Reform of Renewal? : The Impact ofthe Napoleonie State on the Provincial Soeiety ofthe Department Lubelski

Christopher Blackburn

Reform of Renewal? : The Impact

ofthe Napoleonie State on the

Provincial Soeiety ofthe Department

Lubelski

Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio F, Historia 50, 133-156

1995

A N N A L E S

R eform o f R e n ew a l? The Im p a ct o f the N a p o le o n ic S ta te on the

P ro v in c ia l S o cie ty o f the D e p a rtm e n t Lubelski^

R eform a czy odnow a? W pływ y p raw odaw stw a n ap o leo ń sk ieg o na sp o łeczeń stw o pro w in cjo n aln e D ep artam en tu L ubelskiego

During its brief existence, the D uchy o f W arsaw w itnessed the dram atic in­ troduction o f an exten sive program o f N apoleonic reforms. H ow ever, o f the hun­ dreds o f French changes, it w as ultimately the abolition o f serfdom w hich tou­ ched the majority o f Polish society by altering the traditional relationship b e­ tween noble landlords and their agrarian work force. Polish landow ners su c c e s­ sfully worked through the N apoleonic constitution and legal cod e to rescind vir­ tually all established peasant rights and legal protection; thus creating a new m o­ dern serfdom w hich w ould last w ell into the nineteenth century.2 A fter rem oving these securities the szlach ta then typically m oved to increase the various feudal rents and obligations, w ithout corresponding enlargem ents o f the peasants hol­

1 Abbreviations used: A A L - Archiwum Archidiecezjalne w Lublinie, A B S Brzesów z S iek ierzy n iec (A PL), AG AD - Archiwum G łów ne Akt Dawnych (W arszawa), A L - A rchiw um Lubomirskich (A P L ), A N — A rchives Nationale (Paris), A O Z - A rchiwum Ordynacji Zam oyskiej (A PL), A P K , - A rch iw u m Państwow e w Krakowie, A PL - A rchiw um Państwow e w Lublinie, A S - A rchiw um S z lu b o w sk ich (A PL), A W H - A rchiwum W oronieckich z Huszlewa (A PL), A Z - A rchiw um Zam oyskich (A G A D ), K R P iS - Kom isja R ządow a Przychodu i S karbu (A G A D ), T S - T eki A nto n ieg o S ch n eid ra (A P K ).

2 S ee J. W illaum e: Z dziejó w w si lubelskiej p r z e d uw ła szcze n iem , „A nn. U niv. M ariae C urie- S k ło d o w s k a " , se c tio F, vol. X , 1955, s. 7 9 -1 5 4 a n d .: W ieś lu b e lsk a p r z e d u w ła s z c z e n ie m , L u b ­ lin 1946.

dings. Ironically, the constitution and costly cam paigns o f N apoleon, w hich w ere in part meant to abolish all forms o f feudalism and insure a system o f meritocra­ cy, did neither in the D uchy o f Warsaw. U ltim ately, traditional Polish serfdom w as transformed from an oral agreement into a contractual arrangement, and w as all the m ore onerous and entrenched because o f this change; w h ile, the Polish ari­ stocracy, rather than other more talented and landless sectors o f so ciety , used its vast landholdings to help reassert itself as the dom inate stratum in Polish society.

For many years now historians o f Poland have debated questions concerning the em ergence and nature o f Polish serfdom. W hile all questions are far from be­ ing answered, a general consensus now exists about several key elem ents o f this P olish-style feudalism . It is com m only held that the Polish system o f serfdom

(u stró jfo lw a rczn o -p a ń szczyźn ia n y) began in the late-fifteenth century and initial­

ly w as in response to a rapidly grow ing dom estic market, but ultim ately w as fu­ elled by an ever-grow ing international market3 Thus, the somewhat premature as­ sum ption that the Polish peasantry w as bound to the land as a direct result o f the Peace o f Toruń in 1466, which marked the defeat o f the T eutonic Knights and granted Polish landowners assess to the Baltic S e a ’s grow ing W est European gra­ in trade, has been all but discarded as the primary catalyst o f Polish enscrfm ent.4 Over the follow in g centuries Poland w itnessed the developm ent o f an increasin­ gly com p lex system o f latifundia-like estates, known as fo lw a rk s into adm inistra­ tive unit called klucz. A s the sale o f Polish grains nourished in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the aristocratic Sejm su ccessfu lly curtailed the legal rights o f their peasant-laborers (chłopi) and tied them to the land through m ore than six ­ ty legislative edicts.5 After the transformation o f the traditionally free peasantry into bound serfs, they were then subject to an overexpanding series o f early

