Hugo Kołłątaj
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Hugo Stumberg Kołłątaj, also spelled ''Kołłątay'' (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 The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Gol ...
. He served as Deputy Chancellor of the Crown between 1791–92. He was a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
priest, social and political activist,
political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...
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 species; as well as the ...
,
philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
, and
polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...
.


Biography


Early life

Hugo Kołłątaj was born on 1 April 1750 in Dederkały Wielkie (now in Western Ukraine) in
Volhynia Volhynia or Volynia ( ; see #Names and etymology, below) is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between southeastern Poland, southwestern Belarus, and northwestern Ukraine. The borders of the region are not clearly defined, but in ...
into a family of Polish nobility. Soon after, his family moved to Nieciesławice, near
Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...
, where he spent his childhood. He attended school in
PiÅ„czów PiÅ„czów is a town in southern Poland, in ÅšwiÄ™tokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of PiÅ„czów County. The population is 10,946 (2018). PiÅ„czów belongs to the historical region of Lesser Poland (Polish: ...
. He began his studies at the Kraków Academy, subsequently,
Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...
, where he studied law and gained a doctorate. Afterwards, around 1775 he took
holy orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
. He studied in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and Italy (
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
and
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
), where he would have encountered Enlightenment
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
. He is thought to have gained two further doctorates abroad in philosophy and
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
. Returning to Poland, he became a
canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...
of
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, and
parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
priest of Krzyżanowice Dolne and Tuczępy. He was active in the
Commission of National Education The Commission of National Education (, KEN, ) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and King Stanisław August Poniatowski, Stanisław II August on October 14, 1773. Because of its ...
and the Society for Elementary Books, 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 spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
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 Byza ...
of
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, 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, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
, and moved to Warsaw. He became prominent in the
reform movement Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social system, social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more Radicalism (politics), radical social movements such as re ...
, heading an informal group that was on the radical wing of the Patriotic Party, and labelled by their political enemies as " Kołłątaj's Forge". As leader of the Patriotic Party during the
Great Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (Polish language, Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...
, he set out its programme in his ''Several Anonymous Letters to
StanisÅ‚aw MaÅ‚achowski Count StanisÅ‚aw MaÅ‚achowski, of the Nałęcz coat-of-arms (; 1736–1809) was a Polish statesman, the first List of Polish Prime Ministers, Prime Minister of Poland, a member of the Poland, Polish government's Permanent Council (Rada NieustajÄ ...
'' (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 ''liberum veto'' (Latin for "free veto") was a parliamentary device in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was a form of unanimity voting rule that allowed any member of the Sejm (legislature) to force an immediate end to the current s ...
, 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 a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
during the Black Procession of 1789. Kołłątaj co-authored the
Constitution of 3 May 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising th ...
. He also founded the Friends of the Constitution to assist in the document's implementation. In 1786 he received the
Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...
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 that broke out over the
3 May Constitution The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising th ...
, 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 (, , ) was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catherine II. The confederation opposed the Constitution of 3 May ...
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 States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
and
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
, 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, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...
, contributing to its ''Uprising Act'' on 24 March 1794 and to the Połaniec Manifesto on 7 May 1794. He headed the Supreme National Council's
Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
Department, and backing the Uprising's wing of
Polish Jacobins Polish Jacobins (or Huguenots) was the name given to a group of late 18th-century radical Polish politicians by their opponents. The group formed during the Great Sejm as an offshoot of the Kołłątaj's Forge, Forge of Hugo Kołłątaj (, and hen ...
. 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 (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...
, 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. 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 Equality generally refers to the fact of being equal, of having the same value. In specific contexts, equality may refer to: Society * Egalitarianism, a trend of thought that favors equality for all people ** Political egalitarianism, in which ...
of all people, based on the physiocratic idea of a "physico-moral order". Steeped in the
natural sciences Natural science or empirical 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 ...
,
geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...
and
mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...
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 the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
based on
geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...
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 term ...
. 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 The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
domination of education and presented a study of the
history of education The history of education, like other history, extends at least as far back as the first written records recovered from ancient civilizations. Historical studies have included virtually every nation. The earliest known formal school was develope ...
. He died on 28 February 1812, "forgotten and abandoned" by his contemporaries. He was buried in the
PowÄ…zki Cemetery PowÄ…zki Cemetery (; ), also known as Stare PowÄ…zki (), is a historic necropolis located in Wola district, in the western part of Warsaw, Poland. It is the most famous cemetery in the city and one of the oldest, having been established in 179 ...
.


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 The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture ( Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Go ...
, 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 The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising ...
.'' 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 *
Stanisław Staszic Stanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic (baptised 6 November 1755 – 20 January 1826) was a leading figure in the Polish Enlightenment: a Catholic priest, philosopher, geologist, writer, poet, translator and statesman. A physiocrat, monist, pan-Sla ...
*
List of Poles This is a partial list of notable Polish people, Polish or Polish language, Polish-speaking or -writing people. People of partial Polish heritage have their respective ancestries credited. Physics *Miedziak Antal * Czesław Białobrzesk ...


References


Further reading

*
WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Tatarkiewicz WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Tatarkiewicz (; 3 April 1886 – 4 April 1980) was a Polish philosopher, historian of philosophy, historian of art, esthetician, and ethicist. Early life and education Tatarkiewicz began his higher education at Warsaw University ...
, ''Historia filozofii'' (History of Philosophy), 3 vols., Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1978. *


External links


Works by Hugo Kołłątaj
in digital library
Polona Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006. Colle ...
{{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 Polish people imprisoned in Russia Polish exiles Rectors of the Jagiellonian University Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Polish Jacobins Polish Enlightenment Crown vice-chancellors