The Prussian partition refers to the former territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia.
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The Kingdom of Prussia (known from the second half of the 19th century as the German Empire) acquired Polish territories in all three partitions; it was also their major instigator.
Major historical events of the Prussian partition include:
The Kingdom of Prussia divided the former territories of the Commonwealth it obtained into:
In the first partition, Prussia received 36,000 km² and about 600,000 people. In the second partition, Prussia received 58,000 km² and about 1 million people. In the third, similar to the second, Prussia gained 55,000 km² and 1 million people. Overall, Prussia gained about 20 percent of the former Commonwealth territory 149 000km²) and about 23 percent of the population (2.6 million people).[1] From the geographical perspective, most of the territories annexed by Prussia formed the province of Greater Poland (Wielkopolska).
Over time the administrative divisions changed. Important Prussian administrative divisions of Polish lands included:
Poles in the Prussian partition were subject to extensive Germanization policies (Kulturkampf, Hakata).[2] Frederick the Great brought up 300.000 colonists on territories he conquered to facilitate Germanization.[3]
That policy, however, had an opposite effect to that which the German leadership had expected: instead of becoming assimilated, the Polish minority in Germany became more organized, and its national consciousness grew.[2] Of the three partitions, the education system in Prussia was on a much higher level than in Austria or Russia.[2]
From the economic perspective, the territories of the Prussian partitions were the most developed, thanks to the progressive policies of the Prussian government.[2] The German government supported efficient farming, industry, financial institutions and transport.[2]