The 1793 Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the second of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation of 1792 and was carried out by the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. It was ratified by the Polish parliament (Sejm) in 1793 (see the Grodno Sejm).
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By 1790, on the political front, the Commonwealth had deteriorated into such a helpless condition that it was successfully forced into an unnatural and ultimately deadly alliance with its enemy, Prussia. The Polish-Prussian Pact of 1790 was signed, giving false hope that the Commonwealth might have at last found an ally that would shield it while it reformed itself.[1] The May Constitution of 1791 enfranchised the bourgeoisie, established the separation of the three branches of government, and eliminated the abuses of Repnin Sejm. Those reforms prompted aggressive actions on the part of its neighbours, wary of the potential renaissance of the Commonwealth.[2][3] Once again Poland dared to reform and improve itself without Russia's permission, and once again the Empress Catherine was angered; arguing that Poland had fallen prey to the radical Jacobinism then at high tide in France, Russian forces invaded the Commonwealth in 1792.[2][3]
In the War in Defense of the Constitution, pro-Russian conservative Polish magnates, the Confederation of Targowica, fought against the Polish forces supporting the constitution, believing that Russians would help them restore the Golden Liberty.[2][3] Abandoned by their Prussian allies, Polish pro-constitution forces, faced with Targowica units and the regular Russian army, were defeated.[2][3]
Russia invaded Poland to ensure the defeat of the Polish reforms, with no overt goal of another partition (it viewed Poland as its protectorate, and saw little need in giving up chunks of Poland to other countries).[2][3][4][5] Frederick William II of Prussia, however, saw those events as an opportunity to strengthen his country. Frederick demanded from Catherine that for its abandoning Poland as a Prussia ally, and for Prussian participation in the War of the First Coalition against revolutionary France (a participation that Russia encouraged, and in which Prussia recently suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Valmy), Prussia should be compensated - preferably with parts of the Polish territory. Russia soon decided to accept the Prussian offer.[2][3]
On 23 January 1793 Prussia signed a treaty with Russia, agreeing that Polish reforms would be revoked and both countries would receive chunks of Commonwealth territory.[3] Russian and Prussian military took control of the territories they claimed soon afterward, with Russian troops already present, and Prussian troops meeting only nominal resistance.[2][3] In 1793, deputies to the Grodno Sejm, last Sejm of the Commonwealth, in the presence of the Russian forces, agreed to the Russian and Prussian territorial demands. The Grodno Sejm became infamous not only as the last sejm of the Commonwealth, but because its deputies were bribed and coerced by the Russian soldiers, as Russia and Prussia wanted official, legal approval from Poland of their new demands.[2][6]
Russia received the Minsk Voivodeship, Kiev Voivodeship, Bracław Voivodeship, Podole Voivodeship and parts of the Vilnius Voivodeship, Nowogródek Voivodeship, Brest Litovsk Voivodeship and the Volhynian Voivodeship (in total, 250 000 km²). This was accepted by the Grodno Sejm on 22 July. Russia reorganized its newly acquired territories into Minsk Governorate, Podolia Governorate and Volhynian Governorate.
Prussia received the cities of Gdańsk (Danzig) and Toruń (Thorn), and Gniezno Voivodeship, Poznań Voivodeship, Sieradz Voivodeship, Kalisz Voivodeship, Płock Voivodeship, Brześć Kujawski Voivodeship, Inowrocław Voivodeship, Dobrzyń Land, and parts of the Kraków Voivodeship, Rawa Voivodeship and Masovian Voivodeship (in total, 58 000 km²). This was accepted by the Grodno Sejm on 25 September. Prussia organized its newly acquired territories into South Prussia.
After the Second Partition, Commonwealth lost about 308 000 km², being reduced to 217 000 km². It lost about 2 million people; only about 3.4 million people remained in Poland, an estimated fourth of the pre-First Partition (1772), estimated as over 14 million.
Targowica confederates, who did not expect another partition, and the king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who joined them near the end, both lost much prestige and support.[2][3] The reformers, on the other hand, were attracting increasing support, and in 1794 the Kościuszko Uprising begun. The Uprising was eventually defeated, resulting in the final Third Partition of Poland.[2]