Poland in the 19th century; in search of its place in Europe and in the world
Tomasz Kizwalter
Faculty of History
University of Warsaw
ORCID: 0000-0002-2719-5106
Published: 23/09/2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31338/ahi.2022.1.7
ABSTRACT: After the third partition of the First Republic (Res Publica), Poland entered the 19th century as a “country” deprived of a state system. The recovery of their state became a fundamental objective of the Polish political elites. Although the existence of the “Polish cause” remained in European politics, and the Poles were regarded as one of the “historical nations”, the structure of the interests of the Great Powers meant that, in 19th century Europe, there was no place for a Polish state. At the same time, a politically active part of society was confronted with new challenges. The concept of restoring the Res Publica on its former borders began to raise tensions: Polish aspirations increasingly clashed with Ukrainian and Lithuanian national ambitions. In turn, the civilizing expansion of Western Europe produced, in Poland, a sense of backwardness in its development. However, the prospect of modernization seemed to constitute a danger to their collective identity. In this situation, the attitude of the Polish elites towards Western Europe was characterised as much by hope as by disappointments and resentments. However, opinions disputing Poland’s relationship with the “West” were rare.
KEYWORDS: Poland, Republic, Europe, politics, nation.
