Great Sejm
Encyclopedia
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
: respectively, Sejm Wielki or Sejm Czteroletni; Belarusian
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
: Вялікі Сойм or Чатырохгадовы Сойм; Lithuanian
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
: Didysis seimas or Ketverių metų seimas) was a Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
that was held in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, beginning in 1788. Its goal became to restore sovereignty to, and reform of, the Commonwealth, politically and economically. Its greatest achievement was the adoption in 1791 of the May 3rd Constitution. The reforms instituted by the Great Sejm were annulled by the Targowica Confederation
Targowica Confederation
The Targowica Confederation was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catherine II. The confederation opposed the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, which had been adopted by the Great Sejm,...
and the intervention of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
History
The intention of Catherine II of RussiaCatherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
, who treated the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
as a vassal state
Vassal state
A vassal state is any state that is subordinate to another. The vassal in these cases is the ruler, rather than the state itself. Being a vassal most commonly implies providing military assistance to the dominant state when requested to do so; it sometimes implies paying tribute, but a state which...
, was for the Sejm to raise a 100,000 strong military force to aid Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
in their recent war with the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Because of that, the Sejm was a confederated sejm
Confederated sejm
Confederated sejm was a form of sejm in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. After 1764, sejms were frequently confederated...
– immune to liberum veto
Liberum veto
The liberum veto was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It allowed any member of the Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify any legislation that had already been passed at the session by shouting Nie pozwalam! .From the mid-16th to the late 18th...
.
However, as Russia became distracted with the wars (against the Ottomans and a later one against the Swedes), the Sejm became dominated by reform-minded politicians. In 1790, Poland signed an alliance
Polish-Prussian alliance
The Polish-Lithuanian and Prussian alliance was an alliance signed on 29 March 1790 in Warsaw between representatives of the Republic of Poland and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia tried to take opportunity of the Russian Empire's wars with the Ottoman Empire and Sweden and move the weak...
with Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, obliging the members to come to mutual aid in case either country was invaded by the Russian Empire.
Since the beginning of its deliberations in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, the Sejm was accompanied by increasing publicity and interest of the general population, one of the most famous being the "black procession" of burghers
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
demanding more equality with the nobility (szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
). The Sejm was significantly affected by the events in France– French revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, where demands for the similar reforms toppled the absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...
of Louis XVI. Thus, the pro-reform movement faced significant opposition from much of Polish magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
s and wealthy nobility, which reaped the most benefits from the current status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
, and from the representatives of Poland's neighbours (Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) which preferred to have a weak Poland on their borders.
Nonetheless the pro-reform movement grew in strength, and the Patriotic Party
Patriotic Party
The Patriotic Party , also known as the Patriot Party or, in English, as the Reform Party, was a political movement in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the period of the Four-Year Sejm of 1788–92, whose chief achievement was the Constitution of 3 May 1791...
formed around the king (Stanisław August Poniatowski), drawing support from more liberal minded magnates and, from 1790, from the Familia
Familia
Familia was the name of a Polish political party led by the Czartoryski magnates and families allied with them, and formed toward the end of the reign of King August II...
party of the Czartoryski
Czartoryski
Czartoryski is the surname of a Polish-Ukrainian-Lithuanian magnate family also known as the Familia. They used the Czartoryski Coat of arms and were the leading noble family of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century.-History:The Czartoryski is a family of a Grand Ducal...
's. The most radical among the reform advocates were the Polish Jacobins
Polish Jacobins
Polish Jacobins was the name given to a group of late 18th century radical Polish politicians by their opponents.Polish Jacobins formed during the Great Sejm as an offshoot of the "Kołłątaj's Forge" of Hugo Kołłątaj Polish Jacobins (or Hugenots) was the name given to a group of late 18th century...
.
The Sejm abolished the Permanent Council
Permanent Council
The Permanent Council was the highest administrative authority in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1775 and 1789 and the first modern government in Europe...
and from 1790 was dominated by the pro-reform king and his political supporters. Many commissions
Committee
A committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
were formed to take care of finances, economy and military. The army was increased to 100,000 (although financial problems soon forced a decrease to 65,000).
The largest achievement of the Sejm was the declaration of the May 3rd Constitution. It was designed to redress long-standing political defects of the federative
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and its Golden Liberty
Golden Liberty
Golden Liberty , sometimes referred to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles' Democracy or Nobles' Commonwealth refers to a unique aristocratic political system in the Kingdom of Poland and later, after the Union of Lublin , in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
. The Constitution introduced political equality between townspeople and nobility and placed the peasant
Peasant
A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...
s under the protection of the government, thus mitigating the worst abuses of serfdom
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...
. The Constitution abolished pernicious parliamentary institutions such as the liberum veto
Liberum veto
The liberum veto was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It allowed any member of the Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify any legislation that had already been passed at the session by shouting Nie pozwalam! .From the mid-16th to the late 18th...
, which at one time had placed the sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
at the mercy of any deputy
Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
who might choose, or be bribed
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
by an interest or foreign power, to undo all the legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
that had been passed by that sejm. The May 3rd Constitution sought to supplant the existing anarchy fostered by some of the country's reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
s, with a more egalitarian
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
and democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
.
The adoption of the constitution was a partial coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
. The advocates of the Constitution, faced with the threat of violence from the Sejm's anti-reform Muscovite Party (also known as the "Hetmans' party
Hetmans' Party
The Hetmans' Party , also known as the Magnates' Party , the Muscovite Party , the Conservative Party and the Old-Nobility Party , was a political party that opposed reforms advocated in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by the Patriotic...
