closed. Reforms made by the reformers and Kosciuszko, aimed at easing serfdom, were revoked. All the partitioning powers heavily taxed their newly acquired lands, filling their treasuries at

6336-468: The first Australian settlers came from London, the Midlands and the North of England , and Ireland. Settlers that arrived throughout the 19th century were from all parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland, a significant proportion of settlers came from the Southwest and Southeast of England, from Ireland and from Scotland. In 1888, 60 percent of the Australian population had been born in Australia, and almost all had British ancestral origins. Out of

6432-420: The incompetence of Russian ambassador and commander, Iosif Igelström , and the chosen day being the Thursday of Holy Week when many soldiers of the Russian garrison went to the churches for the Eucharist not carrying their arms. Finally, from the onset of the insurrection, the Polish forces were aided by the civilian population and had surprise on their side as they attacked many separate groups of soldiers at

6528-444: The largest immigrant groups during the post-war era. During the 1950s, Australia was the destination of 30 per cent of Dutch emigrants and the Netherlands-born became numerically the second largest non-British group in Australia. In 1971, 70 percent of the foreign born were of European origin. Italian Australians are Australians of Italian ancestry, and comprise the largest non Anglo-Celtic European ethnic group in Australia, with

6624-448: The largest non-British Isles ancestry for most of the 19th century. Between 1901 and 1940, 140,000 non-British European immigrants arrived in Australia (about 16 percent of the total intake). Before World War II, 13.6 percent were born overseas, and 80 percent of those were British. Following the Second World War , large numbers of continental Europeans immigrated to Australia, with Italian Australians and Greek Australians being among

6720-412: The late 1970s, following the end of the White Australia policy in 1973, a large and continuing wave of immigration to Australia from around the world has continued into the 21st century, with Asia now being the largest source of immigrants. A smaller proportion of Australians are descended from indigenous people , comprising Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders . The development of

6816-417: The majority of her armed forces and the reduced units were to be drafted into the Russian army. Also, in March the tsarist agents discovered the group of revolutionaries in Warsaw and started arresting notable Polish politicians and military commanders. Kościuszko was forced to execute his plan earlier than expected, and on 15 March 1794 he set off for Kraków . On 12 March 1794, General Antoni Madaliński ,

6912-407: The majority of the Polish population as traitors . The Polish military was widely dissatisfied with the capitulation, most commanders considering it premature; Tadeusz Kościuszko , Prince Józef Poniatowski and many others would criticize the king's decision and many, including Kościuszko, resigned their commission shortly afterward. After the Commonwealth defeat in that war and the rescinding of

7008-417: The majority of the population in Australia. The largest statistical grouping of European Australians are Anglo-Celtic Australians , Australians whose ancestors originate wholly or partially in the British Isles . This includes English Australians , Irish Australians , Scottish Australians and Welsh Australians . Anglo-Celtic Australians have been highly influential in shaping the nation's character. By

7104-427: The mid-1840s, the numbers of freeborn settlers had overtaken the convict population. Although some observers stress Australia's convict history, the vast majority of early settlers came of their own free will. Far more Australians are descended from assisted immigrants than from convicts, the majority of Colonial Era settlers being British and Irish. About 20 percent of Australians are descendants of convicts. Most of

7200-408: The national population. A vast majority of these immigrants reside in Melbourne's south-east, in suburbs such as Bentleigh and Caulfield . The largest portion of Melbourne's Polish population immigrated to the city after the Second World War, with the second largest influx occurring in the 1980s. However, Melbourne's Polish history goes back much further than the 1940s, with a Polish Relief Fund and

7296-451: The new constitution. Prussia was also strongly opposed to the new constitution, and Polish diplomats received a note that the new constitution changed the Polish state so much that Prussia did not consider its obligations binding. Just like Russia, Prussia was concerned that the newly strengthened Polish state could become a threat and the Prussian foreign minister, Friedrich Wilhelm von Schulenburg-Kehnert , clearly and with rare candor told

