Historical calendar: the anniversary of the death of a associate of the Masonry and leader of the Targowice Confederation – Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki.
Today in our calendar we will look at this traitor's résumé.
He came from 1 of the richest magnate families in Rzeczpospolita. As a boy of Franz Salez Potocki and his wife Anna, he could number on the most crucial offices in the country. Unfortunately, despite his wealth, he was not a happy person. Raised and educated by despotic parents, he felt sedated and limited at all turn.
An crucial event in his life was the affair he entered in 1770 with the mediocre (compared to Potockis) 16-year-old noblewoman Gertrude Komorowska. Gertrude became pregnant and the young married secretly. erstwhile the news came to Happy’s parents, they had a pregnant girl kidnapped and divorced. At the time of the court boots' robbery, she was killed and her body was thrown into the river. After learning the destiny of Gertrude, a young magnate attempted suicide, and depressions accompanied him for the remainder of his life.
Unable to get out of the trauma, he threw himself into politics. He utilized his gigantic assets to pay for many clients. So far, his household practice had ordered him to decision on to opposition to the Camp of Familia and the King, but he did not. For many years, he laundered among the parties, building the image of a politician and a patriot afraid about the welfare of his homeland. In fact, he was a man of vague views, of which only rusophilia can be considered permanent.
He frequently met with Tsarese envoys and passed Russian troops through his estates. In 1774, he became an ensign of the large crown and received the Order of St. Stanislaus. In subsequent years he was promoted to the Russian Voivodeship (1782) and Crown Artillery General (1788). He was part of the Committee on National Education and the Continuing Council. He married Josephine Amalia of the Monks, with whom he had eleven children. He established his office in Tulczyn on Podol. He was a good host, caring for the economical improvement of his properties.
In 1784, he exhibited and handed over the Polish infantry regiment to the Polish authorities and 24 guns, which greatly increased his social prestige. At the same time, he entered esoteric and Masonic circles. Around 1780 he was associated with the Warsaw lodge of the Temple of Izis. He then became part of the free-mural union called the large East National of Poland. In 1784, he became the master of this lodge. He held this position for 4 consecutive terms, until 1789. In Tulczyń, in turn, he established his own lodge in 1786 called actual Patriotism.
With the ideals of enlightenment, he switched to utmost republican positions in which he as 1 of the first Polish politicians proclaimed the request to destruct the monarchy. He began working with Ignacy Potocki and Franciszek Branicki, with whom he attacked royal initiatives aiming to strengthen central authorities. He favoured the "brothers" of the lodge to state posts, in exchange for which respective panegirists wrote in his honor. His patriotic and republican attitude of the Happy praised Hugo Kołłataj himself in “The Letters of Anonym.”
An alliance with Ignacy Potocki broke down in 1787 erstwhile Jęsny won a race for the graces of Grigorija Potomkin and Catherine's Tsarica. Ignacy then went to positions hostile to Russia and reconciled with King Poniatowski. Later, the conflict between cousins intensified. You in Tulczyń continued the alliance with Branicki and together with him offered Petersburg an alliance against Turkey. During the large Sejm, he defended the existence of the Continuing Council and its Military Department, following the advice of Ambassador Stackelberg.
Eventually, Ignacy Potocki's ideas were pushed through. The council was abolished, and fortunate of the model patriot became the object of mockery and anonymous pashquila. This made him resent the improvement agenda. He shortly became their fierce opponent and renewed his erstwhile contacts with the Russian general. Attacked by the royal camp, he resigned any of his public duties and went abroad to Vienna. From there, he sold calls criticizing the alliance with Prussia and a draft Constitution which, by introducing the inheritance of the throne, strengthened his enemies' ideals monarchism.
His view was that... strong royal power is in his opinion incompatible with the interests of his neighbours and could lead to unrest in this part of the continent. He advocated the abolition of the Crown and the introduction of a federation of heavy independent provinces.
In early 1791, he moved to Paris, where he reportedly joined the club of the Jacobins (possibly it was besides about another Potocki). In spring, he began an exchange of letters with Pothimkin, with whom he discussed plans to overthrow the reforms. According to the Czarski project, he was to take the lead of Confederates fighting to reconstruct erstwhile rights and freedoms. In autumn, he left for Jass, where he had a conference with Branicki and the Russians Vasily Popow and Alexander Bezborodko. He besides had an affair with the beautiful Sophia Witt, his future 3rd wife.
In the news of conchachts with Tsarian envoys, the patriotic camp called him to return to Poland, and erstwhile he refused to take distant his general rank and command of artillery. Happy left for St. Petersburg where he and another malcontents began to search armed intervention. On April 27, 1792, he signed an act of confederation at which he headed as a marshal. This act was announced 3 weeks later in Targowice, Ukraine.
The fortunate masked his decisive Russian participation in the full intrigue. He besides faked Confederate papers giving them incorrect dates and places of issue. He issued sharp universes against supporters of Constitution 3 May. Among another things, he ordered the ban on carrying Virtuti Militari awards and confiscation of property of people who did not support Targowice. On his return he became a general of crown artillery and arranged a draft of his own constitution, introducing a purely republican strategy in Poland.
At the command of the Russian, he deployed subordinate troops of Polish troops so that they would not impede the making of a fresh partition, which he did not believe in. erstwhile it turned out that it was going to be cut down, he fell into dismay. He wrote a universal against the Prussians and gave power over the army of the Hetmans of Rzewusz and Kossakowski. In 1793, he left for Hamburg where he played for the next 2 years. Pil to death, trying to drown out the conscience and awareness of the disaster he caused.
On September 9, 1794, he was sentenced to death by the criminal court of the Kosciuszko Revolution. In response, he renounced the title of general of the Polish army and wrote to Catherine II a request to join the Tsar army. He left for St. Petersburg and then Tulczyn.
After the abdication of Stanisław August Poniatowski, he stated that he was no longer a Pole but a Russian and he no longer wants to talk about the country and nation that belong to the past. He spent the next years of his life looking after his property and embellishing the alleged "Zophiówka" or a peculiar park founded for his fresh wife. After detecting her affair with his son, he fell into the limit of the madness of a stalker maniac. At the same time, he was associated with the sect of “New Israel” by Tadeusz Granianka.
He died on March 14, 1805.
Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki as the chief founder and marshal of the trade union became synonymous with national betrayal. Interestingly, his political actions were not simply driven by rusophilia and competition with a comparative of Ignacy. He fought the reforms of the large Sejm mainly by his fanatical attachment to democratisation and hostility towards the monarchy. Happy is no uncertainty besides a tragic figure over whom the case of Gertrude’s murdered pregnant wife lay.
Previous entry from our calendar is available Here..
