TheThird Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of thePartitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth amongPrussia, theHabsburg monarchy, and theRussian Empire which effectively ended Polish–Lithuanian national sovereigntyuntil 1918. The partition was the result of theKościuszko Uprising and was followed by a number ofPolish–Lithuanian uprisings during the period.^[1]

Third Partition of Poland
Aftermath of the Third Partition of the Commonwealth, with the disappearance of sovereign Poland and Lithuania.
Population losses in the 3rd Partition
To Austria	1.2 million
To Prussia	1 million
To Russia	1.2 million
Final territorial losses
To Prussia	Northern and Western Poland (Podlachia), Western Lithuania (Sudovia)
To the Habsburg Monarchy	Southern Poland (WesternGalicia and SouthernMasovia)
To Russia	Eastern Lithuania

Following theFirst Partition of Poland in 1772, in an attempt to strengthen the significantly weakened Commonwealth, KingStanisław August Poniatowski put into effect a series of reforms to enhance Poland's military, political system, economy, and society. These reforms reached their climax with the enactment of the May Constitution in 1791, which established a constitutional monarchy with separation into three branches of government, strengthened the bourgeoisie and abolished many of thenobility's privileges as well as many of the old laws of serfdom. In addition, to strengthen Poland's international standings, King Stanislaus signed thePolish-Prussian Pact of 1790. Angered by what was seen as dangerous,Jacobin-style reforms, Russia invaded Poland in 1792, beginning theWar in Defense of the Constitution. Abandoned by her Prussian allies and betrayed by Polish nobles who desired to restore the privileges they had lost under the May Constitution, Poland was forced to sign theSecond Partition in 1793, which ceded Dobrzyn, Kujavia, and a large portion of Greater Poland to Prussia and all of Poland's eastern provinces fromMoldavia toLivonia to Russia, reducing Poland to one-third of her original size before the First Partition.^{[citation needed]}

Outraged with the further humiliation of Poland by her neighbors and the betrayal by the Polish nobility, and emboldened by theFrench Revolution unfolding in France, the Polish masses quickly turned against the occupying forces of Prussia and Russia. Following a series of nationwide riots, on 24 March 1794, Polish patriotTadeusz Kościuszko took command of thePolish armed forces and declared a nationwide uprising against Poland's foreign occupiers, marking the beginning of theKościuszko Uprising.Catherine II andFrederick William II were quick to respond and, despite initial successes by Kosciuszko's forces, the uprising was crushed by November 1794. According to legend, when Kosciuszko fell off of his horse at theBattle of Maciejowice, shortly before he was captured, he said "Finis Poloniae", meaning in Latin "[This is] the end of Poland."^{[citation needed]}

Austrian, Prussian, and Russian representatives met on 24 October 1795 to dissolve the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, with the three conquering powers signing a treaty to divide the region on 26 January 1797. This gave the Habsburg monarchy control of theWestern Galicia and SouthernMazovia territories, with approximately 1.2 million people; Prussia receivedPodlachia, the remainder of Masovia, andWarsaw, with 1 million people; and Russia received the remaining land, includingVilnius and 1.2 million people. Unlike previous partitions, no Polish representative was party to the treaty. The Habsburgs, Russia, and Prussia forced King Stanislaus to abdicate and retire to St. Petersburg, where he died as a trophy prisoner in 1798. The victors also agreed to erase the country's name:

In view of the necessity to abolish everything which could revive the memory of the existence of the Kingdom of Poland, now that the annulment of this body politic has been effected ... the high contracting parties are agreed and undertake never to include in their titles ... the name or designation of the Kingdom of Poland, which shall remain suppressed as from the present and forever ...^{[2][page needed]}

The Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ended the existence of an independent Polish and Lithuanian state for the next 123 years.^[3] Immediately following the Third Partition, the occupying powers forced many Polish politicians, intellectuals, and revolutionaries to emigrate across Europe, in what was later known as theGreat Emigration. These Polish nationalists participated in uprisings againstAustria, Prussia, and Russia in former Polish lands, and many would serve France as part of thePolish Legions. In addition, Polish poets and artists would make the desire for national freedom a defining characteristic of thePolish Romanticist movement. Poland briefly regained semi-autonomy in 1807 when Napoleon created theDuchy of Warsaw, but this effectively ended with theCongress of Vienna in 1815. The Congress created the Kingdom of Poland, sometimes calledCongress Poland, as a Russian puppet state. Even this, however, came to an end after aPolish insurrection in 1831, at which point Russia ended most of the kingdom's autonomy and exacted multiple punitive measures on the Polish populace. In 1867, Russia made Poland an official part of the Russian Empire, as opposed to a puppet state. Poland would not regain full independence until the end ofWorld War I when the signing of theTreaty of Versailles and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire allowed for the resurrection of Polish national sovereignty.^{[citation needed]}

• Administrative division of Polish territories after partitions
• Administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the course of partitions
• Fourth Partition of Poland

• Davies, Norman.God's Playground: A History of Poland. Revised Edition ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2005.
• Halecki, Oskar.A History of Poland. New York: D. McKay, 1976.
• Lord, Robert. "The Third Partition of Poland."The Slavonic Review Mar. 1925: 481–498. Web. 16 Dec. 2011.
• Steed, Henry Wickham, W. Alison Phillips, and David Hannay. "A Short History of Austria-Hungary and Poland." London:Encyclopædia Britannica, 1914.
• "The History Of Poland." Redirecting... Web. 02 Dec. 2011.http://www.kasprzyk.demon.co.uk/www/history/index.html.
• "Europa World Online : Log In." Europa World Online : Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2011.http://europaworld.com/entry/pl.
• "Partitions of Poland (Polish history) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia – Britannica Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2011.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/466910/Partitions-of-Poland.

• The Period of Partitions (1772–1918) – resources
• Encyclopædia Britannica: Poland
• Europaworld Online: Poland
• The Partitions of Poland