tribu-3 L. Zytkowicz: The p e a sa n t’s fa rm and the landlord's fa rm in P o la n d fr o m th e 16th to th e m id d le o f th e 18th cen tu ry, „The Journal o f E uropean E co n o m ic H isto ry ", 1972, 1, s. 1 3 5 -1 3 8 ; M alow ist: Z zag a d n ień p o p y tu na p ro d u k ty kra jó w nadbałtyckich w E u ro p ie Z a c h o d n iej, „P rzegląd H isto ry ­ czn y ", 1959, L, s. 4. F or an introduction to the phenom enon o f E ast E uropean and P olish serfdom see J. B lum : The rise o f serfdom in E astern E urope, „The A m erican H istorical R ev iew ", 1957, LX1I, 4 , s. 8 0 7 -8 3 6 , and M anteuffel: O n P o lish fe u d a lism , „M ediaevalia et H u m an istica", 1964, 16, s. 9 4 -1 0 4 .

4 Several authors have noted that the large estates o f Central P oland d id not begin m aking reg u ­ lar grain sh ip m en ts to G dańsk ports until the late-sixteenth cen tu ry , sp ecifically 1582. S ee Z y tk o ­ w icz: op. c it., s. 137 i n.; A. W aw rzyńczyk: P ro b lem spadku w ydajności d ó b r P a b ia n ic e w I I pol. X V I п ., „Studia z dziejów gospodarstw a w ie jsk ie g o ”, 1970, s. 7 5 -7 6 ; and J. M ałecki: The Vistula a n d P o la n d ’s tra d e in the X V th a n d X V IIth century, „The Journal o f E uropean E co n o m ic H isto ry ", s. 1 9 3 -1 9 8 .

tes (d a n in y ) and corvees p a ń s z c z y z n y ) that b ecam e the e c o n o m ic and so cia l foundation o f the former ’’Republic o f N obles”. In this system serfs had practically no rights or opportunity for legal redress therefore it w as relatively sim p le for landowners to gradually increase feudal obligations. O riginally, for every w łoka (1 6 .8 hectares) held by the serf he w as required to work one day per w eek on the landlord’s estate, how ever, this ratio eventually clim bed to six days o f work per w eek for the sam e amount o f land.6 Under this elaborate feudal structure the londlord invested virtually no capital and expenditures w ere m inim al, sin ce the serf w as required to maintain his ow n beasts o f burden, tools, and all structures on the property. Furthermore, the only paym ent the serf received for his work on the noble estate w as the plot o f land he occupied as a lessee.7 The right o f the p e­ asant to work his property, and not be evicted from it, w as the only real benefit this system held for the serf, though the question o f land tenure remained an unwritten practice until the late-eighteenth century.

A s the conditions o f Polish serfdom w orsened over the years, so did the rela­ tionship betw een aristocratic landowners and their pesasant w ork force. By the eighteenth century anti-feudal sentim ents w ere prevalent am ong the Polish p eas­ antry, particularly along the eastern boundaries o f the R epublic. The traditionally East Galician region o f Z am ojszczyzn a held numerous runaway serfs from Ukrai­ ne, many o f w hom w ere instrumental in dissem inating radical anti-feudalism to the Polish peasantry.4 In the year o f France’s Great R evolution, Ukrainian pe­ asants rose against their lords, "falling on manors and killing Polish n ob les.” 10 The landed elites o f the region, including Lubelszczyzna, lived "everyday in fear” o f peasant rebellions and ’’did not sleep at hom e, only w hen aw ay from the e s ­ tate.”11 The follow in g year, during the Potemkin U prising o f 1790, the Ukrainian rebels entered the Polish Republic seeking support against the Russian and Polish

6 T he six days o f w o rk per w eek (three days w ith anim al team and three d ay s w ith o u t) typically increased d u rin g the harvest and planting seaso n s. S ee J. Stanley: A P o litic a l a n d S o c ia l H isto ry o f the D u ch y o f W arsaw, 1 8 0 7 -1 8 1 3 , Ph. D. diss., U niv. o f T o ro n to , T o ro n to 1979, s. 283.

