page_title: History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795)
section_title: National revival
hierarchical_section_title: History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795) / Reforms and partitions during the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski (1764–1795) / National revival
caption_attribution_description: Adoption of the Polish-Lithuanian Constitution of May 3, 1791. The painting depicts King Stanislaus Augustus together with members of the Grand Sejm and inhabitants of Warsaw entering St John’s Cathedral in order to swear in the new national constitution just after it had been adopted by the Grand Sejm in the Royal Castle visible in the background. May 3rd Constitution was the first written national constitution in Europe, and the world’s second, after the United States Constitution. The May 3rd Constitution was adopted by the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on May 3, 1791
context_page_description: The early modern era of Polish history follows the late Middle Ages. Historians use the term early modern to refer to the period beginning in approximately 1500 AD and lasting until around 1800.
  The Nihil novi act adopted by the Polish diet in 1505 transferred legislative power from the king to the diet. This event marked the beginning of the period known as the "Nobles' Democracy" or "Nobles' Commonwealth". The state was ruled by the "free and equal" Polish nobility or szlachta, albeit in intense, and at times destabilizing, competition with the Jagiellon and then elective kings.
  The Union of Lublin of 1569 constituted the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a more closely merged continuation of the already existing personal union of the Crown of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The beginning of the Commonwealth coincided with the period of Poland's greatest territorial expansion, power, civilizational advancement and prosperity. The Polish–Lithuanian state had become an influential player in Europe and a vital cultural entity, spreading Western culture eastward.
context_section_description: The first partition in 1772 did not directly threaten the stability of the Polish-Lithuanian state. Poland still retained extensive territory that included the Polish heartlands. Moreover, the shock of the annexations made clear the dangers of decay in government institutions, creating a body of opinion favorable to reform along the lines of the European Enlightenment. King Stanisław August supported the progressive elements in the government and promoted the ideas of foreign political figures such as Edmund Burke and George Washington. Polish intellectuals studied and discussed Enlightenment philosophers such as Montesquieu and Rousseau. During the period of Enlightenment in Poland, the concept of democratic institutions for all classes was accepted in the more progressive circles of Polish society. Education reform included the establishment of the first ministry of education in Europe (the Commission of National Education). Taxation and the army underwent thorough reform, and central executive government was established as the Permanent Council. Landholders emancipated large numbers of peasants, although there was no official government decree. Polish cities and business enterprises, in decline for many decades, were revived by the influence of the Industrial Revolution, especially in mining and textiles.
  Stanisław August's process of renovation reached its climax when, after three years of intense debate, the "Great Sejm" produced the Constitution of May 3, 1791, which historian Norman Davies called "the first constitution of its kind in Europe". Conceived in the liberal spirit of the contemporaneous document in the United States, the constitution recast Poland-Lithuania as a hereditary monarchy and got rid of many of the eccentricities and antiquated features of the old system of government. The new constitution abolished the individual veto in parliament; provided a separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government; and established "people's sovereignty" (for the noble and bourgeois classes). Although never fully implemented, the Constitution of May 3 gained a cherished position in the Polish political heritage; tradition marks the anniversary of its passage as the country's most important civic holiday.
caption: Constitution of May 3, 1791 has just been adopted. Jan Matejko crowded onto this painting numerous personalities of the reform era.
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