Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów. Dzieje agonii

Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów #3

by Paweł Jasienica

"Dzieje agonii", część trzecia trylogii "Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów" (opublikowana w 1972 roku), opisuje dramatyczne dla naszej historii lata 1696-1795, nasilający się proces upadku państwa prowadzący do tragicznego końca. Sprzyjało temu burzliwe panowanie Augusta II zwanego Mocnym (1697-1706, 1709-1733) i jego syna Augusta III (1733-1763) z saskiej dynastii Wettinów, przeplecione krótkotrwałymi epizodami rządów Stanisława Leszczyńskiego (1704-1709 i 1733-1736). Wykorzystując prywatę magnatów, bezsilność zrywanych sejmów, Rosja skutecznie przeciwstawiła się próbom reform ustroju, stając się gwarantem istniejącej w Rzeczypospolitej sytuacji. Objęcie tronu przez Stanisława Augusta Poniatowskiego (1764-1795), rzecznika reform i wzmocnienia państwa, doprowadziło do wybuchu konfederacji barskiej (1768-1772), po którym nastąpił pierwszy rozbiór Rzeczypospolitej między Rosję, Prusy i Austrię. Dalsze dzieło wewnętrznej odbudowy kraju obaliły konfederacja targowicka (1792) i interwencja wojsk rosyjskich zakończona drugim rozbiorem Rzeczypospolitej. W ślad za klęską powstania kościuszkowskiego (1794) nastąpił trzeci rozbiór i abdykacja króla (1795) oraz utrata państwowości na ponad stulecie. Według Pawła Jasienicy kraj zgubiły grzechy dawnej historii. „Od wygaśnięcia Piastów aż po dni Stanisława Augusta interesy władzy i narodu zbyt często wyglądały jak dwie linie rozbieżne, niekiedy znajdowały się w ostrym konflikcie”.

Genres: History, Polish Literature, Nonfiction

560 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Filip · Rating 4 out of 5]

AKA "the one where Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth gets put out of its misery."



The culmination of Jasienica's history books is a really good one. It explains, clearly and convincingly, the entire chain of events that led to the partitions, while often recalling events from previous volumes/centuries that led to this situation. I particularly enjoyed the parts about the last king and the attempts at preserving the nation and its culture that were done then. Once again the whole thing reads as a combination of a Greek tragedy with watching a car accident happen in slow motion.



I am so, so, so happy that I have read these books. I will need to re-read them at some point in the future, it's not that I can recall now everything that was mentioned in the previous volumes but reading them gave me better understanding of my nation's history than the history classes at school. Jasienica does a great job of highlighting our mistakes and faults without taking the easy route of "Polish people/szlachta were just dumb and evil." He shows both the internal processes that led to various (good and bad) outcomes but is also aware that no nation is an island (except, I guess, those that are literal islands) and shows the influence of other nations on our policies.



I definitely recommend the whole series to... well, basically everyone. I need to find similar books, accessible to laymen, on the histories of other countries.

[Juliette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say, Dzieje Agonii, the third and final part of Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów, is possibly the best book by Jasienica, I’ve read so far.

Welcome to the 18th century, a time in Polish history, when we learned that as soon as a neighbouring country stops thinking you’re capable of avenging their violence with your ultraviolence, you become the neighbouring country. Also that international relations can only be established through the constant threat of military supremacy, while diplomacy is basically a game of charades, where you communicate the threat of military supremacy with your gestures and facial expressions, without actually saying the words: military supremacy.

This is a lesson many European countries have since forgotten, so the next decade should be interesting.

So, are you interested in Polish history? Do you like to watch things go from bad to worse?
Would you like to relive the tragedy of a sinking Titanic, without the associated risk of witnessing Kate Winslet take up the entire floating door with her ample body?

This book might just be for you.

You’ll find that Jasienica’s eloquent commentary and insightful remarks are just as exquisite as that orchestra.



With Dzieje Agonii, I have officially run out of Jasinica books, which means I have to get more. Preferably without leaving the house.