7 Ż ytkow icz: op. cit., s. 140.

* Polish serfs w ere eventually granted perm anent land tenure u nder the v a rio u s statu tes o f A u ­ stria and Prussia, w hile the reform ing Polish g o v ern m en t ack n o w le d g ed the p e a s a n try ’s rig h t to their traditional property in the constitution o f 3 M ay 1791.

9 R. O rłow ski: P o ło żen ie chłopów w dobrach O rd yn a cji Z a m o jskie j w d ru g ie j p o ło w ie X V III w., „A nn. U niv. M ariae C u rie-S kłodow ska”, sectio F, vol. V II, 1952, s. 111.

10 T. M encel: Ś w ia d o m o ść ch ło p ó w Lubelszczyzny, P od la sia i M a ło p o lski Z a c h o d n iej na p r z e ło ­ m ie XV1I1 i X I X w ieku, „Acta U niversitatis L o dziensis”, 1 9 9 2 ,4 5 , s. 136.

11 T. K orzon: D zieje w ew nętrzne P o lski za p a n o w a n ia S ta n isła w a A u g u sta P o n ia to w skieg o {1 7 6 4 -1 7 0 4 ), K raków 1897.

landed elites, o f the Polish serf Potemkin said, "Polish farmers w ould now rather fo llo w Russians, and then w e will have 2 0 ,0 0 0 peasants to help [our ca u se].” 12 U ltim ately, the Polish peasantry confirm ed their desire for feudal reform as thou­ sands o f disgruntled serf joined K ościu szk o’s Insurrection in 1794. K ościuszko placed his grass-roots m ovem ent on the shoulders o f Polish peasants as he issued the P o ła n iec M anifesto in an effort to rally broad based support. In short, the M a ­

n ifesto guaranteed serfs the fredoom o f m ovem ent, governm ent protection from

unilateral increases in obligations, and a one-third decrease in all co rvees. The eventual defeat o f K ościuszko, and subsequent third partition o f Poland, meant the end o f his peasant reforms and the return o f serfs to the estates, but not before they had clearly proclaimed their discontent with the feudal system .

The well-entrenched and onerous system o f aristocratic folwarks survived even the collapse o f the nation-state, as it w as not sw ep t away w ith the partitions o f the eighteenth century. The partitions did, however, transfer the peasant que­ stion from the Polish szlach ta and into the hands o f the partitioning powers. W hile under Austrian rule the peasantry o f L u belszczyzn a certainly w itnessed a marginal improvement in their p osition.13 Unlike the dism em bered C om m on­ w ealth, the more "enlightened” Austrian Empire had since the m id-eighteenth century v ig o r o u sly protected the basic rights o f the peasant. T hus, during the reign o f Empress Maria Theresa the Polish szlach ta saw their traditional rights concerning the treatment o f serfs eroded. W hile under the Habsburgs the nobility lost several long-standing privileges; they w ere no longer allow ed to increase unilaterally peasant obligations without a corresponding expansion o f the serf's holdings, and they could no longer force peasants to work on holy days. F ollo­ w in g the death o f Maria Theresa, her son, Joseph II, form ally endorsed the p e a s ­ a n tr y ’s right to their ancestral lands in 1782; in 1786, through the R o b o tp a ­

ten t, he lim ited the number o f co rvee days a serf m ust fu lfil to three days

12 M encel: Ś w ia d o m o ść c h ło p ó w L u b elszczyzn y..., s. 137.

13 A N , A F IV , 1676, plaquette 11, ..R apport non sig n e su r la G alicie, politique au trich ien n e envers les differen tes classes de la société, aout-sept. 1807”, 44—5 3; B. G ro ch u lsk a, K się stw o W arsza- w sk ie ,-W arszaw a 1966, s. 91. Ironically, despite the social betterm ent affo rd ed G alician serfs by A ustrian rulers, they continued to despise the A ustrian governm ent. T he dislik e o f A u strian rule m ay be ex p la in ed , at least in p art, by the peasants aversion to the co n sid erab le co lo n izatio n efforts o f the A ustrians. T h e G alician serfs, and their landlords, w ere q u ite d istu rb ed as large nu m b ers o f A ustrian farm ers m oved on to Polish lands at the clo se o f the eig h teen th century. S ee T. M encel: P r ó b y k o lo n iz a c ji n ie m ie c k ie j w G a lic ji Z a c h o d n ie j w la ta c h 1 7 0 0 - 1 8 0 6 , A n n . U n iv . M a ­ ria e C u r ie - S k to d o w s k a , s e c . F , v o l. X X V , 1 9 7 0 , s. 6 9 - 8 3 a n d R. O rło w s k i: K o lo n iś c i r o l­ n ic y n ie m ie c c y w O r d y n a c ji Z a m o js k ie j w k o ń c u X V I I I w ie k u , An n . Uni v. M a ria e C u rie - S k ło d o w s k a , s e c . F , v o l. X II, 1 9 5 7 , s. 1 5 7 -1 7 9 .

