The End of the Monarchy

During the reign of Augustus III, 1736-1763, Poland began a period of reforms under the impact of the French Enlightenment which however did not strengthen the State. Armies of militaristic and imperialistic neighbors marched into Poland at will. Stanislaus Poniatowski, 1764-1795, was the last king of Poland. He was well-educated and tried to introduce reforms which would remove the weaknesses of the Parliament and the executive branch of the government and effect stability. However, when the Confederation of Bar was organized on February 29, 1768, the nobles were inspired to fight for the honor of Poland. Sensing the upsurge of nationalism, Russia, Prussia, and Austria decided to begin their partitions; the first took place in 1772. Simultaneous with the French bloody revolution in 1789, was the Polish bloodless revolution, carried out by the Diet, in 1788-1792. The Polish Diet accepted the Constitution of May 3, 1791, which provided freedoms and rights for the people and increased the armed forces to 100,000.

Early History | Beginnings of Christianity | Early Leadership | First Rulers | The Latin Rite | A New Dynasty | The Queen of Poland

The End of the Monarchy | The Partition | Cultural Leaders | Poland Now