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 served as Deputy Chancellor of the Crown
Chancellor of Poland ( pl, Kanclerz - , from la, cancellarius) was one of the highest officials in the historic Poland. This office functioned from the early Polish kingdom of the 12th century until the end of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...
, 1791–92. He was a Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
priest, social and political activist, political
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 studi ...
thinker, historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...
, philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
, and polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
.
Biography
Early life
Hugo Kołłątaj was born 1 April 1750 in Dederkały Wielkie (now in Western Ukraine) in Volhynia
Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...
into a family of Polish nobility. Soon after, his family moved to Nieciesławice, near Sandomierz
Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Prov ...
, where he spent his childhood. He attended school in Pińczów. He began his studies at the Kraków Academy, subsequently, Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University ( Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...
, where he studied law and gained a doctorate. Afterwards, around 1775 he took holy orders. He studied in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
and Italy (Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...
and Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
), where he would have encountered Enlightenment philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
. He is thought to have gained two further doctorates abroad in philosophy and theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
.[
Returning to Poland, he became a canon of ]Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...
,[ and ]parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
priest of Krzyżanowice Dolne and Tuczępy.[ He was active in the Commission of National Education and the ]Society for Elementary Books
The Society for Elementary Books (Polish: ''Towarzystwo do Ksiąg Elementarnych''; 1775–92) was an institution formed by Poland's Commission of National Education (''Komisja Edukacji Narodowej'') in Warsaw in 1775. The Society's mandate was t ...
, where he took a prominent role in the development of the national network of schools. He spent two years in Warsaw, but returned to Kraków where he reformed the Kraków Academy, on whose board he sat from 1777, and whose rector he was between 1783–1786. The reform of the Academy was very substantial. It established innovative standards. Notably, he substituted Polish for Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
which till then was used for lectures. The removal of Latin in favour of a national language in higher education was then still uncommon in Europe. The reform proved so controversial that his political enemies plotted successfully to have him temporarily removed from Kraków in 1781, on grounds of corruption and immorality. Although in 1782 the decision was rescinded.
Reforms of the Great Sejm
Kołłątaj was also active politically. In 1786 he assumed the office of the Referendary Referendary is the English form of a number of administrative positions, of various rank, in chanceries and other official organizations in Europe.
Pre-modern history
The office of ' (plural: ', from the Latin ', "I inform") existed at the Byzan ...
of Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, and moved to Warsaw. He became prominent in the reform movement
A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary m ...
, heading an informal group that was on the radical wing of the Patriotic Party, and labelled by their political enemies 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 p ...
". As leader of the Patriotic Party during the Great Sejm, he set out its programme in his ''Several Anonymous Letters to Stanisław Małachowski
Count Stanisław Małachowski, of the Nałęcz coat-of-arms (; 1736–1809) was the first List of Polish Prime Ministers, Prime Minister of Poland, a member of the Poland, Polish government's Permanent Council (Rada Nieustająca) (1776–1780), M ...
'' (1788–1789) and in his essay, ''The Political Law of the Polish Nation'' (1790). In his works he advocated a republican-tinged constitutional reform and the need for other social reforms. Among the goals he pursued were the strengthening of the king's constitutional position, a larger national army, abolition of the liberum veto, the introduction of universal taxation, and the emancipation of both townspeople and the peasantry. An organizer of the townspeople's movement, he edited a text that demanded reform and which was delivered to the king
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
during the Black Procession of 1789.
Kołłątaj co-authored the Constitution of 3 May 1791. He also founded 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 ...
to assist in the document's implementation.[ In 1786 he received the ]Order of Saint Stanislaus
The Order of Saint Stanislaus ( pl, Order Św. Stanisława Biskupa Męczennika, russian: Орден Святого Станислава), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poni ...
and in 1791, the Order of the White Eagle.[ In 1791–92 he served as Crown Vice Chancellor (Podkanclerzy Koronny).]
During the Polish-Russian war
Armed conflicts between Poland (including the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) and Russia (including the Soviet Union) include:
Originally a Polish civil war that Russia, among others, became involved in.
Originally a Hungarian revolution b ...
that broke out over the 3 May Constitution, Kołłątaj, along with other royal advisers, persuaded King Stanisław August, himself a co-author of the Constitution, to seek a compromise with their opponents and to join 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 Cather ...
that had been formed to bring down the Constitution. However, in 1792, when the Confederates' won, Kołłątaj emigrated to Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
and Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
, where in 1793 he wrote, with Ignacy Potocki, an essay entitled, ''On the Adoption and Fall of the Polish May 3 Constitution''.
Exile and final years
In exile, his political views became more radical and he became involved with the preparation for an insurrection.[ In 1794 he took part in the ]Kościuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the P ...