a week, specified what would constitute a day’s work (eight hours constituted a day o f w ork in the w inter and tw elv e hours in the sum m er), and e sse n tia lly a b o lis­ hed all duties and rents in-kind (i.e. ch ick en s, grain, e g g s, e t c .) .14 H absburg rule also extended the protection o f the state judicial system to the peasantry, and Polish serfs acquired the unprecedented right to lod ge formal legal com p lain ts against their noble landlords. T his statute infuriated an already alien ated Po­ lish nobility, because for the first tim e ever the szla c h ta w a s p laced under the sam e law as the com m on se r f.15 The Josephinian patents, b ein g far too liberal for m ost landlords, w ere in m ost ca ses ignored by the Polish landow ners and rapidly d oom ed to fo llo w the em p eror to a g ra v e in 1 7 9 0 .16 U ltim a te ly , it w o u ld not be the J o sep h in ia n e x p er im e n t that m ark ed ly ch a n g ed G a lic ia n s o c ie t y ; rather, it w as the le g a c y o f the F rench R e v o lu tio n , in the form o f N ap oleon Bonaparte, w h ich w ould forever alter the nature o f Polish serfd om .

In accordance with the constitution o f 1807, all traditional forms o f Polish serfdom were abolished within the boundaries o f the D uchy o f W arsaw .17 N e v ­ ertheless, the repeal o f the antiquated feudal system w as not the b lessin g the Po­ lish peasants had sought for so many years.18 The conservative manner in w hich the sz/acA/fl-dom inated Council o f State, as persuaded by M inister o f Justice Fe­ liks Łubieński, interpreted the constitution on 21 December 1807, left the emancipated serfs without the traditional security o f hereditary land tenure.14 In effect, the Polish

11 A. K orobow icz, W . W itkow ski: U strój i p ra w o na ziem ia ch p o lsk ic h : o d r o z b io r ó w d o o d ­ zyska n ia n iep o d leg ło ści, L ublin 1494, s. 2 7 -2 8 .

15 A N , AF1V 1676, plaquette 1 1 ,4 4 -5 3 .

16 T h e last o f the Josephinian patents, and the protection they affo rd ed the p e asan try , w ere nu lli­ fied w ith the extension o f the C o d e N a p o leo n into G alicia in 1804. S ee J. W illau m e: S to su n k i sp o ­ łeczne i p o lity czn e w K sięstw ie W arszaw skim , „M yśl W sp ó łcz esn a”, 1947, 1, s. 167.

17 Article IV o f the Statut C onstitutionnel du D uché d e Varsovie read, „ L ’esclavage est aboli; tous les citoyens sont des tribunaux”. However, the Polish translation and interpretation o f this article w as very li­ teral and highly dubious. It stated: „Znosi się niew o lę” , (S lav ery is ab o lish ed ). M. K allas: K o n s ty ­ tucja K sięstw a W arszaw skiego, je j pow stanie, system atyka i g łó w n e in stytu cje w zw ią zk u z n o rm a ­ m i szczeg ó ło w ym i i praktyką, T oruń 1970, s. 60; K orobow icz, W itkow ski: op. cit., s. 4 8 -4 9 .

l* O t'course, the peasantry o f G alicia did not fully understand the im plications o f the N ap o leo n ic liberation o f the serfs therefore, they enth u siastically su p p o rted the e m an cip atio n o f G alician p e as­ ants as they rose against the A ustrians in 1809. S e e M encel: Ś w ia d o m o ść c h ło p ó w L u b e lszc zy ­ z n y ...,s . 1 4 7-148.