[Michał Hołda · Rating 5 out of 5]

"On June 27th, the majority of the nobility nevertheless voted for the Frenchman, and at six in the evening, Primate Michał Radziejowski proclaimed Prince Conti king. The opposing camp, however, found a spokesman, one to whom the clerical office he held granted special privileges. Although the bishops of Kujawy sat in the Senate behind those of Kraków, they did not cease to be the second in dignity to the hierarchs of Greater Poland, the former capital. There was an important historical precedent: Stephen I had been crowned by the Bishop of Kujawy, Stanisław Karnkowski. The Primate, a supporter of Maximilian Habsburg, refused to do so and was summarily sidelined, a fact well remembered by the tradition-loving country.
Bishop Stanisław Kazimierz Dąmbski, Count of Lubraniec, long and firmly adhered to the most righteous program. He was a candidate for the role of providential man, earned He was nicknamed "the pimp of the Polish crown." He was a staunch and loyal supporter of Jakub Sobieski. As a follower of the Austrian orientation, he utterly hated France, and seeing its success, he assumed moral and political leadership over the supporters of the Saxon, who was already supported by Vienna. He proclaimed him king, although this was done outside the electoral field."

"The majority of the nobility voted for the Prince of Conti."

"Augustus's efforts to gain the favor of Louis XIV failed. Initially, no one was particularly concerned about the prince's efforts, but he did manage to take several very specific actions. Augustus moved his regiments toward the borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and borrowed heavily from Jewish bankers. Flemming and Przebendowski promised half a million thalers to the army and one hundred and sixty thousand to the magnates on his behalf.

However, there was an obstacle that money could not overcome. Only a Catholic could become King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. On June 2, 1697, while the nobility gathered for the election was already in session near Warsaw, in Baden, near Vienna, the Elector of Saxony, heir to the title and throne of Martin Luther's patrons, renounced Protestantism and made a Catholic profession of faith. The next day, he adorned the neck of his favorite hound with a rosary.

"The 18th century was approaching, and European history was entering a new, original chapter. The religious wars of the preceding 16th and 17th centuries had washed the continent with blood. Prophets, teachers of various ideologies, and those executing their orders—those who sincerely, with conviction and faith, "murdered people while singing pious psalms"—unwaveringly believed that the aforementioned seed and dew would give birth to generations of men equal to the apostles. A generation of nihilists emerged, the likes of which had not been heard since the twilight of the Roman Empire. On January 18, 1701, Frederick III changed his title and the numbering of his name. As Frederick I, he declared himself "King in Prussia" (König in Preussen). He solemnly promised to respect existing treaties and all Polish laws, but words against facts mean nothing. The former fiefdom of Kraków and Warsaw gained full, unrestricted sovereignty and was now equal in political rank to other monarchies. His previous, inherently anti-Polish aspirations continued and appeared all the more menacing. Narrow Polish Pomerania was being divided into two parts, no longer by some duchy, but by the Kingdom of Prussia... For the sake of clarity, and to further emphasize the consequences of the tapestry of criminal negligence, the first of which was committed by Sigismund the Old, it should be recalled that the coronation and proclamation took place not in Berlin, but in Königsberg. Mikołaj Firlej once besieged it, and Jerzy Ossoliński resided there as governor.
Prussian money prevented the Commonwealth from protesting. People influential enough were found to prevent the convening of the Sejm. Chief among them was the Primate of Poland, Michał Radziejowski. Young Towiański, son of the "Cardinal's Lady," traveled to Königsberg on an important mission. He was supposed to clarify the situation, but was ordered in advance to offer his congratulations to Frederick I.
A purely theoretical consolation: the Commonwealth delayed the official recognition of the title of Prussian kings until 1764. Only the popes resisted the fait accompli for twenty-three years longer. Only in 1787 did Rome come to terms with the advancement of the heretical state. The Prussian crown is the first royal jewel west of Russia's borders that has never been blessed by the Pope."

"Meanwhile, within the borders of the neutral Republic, events were unfolding that were still unprecedented in its history. The king allowed Hetman Sapieha to re-enlist regiments, and he called upon the nobility with universals to arm themselves and ensure the security of the frontiers. Augustus was not stupid; he certainly understood perfectly well the consequences of mobilizing Lithuania, which had been torn apart by previous disputes. The Zebrzydowski and Lubomirski rebellions had ended bloodily in our country, but then the rebels fought against banners loyal to the monarch, and the final battles were fought in his presence. Now two Lithuanian parties were to be at each other's throats: the Sapieha faction and the "Immensities." The king, along with his Saxon regiments, stood aside and pulled the strings."

During the first period of Augustus II the Strong's reign, the Saxon party in Lithuania sought to strengthen royal power and subordinate the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to Saxony, at the expense of local elites and traditional rights. These actions encountered strong resistance from the Lithuanian nobility and magnates, leading to conflict and the weakening of the state.

Anyone who considers themselves Lithuanian and speaks Polish is Lithuanian.

"A political event of extraordinary importance had been accomplished. The "Lithuanian Commonwealth," whose official language was Polish, unceremoniously violated the provisions of the Union of Lublin; one could argue that it summarily annihilated it. Acting entirely independently, it placed itself under the tsar's control. A separate Kremlin representative, Pavel Nikiforovich Potovtsev, a low-ranking official, arrived in Lithuania. A secret section of his instructions required preparations for the permanent unification of the Grand Duchy with Russia. A bright future awaited the local magnates: "If they desired, the Tsar's Greatness would make them like the Sapiehas [...] their freedoms and privileges would not only not be diminished, but infinitely multiplied," Józef Feldman quotes the words of this instruction, published in print by Russian historians in the 19th century.
Potovtsev was to undertake the implementation of this plan only on a separate Tsar's order. For now—that is, in June 1702—Peter addressed the Lithuanian common people in a special message—"mayors, councilors, lay judges, townspeople, and all the common people." He invited resettlement deep into the Russian state and promised various benefits.

Over three hundred years ago, the Grand Dukes of Lithuania decided on a union with Poland, considering the danger from both Malbork and Moscow. The federated state gradually turned away from the West, politically neglecting the most vital Polish interests in order to maintain the increasingly creaking eastern wall. On May 24, 1702, the Swedes captured Warsaw, and on July 19, they defeated Augustus's army at Kliszów. On August 7, they entered Kraków. A few months were enough for the formidable military glory left behind by John III to vanish. Both Polish and Lithuanian banners fought poorly, fled, and some even defected to the enemy on the battlefield. The war, forced upon the country against its will and needs, took a shamefully logical course. The country, which had made heroic efforts fighting throughout the 17th century, was truly exhausted. Symptoms of crisis began to appear already in the final period of King John's reign, after Vienna. The competitor, who urgently needed treatment, was cunningly forced into the ring.

A modest chronicler wrote at the time: "All of Poland practically said that it was perishing for the Lithuanian conflict." The proud starost of Minsk confirmed and deepened this diagnosis by declaring: "Lithuania is perishing because of its own people."

Augustus revived the ideas from the first years of his reign, he wanted to provoke the Poles and Lithuanians to rebellion, crush it by force, and carry out an absolutist coup. However, back then, a dozen or so years ago, the monarch could count on being able to deal with his subjects one-on-one. Now, within the borders, a foreign factor was already present, and thanks to its strength, it was simply decisive. Russia had its own faction in the Commonwealth, it had men like the Lithuanian Hetman Pociej, who was only protected by the Tsar's protection from responsibility for various actions of a common criminal nature. Augustus came up with a solution that could only benefit Peter. He decided to oppress with Saxons the ignorant, demoralized, but also desperate people who could hide behind the Russians at any moment. There was very little love for them in the Commonwealth at that time, because they aroused fear. The slogan of self-defense could bring the nobility closer to the king, who, however, chose A provocation, the worst in the circumstances.
The nobility groaned under the burdens, begging the monarch for relief. Augustus sometimes resided in Warsaw, sometimes went to Dresden for carnival, and in Lithuania, Hetman Pociej acted in his own way. He urged Peter the Strong to dethrone the Strong and appoint another king, contemplated breaking the union with Poland and placing the Grand Duchy under Russian protectorate, and incited the landed gentry.
For a long time, until the summer of 1715, the nobility's patience lasted, only to break when, in the village of Przemyków in the Kraków Voivodeship, the Saxons bayoneted Castellan Belchacki and Starost Turski.

In 1715, some of the Polish nobility supported Stanisław Leszczyński, who was King of Poland from 1704 to 1709, in his efforts to return to the throne. This was connected with the desire to strengthen Poland's position on the international stage and to oppose the domination of Augustus II and Saxony.

