|
|
|
|
Napoleonic times - hopes for Poland
The turn of the 19th century brought hopes for the restoration of independence, in the wake of Napoleon's military triumphs. The Polish Legions formed in Italy fought in many of Napoleon's battles (Trebia, Hohenlinden, Marengo).
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
19th-c. Polish country dwór (manor); Głuchy, Mazovia |
| | |
|
|
| Meanwhile Prince Adam Czartoryski, then Russia's foreign minister, was planning the restoration of the Polish state under the rule of the Russian Tsar Alexander I. This split into supporters of co-operation with the West and with the East lasted for decades and affected Polish history on numerous occasions. Napoleon did partly fulfil the hopes vested in him. After defeating Austria and Prussia, he created the Duchy of Warsaw out of part of the former Polish territories. He helped the Poles to raise their own army, under Prince Józef Poniatowski, nephew of the last king. The Polish army fought in all the campaigns and major battles, including Borodino and Leipzig, where Prince Poniatowski was drowned. However, the disastrous invasion of Russia (1811-12) and Napoleon's downfall changed the fate of Poland and indeed all of Europe. The Duchy of Warsaw was replaced by a Kingdom of Poland attached to Russia by personal union (the Tsar of Russia was made "King of Poland"), with its own constitution, sejm, army and treasury. The remaining lands were put in a Grand Duchy of Poznań under Prussian rule, and the Free City of Cracow, "supervised" by the 3 partitioning powers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