," so named from the fact that it was led by the hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
s, the top military commanders), with many contrary-minded deputies still away on Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
recess, managed to set debate on the Government Act forward by two days from the original May 5. The ensuing debate and adoption of the Government Act was far from standard: many pro-reform deputies arrived early and in secret, and the royal guards were positioned about the Royal Castle where the Sejm was gathered, to prevent Muscovite adherents from disrupting the proceedings. The Constitution ("Government Act") bill was read out and passed overwhelmingly, to the enthusiasm of the crowds gathered outside.
The Sejm was disbanded on May 29, 1792. The reforms of the Great Sejm were brought down by the Targowica Confederation
Targowica Confederation
The Targowica Confederation was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catherine II. The confederation opposed the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, which had been adopted by the Great Sejm,...
and the intervention of the Russian Empire. The Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, remained in force only 14 months and 3 weeks.
Members
Important participants in the Great Sejm included:- Patriotic Party
- King Stanislaw August Poniatowski
- Stanisław Małachowski, Marshal of the SejmMarszalek sejmuMarshal of the Sejm also known as Sejm Marshal, Chairman of the Sejm or Speaker of the Sejm is the speaker of the Sejm...
(Crown) - Kazimierz Nestor SapiehaKazimierz Nestor SapiehaPrince Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha was a Polish-Lithuanian noble .Kazimierz Sapieha was educated at the Knight School in Warsaw from 1767 until 1791, and served as Artillery General of Lithuania, from 1773 to 1793...
, Marshal of the Sejm (Lithuania) - Hugo Kołłątaj
- Ignacy Potocki
- Stanisław Staszic
- Scipione PiattoliScipione PiattoliScipione Piattoli was an Italian priest who was politically active in Warsaw, Poland, during the Four-Year Sejm and participated in the drafting of the Constitution of May 3, 1791.-Life:Piattoli arrived in Poland in 1783...
- Józef WybickiJózef WybickiJózef Rufin Wybicki was a Polish general, poet and political figure.-Life:He was a close friend of General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, and in 1797 he wrote Mazurek Dąbrowskiego , which in 1927 was adopted as the Polish national anthem.During the Kościuszko Uprising, he was counselor of the Military...
- Antoni Barnaba Jabłonowski
- Eustachy Erazm SanguszkoEustachy Erazm SanguszkoPrince Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko - Polish general and politician.He was a deputy in the Great Sejm, the parliament that deliberated 1788–1792 and produced the 3 May Constitution. Sanguszko then participated in the Polish-Russian War of 1792 as a national cavalry brigadier, where he fought at...
- Stanisław Sołtyk
- Tomasz Sołtyk
- Ignacy Wyssogota ZakrzewskiIgnacy Wyssogota ZakrzewskiIgnacy Wyssogota Zakrzewski was a notable Polish nobleman and politician during the last years of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, shortly before the Partitions of Poland....
- Stanisław Mokronowski
- Jacek JezierskiJacek JezierskiJacek Jezierski was a Polish writer and businessman, a member of the Polish nobility and a political writer. From 1775 he was the castellan of the town of Łuków. He was also manager of the personal domain of the Primate of Poland, which allowed him to gain a significant fortune...
- Józef ZajączekJózef ZajaczekPrince Józef Zajączek , was a Polish general and politician.His first important military post was that of an aide-de-camp to hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki...
- Kazimierz KrasińskiKazimierz KrasinskiCount Kazimierz Krasiński was a Polish noble, politician and patron of art. He was the son of Antoni Krasiński and Barbara Zielińska.The last Grand Camp Leader of the Crown of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
- Stanisław Kostka Potocki
- Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski
- Roman Ignacy Potocki
- Muscovite Party:
- Józef Dominik KossakowskiJózef Kossakowski (colonel)166px|thumb|right|[[Coat of arms of Ślepowron|Ślepowron]], the coat of arms of Korwin-KossakowskiJózef Dominik Korwin-Kossakowski of Ślepowron Coat of Arms, , was a Polish-Lithuanian statesman and military commander, a participant of Targowica Confederation and a colonel of the Polish Army.He had...
- Karol Stanisław "Panie Kochanku" Radziwiłł
- Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki
- Franciszek Ksawery BranickiFranciszek Ksawery BranickiCount Franciszek Ksawery Branicki was a Polish nobleman of the Korczak coat of arms, magnate and one of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation....
(Great Crown Hetman) - Seweryn RzewuskiSeweryn RzewuskiSeweryn Rzewuski was a Polish-Lithuanian szlachcic.He was Field Hetman of the Crown from 1774 to 1795. Participant of the Radom Confederation in 1767 and one of the leaders of the Hetman Party and the...
(Field Crown Hetman) - Franciszek GrocholskiFranciszek GrocholskiFranciszek Grocholski was a Polish nobleman .Franciszek became Podstoli of Braclaw since 1761, Borough Writer of Krzemieniec since 1764, Chamberlain of King Stanisław August Poniatowski since 1767, Podczaszy of Braclaw since 1771, Chorąży of Winnica since 1772, Chorąży of Braclaw since 1774, Great...
- Józef Dominik Kossakowski
- Others
- Michał Jerzy Mniszech
- Adam NaruszewiczAdam NaruszewiczAdam Stanisław Naruszewicz was a Polish nobleman from an impoverished aristocratic family, poet, historian, dramatist, translator, publicist, Jesuit and titular Bishop of Smolensk and bishop of Łuck .His family had a small estate in Polesie and he was educated at Pinsk.As a senator he...