One of Poland's greatest problems was constitutional, in that no legislation could be passed through the Sejm without the unanimous consent of all deputies. Hostile foreign powers learned quickly how effective a single deputy beholden to them could be. During what is called the "Four Year Sejm" (1788-1792) Poniatowski was active in bringing about a new constitution which established majority rule in the Sejm and guaranteed personal freedoms to all Poles.7 It isn't hard to believe that these developments were not viewed favourably by the despots of Russia, Prussia and Austria. Their response was to coax some of the country's leading magnates into forming the Confederation of Targonica, which immediately asked for Russian help to abolish the new constitution.
The Poles fought hard and achieved some early successes against the far better organised and equipped Russians but when the Prussians arrived on their flank the battle was lost. In 1793, Russia and Prussia put into effect a Second Partition treaty which reduced the country to one third of its pre-1772 size. The Last Sejm met that same year and were forced to legalise the partitions and abolish the constitution. The uprising that followed in October of 1794 led to more violence and a third pact to legalise the final partitioning of Poland, which was erased from the map of Europe for more than a hundred years.
The death of Poland played a part in the birth of modern nationalism and two Polish in exile regiments campaigned with Napolean a few years later in the hope that he would re-establish the Polish state.8 Along with the myriad peoples who had suffered under Ottoman, Russian or Austrian occupations, Poland's civil institutions withered away or were replaced outright, both of which stunted its development as a nation. Another result of these events was to contribute to Prussian militarism, which would have disastrous results for Europe well into the 20th century.
1 Kasprzyk, Mieczyslaw. "3. Decline and Partition". The History of Poland. 1997.
2 IBID.
3 Encyclopedia Britannica (On-line Edition). "Partitions of Poland". Britannica.com. 1999-2000.
4 Op. Cit. Kasprzyk, Mieczyslaw
5 Halsall, Paul. "The Division of Poland, 1772, 1793, 1795". Modern History Sourcebook. July 1998.
6 Koeller David W. "The Second Partition of Poland: 1793" Polish History Chronology. 1996-9
7 IBID.
8 Nieuwazny, Andrzej "Napoleon and Polish Identity". History Today. May, 1998.
