The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (
Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni'';
Lithuanian
Lithuanian may refer to:
* Lithuanians
* Lithuanian language
* The country of Lithuania
* Grand Duchy of Lithuania
* Culture of Lithuania
* Lithuanian cuisine
* Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...
: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...
(parliament) of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ...
that was held in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
between 1788 and 1792. Its principal aim became to restore sovereignty to, and reform, the Commonwealth politically and economically.
The Sejm's great achievement was the adoption of the
Constitution of 3 May 1791, often described as Europe's first modern written national constitution, and the world's second, after the
United States Constitution. The Polish Constitution was designed to redress long-standing political defects of the
federative Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and its system of
Golden Liberties. The Constitution introduced political equality between
townspeople and
nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
and placed the
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...
s under the protection of the government, thus mitigating the worst abuses of
serfdom
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develo ...
. The Constitution abolished pernicious parliamentary institutions such as the ''
liberum veto'', which at one time had placed a sejm at the mercy of any
deputy who might choose, or be bribed by an interest or foreign power, to undo all the
legislation
Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...
that had been passed by that ''sejm''. The 3 May Constitution sought to supplant the existing
anarchy
Anarchy is a society without a government. It may also refer to a society or group of people that entirely rejects a set hierarchy. ''Anarchy'' was first used in English in 1539, meaning "an absence of government". Pierre-Joseph Proudhon adopte ...
fostered by some of the country's
reactionary
In political science, a reactionary or a reactionist is a person who holds political views that favor a return to the '' status quo ante'', the previous political state of society, which that person believes possessed positive characteristics abs ...
magnate
The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
s, with a more
egalitarian
Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...
and
democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies di ...
.
The reforms instituted by the Great Sejm and the Constitution of 3 May 1791 were undone by the
Targowica Confederation
The Targowica Confederation ( pl, konfederacja targowicka, , lt, Targovicos konfederacija) was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catheri ...
and the intervention of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
at the invitation of the Targowica Confederates.
Origins
The reforms of the Great Sejm responded to the increasingly perilous situation of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ...
,
only a century earlier a major European power and indeed the largest state on the continent.
By the 18th century the Commonwealth's state machinery became increasingly dysfunctional; the government was near collapse, giving rise to the term "Polish anarchy", and the country was managed by provincial assemblies and magnates.
Many historians hold that a major cause of the Commonwealth's downfall was the peculiar parliamentary institution of the ''
liberum veto'' ("free veto"), which since 1652 had in principle permitted any Sejm deputy to nullify all the legislation that had been adopted by that Sejm.
By the early 18th century, the
magnate
The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
s 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").
The matters were not helped by the inefficient monarchs
elected to the Commonwealth throne around the start of the 18th century,
nor by neighboring countries, which were content with the deteriorated state of the Commonwealth's affairs and abhorred the thought of a resurgent and democratic power on their borders.
The
Enlightenment
Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to:
Age of Enlightenment
* Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
European
cultural movement had gained great influence in certain Commonwealth circles during the reign of its last king,
Stanisław August Poniatowski (1764–95), which roughly coincided with the
Enlightenment in Poland
The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Gol ...
. In 1772, the
First Partition of Poland, the earliest of the three successive 18th-century
partitions of Commonwealth territory that eventually removed Poland from the map of Europe, shocked the inhabitants of the Commonwealth, and made it clear to progressive minds that the Commonwealth must either reform or perish.
In the last three decades preceding the Great Sejm, there was a rising interest among progressive thinkers in
constitutional reform.
Even before the First Partition, a Polish noble,
Michał Wielhorski, an envoy of the
Bar Confederation
The Bar Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja barska; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles ( szlachta) formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia (now part of Ukraine) in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polis ...
, had been sent to ask the French ''
philosophe
The ''philosophes'' () were the intellectuals of the 18th-century Enlightenment.Kishlansky, Mark, ''et al.'' ''A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy, volume II: Since 1555.'' (5th ed. 2007). Few were primarily philosopher ...
s''
Gabriel Bonnot de Mably and
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...
to offer suggestions on a new constitution for a new Poland.
Mably had submitted his recommendations (''
The Government and Laws of Poland
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
'') in 1770–1771; Rousseau had finished his ''
Considerations on the Government of Poland'' in 1772, when the First Partition was already underway.
Notable works advocating the need to reform and presenting specific solutions were published in the Commonwealth itself by Polish-Lithuanian thinkers such as:
*
Stanisław Konarski, founder of the
Collegium Nobilium (''
On the Effective Conduct of Debates in Ordinary Sejms
On, on, or ON may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews
* ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin
* ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995
* ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001
* ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 20 ...
'', 1761–1763);
*
Józef Wybicki, composer of the
Polish National Anthem (''
Political Thoughts on Civil Liberties
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
'', 1775, ''
Patriotic Letters
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
'', 1778–1778);
*
Hugo Kołłątaj
Hugo Stumberg Kołłątaj, also spelled ''Kołłątay'' (pronounced , 1 April 1750 – 28 February 1812), was a prominent Polish constitutional reformer and educationalist, and one of the most prominent figures of the Polish Enlightenment. He s ...