19 D zien n ik P ra w K sięstw a W arszaw skiego, W arszaw a 1810, s. 1 0 -1 2 ; J. W illaum e: F ryd eryk A u g u st ja k o K sią żę W arszaw ski, P oznań 1939, s. 1 0 1 -1 0 2 . A. M aczak a rg u es in A g ric u ltu r a l and livestock p ro d u ctio n in P oland: in te rn a l a n d F o reig n M a rkets, „T he Journal o f E u ro p ean E co n o ­ m ic H istory” , s. 6 7 8 -6 7 9 ., that the Polish peasantry en jo y ed "re la tiv ely sta b le liv in g c o n d itio n s" and a "genuine crude plenty o f v ictu a ls” d u rin g the early m odern era.

peasantry w as in a "worse situation”, because they gained their freedom o f move­ ment but lost their traditional rights to work and live on the landowners’ e sta tes.20

In the tradition o f the French Revolutionary constitutions, and in accordance with the new ly installed N apoleonic constitution and C o d e N a p o leo n , private property and the written contract w ere legal and binding - to the exclu sion o f all custom s and oral traditions associated with the rights o f serfs. Thus, this particu­ lar aspect o f the new liberal constitution abolished the old feudal tradition and re­ placed it with a written contractual agreem ent.21 Under the French civ il law code, or C o d e N a p o leo n , the emancipated serf, as a citizen o f the D uchy o f W arsaw, w as granted the ability to enter into private contracts. D espite the peasantry’s new contractual capacity and the governm ent’s attempt at expediting law ful ar­ rangements betw een the landlors and peasants, there w ere in fact very few recor­ ded contracts in the D uchy.22 Quite sim ply, the constitutionally based govern­ ment and judiciary could not force private citizens to draft contracts, and m ost noble landowners refused to sign agreem ents w hich w ould preclude any future rent increases. This meant the peasant, w ithout legal title to his traditional proper­ ty, w as then often forced to enter into disastrous arrangements w ith Polish land­ ow ners. The new ly freed serfs worked more and had less to sh ow for their work, because the constitution, as interpreted by the legislation o f 21 D ecem ber, abol­ ished all law s and regulations established by the partitioning pow ers pertaining to the ceilin gs on rents and c o rvees due landlords.

Article V o f the "Dekret o sytuacji prawnej chłopów w K sięstw ie W arsza­ w sk im ” (’’D ecree on the Legal Situation o f Peasants in the D uchy o f W arsaw”) exp licitly stated that any peasant leaving his v illage relinquished all claim s to his land, livestock, tools, and crops.24 In the French chartered state private property w as considered a basic right o f man, nevertheless, ow nership o f private property

20 S. B iałas: P o ło żen ie c h ło p ó w za cza só w K sięstw a W arszaw skiego, ..W iedza i Z y cie", 1451, X V III, s. 1015.

a K o robow icz i W itkow ski: op. cit., s. 49; Stanley: op. cit., 2 9 2 -2 9 3 .

22 In February 1808, King Fredrick August created a stale system o f notaries to help facilitate and re­ cord contracts between landlords and their tenants ("W celu pizyśpieszenia kontraktów między d zied zi­ cami a w łościanami naszego Księstwa W arszaw skiego...”). See W . Bartel et al.: U staw odaw stw o K się ­ stwa Warszawskiego: A kty norm atywne władzy najwyższej, W arszawa 1964, s. 31; Kallas: op. cit., s. 62.

23 T. Mencel: Cłtłopska własność i posiadanie ziemi przed uwłaszczeniem w Królestwie Polskim, ^Rocz­ niki D ziejów Społecznych i Gospodarczych” 1987, XLVIII, s. 5 3 -5 4 . T he classic study o f Feliks Ł u ­ bieński, the d u ch y ’s finance minister w ho proposed the basic tenets o f the D ecem ber decree, is T. M en­ cel: Feliks ł.uhieński: M inister spraw iedliw ości Księstwa W arszawskiego, 1758-1848, W arszaw a 1952. 21 D zie n n ik P ra w K sięstw a W arszaw skiego s. 1 0 -1 2 ; K allas: op. c it., s. 64; B artel, et al., op. cit., s. 14; G rochulska: op. cit. 9 0 -9 1 .

