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Currently Playing: Prelude to the Partitions: The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th Century

If you like my videos and want to support me, then you can do that here: https://www.patreon.com/c/SirManateee Thank you :) Tips: https://ko-fi.com/sirmanatee The Polish Partitions in the late 18th century were one of the most drastic border changes in European history. Within just two decades, Russia, Prussia and Austria carved up the massive Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth among themselves. It would take one and a half centuries before an independent Polish state would emerge again. But how was this possible? In this episode, we're going to take a look at the prelude to the First Polish Partition in 1772. We're going to examine Poland-Lithuania's internal flaws, why it was so difficult to pass any kind of reform and how its neighbours abused those powers for their own purposes. It's going to be a journey spanning more than a hundred years of history, so prepare for a long and exciting ride ;) Literature: - Davies, Norman: God's Playground. A History of Poland, Volume I, The Origins to 1795, Revised Edition, New York 2005. - Głuszkowski, Piotr: Polish-Russian Relations in Stanisław-August Poniatowski’s Time. The Partitions of Poland, in: Yearbook of the Institute of East-Central Europe 16 (2018), Nr. 2, pp. 87-104. - Heyde, Jürgen: Geschichte Polens, 5th Edition, München 2023. - Lukowski, Jerzy: The Partitions of Poland 1772-1793-1795, London & New York 1999. - Müller, Michael G.: Die Teilungen Polens 1772-1793-1795, München 1984. - Perłakowski, Adam: Between Liberty and Crisis. The Sejm of the Commonwealth during the Reign of the Wettin Dynasty on the Polish Throne in 1697–1763, in: The Sejm Review 167 (2021), pp. 255–285. - Schmidt-Rösler, Andrea: Vor den Teilungen. Der »Ewige Friede« (1768) zwischen Polen und Russland, in: Publikationsportal Europäische Friedensverträge, hrsg. vom Institut für Europäische Geschichte, Mainz 2008, Sections 1–15, https://www.ieg-friedensvertraege.de/publikationsportal/schmidt-roesler-andrea-teilungen-2008 (last accessed on 16.09.2025). - Zielińska, Zofia: Poland between Prussia and Russia in the Eighteenth Century, in: Fiszman, Samuel (Ed.): Constitution and Reform in Eighteenth Century Poland. The Constitution of 3 May 1791, Bloomington & Indianapolis 1997 [Online-Version], Chapter Five, https://publish.iupress.indiana.edu/read/0218d762-6267-420c-893ce01fd963f4e9/section/5db21be8-9549-4175-83f6-f657dcb40713#ch5 (last accessed on 15.09.2025). Chapters: 0:00 Intro 1:30 The 'Deluge' 3:52 The Flaws of Poland-Lithuania 7:36 The Great Northern War 15:27 Three Eagles 20:53 Attempts at Reform 27:47 'Good old Saxon Days' 29:46 Stanisław August Poniatowski 34:50 'The Eternal Treaty' 40:19 Road to the First Partition 42:45 Outro