The 1793 Second Partition of Poland was the second of
three partitions (or partial
annexation
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
s) that ended the existence 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 Crown of the Kingdom of ...
by 1795. The second
partition occurred in the aftermath of the
Polish–Russian War of 1792 and 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 ...
of 1792, and was approved by its territorial beneficiaries, the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the 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 the Great Northern War ...
and the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
. The division was ratified by the
coerced Polish parliament (
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 ...
) in 1793 (see the
Grodno Sejm) in a short-lived attempt to prevent the
inevitable complete annexation of Poland, the Third Partition.
Background
By 1790, on the political front, the Commonwealth had deteriorated into such a helpless condition that it was forced into an alliance with its enemy, Prussia. The
Polish-Prussian Pact of 1790 was signed, giving false hope that the Commonwealth might have at last found an ally that would shield it while it reformed itself.
The
May Constitution of 1791 enfranchised the bourgeoisie, established the separation of the three branches of government, and eliminated the abuses of
Repnin Sejm. Those reforms prompted aggressive actions on the part of its neighbours, wary of the potential renaissance of the Commonwealth.
The Empress Catherine II was angered; arguing that Poland had fallen prey to the radical Jacobinism then at high tide in France, Russian forces invaded the Commonwealth in 1792.[
During the Polish–Russian War of 1792 in Defense of the Constitution, the Polish forces supporting the Constitution fought against the army of the ]Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the 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 the Great Northern War ...
, invited by the pro-Russian alliance of Polish 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, known as 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 ...
. The conservative nobility (see also, ''szlachta
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in ...
'') believed that the Russians would help them restore their Golden Liberty.[ Abandoned by their Prussian allies, the badly outnumbered Polish pro-Constitution forces fought under Prince Józef Poniatowski a defensive war with some measure of success, but were ordered to abandon their efforts by their supreme commander, King ]Stanisław August Poniatowski
Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarc ...
. The King decided to join the Targowica Confederation, as demanded by the Russians.[
Russia invaded Poland to ensure the defeat of the Polish reforms, with no overt goal of another partition (it viewed Poland as its ]protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over most of its in ...
, and saw little need to give up chunks of Poland to other countries). Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II (german: Friedrich Wilhelm II.; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and (via the Orange-Nassau inherita ...
, however, saw those events as an opportunity to strengthen his country. Frederick demanded from Catherine that for his country's abandoning Poland as a close ally, for Prussian participation in the War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...
against revolutionary France, because Russia had encouraged Prussian participation, and because Prussia had recently suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Valmy
The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of France during the Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The battle took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops co ...
, Prussia should be compensated – preferably with parts of the Polish territory. Russia soon decided to accept the Prussian offer.[
]
Partition treaty
On 23 January 1793, Prussia signed a treaty with Russia, agreeing that Polish reforms would be revoked and both countries would receive broad swaths of Commonwealth territory.[ Russian and Prussian military took control of the territories they claimed, with Russian troops already present, and Prussian troops meeting only limited resistance.][ In 1793, deputies to the Grodno Sejm, the last ]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 ...
of the Commonwealth, in the presence of Russian forces, agreed to the Russian and Prussian territorial demands. The Grodno Sejm became infamous not only as the last sejm of the Commonwealth, but because its deputies had been bribed and coerced by the Russians (Russia and Prussia wanted legal sanction from Poland for their demands).
Imperial Russia annexed , while Prussia took . The Commonwealth lost about 307,000 km², being reduced to 215,000 km².
Russian Partition
Russia received the Kiev Voivodeship, Bracław Voivodeship, Podole Voivodeship and Minsk Voivodeship, and parts of the Vilnius Voivodeship
pl, Województwo wileńskie
, conventional_long_name = Vilnius Voivodeship
, common_name = Vilnius
, subdivision = Voivodeship
, nation = Grand Duchy of Lithuania (part of the federative Polish–Lithua ...
, Nowogródek Voivodeship, Brest Litovsk Voivodeship
Brest Litovsk Voivodeship (Belarusian: ''Берасьцейскае ваяводзтва'', Polish: ''Województwo brzeskolitewskie'') was a unit of administrative territorial division and a seat of local government (voivode) within the Grand ...
and the Volhynian Voivodeship. This was accepted by the Grodno Sejm on 22 July. Russia reorganized its newly acquired territories into Minsk Viceroyalty
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the adm ...
and Izyaslav
Iziaslav ( uk, Ізя́слав, ) or Zaslav ( uk, Заслав, links=no, ; pl, Zasław) is one of the oldest cities in Volhynia. Situated on the Horyn river ( uk, Горинь, links=no) in western Ukraine, the city dates back to the 11th ce ...
Viceroyalty (which in 1795 was split into Podolian
Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...
and Volhynian Viceroyalties).
Prussian Partition
Prussia received the cities of Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
(Danzig) and Toruń
)''
, image_skyline =
, image_caption =
, image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg
, image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg
, nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town
, pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
(Thorn), and Gniezno Voivodeship
Gniezno Voivodeship ( Polish: ''Województwo Gnieźnieńskie'', Latin: ''Palatinatus Gnesnensis'') was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland for a short time from 1768, when it was cut from the Kalisz Voivodeship, to ...
, Poznań Voivodeship, Sieradz Voivodeship
Sieradz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Łódź Voivodeship.
A Voivodeship is an area administered by a voivode (Governor), and the Sieradz Voivodeshi ...
, Kalisz Voivodeship, Płock Voivodeship
Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to ...
, Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship, Inowrocław Voivodeship, Dobrzyń Land
Dobrzyń Land ( pl, ziemia dobrzyńska) is a historical region in central-northern Poland. It lies northeast of the Vistula River, south of the Drwęca, and west of the Skrwa. The territory approximately corresponds with the present-day powia ...
, and parts of the Kraków Voivodeship, Rawa Voivodeship and Masovian Voivodeship. This was accepted by the Grodno Sejm on 23 September or 25 September (sources vary). Prussia organized its newly acquired territories into South Prussia.
The Commonwealth lost about 5 million people; only about 4 million people remained in the Polish–Lithuanian lands.
What was left of the Commonwealth was a small buffer state
A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between t ...
with a puppet king, and Russian garrisons keeping an eye on the reduced Polish army.
Aftermath
Targowica confederates, who did not expect another partition, and the king, Stanisław August Poniatowski
Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarc ...
, who joined them near the end, both lost much prestige and support.[ The reformers, on the other hand, were attracting increasing support.] In March 1794 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 ...
began. The defeat of the Uprising in November that year resulted in the final Third Partition of Poland, ending the existence of the Commonwealth.[
]
See also
* Administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the course of partitions
* Administrative division of Polish territories after partitions
* Third Partition of Poland
References
Further reading
*Tadeusz Cegielski, Łukasz Kądziela'', Rozbiory Polski 1772–1793-1795'', Warszawa 1990
External links
The Period of Partitions (1772–1918)
– resources
{{Authority control
*02
1793 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Treaties of the Russian Empire
Treaties of the Kingdom of Prussia
Treaties of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth