Patriotic Party Polish:Stronnictwo Patriotyczne | |
|---|---|
| Leaders | Ignacy Potocki Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Stanisław Małachowski |
| Founded | 1788 (1788) |
| Dissolved | 1795 (1795) |
| Headquarters | Kraków |
| Ideology | Pro-Reform[1] Constitutionalism[1] Egalitarianism[1] Nationalism[1] Polish jacobinism |
| Political position | Left-wing[1] |
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| Liberalism in Poland |
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ThePatriotic Party (Polish:Stronnictwo Patriotyczne), also known as thePatriot Party or, in English, as theReform Party, was apolitical movement in thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the period of theFour-Year Sejm (Great Sejm) of 1788–1792, whose chief achievement was theConstitution of 3 May 1791.[2][3] The reformers aimed to strengthen the ailing political machinery of the Commonwealth, to bolster its military, and to reduce foreign political influence, particularly that of theRussian Empire. It has been called the first Polish political party,[4] though it had no formal organizational structure.[5] The Party was inspired by the ideals of theFrench Revolution,[6] and its name, proudly used by themselves,[7] was a tribute to theDutch Patriots.[8]
The Patriotic Party ceased to exist soon after the adoption of the Constitution when, in theWar in Defense of the Constitution, theTargowica Confederates, backed by the Russians, overthrew the reformed government. In 1795 theThird Partition of Poland ended the Commonwealth's independent existence. Many of the movement's leaders emigrated abroad. The party is considered to be the first left-wing party in the history of Poland, given its reformist and egalitarian aspirations, as well as its commitment to national liberation.[1]
The reform movement were responding to the increasingly perilous situation of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,[9] which only a century earlier had been a major European power and the largest state on the continent.[10] By the early 17th century, themagnates of Poland and Lithuania controlled the state and they ensured that no reforms would be carried out that might weaken their privileged status (the "Golden Freedoms").[11] The peculiar parliamentary institution of theliberum veto ("free veto"), in effect since 1652, had in principle permitted any Sejm deputy to nullify all the legislation that had been adopted by that Sejm.[12] Thanks to this device, deputies bribed by magnates or foreign powers, or simply content to believe they were living in some kind of "Golden Age", paralyzed the Commonwealth's government for over a century .[12] The government was near collapse, which gave rise to the term "Polish anarchy".[13]
TheEnlightenment hadgained great influence in certain Commonwealth circles during the reign (1764–95) of its last king,Stanisław August Poniatowski. As a result, the King had proceeded with cautious reforms such as the establishment of fiscal and military ministries and a national customstariff. However, the idea of reforms in the Commonwealth was viewed with growing suspicion not only by the magnates, but also by neighboring countries, which were content with the Commonwealth's contemporary state of affairs and abhorred the thought of a resurgent and democratic power on their borders.[14]
The first of the three successive 18th-centurypartitions of Commonwealth territory that would eventually blot Poland from the map of Europe shocked the inhabitants of the Commonwealth, and made it clear to progressively minded individuals that the Commonwealth must either reform or perish.[15] Even before theFirst Partition, a Sejm deputy had been sent to ask the Frenchphilosophes,Gabriel Bonnot de Mably andJean-Jacques Rousseau, to draw up a tentative constitutions for a new Poland. Mably had submitted his recommendations in 1770–71; Rousseau had finished his (Considerations on the Government of Poland) in 1772, when the First Partition was already underway.[16]
Supported by the more progressive magnates, such as theCzartoryski family, and KingStanisław August Poniatowski, a new wave of reforms was introduced.[17] A major opportunity for reform seemed to present itself during the "Great" or "Four-Year Sejm" of 1788–92, which opened on 6 October 1788. Events in the world now played into the reformers' hands. Poland's neighbors were too occupied with wars – Prussia with France, Russia and Austria with theOttoman Empire – and with their own internal troubles, to intervene forcibly in Poland. The newalliance between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Prussia seemed to provide security against Russian intervention.[17][18]
The Party was established during theFour-Year Sejm (Great Sejm) of 1788–92 by individuals that sought reforms aimed at bolstering thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, including seeking to reassert Poland's independence from theRussian Empire.[3] Its aim was to draft and pass legislation to fix the ailing Commonwealth.[3] The Party worked to abolish themagnate and Russian dominatedPermanent Council, and to enlarge thePolish Army. The Party was modeled after similar organization that recently began operating inrevolutionary France.[4]
The party received support from all strata of Polish–Lithuanian society, from societal and political elites, including some magnates, throughPiaristEnlightened Catholics, to the radical left.[2][4] The Party's conservative, or right, wing, led by progressive magnates such asIgnacy Potocki, his brotherStanisław Kostka Potocki and PrinceAdam Kazimierz Czartoryski, sought alliance withPrussia and advocated opposing KingStanisław August Poniatowski.[3] The Party's centrists, includingStanisław Małachowski, wished accommodation with the King.[3] The liberal left wing (thePolish Jacobins), led byHugo Kołłątaj (hence also known as "Kołłątaj's Forge"), looked for support to the people ofWarsaw.[4][3]
The Forge was among the most active and notable groups in the reform movement, and has been said to have acted as the party's political agitators.[4] The Forge's proposals were highly refined; Kołłątaj's "Political Law", which included a proposal for a new constitution, became a major inspiration for the debated new constitution.[19]
In 1790, the party acquired royal support, as the King joined the reformers.[3] During the Four-Year Sejm, the Party secured various reforms such as improvement of the territorial administration, abolishment of the Permanent Council, increase of the army to 100,000 soldiers, and improved and increased taxation, with anincome tax on Church and nobles.[3] In its most important achievement, the Party secured adoption of theConstitution of 3 May 1791.[3] The constitution further reformed the executive and legislature, notably abolishing theliberum veto and reintroducinghereditary monarchy to the Commonwealth.[6] The Constitution has been described as one of the first modern constitutions,[20] and one of the first attempts, outside France, to bring the ideals of theAge of Enlightenment to life.[6] After the Constitution was passed, the Party formed theSociety of Friends of the Government Ordinance (Zgromadzenie Przyjaciół Konstytucji Rządowej), apolitical club, to defend the reforms already enacted and to promote further, including economic, ones.[4] The Party and the Society are often referred to as the first Polish political party.[4][21][22]
In 1791–1792, the Party was supported by a newspaper,Gazeta Narodowa i Obca (National and Foreign Gazette), which functioned as the Party's informal press outlet.[23]
The opponents to the Patriotic Party were mostly grouped in theHetmans' Party (Stronnictwo hetmańskie), and includedHetmansStanisław Szczęsny Potocki,Franciszek Ksawery Branicki andSeweryn Rzewuski. They formed theTargowica Confederation in defense of the traditionalGolden Liberties and theCardinal Laws, and called on the Russian Empire for assistance.[3] EmpressCatherine II of Russia readily obliged, as she saw the Constitution as a threat to Russian influence in the Commonwealth, and a possible long-term danger to absolute monarchy in Russia itself.[24][25]
After theWar in Defense of the Constitution, which was won by the Confederates and their Russian allies, the Patriotic Party's principal leaders – Kołłątaj, Potocki, Małachowski –emigrated abroad, where they prepared the ground for theKościuszko Uprising of 1794.[3] The subsequent failure of that Uprising in turn led to theThird Partition of Poland, ending the existence of the Commonwealth. The Patriotic Party's attempts to reform the Commonwealth thus ultimately brought about its total demise.[6]
W Polsce lewicę i prawicę rozróżnia się od końca XVIII wieku. Za pierwsze polskie ugrupowanie lewicowe uznawane jest Stronnictwo Patriotyczne, które charakteryzował postulat uchwalenia Konstytucji 3 Maja. Członkowie tego ugrupowania byli także mocno zaangażowani w działalność na rzecz zainicjowania powstania kościuszkowskiego. Jeśli przyjąć tę wizję genezy diady, można uznać, że dla XVIII-wiecznej lewicy typowe były dążenia równościowe (ograniczenia przywilejów stanowych szlachty, zwiększanie praw mieszczan i chłopów) oraz dążenia państwotwórcze (walka o suwerenność narodową).[In Poland, the left and the right have been distinguished since the late 18th century. The first Polish left-wing grouping is considered to be the Stronnictwo Patriotyczne, which was characterised by the supporting the Constitution of 3rd May. Members of this grouping were also heavily involved in initiating the Kościuszko Uprising. Accepting this vision of the group's origins, the 18th-century left was characterised by equalitarian (limiting the state privileges of the nobility, increasing the rights of the burghers and peasants) and nationalist aspirations (the struggle for national sovereignty).]
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