Stanisław Leszczyński opposed the Wettins because in 1704 he had been elevated to the Polish throne by the Swedish King Charles XII, who had overthrown the then-ruling Augustus II the Strong of the Wettin dynasty. This war was part of a broader conflict, the Great Northern War, involving Sweden and its allies, fighting against Saxony (in which the Wettin dynasty ruled) and Russia.

Religious riots between Catholics and Protestants in Toruń, however, became a pretext for King Augustus II to attempt to strengthen his power and limit the autonomy of Prussian cities.
The intervention of King Augustus II the Strong and the assessor's court in Warsaw aimed to strengthen royal authority and limit the influence of the nobility. The result was an escalation of the conflict with the noble opposition, which saw them as a threat to their privileges and freedoms. These actions led to the formation of the Warsaw and Sandomierz Confederations, which in turn resulted in civil war and the weakening of the state.

The Assessor's Court (or Assesoria) is a historical court of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that operated during the First Polish Republic. It was a royal court that adjudicated cases involving cities incorporated under Magdeburg or Chełmno law, the townspeople of these cities, and cases concerning royal property and revenues. Today, assessors serve in common and administrative courts, and their role is to administer justice.

The Toruń Tumult led to the condemnation of Poles, as the Catholic Church and some members of society viewed them as responsible for the riots, which damaged religious buildings and a Catholic procession. Furthermore, the case became politicized, with accusations leveled against the Polish administration and Poles themselves, blaming them for the lack of order and religious tolerance.

"Zbigniew Hornung calculated that in 1730 the capital had twenty-one noteworthy magnate palaces. Two years later, there were twelve more, and in 1738, forty-eight. At the same time, all the previously existing ones received new facades." "And this at a time after the glory of our State. Whose glory we cannot even fully imagine. After the deterioration of our country had not begun. When the lord reigned at home in the lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the king ruled, but only in Warsaw."

"Emanuel Rostworowski determined that the disruption of the 1730 Sejm cost France sixty thousand livres, which were received by the Bishop of Smolensk, Bogusław Gosiewski. Fourteen years later, Paris and Berlin paid a much higher price for the Grodno Sejm, and it was the laymen themselves, led by Voivode Antoni Potocki, who disrupted it." - In 1732, Gosiewski disrupted the Sejm in Warsaw in the same way, paid for by the French embassy with 60,000 livres. For the same act, the Russian envoy Friedrich Casimir von Loewenwolde paid him and Antoni Kazimierz Sapieha 1,000 red zlotys. Gosiewski himself also received 4 pairs of sables and 100 red zlotys.

In early 1743, an incident occurred that escalated from a salon scandal into an irreconcilable political conflict. Some believe this quarrel sparked the enmity between the Czartoryski and Potocki families. Witold Banach writes about this event, which influenced the fate of Poland, in his book "The Czartoryskis, or Eternal Pursuit." - "The Opatów Confederation, whose marshal was the starost of Jasło, Adam Tarło ("a beautiful, generous, and big-hearted lord"), defended the Catholic faith and the rightfully elected king, calling on other counties and voivodeships to join the cause. It also proclaimed Slavic solidarity against the Germans, a rather strange principle under the prevailing circumstances of the time, considering that the Saxons' main protectors were Russians, Slavic kinsmen, and "the heart of Poland," as Władysław Konopczyński said, "was in Gdańsk for six months," from where the valiant cries of "Auf, grosser Adel, auf!" could be heard.

Elizabeth of Peter was the last Russian ruler of Russian origin.

"Since the 16th century, the Czartoryski Princes had held the title of "brothers and cousins ​​of the Jagiellonians," and from incomparably earlier times, they had been sealing themselves with the same symbol that occupied half of the state shield – the Lithuanian Pursuit." Sigismund Augustus, by bestowing the aforementioned title on them, proved to be a generous yet reserved king. He forgot the adjective "older." The Czartoryskis descend from Konstanty of Czartorysk, from the generation of the Orthodox Olgierdowiczs, that is, from Władysław Jagiełło's older half-brother.

