Everything about The Bar Confederation totally explained
The
Bar Confederation (
Polish:
Konfederacja barska; 1768–1772) was an association of
Polish nobles (
szlachta) formed at the fortress of
Bar in
Podolia in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against aggression by the
Russian Empire and against King
Stanisław August Poniatowski and Polish reformers who were attempting to limit the power of the Commonwealth's
magnates (wealthy
szlachta). The founders of the Bar Confederation included the magnates
Adam Krasiński, Bishop of
Kamenets,
Kazimierz Pułaski and
Michał Krasiński. Despite several victories against the Russians, the Confederation only succeeded in helping precipitate the
First Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Some historians consider the Bar Confederation the first
Polish uprising(External Link
).
History
In 1767-1768,
Russian forces forced the Polish parliament (
Sejm) to pass resolutions they demanded. In response to that, and particularly the arrest and exile of several dissidents, namely
bishop of Kiev Józef Andrzej Załuski(External Link),
bishop of Cracow Kajetan Sołtyk(External Link), and
hetman Wacław Rzewuski with his son Seweryn, Polish magnates
Adam Krasiński, Bishop of
Kamenets,
Kazimierz Pułaski and
Michał Krasiński and their allies decided to form a
confederatio - a legal military association opposing the government.
King Stanisław August Poniatowski was at first inclined to mediate between the Confederates and Russia, the latter represented by the Russian envoy to
Warsaw, Prince
Nikolai Repnin; but finding this impossible, he sent a force against them under
Grand Hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki and two generals, who captured
Bar. However, the simultaneous outbreak of the
Koliyivschyna in
Ukraine stimulated the extension of the Confederation throughout the eastern provinces of Poland and even into
Lithuania. The Confederates appealed for help from abroad and contributed to bringing about war between Russia and the
Ottoman Empire (
Russo-Turkish War, 1768-1774). So serious did the situation become that King
Frederick II of Prussia advised Tsarina
Catherine II of Russia to come to terms with the Confederates.
Confederation forces under
Ignacy Malczewski,
Michał Jan Pac and Prince
Karol Radziwiłł roamed the land in every direction, won several engagements with the Russians, and at last, utterly ignoring the King, sent envoys on their own account to the principal European powers. In 1770 the
Council of Bar Confederation transferred from its original seat in
Silesia to
Hungary, whence it conducted diplomatic negotiations with
France,
Austria and
Turkey with a view to forming a league against Russia. Council proclaimed the king dethroned
October 22 1770. The court of
Versailles sent
Charles François Dumouriez to act as an aid to the Confederates, and he helped them to organize their forces. Meanwhile, king Stanisław August waivered and was about to accede to the Confederation, but was kidnapped in unclear circumstances for a few days, presumably by confederates, in Warsaw in 1771.
The king thereupon reverted to the Russian faction, and for this act targeting their king, the Confederation lost much of the support it had in Europe. Nevertheless its army, thoroughly reorganized by Dumouriez, maintained the fight for several more years; the last traces of it didn't disappear until 1772 (defenders of the
Wawel Castle in
Kraków lasted until on April 28th; fortress in
Tyniec capitulated on until July 13th; fortress in
Częstochowa, on 18th August; perhaps the last stronghold of the confederates was in the monastery in
Zagórz, which fell only on the 28th November 1772).
Bar Confederates taken as prisoners by the Russians, together with their families, formed the first major group of
Polish people exiled to Siberia.
Legacy
Some historians consider the Bar Confederation the first
Polish uprising(External Link). Until the times of the Bar Confederation, confederates, especially operating with the aid of outside forces, were seen as antagonists fighting against the
Golden Liberty. But in 1770, during the times that the
Russian Army marched through the theoretically independent Commonwealth, and foreign powers forced the
Sejm to agree to the
First Partition of Poland, the confederates started to create an image of Polish exiled soldiers, the last of those who remained true to their Motherland, an image that would in the next two centuries lead to the creation of
Polish Legions and other forces in exile. The Confederation has generated contradicting views among historians, with some blaming it for causing the First Partition, while others noting it was the first serious national military effort trying to restore Polish independence.
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