, head of the
Kołłątaj's Forge
Kołłątaj's Forge ( pl, Kuźnica Kołłątajowska) was a group of social and political activists, publicists and writers from the period of the Great Sejm in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Centered on Hugo Kołłątaj, one of the most pro ...
party (''
Anonymous Letters to Stanisław Małachowski
Anonymous may refer to:
* Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown
** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author
* Anony ...
'', 1788–1789, ''
The Political Law of the Polish Nation
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
'', 1790); and
*
Stanisław Staszic (''
Remarks on the Life of Jan Zamoyski'', 1787).
Also seen as crucial to giving the upcoming reforms their moral and political support were
Ignacy Krasicki's satires of the Great Sejm era.
Proceedings
1789–90
A major opportunity for reform seemed to present itself during the sejm of 1788–92, which opened on 6 October 1788 with 181 deputies, and from 1790 – in the words of the 3 May Constitution's preamble – met "in dual number", when 171 newly elected Sejm deputies joined the earlier-established Sejm.
On its second day the Sejm transformed itself into a
confederated sejm
Confederated sejm () was a form of sejm in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. After 1764, sejms were frequently ''confederated''. Under rules of confederation, decisions were made by the majority of deputy votes cast, and ...
to make it immune to the threat of the ''liberum veto''.
Russian tsarina
Catherine the Great had issued the approval for the sejm confederation a while ago, at a point she was considering that the successful conclusion of this Sejm may be necessary if Russia would need Polish aid in the fight against the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
Stanisław Małachowski
Count Stanisław Małachowski, of the Nałęcz coat-of-arms (; 1736–1809) was the first Prime Minister of Poland, a member of the Polish government's Permanent Council (Rada Nieustająca) (1776–1780), Marshal of the Crown Courts of Justice fr ...
, a statesman respected both by most factions, was elected as the
Marshal of the Sejm.
Many supporters of the reforms were gathered in the
Patriotic Party. This group received support from all strata of Polish-Lithuanian society, from societal and political elites, including some aristocratic magnates, through
Piarist and
Enlightened Catholics
Enlightened may refer to:
* ''Enlightened'' (TV series), an American comedy-drama
* ''Enlightened'' (album), 2007, by Dynamic Duo
* The Enlightened, a faction in ''Ingress'' (video game)
See also
* Enlightened self-interest, a philosophy in et ...
, to the radical left.
The Party's conservative, or right, wing, led by progressive magnates such as
Ignacy Potocki, his brother
Stanisław Kostka Potocki and Prince
Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, sought alliance with
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
and advocated opposing King Poniatowski.
The Patriotic Party's centrists, including Stanisław Małachowski, wished accommodation with the King.
[ The liberal left wing (the Polish Jacobins), led by ]Hugo Kołłątaj
Hugo Stumberg Kołłątaj, also spelled ''Kołłątay'' (pronounced , 1 April 1750 – 28 February 1812), was a prominent Polish constitutional reformer and educationalist, and one of the most prominent figures of the Polish Enlightenment. He s ...
(hence also known as "Kołłątaj's Forge
Kołłątaj's Forge ( pl, Kuźnica Kołłątajowska) was a group of social and political activists, publicists and writers from the period of the Great Sejm in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Centered on Hugo Kołłątaj, one of the most pro ...
"), looked for support to the people of Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
.[ While King Poniatowski also supported some reforms, he was initially not allied with this faction, represented by Potocki, who preferred a republican form of a government.]
Events in the world appeared to play into the reformers' hands. Poland's neighbors were too occupied with wars to intervene forcibly in Poland, with Russia and Austria engaged in hostilities with the Ottoman Empire (the Russo-Turkish War and the Austro-Turkish War); the Russians also found themselves fighting Sweden (the Russo-Swedish War). At first, King Poniatowski and some reformers hoped to gain Russian support for the reforms; they attempted to draw Poland into the Austro-Russian alliance, seeing a war with the Ottomans as an opportunity to strengthen the Commonwealth. Due to internal Russian politics, this plan was not implemented. Spurned by Russia, Poland turned to another potential ally, the Triple Alliance Triple Alliance may refer to:
* Aztec Triple Alliance (1428–1521), Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan and in central Mexico
* Triple Alliance (1596), England, France, and the Dutch Republic to counter Spain
* Triple Alliance (1668), England, the ...
, represented on the Polish diplomatic scene primarily by the Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) constituted the German state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: ...
. This line of reasoning gained support from Polish politicians such as Ignacy Potocki and Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski. With the new Polish-Prussian alliance seeming to provide security against Russian intervention, King Poniatowski drew closer to leaders of the reform-minded Patriotic Party. This alliance was also helped as the 1790 elections were more supportive of the royal faction then Potocki's; and the conservative faction gained enough new seats to threaten the reformers if they were to stay divided. With the mediation of Scipione Piattoli, Potocki and Poniatowski begun to reach a consensus on a more constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies di ...
approach, and started to draft a constitutional document.
