Colonization attempts by Poland

This article discusses Poland's involvement in the acquisition of colonial territories outside Europe. You may also be looking for: territorial changes of Poland or polonization.

Poland never formally had any colonial territories, however over its history the acquisition of such territories was at times contemplated, but never attempted. The closest Poland came to acquiring such territories was indirectly through the actions of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a fief of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Polish nobility was interested in colonies as early as the mid-16th century. In a contractual agreement, signed with king Henri de Valois (see also Henrician Articles), the szlachta secured permission to settle in some oversea territories of the Kingdom of France, but after de Valois's decision to opt for the crown of France and return to his homeland, the idea was abandoned.[1]

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia

On the basis of the Union of Vilnius (28 November 1561), Gotthard Kettler, the last Master of the Livonian Order, created the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in the Baltics and became its first Duke. It was a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Soon afterward, by the Union of Lublin (1 July 1569), the Grand Duchy became the part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.[2]

Some colonial territories for the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia were acquired by its third Duke and Gotthard's grandson Jacob Kettler. In his youth and during his studies abroad he was inspired by the wealth being brought back to various western European countries from their colonies. As a result, Kettler established one of the largest merchant fleets in Europe, with its main harbours in Windau (today Ventspils), and Libau (today Liepāja).[2] The Commonwealth never concerned itself with the Duchy of Courland's colonial aspirations, even though in 1647 Kettler met with king Władysław IV Waza, and suggested creation of a joint trade company, which would be active in India. However, the ailing king was not interested, and Kettler decided to act on his own.[1]

New Courland

Trinidad and Tobago on a world map

The first colony founded by Jacob was the New Courland (Neu-Kurland) on the Caribbean island of Tobago. However, three initial attempts to establish a settlement (in 1637, 1639 and 1642) failed. The fourth was founded in 1654, but eventually in 1659 was taken over by a competing Dutch colony, also founded on the island in 1654. Courland regained the island after the Treaty of Oliva in 1660 but abandoned it in 1666. It briefly attempted to reestablish colonies there again in 1668 and in 1680 (that lasted to 1683). The final attempt in 1686 lasted till 1690.[2]

Gambia

Courland settlements in Africa

In 1651 Courland bought James Island (then called St. Andrews Island by the Europeans) from a local tribe, establishing Fort James there and renaming the island. Courland also took other local land including St. Mary Island (modern day Banjul) and Fort Jillifree. The colony exported sugar, tobacco, coffee, cotton, ginger, indigo, rum, cocoa, tortoise shells, tropical birds and their feathers. The governors had very good relations with the locals, but were in conflict with other European powers, primarily Denmark, Sweden, and England. England eventually took over Courland's African territories in 1661.[2]

Toco

The final Courish attempt to establish a colony involved the settlement near modern Toco on Trinidad, Lesser Antilles.[2]

Partitioned Poland

Cameroon expedition

In 1882, almost a century after Poland was partitioned and lost its independence, Polish nobleman and officer of Russian Imperial Fleet, Stefan Szolc-Rogoziński organized an expedition to Cameroon.[3][4] Officially that was an exploration expedition, but unofficially the expedition was looking for a place a Polish colony could be founded.[5] He had no official support from the Russian Empire, nor from its puppet Congress Poland, but was backed by a number of influential Poles, including Boleslaw Prus, and Henryk Sienkiewicz. On 13 December 1882, accompanied by Leopold Janikowski and Klemens Tomczek, Rogoziński left French port of Le Havre, aboard a ship Lucja Malgorzata, with French and Polish flags. The expedition was a failure, and he returned to Europe, trying to collect more money for his project. Finally, after second expedition, Rogoziński found himself in Paris, where he died 1 December 1896.

Meanwhile, Cameroon was being taken over by Germany and Great Britain. In 1884 Rogoziński signed an agreement with a British representative, who was to provide protection to his settlement, but next year, at the Congress of Berlin, Great Britain ceded its Cameroon possessions to Germany (see Kamerun).

Second Polish Republic

Poland regained independence in the aftermath of World War I. While colonization was never a major focus of the Second Polish Republic, certain organizations like the Maritime and Colonial League supported the idea of creating Polish colonies. The Maritime and Colonial League traces its origins to the Polska Bandera (Polish Banner) organization founded on 1 October 1918.[6] The League supported purchases of lands by Polish emigrants in places like Brazil and Liberia.[6] The League became highly influential in shaping the government's policies with regards to Polish Merchant Marine, despite its long and ongoing campaign (publications, exhibitions, speeches, lobbying, etc.) and public support, it has however never succeeded in following up with its plans to obtain a colonial territory for Poland.[6] Furthermore, in 1926, Colonial Society (Towarzystwo Kolonizacyjne) was founded in Warsaw. Its task was to direct Polish emigrants to South America, and the Society soon became active there, mostly in Brazilian state of Espirito Santo.[7]

Some historians, such as Tadeusz Piotrowski, have characterized government policies supporting interwar Polish settlement in modern-day Ukraine and Belarus as colonization (see Osadnik).[8]

The following regions were considered for Polish colonization during the interwar period:

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Polska na koloniach, Focus magazine, 07/05/09
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 (in Polish) Dariusz Kołodziejczyk, CZY RZECZPOSPOLITA MIAŁA KOLONIE W AFRYCE I AMERYCE? Archived 24 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine., Mówią wieki
  3. ↑ EXPEDITION Out to Sea, 4 September 2003, Warsaw Voice
  4. ↑ Rogoziński Stefan, Encyklopedia WIEM
  5. ↑ (in Polish) Stefan Szolc-Rogoziński (1861-1896)
  6. 1 2 3 (in English) Taras Hunczak, Polish Colonial Ambitions in the Inter-War Period, Slavic Review, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Dec., 1967), pp. 648-656, JSTOR
  7. ↑ Jerzy Mazurek. Kraj a emigracja: ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego, page 151
  8. ↑ Tadeusz Piotrowski (1998). Poland's holocaust: ethnic strife, collaboration with occupying forces and genocide in the Second Republic, 1918-1947. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0371-4.
  9. ↑ Jerzy Mazurek. Kraj a emigracja: ruch ludowy wobec wychodźstwa chłopskiego, page 152
  10. ↑ Piotr Puchalski, THE POLISH MISSION TO LIBERIA, 1934–1938: CONSTRUCTING POLAND’ S COLONIAL IDENTITY*, The Historical Journal 1-26, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Madagascar Plan". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  12. 1 2 3 Vicki Caron (1999). Uneasy Asylum: France and the Jewish Refugee Crisis, 1933-1942. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4377-8.
  13. ↑ Joseph Marcus (1983). Social and political history of the Jews in Poland, 1919-1939. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-90-279-3239-6.
  14. ↑ Michal Jarnecki, Madagascar in Polish Colonial Ideas and Plans, published in Nationalities Affairs (28/2006)
  15. ↑ Raymond Leslie Buell (2007). Poland - Key to Europe. READ BOOKS. ISBN 978-1-4067-4564-1.

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