, contributing to its ''Uprising Act'' on 24 March 1794 and to the Połaniec Manifesto on 7 May 1794. He headed the Supreme National Council Supreme National Council ( pl, Rada Najwyższa Narodowa) was the central civil government of Poland loyal to the Kościuszko Insurrection. Created by Kościuszko on 10 May 1794 in Połaniec
Połaniec is a town in Staszów County, Świętokrzy ...
's Treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...
Department, and backing the Uprising's wing of Polish Jacobins. After the suppression of the Uprising in the same year, Kołłątaj was imprisoned by the Austrians until 1802. In 1805, with Tadeusz Czacki, he organized the Krzemieniec Lyceum in Volhynia. In 1807, after the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...
, he was initially involved in its government,[ but was soon excluded from it through the intrigues of political opponents, and soon afterwards, was interned and imprisoned by the Russian authorities until 1808.] On his release he found himself barred from public office. Despite that he sought to present a programme for rebuilding and developing Poland in his "Remarks on the Present Position of That Part of the Polish Lands that, since the Treaty of Tilsit, have come to be called the Duchy of Warsaw", (1809).[ In 1809 he became a member of the ]Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning
The Warsaw Society of Friends of Science ( pl, Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk, ''TPN'') was one of the earliest Polish scientific societies, active in Warsaw from 1800 to 1832.
Name
The Society was also known as ''Warszawskie Królewskie Towarzyst ...
. In the years 1809–1810 he was once again involved with the Kraków Academy, bringing it back from its temporarily Germanized form.
In his ''The Physico-Moral Order'' (1811), Kołłątaj sought to create a socio-ethical system emphasizing the equality of all people, based on the physiocratic idea of a "physico-moral order". Steeped in the natural sciences
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeat ...
, geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...
and mineralogy
Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...
in particular, he went on to write ''A Critical Analysis of Historical Principles regarding the Origins of Humankind'', published posthumously in 1842. In this work he put forward the first Polish presentation of ideas of social evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
based on geological concepts. This work is also seen as an important contribution to cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...
.[ In ''The State of Education in Poland in the Final Years of the Reign of Augustus III'', published posthumously in 1841, he argued against the ]Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
domination of education and presented a study of the history of education.[
He died on 28 February 1812, "forgotten and abandoned" by his contemporaries.][ He was buried in the Powązki Cemetery.][
]
Remembrance
Despite his lonely death, Kołłątaj became an influence on many subsequent reformers and is now recognized as one of the key figures of the Enlightenment in Poland, and "one of the greatest minds of his epoch". He is one of the figures immortalized in Jan Matejko
Jan Alojzy Matejko (; also known as Jan Mateyko; 24 June 1838 – 1 November 1893) was a Polish painter, a leading 19th-century exponent of history painting, known for depicting nodal events from Polish history. His works include large scale ...
's 1891 painting, '' Constitution of May 3, 1791.''
Several learned institutions in Poland are named in Hugo Kołłątaj's honour, including the Agricultural University of Cracow of which he was co-founder and patron.
See also
* History of philosophy in Poland – Enlightenment
* Piotr Skarga
Piotr Skarga (less often Piotr Powęski; 2 February 1536 – 27 September 1612) was a Polish Jesuit, preacher, hagiographer, polemicist, and leading figure of the Counter-Reformation in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Due to his oratoric ...
* Stanisław Staszic
* List of Poles
This is a partial list of notable Polish or Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited.
Science
Physics
* Czesław Białobrzeski
* Andrzej Buras
* Georges Charpa ...
References
Further reading
* Władysław Tatarkiewicz
Władysław Tatarkiewicz (; 3 April 1886, Warsaw – 4 April 1980, Warsaw) was a Polish philosopher, historian of philosophy, historian of art, esthetician, and ethicist.
Early life and education
Tatarkiewicz began his higher education at ...
, ''Historia filozofii'' (History of Philosophy), 3 vols., Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1978.
*
External links
Works by Hugo Kołłątaj
in digital library Polona
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kollataj, Hugo
1750 births
1812 deaths
People from Ternopil Oblast
Burials at Powązki Cemetery
18th-century Polish–Lithuanian Roman Catholic priests
18th-century Polish nobility
18th-century Polish–Lithuanian philosophers
19th-century Polish philosophers
Ecclesiastical senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Jagiellonian University alumni
19th-century Polish historians
Polish male non-fiction writers
Canons of Kraków
Polish educational theorists
Enlightenment philosophers
Catholic philosophers
Polish political writers
Kościuszko insurgents
Polish anthropologists
Prisoners and detainees of Austria
Polish prisoners and detainees
Prisoners and detainees of Russia
Polish exiles
Rectors of the Jagiellonian University
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)
Polish Jacobins
Polish Enlightenment