Leslie Massey
The partitioning of Poland by Russia, Austria, and Prussia took place in three stages in 1772, 1793, and 1795. The First Partition of Poland was ratified in 1773, with Russia, Prussia, and Austria signing a treaty that saw Poland lose half its population and a third of its land area. The Second Partition of Poland was ratified in 1793, with Russia and Prussia agreeing to divide Polish territories, and the Third Partition of Poland was finalised in 1797, with Russia, Prussia, and Austria agreeing to divide the remaining Polish territories between themselves. The partitions of Poland were motivated by the expansionist interests of the three partitioning powers and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth's political instability and economic stagnation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date of First Partition | 5 August 1772 |
| Date of Second Partition | 23 January 1793 |
| Date of Third Partition | 24 October 1795 |
| Territories Involved | Russia, Prussia, Austria, Poland |
| Area of Poland Lost in Second Partition | 115,000 sq mi (300,000 sq km) |
| Area of Poland Lost in Third Partition | 83,000 sq mi (215,000 sq km) |
| Area of Poland Lost in First Partition | 81,500 sq mi (211,000 sq km) |
| Area of Russian Partition in Third Partition | 46,332 sq mi (120,000 sq km) |
| Area of Prussian Partition in Third Partition | 21,236 sq mi (55,000 sq km) |
| Area of Austrian Partition in Third Partition | 18,147 sq mi (47,000 sq km) |
| Year Poland Regained Independence | 1918 |
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What You'll Learn
The First Partition of Poland in 1772
The First Partition of Poland took place on August 5, 1772, when Russia, Prussia, and Austria signed a treaty that divided Poland among themselves. This event marked the first of three territorial divisions of Poland, which progressively reduced the country's size until it ceased to exist after the final partition in 1795.
The First Partition occurred after Russia's impressive victories in the war against the Ottoman Turks (1768), particularly in the Danubian principalities, which alarmed Austria and threatened to enter the war against Russia. To avoid an escalation of the conflict, Prussia, ruled by Frederick II (the Great), shifted the direction of Russia's expansion from the Turkish provinces to Poland. Poland, at the time, had a structurally weak government and had been devastated by a civil war and Russian intervention since 1768, making it incapable of resisting territorial seizures.
The treaty signed by Russia, Prussia, and Austria on August 5, 1772, resulted in significant territorial and population losses for Poland. The agreement deprived Poland of approximately half of its population and about one-third of its land area, or around 81,500 square miles (211,000 square kilometers). Russia received all Polish territory east of the line formed by the Dvina and Dnieper rivers. Prussia gained the economically valuable province of Royal Prussia, excluding the cities of Gdańsk (Danzig) and Toruń, as well as northern areas of Greater Poland along the Noteć River (the Netze District) and parts of Kuyavia. Prussia's acquisition of Royal Prussia allowed it to link East Prussia and Brandenburg, reuniting the lands of the Teutonic State under a German state.
The First Partition was ratified by the Polish Sejm (legislature) on September 30, 1773, when King Stanisław August Poniatowski and the Sejm were forced to approve the territorial changes under pressure from the three partitioning powers. This ratification marked the formal acceptance of the partition by Poland, despite the country's efforts to strengthen itself through internal reforms and a new constitution in 1791. The First Partition set the stage for the subsequent partitions of Poland in 1793 and 1795, which further reduced the country's size and ultimately led to the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years.
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The Second Partition of Poland in 1793
The First Partition of Poland occurred in 1772 after Russia became involved in a war against the Ottoman Turks and won impressive victories, particularly in the Danubian principalities, alarming Austria, which threatened to enter the war against Russia. This led Frederick II (the Great) of Prussia to shift the direction of Russia's expansion towards Poland, which had a weak government and had been devastated by civil war and Russian intervention since 1768, making it incapable of resisting territorial seizures. On August 5, 1772, Russia, Prussia, and Austria signed a treaty that partitioned Poland, resulting in the loss of approximately half of Poland's population and almost one-third of its land area.
Russian and Prussian troops quickly took control of the territories they claimed, with the Polish parliament (Sejm) coerced into approving the territorial demands in the presence of Russian forces. This second partition further reduced Poland's size and population, with Russia annexing approximately 97,000 square miles (250,000 square kilometres) and Prussia taking 22,000 square miles (58,000 square kilometres). The Commonwealth lost a total of about 119,000 square miles (307,000 square kilometres) in the Second Partition, leaving it with only about one-third of its original population.
In response to the Second Partition, the Polish officer Tadeusz Kościuszko led a national uprising from March to November 1794. Russia and Prussia intervened to suppress the insurgents, and on October 24, 1795, they concluded an agreement with Austria to divide the remaining territories of the Commonwealth between their three countries, resulting in the final elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years.
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The Third Partition of Poland in 1795
The Third Partition of Poland, which took place on October 24, 1795, was the last of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The partitioning powers, Russia, Prussia, and Austria, divided the remaining territories of the Commonwealth among themselves, with Russia incorporating Courland, all Lithuanian territory east of the Neman River, and the rest of the Volhynian Ukraine; Prussia acquiring the remainder of Mazovia, including Warsaw, and a section of Lithuania west of the Neman; and Austria taking the remaining section of Little Poland, from Kraków northeastward to the arc of the Northern Bug River.
