First Partition of Poland

By the late 18th century, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had been reduced from the status of a European power to that of a country under major influence of, and almost becoming the protectorate (or vassal) of, the Russian Empire, with the Russian tsar effectively choosing Polish–Lithuanian monarchs during the free elections and deciding the outcome of much of Poland's internal politics. For example, the Repnin Sejm of 1767–68 was named after the Russian ambassador who had unofficially presided over its proceedings. Although for a few decades, since Poland's Silent Sejm, Russia had seen the weak Poland as its own protectorate, ==Partition begins==

Already by 1769–1771, both Austria and Prussia had taken over some border territories of the Commonwealth, with Austria taking the Eldership of Spisz, Czorsztyn, Stary Sącz and Nowy Targ in 1769–1770 and Prussia incorporating Lauenburg and Bütow. On February 19, 1772, the agreement of partition was signed in Vienna. A previous agreement between Prussia and Russia had been made in Saint Petersburg on February 6, 1772. In early August, Russian, Prussian and Austrian troops simultaneously entered the Commonwealth and occupied the provinces that had been agreed upon among themselves. On August 5, the three parties signed the treaty on their respective territorial gains. The regiments of the Bar Confederation, whose executive board had been forced to leave Austria, which had supported them, after Austria joined the Prusso–Russian alliance, did not lay down their arms. Many fortresses in their command held out as long as possible. Wawel Castle in Kraków fell only at the end of April; Tyniec Fortress held until the end of July 1772; Częstochowa, commanded by Casimir Pulaski, held until late August. In the end, the Bar Confederation was defeated, with its members either fleeing abroad or being deported to Siberia by the Russians. ==Division of territories==

'', a 1773 French allegory by Jean-Michel Moreau le Jeune for the First Partition of Poland The partition treaty was ratified by its signatories on September 22, 1772. According to Christopher Clark, in certain areas annexed by Prussia like Notec and Royal Prussia, 54% of the population (75% in the urban areas) were German-speaking Protestants. and reorganized its newly acquired lands into Pskov Governorate, which also included two provinces of Novgorod Governorate, and Mogilev Governorate. Zakhar Chernyshyov was appointed the Governor General of the new territories on May 28, 1772. By the first partition, the Commonwealth lost about (30% of its territory, amounting to about ), with a population of over four to five million people, about a third of its population of fourteen million before the partitions. ==Aftermath==

'', oil on canvas by Jan Matejko, 1866, , Royal Castle in Warsaw After they had occupied their respective territories, the three partitioning powers demanded that King Stanisław August Poniatowski and the Sejm approve their action. The Sejm became known as the Partition Sejm. To prevent the disruption of the Sejm via and the defeat of the purpose of the invaders, Poniński undertook to turn the regular Sejm into a confederated sejm in which majority rule prevailed. In spite of the efforts of individuals like Tadeusz Rejtan, , and to prevent it, the deed was accomplished with the aid of Poniński, Radziwiłł, and the bishops Andrzej Młodziejowski, Ignacy Jakub Massalski, and Antoni Kazimierz Ostrowski (primate of Poland), who occupied high positions in the Senate of Poland. The Sejm elected a committee of thirty to deal with the various matters presented. On September 18, 1773, the committee signed the treaty of cession, renouncing all Commonwealth claims to the lost territories. == Other countries ==

The only two countries that refused to accept the partitions were the Ottoman and Persian Empires. Il Canto degli Italiani, the Italian national anthem, contains a reference to the partition. The ongoing partitions of Poland were a major topic of discourse in the Federalist Papers in which the structure of the government of Poland and the foreign influence over it were used in several papers (Federalist No. 14, Federalist No. 19, Federalist No. 22, Federalist No. 39 for examples) as a cautionary tale for the writers of the US Constitution. In 1772, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was invited to present recommendations for a new constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the Considerations on the Government of Poland (1782), which was to be his last major political work. ==See also==