Józef Jan Kanty Ossoliński (1707–1780) was a

magnate The term magnate, 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 ...

in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. Supported Stanisław Leszczyński, although abandoned him in 1733 when his cause looked worse and from 1735 he became a supporter of August III the Saxon. He became a close ally of hetman Jan Klemens Branicki and his political group, and one of the most known opponents of the '' familia''. From 1757 he became the voivode of Wołyń and received the Order of the White Eagle. He opposed the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

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, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

, who at that time received support from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Supporter of the

Bar Confederation The Bar Confederation (; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles (''szlachta'') formed at the fortress of Bar, Ukraine, Bar in Podolia (now Ukraine), in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian C ...

. In 1775 he resigned his

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

office and retreated from politics. Son of Franciszek Maksymilian Ossoliński and Katarzyna Miączyńska. Father of Maksymilian Ossoliński, Józef Salezy Ossoliński, Anna Teresa Ossolińska and Marianna Ossolińska.

Biography

As many magnates in the Commonwealth, after a period of education at home he toured Europe. Józef Kanty spent most of his time abroad in France, where he became involved with the pro-French faction in Polish politics supporting king Stanisław Leszczyński. In 1729 he appeared on the Polish political scene as a deputy to the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

from the

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

(Inflanty) region. From then he would be a common deputy, elected to many Sejms. His main interest in politics would revolve around various issues related to military. In 1730 he entered military, becoming a captain or major of '' chorągiew'' unit under hetman Jan Klemens Branicki. He would be a close ally of Branicki for many years. In 1730 his father, with the approval of the king, passed two of his starostwo to him (sandomierskie and chmielnickie). Around that time he also married Teresa Stadnicka. After the death of August II of Poland he engaged in the campaign of gathering political support for Stanisław Leszczyński. After Leszczyński's defeat he decided to distance himself from his camp and remain in country, unlike his father who remained in France with exiled Leszczyński. From that point he would ally himself to the court faction of the new king of Poland, August III Saxon. In 1738 he became the Court Chorąży of the Crown. From 1750 he would again approach the pro-French faction, especially as one of his mentors and allies, hetman Branicki, would be allied with it. With the help of hetman Branicki he would become the voivode of Wołyń in 1757. He received the Order of the White Eagle in the same year. After the death of August III he supported the election of the new Wettin candidate and opposed the election of

, who at that time received support from the Russian Empire. Eventually he was defeated by pro-Russian ''familia faction. He opposed the Russian ingenerce in Polish politics and demanded the withdrawal of the Russian forces from the Commonwealth, but to no avail. He supported the actions of those who wanted to take military action against the Russian but few besides him offered real support (money and men) and the notion subsided. When he returned to his estate, he was arrested by Russian forces, imprisoned for several months and forced to rebuke of all his anti-Russian manifests. Released afterwards, for the next few years he tried working with the pro-Russian faction but eventually was disappointed by them again after the excesses of the Repnin Sejm. Eventually he became the supporter of the Bar Confederation, first discreetly, later openly. In 1775 he resigned his voivode office and retreated from politics.

References

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JÓZEF KANTY OSSOLIŃSKI
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ossolinski, Jozef Kanty Secular senators of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Members of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1707 births 1780 deaths Jozef Kanty Radom confederates Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)