Also known as the Połaniec Manifesto (Polish, Uniwersał połaniecki), the Proclamation was issued by Tadeusz Kosciuszko on May 7, 1794 near the city of Połaniec on the upper Vistula, on behalf of the ‘Country’s Government for the Commonwealth of the Two Nations’. A few weeks earlier, on April 4, 1794, Kościuszko’s troops had defeated the… Continue reading Proclamation of Połaniec
During the reign of the last king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski (Stanisław II Augustus), daring attempts at internal reform were carried out in order to avert disaster for the Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth). A promising opportunity arose with the Sejm that deliberated between 1788 and 1792, as it was a “confederated Sejm”, meaning that unanimity was… Continue reading The Constitution of the 3rd of May (the Government Statute)
As a result of the growing belief in the existence of witches and – less often – sorcerers as those who acted against people and used the help of the Devil, many witch trials took place in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe. The cases focused on two spheres of witches’ activity: the religious one… Continue reading The abolishment of torture and death penalty in witch trials
Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus in 1773, which forced changes in the organisation of education in the Commonwealth since it was precisely the Society that was primarily responsible for education at the primary and secondary level in the country. The establishment of the Commission of National Education (Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, KEN) was… Continue reading Universal of 24 October 1773 issued by the Commission of National Education
