The "Whites" were a faction among Polish

Poles

thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

 insurrectionists before and during the January Uprising

January Uprising

The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...

 in early 1860s. They consisted mostly of progressive minded land owners and industrialists, the middle class and some intellectuals of Russian controlled Congress Poland

Congress Poland

The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...

. The faction had its origins in the Towarzystwo Rolnicze (Agricultural Society) started by Count

Count

A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...

 Andrzej Artur Zamoyski

Andrzej Artur Zamoyski

Count Andrzej Artur Zamoyski was a Polish nobleman, landowner and political and economic activist.Zamoyski organized meetings of landowners at his Klemensów estate in the Polish Congress Poland. In 1842 he became co-publisher of the Rocznik Gospodarstwa Krajowego...

 in 1858. While the Whites supported ending 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...

, unlike the "Red

Reds (January Uprising)

The "Reds" were a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863. They were radical democratic activists who supported the outbreak of the uprising from the outset, advocated an end to serfdom in Congress and future independent Poland, without compensation to the...

" faction they advocated for some kind of compensation to be made to the landlords. Also unlike the Reds, the Whites generally opposed the idea of an armed insurrection against Russia, seeing it as doomed to failure, and instead tried to use diplomacy and the support of other European powers to win greater autonomy for Congress Poland, a separate administration and a native Polish army. They also tried to influence the Tsar to engage in the recovery of former Polish lands

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...

 which had been taken by partitioning powers

Partitions of Poland

The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...

 other than Russia - 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...

 and 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...

. However, once the January Uprising broke out, most Whites supported it both politically and militarily.

Notable members

• Edward Jürgens
• Leopold Stanisław Kronenberg
• Karol Majewski
• Karol Ruprecht
• Andrzej Artur Zamoyski
  Andrzej Artur Zamoyski
  Count Andrzej Artur Zamoyski was a Polish nobleman, landowner and political and economic activist.Zamoyski organized meetings of landowners at his Klemensów estate in the Polish Congress Poland. In 1842 he became co-publisher of the Rocznik Gospodarstwa Krajowego...