Prince Roman Adam Stanisław Sanguszko (1800–1881) was a Polish aristocrat, patriot, political and social activist.

Biography

Roman Sanguszko was born on 6 May 1800 in his family manor 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 ...

. The eldest of his kin, he was the heir of the fortune of the ''Kowel'' line of the Sanguszko family, one of the richest and most notable families of the former

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 ru ...

. Early in his youth he was forced to join the Russian Imperial Guard, as Tsar

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

demanded that all the heirs of aristocratic families be sent to Russian military schools to ensure their families' loyalty. However, after short service Sanguszko was allowed to return home due to poor health. He then moved to Berlin, where he graduated from the

local university Local colleges and universities (LCUs) are higher educational institutions that are being run by local government units in the Philippines. A local government unit (LGU) maybe a barangay, a municipality, city, or a province that puts up a post-se ...

. On 14 May 1829 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 officia ...

he married Natalia Potocka, a lady of the mighty Potocki family. Soon after giving birth to Maria Klementyna, Natalia died. Despaired Sanguszko decided to join the Capuchin friars, but changed his mind after the outbreak of the November Uprising against Russia. Soon after leaving the convent he joined the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stre ...

and served with distinction in several battles, most notably at

Lubartów Lubartów () is a town in eastern Poland, with 23,000 inhabitants (2004), situated in Lublin Voivodeship. It is the capital of Lubartów County and the Lubartów Commune. Historically it belongs to Lesser Poland. Lubartów was established in 154 ...

and

Zamość Zamość (; yi, זאמאשטש, Zamoshtsh; la, Zamoscia) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. ...

. He quickly rose through the ranks and in 1831 he became an adjutant to General

Jan Skrzynecki Jan Zygmunt Skrzynecki (2/8/1787–1/12 or 12/1/1860) was a Polish general, and commander-in-chief of the November Uprising (1830–1831). Biography He was born in Żebrak, Siedlce County, in 1787, and completed his education at the Lwów Unive ...

. For his acts of bravery he was awarded with the

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King St ...

, but in June of that year he was taken prisoner by the Russians. Imprisoned in Kiev, he was tried for high treason, as the court regarded him a citizen of Russia rather than Commonwealth. It was suggested that he might be pardoned should he renounce his loyalty to the Commonwealth leaders of the uprising, but Sanguszko declined and the court sentenced him to loss of noble status, confiscation of all property (one of the largest fortunes in the region) and exile to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

. To avoid losing most of the property, he subscribed it to his daughter. On 18 December 1831 Sanguszko was compelled to walk the entire way to Siberia (about 3300 km) in chains for his part in the insurrection, as was usual at the time. It took him roughly 10 months to reach the area of

Tobolsk Tobolsk (russian: Тобо́льск) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1590, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, an ...

through Orel, Moscow,

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluenc ...

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering an ...

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places *Perm, Russia, a city in Russia ** Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 **Perm Governorate, an administra ...

and

Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura River. Fueled by the Russian oil and gas in ...

. Soon after his arrival, he was drafted into the

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

and relocated to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

, where he was forced to fight against Shamil's Rebellion, a part of the half-a-century long

Caucasian War The Caucasian War (russian: Кавказская война; ''Kavkazskaya vojna'') or Caucasus War was a 19th century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the ...

. Deprived of his rights, he served as a private in the Tengin Regiment. He was wounded in the leg during one of the skirmishes and had an accident with a horse, which resulted in serious loss of hearing. For his bravery, he was again promoted to officer's grade and finally in 1845 allowed to return to his manor in Slavuta. He left most of the property of his family in hands of his daughter and instead focused on economical development of Slavuta. Sanguszko started several businesses and with time his land became one of the most industrialized properties in the area. Apart from the textile plant (with a branch in

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

), he also founded a sugar plant, paper factory, steel mill and a lumber-mill. He also created a large horse farm specializing in the breeding of racehorses. Finally, he significantly enlarged the manor's library. With more than 6000 volumes it was one of the largest such collections in the region. He died on 26 March 1881 and was buried in the crypt of the local St. Dorothy's church. His life is the subject of "Prince Roman" (1910) one of Joseph Conrad's short stories.

Family

Roman married Countess Natalia Potocka on 14 May 1829 in

Genealogia Grocholski
/ref> and had one daughter: * Princess Maria Klementyna Sanguszko, wife of Count Alfred Józef Potocki. His younger brother Prince Władysław Hieronim Sanguszko also participated in the November Uprising.

Bibliography

Kelmentyna Sanguszkowa, ''Roman Sanguszko - zesłaniec na Sybir z r. 1831 w świetle pamiętnika matki ks. Klementyny z Czartoryskich Sanguszkowej oraz korespondencji współczesnej.'' 1927

References

::Inline: ::General:

External links

Joseph Conrad story
at Project Gutenberg {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanguszko, Roman 1800 births 1881 deaths People from Khmelnytskyi Oblast People from Volhynian Governorate Imperial Russian Army generals Polish nobility Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Roman Stanislaw Ruthenian nobility November Uprising participants People from Slavuta Polish exiles in the Russian Empire 19th-century Polish landowners Polish industrialists 19th-century Polish businesspeople