Partitions of Poland
Also called: Partition of Poland, Constitution of 3 May 1791
In three partitions in 1772, 1793 and 1795, Russia, Prussia and Austria divided up the lands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; Poland disappeared from the map until 1918.
Print made by: Noël Le Mire After: Jean Michel Moreau le jeune Published by: Robert Sayer · Public domain · Source
Once a great power of eastern Europe, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was an elective monarchy in which the nobles chose the king, and the “liberum veto”, which let a single deputy block any decision of the Sejm, kept the central government weak. Taking advantage, its powerful neighbours seized about a third of its territory in the first partition of 1772.
Poland turned to reform and on 3 May 1791 adopted Europe’s first modern written constitution, but Russia invaded and in 1793 Russia and Prussia partitioned it again. When the uprising led by Kościuszko (1794) was crushed, the three powers divided the rest in 1795 and Poland vanished. Poles kept alive the hope of independence through the Napoleonic Wars and the uprisings of the 19th century. At the same time in Joseon, King Jeongjo was building Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon (1794–1796).