Territories of the Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Austrian Partition
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The
Austrian Partition
(
Polish
:
zabor austriacki
) comprises the former territories of the
Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
acquired by the
Habsburg monarchy
during the
Partitions of Poland
in the late 18th century. The three
partitions
were conducted jointly by the
Russian Empire
, the
Kingdom of Prussia
and
Habsburg Austria
, resulting in the complete
elimination
of the
Polish Crown
. Austria acquired Polish lands during the
First Partition
of 1772, and
Third Partition of Poland
in 1795.
[1]
In the end, the Austrian sector encompassed the second-largest share of the Commonwealth's population after Russia;
[note 1]
over 2.65 million people living on 128,900 km
2
(49,800 sq mi) of land constituting the formerly south-central part of the Republic.
[3]
History
[
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]
The territories acquired by
Austrian Empire
(later the
Austro-Hungarian Empire
) during the
First Partition
included the Polish
Duchy of Zator
and
Duchy of O?wi?cim
, as well as part of
Lesser Poland
with the counties of Krakow, Sandomierz and Galicia, less the city of Krakow. In the
Third Partition
, the annexed lands included Western Galicia and Southern Masovia. Major historical events of the Austrian Partition included: the formation of the Napoleonic
Duchy of Warsaw
in 1807, which was followed by the 1809
Austro-Polish War
aided by the French, and the victorious
Battle of Raszyn
resulting in Austrian
temporary defeat
(1809) marked by the recapture of
Krakow
and
Lwow
by the Duchy. However, the fall of Napoleon, leading to abolition of the Duchy at the
Congress of Vienna
(1815) allowed Austria to regain control. The
Congress
created the
Free City of Krakow
protectorate of
Austria
,
Prussia
and
Russia
, which lasted for a decade. It was abolished by Austria, after the crushing of
Krakow Uprising
in 1846. The formation of the
Polish Legions
by
Piłsudski
initially to fight alongside the
Austro-Hungarian Army
,
[4]
helped Poland
regain its sovereignty
in
aftermath of World War I
.
Society
[
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]
Edward Dembowski
during the
Krakow Uprising
against the Austrian rule, 1846
For most of the 19th century, the Austrian government made little or no concessions to their Polish constituents,
[5]
their attitude being that a "patriot was a traitor ? unless he was a patriot for the
[
Austrian
]
Emperor."
[6]
However, by the early 20th century ? just before the outbreak of World War I and the collapse of Austria-Hungary ? out of the three partitions, the Austrian one had the most local autonomy.
[7]
The local government called the Governorate Commission (
Polish
:
Komisja Gubernialna
) had considerable influence locally,
Polish
was accepted as the official regional language on Polish soil, and used in schools; Polish organizations had some freedom to operate, and Polish parties could formally participate in Austro-Hungarian politics of the empire.
[7]
Austria-Hungary also de facto encouraged (the flourishing
[8]
) Ukrainian organizations as a
divide and rule
tactic.
[9]
[10]
This led to accusations by Poles that "Austria-Hungary had invented Ukrainians".
[10]
Ukrainians maintained schools (from elementary to higher levels)
[note 2]
and newspapers
[note 3]
in the
Ukrainian language
.
[8]
[12]
After 1848 Ukrainians also moved into Austrian politics with their own political parties.
[8]
Austria-Hungary gave Ukrainians more rights than Ukrainians living in the
Russian Empire
.
[13]
Decades after it had ceased to exist its former Ukrainian citizens had positive emotions about Austria-Hungary.
[13]
Economy
[
edit
]
On the other hand, economically, Galicia was rather backward, and universally regarded as the poorest of the three partitions.
[7]
There was much corruption during the elections, and the region was seen by the Viennese government as the low priority for investment and development.
[7]
It was a vast, but constantly struggling region with inefficient agriculture and little industry. In 1900, 60% of the village population (age 12 and over) could not read or write.
[7]
Education was obligatory until the age of 12, but this requirement was often ignored.
[7]
Between the years 1850 and 1914 it is estimated that about 1 million people from Galicia (mostly Poles) emigrated to United States.