The Third Partition occurred in reaction to the unsuccessful Polish Kościuszko Uprising the previous year, which was suppressed by Russia and Prussia. The partitioning powers decided to solve the problem of increasing unrest in the remaining Commonwealth by erasing any independent Polish state from the map. On October 24, 1795, their representatives signed a treaty, dividing the remaining territories of the Commonwealth between their three countries. By the Third Partition, Prussia ended up with about 23% of the Commonwealth's population, Austria with 32%, and Russia with 45%.
The partitions of Poland were a series of territorial divisions that progressively reduced the size of Poland until, after the final partition, the state of Poland ceased to exist. The First Partition occurred in 1772 after Russia became involved in a war against the Ottoman Turks and won impressive victories, particularly in the Danubian principalities, alarming Austria, which threatened to enter the war against Russia. The Second Partition occurred in the aftermath of the Polish-Russian War of 1792 and the Targowica Confederation when Russian and Prussian troops entered the Commonwealth, and the partition treaty was signed during the Grodno Sejm on January 23, 1793 (without Austria).
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The Fourth Partition of Poland in 1815
The Fourth Partition of Poland refers to the 1815 division of the Duchy of Warsaw at the Congress of Vienna. This event marked the end of Poland's semi-autonomy, which it had briefly regained in 1807 when Napoleon created the Duchy of Warsaw. The Congress of Vienna, in turn, created the Kingdom of Poland, also known as Congress Poland or the Russian-dominated Congress Kingdom of Poland, as a puppet state of the Russian Empire.
The Fourth Partition followed the first three partitions of Poland, which took place in 1772, 1793, and 1795, and resulted in the progressive reduction of Poland's size until the state ceased to exist after the final partition. The First Partition occurred as a result of Russia's victories in the Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774), which threatened the interests of the Habsburg Empire in the region. In response, Austria considered entering the war against Russia, but King Frederick II of Prussia proposed a partition of Poland instead, with the largest share going to Austria to compensate for its recent losses. This proposal was accepted, and the first partition deprived Poland of about one-third of its land area and population.
The Second Partition of Poland occurred in 1793, following a period of popular political and legal reforms in Poland that culminated in the adoption of a liberal constitution in 1791. Both Russia and Prussia viewed these reforms as a threat and sent troops to support the conservative opposition. As a result, Poland was forced to cede territories to Prussia and Russia, reducing its size even further.
The Third Partition of Poland in 1795 ended the existence of an independent Polish-Lithuanian state for the next 123 years. This final partition gave control of the remaining Polish territories to the Habsburg monarchy, Prussia, and Russia, with Russia receiving the largest geographical area.
The term "Fourth Partition" has also been used in a temporal sense to refer to the diaspora communities that played a significant role in the political efforts to re-establish an independent Polish state after 1918. These expatriate communities, often termed Polonia, provided funding and military support to the project of regaining Polish independence.
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The Polish Uprisings
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place in 1772, 1793, and 1795. These partitions ended the existence of Poland as a sovereign state, resulting in its elimination for 123 years. The partitions were conducted by the Habsburg monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire, which divided the Commonwealth lands among themselves. The first partition occurred after Russia's war with the Ottoman Turks, which alarmed Austria, leading to the treaty signed on August 5, 1772, that partitioned Poland. The second partition occurred after the Polish-Russian War of 1792 when Russian and Prussian troops entered the Commonwealth, and the third partition took place on October 24, 1795, in reaction to the unsuccessful Polish Kościuszko Uprising.
The Kościuszko Uprising of 1794, led by the Polish officer Tadeusz Kościuszko, was a response to the Second Partition. Kościuszko's insurgent armies achieved initial successes but ultimately fell to the superior forces of the Russian Empire. The uprising led to the intervention of the Ottoman Empire, supported by Roman Catholic France and Austria. The partitioning powers, witnessing the growing unrest in the remaining Commonwealth, decided to erase any independent Polish state, and on October 24, 1795, they signed a treaty dividing the remaining territories.
Poland briefly regained semi-autonomy in 1807 when Napoleon created the Duchy of Warsaw, but this ended with the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which established the Kingdom of Poland as a Russian puppet state. This arrangement was disrupted by a Polish insurrection in 1831, after which Russia ended the kingdom's autonomy and imposed punitive measures on the Polish populace. In 1846, the Republic of Kraków was incorporated into Austria, and in 1848, the Grand Duchy of Posen was incorporated into Prussia. Finally, in 1867, Russia officially annexed Poland as part of its empire.
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Frequently asked questions
Russia, Austria and Prussia first partitioned Poland in 1772, with the Polish Sejm ratifying the partition in 1773.
Poland lost approximately half of its population and almost a third of its land area (81,500 square miles or 211,000 square km).
The partitions of Poland progressively reduced its size until, after the final partition, the state of Poland ceased to exist. The main result of the partitions was the elimination of Poland as a sovereign state, which lasted until after World War I when the Polish republic was restored in 1918.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was viewed as structurally weak and incapable of resisting territorial seizures. The three partitioning powers, Austria, Prussia and Russia, sought to maintain the regional balance of power in Central Europe and prevent conflict among themselves.
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