The Convocation Sejm of 1764 was a session of the

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 Crown of the Kingdom of ...

. It took place 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 officiall ...

from 7 May to 23 June, and was a confederated convocation sejm, tasked with preparing a new

royal election Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, ...

to fill the throne of the Commonwealth. It carried out a series of reforms to the Commonwealth government. The Sejm was led by Sejm marshal, Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski. Familia party of Czartoryski magnate family, backed by 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 ...

(whose military forces were occupying parts of the Commonwealth) forced an election of their candidate (

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 ...

). In protest at the presence of Russian forces, and influence of Russian ambassador to the Commonwealth, Herman Karl von Keyserling, many opposition deputies left the session - in the end the Sejm passed its decisions with only 80 deputies (out of 300) and 7 senators (out of 136). The Sejm approved the cession of the territory of the Commonwealth to Russia, made in the Eternal Peace Treaty of 1686.Jacek Staszewski, August II Mocny, Wrocław 1998, p. 100.

Reforms and decisions

elected the new king of the Commonwealth, replacing

interrex The interrex (plural interreges) was literally a ruler "between kings" (Latin ''inter reges'') during the Roman Kingdom and the Roman Republic. He was in effect a short-term regent. History The office of ''interrex'' was supposedly created follow ...

Władysław Aleksander Łubieński Władysław Aleksander Łubieński (1703–1767) was archbishop of Lwów (1758–59) and primate of Poland (1759–1767). He was an ally of the Czartoryski Familia and of the Russian Empire and an opponent of religious tolerance. He acted as Int ...

*Emperor titles of

Russian Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

and King of

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 e ...

were recognized *private tariffs were abolished *general tariff for public treasury was introduced * liberum veto was abolished for discussions of financial and military matters *unified system of measurements was introduced *tax system was reformed ( kwarta, head tax) *Jewish Council of Four Lands was discontinued as it failed to deliver collected taxes *Commissions of Treasury and Military were created *

hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military ...

s powers were limited *

crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it ...

s (''królewszczyzna'') were to be reviewed for incompetent management to increase public revenue *special privileges ('' serwitoriaty'') of some royal craftsman were abolished, along with royal enclaves (''jurydyki'') near cities but not subject to municipal laws and regulations

References

{{Sejms 1764 in law 1764 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Poland–Russia relations