7392-548: The number of ancestry responses categorised within the Asian groups as a proportion of the total population amounted to 17.4% (including 6.5% Southern and Central Asian , 6.4% North-East Asian , and 4.5% South-East Asian ). This figure excludes Australians of Middle Eastern ancestry, who are separately categorised within the North African and Middle Eastern group. Chinese Australians are Australians of Chinese ancestry, forming

7488-526: The opposition in Lithuania was crushed by Russian forces ( Vilnius was besieged and capitulated on 12 August ), the uprising in Greater Poland achieved some success. A Polish corps under Jan Henryk Dąbrowski captured Bydgoszcz (2 October) and entered Pomerania almost unopposed. Thanks to the mobility of his forces, General Dąbrowski evaded being encircled by a much less mobile Prussian army and disrupted

7584-518: The partitions became very difficult. For example, an attempt to create a university in Warsaw was opposed by the Prussian authorities. Further, in the German and Russian partitions, all remaining centers of learning were subject to Germanisation and Russification ; only in territories acquired by Austria was there relatively little governmental intervention in the curriculum . According to S. I. Nikołajew, from

7680-409: The peasants were officially regarded as part of the nation , the word being previously equivalent to nobility . Despite the promise of reforms and quick recruitment of new forces, the strategic situation of the Polish forces, which consisted of 6,000 peasants, cavalry, and 9,000 soldiers, was still critical. On 10 May the forces of Prussia (17,500 soldiers under General Francis Favrat), crossed

7776-560: The ranks of Kościuszko's forces. On 17 April in Warsaw , the Russian attempt to arrest those suspected of supporting the insurrection and to disarm the weak Polish garrison of Warsaw under Gen. Stanisław Mokronowski by seizing the arsenal at Miodowa Street resulted in an uprising against the Russian garrison of Warsaw , led by Jan Kiliński , in the face of indecisiveness of the King of Poland , Stanisław II Augustus . The insurgents were aided by

7872-424: The remaining 40 percent, 34 percent had been born in the British Isles , and 6 percent were of European origin, mainly from Germany and Scandinavia . The census of 1901 showed that 98 percent of Australians had Anglo-Celtic ancestral origins. In 1939 and 1945, still 98 percent of Australians had Anglo-Celtic ancestral origins. Until 1947, the vast majority of the population were of British origin. Germans formed

7968-481: The same time and the resistance to Russian forces quickly spread over the city. After two days of heavy fighting the Russians, who suffered between 2,000 and 4,000 casualties out of an initial 5,000 strong garrison, were forced to leave the city. A similar uprising was started by Jakub Jasiński in Vilnius on 23 April and soon other cities and towns followed. On 7 May 1794, Kościuszko issued an act that became known as

8064-558: The second-largest Asian Australian ancestry, comprising 3.1% of the total population. Indian Australians are one of the largest groups within the Indian diaspora. Indians are the youngest average age (34 years) and the fastest growing community both in terms of absolute numbers and percentages in Australia. Migration of Indians to Australia followed the pattern of "from 18th-century sepoys and lascars (soldiers and sailors) aboard visiting European ships, through 19th-century migrant labourers and

8160-616: The single largest non Anglo-Celtic ancestry in the country, constituting 5.5% of those nominating their ancestry at the 2021 census. Chinese Australians are one of the largest groups of Overseas Chinese people, forming the largest Overseas Chinese community in Oceania , and are the largest Asian-Australian community. Per capita , Australia has more people of Chinese ancestry than any country outside Asia. Many Chinese Australians have immigrated from Mainland China, Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan as well as Indonesia , Malaysia , Singapore and

8256-544: The six present-day Australian states . Large-scale immigration occurred following a series of gold rushes in the 1850s and after the First and Second World Wars, with many post-World War II migrants coming from Southern Europe , Eastern Europe and The Middle East . Since the end of the White Australia policy in 1973, immigrants to Australia have come from around the world, and from Asia in particular. The predominance of