Overall, the first two years of the Sejm passed with few major reforms, and it was the second half of the Sejm duration that brought major changes.[
]
1791–92
The elections of autumn 1790 resulted in a new group of deputies joining those already elected.[ A second Marshal of the Sejm was elected ( Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha).] As Małachowski was seen as associated with the reformers, Sapieha was initially seen as a conservative, although he would later switch sides and join the reformers. The doubled number of deputies exceeded the capacity of the parliament chambers, and not all of the deputies could secure a seat; public interest also grew and the entire building and the observation galleries were often overcrowded.
While the Sejm comprised representatives only of the nobility
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...
and clergy, the reformers were supported by the burghers (townspeople), who in the fall of 1789 organized a Black Procession, demonstrating their desire to be part of the political process. Taking a cue from similar events in France, and with the fear that if burghers' demands were not met, their peaceful protests could turn violent, the Sejm on 18 April 1791 adopted a law addressing the status of the cities and the rights of the burghers (the Free Royal Cities Act). Together with the legislation on the voting rights (the Act on Sejmiks of 24 March 1791), it became incorporated into the final constitution.
The new Constitution had been drafted by the king, with contributions from others, including Ignacy Potocki and Hugo Kołłątaj. The king is credited with authoring the general provisions, and Kołłątaj, with giving the work its final shape.[ Poniatowski aimed for a constitutional monarchy similar to the one in England, with strong central government based upon a strong monarch.][ Potocki wanted to make the parliament (Sejm) the most powerful of the state's institutions, and Kołłątaj, for a "gentle" social revolution, enfranchising other classes in addition to the till-then dominant nobility, but doing so without a violent overthrow of the old order.][
Reforms were opposed by conservative elements, including the Hetmans' Party.] The reform's advocates, threatened with violence from their opponents, managed to move debate on the new constitution forward by two days from the original 5 May, while many opposed deputies were still away on Easter recess. The ensuing debate and adoption of the Constitution of 3 May took place in a quasi-coup d'état: recall notices were not sent to known opponents of reform, while many pro-reform deputies arrived early and in secret, and the royal guard were positioned about the Royal Castle, where the Sejm was gathered, to prevent Russian supporters from disrupting the proceedings. On 3 May the Sejm met with only 182 members present, about a half of its "dual" number (or a third, if one was to count all individuals eligible to take part in the proceedings, including the Senate and the king). The bill was read out and adopted overwhelmingly, to the enthusiasm of the crowds gathered outside.
The work of the Great Sejm did not end with the passing of the Constitution. The Sejm continued to debate and pass legislation building on and clarifying that document. Among the most notable acts passed after the 3 May was the ''Deklaracja Stanów Zgromadzonych'' (Declaration of the Assembled Estates) of 5 May 1791, confirming the Government Act adopted two days earlier, and the ''Zaręczenie Wzajemne Obojga Narodów'' ( Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations, i.e., of the Crown of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...
) of 22 October 1791, affirming the unity and indivisibility of Poland and the Grand Duchy within a single state, and their equal representation in state-governing bodies. The Mutual Declaration strengthened the Polish-Lithuanian union, while keeping many federal aspects of the state intact.
The Sejm was disbanded on 29 May 1792. On that day, soon after learning that the Russian army had invaded Poland, the Sejm gave the commander-in-chief position to the king, and voted to end the session.
Aftermath
Soon afterwards, the Friends of the Constitution
The Friends of the Constitution ( pl, Zgromadzenie Przyjaciół Konstytucji Rządowej) was the first modern Polish political party (with a charter and organizational discipline), formed in May 1791, shortly after the adoption of the Constitution o ...
, regarded as the first Polish political party, and including many participants of the Great Sejm, was formed to defend the reforms already enacted and to promote further ones. The response to the new Constitution was less enthusiastic in the provinces, where the Hetmans' Party exerted stronger influence. The Great Sejm's reforms were brought down by the Targowica Confederation
The Targowica Confederation ( pl, konfederacja targowicka, , lt, Targovicos konfederacija) was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catheri ...
and the intervention of the Russian Empire. On 23 November 1793 the Grodno Sejm
Grodno Sejm ( pl, Sejm grodzieński; be, Гарадзенскі сойм; lt, 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 Li ...
annulled all the enactments of the Great Sejm, including the Constitution of 3 May 1791.
See also
* List of deputies of the Great Sejm
Notes
a
A website
dedicated to the genealogy of the Great Sejm participants, maintained by Marek Jerzy Minakowski, lists 484 participants. Those include the king, members of the Senate, and deputies elected in 1788 and 1790.
References
{{authority control
Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1788 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1789 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1790 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1791 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1792 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth