Between the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation. Correspondence and Political Writings of Primate Michał Jerzy Poniatowski from 1791-1793

Between the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation , concerns the period that weighed on the historical memory of Stanisław August's brother and closest collaborator. Poniatowski's separation from public opinion began at the beginning of the Four-Year Sejm.

The Primate, known for his pro-Russian orientation, decided to leave Warsaw in September 1789 and spent many months abroad. Summoned by Stanisław August to return after the adoption of the Constitution of May 3, he appeared in the Polish capital in August 1791. Having assured the members of the Sejm that the Government Act of May 3 had increased the prestige of the Republic in Europe, Poniatowski quickly returned to his critical attitude towards parliament. The turning point was the bill to sell starosties, introduced to the chamber in December 1791 and definitively adopted several months later. The Primate saw it as an attack on the sacred right to property, bringing the Polish state closer to the models of the French Revolution that were repulsive to him; however, he was unable to prevent the bill from being passed.

The primate was badly assessed

Book Between the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation convinces that Michał Poniatowski's critical attitude towards the actions of the Four-Year Sejm led to unfounded conclusions that he supported the ideas of the Targowica leaders. The actual relations between Szczęsny Potocki and Józef Kossakowski and the royal brother are the struggle undertaken by the primate to save the state. The basis for the findings of this dissertation was the discovery by its author of a large fragment of Primate Poniatowski's archive in the Kraków archive of the Missionary Priests in Stradom. Angela Soltys publishes the most important files in the form of an annex at the end of the book. Its author also found previously unused fragments of Stanisław August's archive, showing the broader background of the activities of the head of the Catholic Church in Poland. Regardless of this, she used the literature that had accumulated for research on the Targowica period since the times of Władysław Smoleński and Wacław Tokarz.

The work presented here contributes many new facts to the current state of research. It shows the complexity of the situation and the dramatic struggle for maintaining the state waged by its helmsmen – Stanisław August and Primate Michał Poniatowski . Although in the eyes of public opinion both are considered submissive tools of Russia, the dissertation proves how wrong these assessments are. It is also an important warning against a hasty, simplified vision of the events that took place at the time of the erasure of the Polish state from the map of Europe.

Zofia Zielinska

The book was set with Monotype Bulmer & Monotype Bell and printed on Century Laid cotton paper. Hand-bound in half leather, made by Magdalena Bulanda.

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