The same thing as with the Drucki princes, so characteristic of the "noble" Commonwealth: a family tree overgrown with venerable moss, little land to own and little thalers in sepets, and therefore Ryczne's importance so much less than the influence of the aristocrats, who established their arrivistes only during the Vasa dynasty. So far, only one Czartoryski has risen to the top – Primate Florian in the 17th century.

"In 1738, the first Masonic lodge was founded in Poland, soon to be moved to Dresden." A few years later, the clandestine trend returned, with lodges established in Wiśniowiec, Dukla, and Lviv, and in 1744 Warsaw already had its own "Three Brothers," operating in agreement with the Gdańsk "Three Stars," the "Three Swords," and the "Three Crowns" from Dresden. — Freemasonry at that time, officially—if one can use this word in reference to a somewhat secret society—preached humanitarianism, brotherhood, deism... And what else existed, now completely hidden? The interstate connections themselves seem to indicate the interpenetration of influences not only of a moralistic and philosophical nature. Were ideas for the destruction of the militantly Catholic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth truly hatched among the Freemasons? -

In 1783, Dresden was the capital of Saxony. Augustus II the Strong, the Polish king, had a royal residence in Dresden and gave the city great cultural significance, but this occurred already in 1697.

In 1783, the Wettin dynasty ruled Dresden as rulers of Saxony, and the court resided in Dresden, which was the capital of Saxony and played an important cultural role long before the city's destruction in 1945. The Wettins, as electors and kings of Saxony, gave the city splendor and served as a cultural center for centuries.

In 1783, Augustus the Saxon resided in Dresden, at his Saxon residence, as that was the year of his death.

In 1820, Konstantin Pavlovich Romanov He married Joanna Grudzińska, a countess of Polish descent, contrary to his earlier marriage plans.

To marry a Polish woman, the Tsarevich renounced his rights to the crown. Grand Duke Konstantin, son of Tsar Paul I, had every prospect of settling on the Russian side. His brother Alexander did not produce a male heir.

Although Konstantin married her in 1820, he and Joanna had three weddings: a civil wedding, an Orthodox wedding, and a Catholic wedding.

The marriage, concluded in 1796, failed, and in 1801 she left Russia forever, and in 1820 the marriage was officially dissolved. Juliane Henriette Ulrike of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, also known as Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna, left Russia not for a single, dramatic reason, but because of her difficult and ultimately unsuccessful marriage to Grand Duke Konstantin. Pavlowicz. After their separation, she returned permanently to Germany in 1801, where she settled as a woman of high social standing under the name Anna Feodorovna. For this reason, the prince renounced his right to tsarism.

In 1792, the Warsaw authorities considered this solution.

In 1792, the guillotine, a more humane method of capital punishment invented by Joseph Ignace Guillotin, was first used in France, ending the historical use of the sword and axe. That same year, although slightly later, medals for participation in the Battle of Zieleńce were awarded, for the first time to Polish soldiers in the form of the Virtuti Militari order.

The Constitution of May 3rd was adopted. Konstanty, who in 1830 was governor of the Kingdom of Poland and commanded Russian troops during the November Uprising, which was directed against this Constitution. In short, he was offered the Crown to save constitution.

[Wojtek Babisz · Rating 5 out of 5]

No coz, zakonczylem caly cykl Pawla Jasienicy Historii Polski.
Przedwczesna smierc Autora w 1970r polożyła kres dlaszemu pisaniu (pewnie powstałyby tomy traktujące nasza Historię Zaborów?)

Jestem wdzieczny losowi za skoerowanie mnie do tej kuźnicy wiedzy o historii kraju z którego pochodzę.

Nie omieszkam przeczytac innych prac Autora.

Naprawde polecam-dla miłośnikow Historii Polski jak i dla osób ceniacych sobie dobry esej historyczny.

[Wojtek Konieczny · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Audiobook), 7.5/10
Lektor - 5/6

[Mals · Rating 5 out of 5]

god created polska rzeczpospolita ludowa and made this book as an apology. it worked.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ostatni tom dzieła Pawła Jasienicy o Rzeczpospolitej Obojga Narodów. Obowiązkowa pozycja dla osób ten okres w dziejach państwa polskiego.

[Łukasz Lichota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best historical books are by Jasienica