Tarnogród Confederation

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The Tarnogród Confederation was a confederation formed by the Polish nobility in Tarnogród in 1715 and 1716. It was directed against the Polish King August II , his reforms and his Saxon army stationed in Poland .

background

The Great Northern War hit the Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania , as part of the personal union of Saxony-Poland, particularly hard. Large parts of the kingdom succumbed to immense devastation and Swedish contributions . In large parts of the country the administration collapsed, especially in the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania there was anarchy. In order to become this master, the king brought his Saxon soldiers to Poland in 1713. In order to finance their upkeep, new taxes were levied, which were extorted from the local nobility: a method that resembled the hated Swedish approach a few years earlier. This was a clear breach of the cardinal rights of the aristocratic republic , in which only the nobility were entitled to resolve new taxes. The Polish nobility began to fight back. In the voivodeships of Lesser Poland , the first confederate resistance groups arose in 1714, which a little later expanded to include the whole country, and the Polish senators also refused to support the king.

course

On November 26, 1715, the "General Confederation" was formed in Tarnogród under the leadership of Stanisław Ledóchowski . The Confederates' goal was to defend “freedom of the noble republic” (their own privileges) and to remove Saxon troops and officials from the territory of the kingdom. Parts of the Polish Crown and Army of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defected to the rebels, while their leaders, the Grand Hetman of the Crown Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski and the Grand Hetman of Lithuania Ludwik Pociej , behaved rather neutral.

In winter the king began an offensive under the leadership of Field Marshal Jakob Heinrich von Flemming , but there was no decisive battle, only Zamość was taken . In January 1716, an armistice brokered by the Polish senators was concluded in the Galician town of Rawa Ruska , with the aim of resolving the conflict in a Sej meeting. The armistice was short-lived, however, and new confederations emerged, especially in the area of Greater Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Russian Tsar Peter I , who wanted to prevent a strengthened position of King August II in Poland-Lithuania, promised the Confederate support in the expulsion of the Saxon troops from Poland and even the disempowerment of the Saxon king.

In February 1716, the Confederates asked the Russian Tsar to mediate between them and King August. The Polish monarch agreed and in April 1716 traveled to Danzig to negotiate with the Tsar . Peace talks began in Lublin in July 1716 , but were interrupted due to the Confederate capture of Poznan . The domestic political situation of the Confederates deteriorated noticeably in the course of the year, they were also disappointed with the Russian mediator, so that they tried to negotiate directly with the king, which failed. In this situation the king personally asked the Russian tsar for military assistance in the middle of August 1716, which resulted in the invasion of 18,000-strong Russian troops into Poland (under Prince Dołgoruki).

In October 1716, Warsaw made another attempt to resolve the conflict by peaceful means. The talks were difficult, but in the end a compromise was found and a peace treaty was signed on November 3, 1716, which was confirmed in the Silent Sejm of 1717 .

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