8352-488: The source of their being Australian. Australian law does not provide for a racial or ethnic component of nationality, instead relying on citizenship as a legal status, though the Constitutional framers considered the Commonwealth to be "a home for Australians and the British race alone", as well as a "Christian Commonwealth". Since the postwar period, Australia has pursued an official policy of multiculturalism and has

8448-445: The spring, leading to Suvorov's army to commit to an assault. On 4 November, the joint Russian forces started the Battle of Praga , after the name of the right-bank suburb of Warsaw where it took place. After four hours of brutal hand-to-hand fighting, the 22,000-strong Russian forces broke through the Polish defences and Suvorov allowed his Cossacks to loot and burn Warsaw. By one Russian estimate, approximately 20,000 were murdered in

8544-546: The time of first European contact, of which fewer than twenty are still in daily use by all age groups. About 110 others are spoken exclusively by older people. At the time of the 2006 census, 52,000 Indigenous Australians, representing 12% of the Indigenous population, reported that they spoke an Indigenous language at home. Australia has a sign language known as Auslan , which is the main language of about 10,112 deaf people who reported that they use Auslan language at home in

8640-416: The uprising before meeting Kościuszko, his support was a major boon for them, as he was, at that time, among the most popular individuals in the entire Poland. In August 1793 Kościuszko returned to Leipzig where he was met with demands to start planning for the uprising; however, he was worried that an uprising would have little chance against the three partitioners. In September he would clandestinely cross

8736-470: The uprising, Tomasz Wawrzecki , could not control the spreading internal struggles for power and ultimately became only the commander of weakened military forces, while the political power was held by General Józef Zajączek , who in turn had to struggle with both the leftist liberal Polish Jacobins and the rightist and monarchical nobility. Suvorov's troops grew angry due to resistance and also due to tales of atrocities committed against Russian troops in

8832-471: The wars between Turkey and Russia and Sweden and Russia having ended, Empress Catherine was furious over the adoption of the new constitution, which she believed threatened Russian influence in Poland. Russia had viewed Poland as a de facto protectorate. "The worst possible news has arrived from Warsaw: the Polish king has become almost sovereign" was the reaction of one of Russia's chief foreign policy authors, Alexander Bezborodko , when he learned of

8928-798: The way Strzelecki returned to England, where he was awarded in May 1846 the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society . The first settlers from Poland arrived in South Australia in 1856 and settled in the Clare Valley region in a place later called Polish Hill River . The first mass migration happened in the late 1940s when large groups of displaced persons who could not return to communist Poland (the Polish People's Republic ) migrated to Australia after World War II , including soldiers from

9024-436: The world over, early Chinese immigrants to Australia established several Chinatowns in major cities, such as Sydney ( Chinatown, Sydney ), Melbourne ( Chinatown, Melbourne , since the 1850s) and Brisbane ( Chinatown, Brisbane ), Perth ( Chinatown, Perth ), as well as in regional towns associated with the goldfields such as Cairns ( Cairns Chinatown ). Indian Australians are Australians of Indian ancestry, and are

9120-572: Was Joseph Potaski , who was sent there as a convict from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1803. A prominent Pole, Paul Edmund Strzelecki arrived at Sydney on 25 April 1839. At the request of the governor of New South Wales, Sir George Gipps, Strzelecki made a geological and mineralogical survey of the Gippsland region in present-day eastern Victoria , where he made many discoveries including gold in 1839. That year, Strzelecki and

9216-491: Was bloodily suppressed, the Polish rebels lost 27,000 and the Russians 4,080. After the failure of the Kościuszko Uprising, Poland ceased to exist for 123 years, and all of its institutions were gradually banned by the partitioning powers. However, the uprising also marked the start of modern political thought in Poland and Central Europe . Kościuszko's Proclamation of Połaniec and the radical leftist Jacobins started

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