Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of 3 May 1791.

Early life

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz was born 6 February 1758 in Skoki, near Brest in 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 ...

. Niemcewicz, scion of a moderately well-to-do Polish noble family, graduated from the

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 ...

Corps of Cadets.

Career

After graduating from the Corps of Cadets, he subsequently served as aide to Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski and visited

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. Niemcewicz served as a deputy to the Great Sejm of 1788–1792 and was an active member of the Patriotic Party that pushed through adoption of the historic Constitution of 3 May 1791. He was subsequently a founder of 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 ...

, formed to support the implementation of that progressive document. After the victory of 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 ...

in 1792 and the consequent overthrow of the May 3 Constitution, Niemcewicz, along with other Patriotic Party members, emigrated to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

. During 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 ...

in 1794, Niemcewicz served as aide to

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...

. Both were captured by the Russians at the

Battle of Maciejowice The Battle of Maciejowice was fought on 10 October 1794, between Poland and the Russian Empire. The Poles were led by Tadeusz Kościuszko. Kościuszko with 6,200 men, who planned to prevent the linking of three larger Russian corps, commande ...

in 1794 and imprisoned in the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920 ...

at St. Petersburg along with Niemcewicz's aide-de-camp name
Kuźniewski
In 1796, on the death of

Tsaritsa Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; bg, царица, tsaritsa; sr, / ; russian: царица, tsaritsa) is the title of a female autocratic ruler (mon ...

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

, they were released by Tsar Paul I and made their way together to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. They sailed on the ship ''Adriana'' from

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, in England, in the company of the Portuguese abbot and botanist,

José Correia da Serra José Francisco Correia da Serra (6 June 1750 – 11 September 1823) was a Portuguese Abbot, polymath – philosopher, diplomat, politician and scientist. In some circumstances, he was also known as '' Abbé Correa.'' The plant genus Correa, ...

, who served as the chaplain on ship for Niemcewicz and Kościuszko. They arrived in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

on August 18, 1797. During his stay, he visited

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

. In 1798, he was elected a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

. Niemcewicz was upset when Kościuszko decamped for Europe without giving him any notice. After

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

's 1807 invasion of Poland, Niemcewicz returned to Warsaw and was made secretary of the senate. After the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...

, he was secretary of state and president of the constitutional committee in Poland. In the years of the Kingdom of Poland Niemcewicz was the central figure of Polish cultural life and his moral influence was sometimes compared with political and military strength of Grand Duke Constantine. On 11 May 1830, he unveiled a new landmark before the Staszic Palace, the seat of the Society of Friends of Science in Warsaw — a monument to Nicolaus Copernicus sculpted by

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danish and Icelandic sculptor medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a working-class Dani ...

. During the failed

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

of 1830–31, Niemcewicz was a member of the insurrectionary Polish government. In the final months of the Uprising the poet went on a diplomatic mission to London (as the last Polish envoy to Britain) and he remained in exile, first in Britain, then in France, until his death in 1841.

Works

As a writer, Niemcewicz tried many styles of composition. His political comedy, ''The Return of the Deputy'' (1790), enjoyed great acclaim. His novel, ''John of Tenczyn'' (1825), written in the style of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

, gives a vigorous picture of old Poland. He also wrote a ''History of the Reign of Sigismund III'' (3 volumes, 1819) and a collection of memoirs for ancient Polish history (6 volumes, 1822–23). Niemcewicz's 1817 pamphlet ''Rok 3333 czyli sen niesłychany'' (The Year 3333, or an Incredible Dream), first published posthumously in 1858, describes a Poland transformed into a sinister Judeo-Polonia. The pamphlet has been described as "the first Polish work to develop on a large scale the concept of an organized Jewish conspiracy directly threatening the existing social structure."Magdalena Opalski, Israel Bartal
''Poles and Jews: A Failed Brotherhood''
University Press of New England, 1992. His collected works were published in 47 volumes at Leipzig in 1838–40.

Personal life

While in the United States, Niemcewicz met and married the wealthy widow, Mrs. Livingston Kean (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Susan Livingston) in 1800 who had hired him as a tutor for her son Peter Kean. Susan, a member of the Livingston family, was the daughter of

Peter Van Brugh Livingston Peter Van Brugh Livingston (bp. November 3, 1710 Albany, New York – December 28, 1792 Elizabethtown, Union County, New Jersey) was a Patriot during the American Revolution who was a wealthy merchant and who served as the 1st New York State Tre ...

and the widow of John Kean, a delegate from

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

to the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

. He died on 21 May 1841 in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, aged 83, and was buried at Champeaux Cemetery in Montmorency, Val-d'Oise.

Published works

*''Władysław pod Warną'' ( Władysław at Varna'', 1788) *''Kazimierz Wielki'' (

Kazimierz the Great Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He w ...

, 1792) *''Powrót posła'' (The Return of the Deputy, 1791) *''Na hersztów targowieckich'' (The Targowica Chiefs) *''Podróże historyczne po ziemiach polskich'' (Historic Travels over the Polish Lands) *''Śpiewy historyczne'' (Historic Songs) *''Dzieje panowania Zygmunta III'' (A History of the Reign of Zygmunt III) Under their Vine and Fig Tree: Travels through America in 1797-1799, 1805 with some further account of life in New Jersey (Edited by Budka)

References

;Notes ;Sources *Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, ''Under Their Vine and Fig Tree: Travels through America in 1797–1799, 1805'', Mechie J. Budka, editor. * * Marek Żukow-Karczewski
''Niemcewicz mniej znany'' (Niemcewicz less known), "Życie Literackie"
No. 27, 1989, p. 10.

External links

*
Correspondence from

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

to Count Niemcewicz on 14 June 1798. {{DEFAULTSORT:Niemcewicz, Julian Ursyn 1757 births 1841 deaths People from Brest District People from Brest Litovsk Voivodeship 18th-century Polish nobility Members of Polish government (November Uprising) Members of the Great Sejm Kościuszko insurgents Polish diplomats of November Uprising Activists of the Great Emigration 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Polish dramatists and playwrights Polish male dramatists and playwrights Bibliophiles Polish book and manuscript collectors Polish Enlightenment 19th-century Polish nobility