[7]
Poverty in Austrian Galicia
to this day has survived in Polish as an expression of hopelessness (
adage
:
bieda galicyjska
or
n?dza galicyjska
).
[7]
[14]
Administrative division
[
edit
]
The Austrian Empire divided the former territories of the Commonwealth it obtained into:
Two important and major cities of the Austrian partition were
Krakow
(German:
Krakau
) and
Lwow
(German:
Lemberg
).
In the first partition, Austria received the largest share of the formerly Polish population, and the second largest land share (83,000 km² and over 2.65 million people). Austria did not participate in the second partition, and in the third, it received 47,000 km² with 1.2 million people. Overall, Austria gained about 18 percent of the former Commonwealth territory (130,000 km²) and about 32 percent of the population (3.85 million people).
[15]
From the geographical perspective, much of the Austrian partition corresponded to the
Galicia
region.
See also
[
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]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
The "Austrian sector" is a historical term used by scholars in reference to Commonwealth territories consisting of Polish heritage dating as far back as the first days of Poland's statehood.
[2]
- ^
This Ukrainian education system was also in the
Polish?Lithuanian Commonwealth
.
[9]
- ^
The first published in 1948.
[10]
[11]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Norman Davies
(2005),
"Galicia: The Austrian Partition"
,
God's Playground A History of Poland
, vol. II: 1795 to the Present, Oxford University Press, pp. 102?119,
ISBN
0199253404
, retrieved
November 24,
2012
- ^
William Fiddian Reddaway, ed. (1941).
"Galicia in the Period of Autonomy and Self-Government, 1849?1914"
.
The Cambridge History of Poland
. Vol. 2. CUP Archive. pp. 434?.
ISBN
9287148821
. Retrieved
March 26,
2013
.
- ^
Norman Davies (2005).
"Austrian Partition"
.
God's Playground. A History of Poland. The Origins to 1795
. Vol. I (revised ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 367, 393.
ISBN
0199253390
.
- ^
Hein Erich Goemans,
War and Punishment: The Causes of War Termination and the First World War
,
Princeton University Press
, 2000,
ISBN
0-691-04944-0
, pp. 104-5
- ^
Jerzy Lukowski, Hubert Zawadzki, A Concise History of Poland,
Cambridge University Press
, 2001,
ISBN
0-521-55917-0
,
p. 129
- ^
Anatol Murad (1968).
"A patriot was a traitor?unless he was a patriot for the Emperor"
.
Franz Joseph I of Austria and His Empire
(first print ed.). Ardent Media. p. 17
. Retrieved
November 21,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Andrzej Garlicki,
Polsko-Gruzi?ski sojusz wojskowy
,
Polityka
: Wydanie Specjalne 2/2008, ISSN 1730-0525, p. 11-12
- ^
a
b
c
Ukrainian Security Policy
by
Taras Kuzio
, 1995,
Praeger
,
ISBN
0275953858
(page 9)
- ^
a
b
Serhy Yekelchyk
Ukraine: Birth of a Modern Nation
,
Oxford University Press
(2007),
ISBN
978-0-19-530546-3
- ^
a
b
c
Ukraine: A History, 4th Edition
by
Orest Subtelny
, 2009, Toronto, Canada,
University of Toronto Press
,
ISBN
978-1-4426-4016-0
&
ISBN
978-1-4426-0991-4
- ^
Jeremy Popkin, ed.,
Media and Revolution: Comparative Perspectives
(University of Kentucky Press, 1995)
- ^
Mark von Hagen. (2007).
War in a European Borderland
.
University of Washington Press. pg. 4
- ^
a
b
History of Ukraine ? The Land and Its Peoples
by
Paul Robert Magocsi
,
University of Toronto Press
, 2010,
ISBN
1442640855
(page 482)
- ^
David Crowley,
National Style and Nation-state: Design in Poland from the Vernacular Revival to the International Style
, Manchester University Press ND, 1992
ISBN
0-7190-3727-1
,
p. 12
- ^
Piotr Stefan Wandycz
,
The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present
, Routledge (UK), 2001,
ISBN
0-415-25491-4
,
p. 133
Further reading
[
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]