often depends on o n e's perspective. In the opinion o f the Polish C ouncil o f State the peasant w as an established renter with no legal right to his plot or any assets found on the property; thus, from the perspective o f the aristocratic adm inistra­ tion, the ancestral p ossession s o f the Polish peasant w ere the private property o f the noble landowner.25 Article V w as a particularly unjust portion o f the decree, since in Poland, unlike the W est, the peasantry typically ow ned their ow n tools and livestock. The landlords depended on the agrarian workers to use their ow n farm im plem ents and to be the primary source o f livestock. F ollow in g a one year transitionary period before the decree w ent into effect, the m ore fortunate m em ­ bers o f the peasantry either acquired work or remained on the land, m aintaining their households at a subsistence level. The less fortunate left their v illa g es, often only to fail in finding adequate work and therefore to starve or join the m ilitary or roam the countryside.2 N apoleon’s attempt at answ ering the peasant question w as thus twisted in the hands o f the Polish nobility, w h o in the final analysis m e­ rely exchanged the established feudal tradition for a new, and often more abusive, contractual feudal structure. The new agrarian system created by the Polish nobility w as ultim ately on e o f the greatest contradictions o f all tim e. T h e elite ruling caste su ccessfu lly form ulated a structure in w h ich P olish serfd om w as o ffic ia lly ab olished, but all o f the traditional feudal trappings w ere m aintai­ ned.27 The landed nobility thus preserved and revitalized the great sou rce o f their w ealth and political pow er, the land, and their control over the v a st p e ­ asant labor force.

A s the serfs and landed aristocracy o f L u belszczyzn a joined the D uchy o f Warsaw in 1809, they were caught betw een tw o pow erful N ap oleon ic forces - reform and the military. Reforms, primarily in the form o f the Decem ber Decrees, w ould rapidly transform the traditional relationship b etw een the peasantry and nobility. A t the sam e time, the ever-present arm ies introduced the provincial populace to the dramatic dem ographic and econ om ic effects o f N ap oleon ic w ar­ fare.

A s late as 1810 , the four Galician departments reported a total population o f 1,572,696, however, only 261,678 o f these w ere considered city-dw ellers. During this sam e census the Department Lubelski held a total population o f 4 5 7 ,0 1 7 , but only 8 0 ,526 o f this were urban based and it is certain that the bulk o f L u b

elszczy-25 T. M encel: ClUopi w w yborach d o sejm u K sięstw a W arszaw skiego, W iek X IX : P ra c e o fia r o ­ w a n e S tefa n o w i K ien iew ic zo w i w 60 rocznicę uro d zin , W arszaw a 1967, s. 1 2 0 -1 2 1 .

26 G rochulska: op. cit., s. 8 8 -9 0 . 27 Stanley: op. cit., s. 328.

z n a ’s 3 5 ,2 2 7 Jew s maintained residency in the cities. Thus, it is p ossib le that as

few as 5 0 ,0 0 0 Poles actually populated the cities o f the Department Lubelski,

28

w h ile som e 376,491 Poles occupied the villages and surrounding countryside. A s additional proof o f the agrarian nature o f the region the French reported in 1809, that the landscape o f the Austrian administered cyrkul o f Lublin w as c o v e ­ red by som e 616 villages, w h ile the territorially sm aller cyrkul o f Z am ość held 4 4 2 v illa g es.24 This vast agricultural network is another indication that sin ce the initial inception o f serfdom Polish land w as alw ays the contry's m ost valuable fi­ nancial asset, and with the growth o f the "Noble Republic” the bulk o f Polish property found its w ay into the hands o f the szlach ta. A s the D u ch y ’s C om m is­ sion on Incom e and Finance found in 1809, noble control over the countryside o f

L u b elszczyzn a had declined very little under Austrian rule. A ccording to the co m ­

m issio n ’s findings the Polish nobility held 6 0 3 rural com m unities (w sie), with a total population o f 199,475 and som e 3 5 ,3 7 7 hom es. T hese figures contrast sharply w ith the m eager p ossession s o f the crown, w hich only held the two pro­ perties o f Janiszów & 719 inhabitants and 111 hom es) and Św idnik W ielki y Św id n iczek (473 inhabitants and 68 hom es).30 Traditionally, Polish landed e li­ tes, unlike their contemporary English counterparts, w ere uninterested in agricul­ tural pursuits and typically held their custom ary lifestyle. In the Enlightenm ent tradition, the N apoleonic Constitution valued private property as a basic right o f mankind and used it as a principal measure o f political power (i. e. A ctiv e vs. Passive C itizens). Land, a valuable com m odity that the m iddle and upper strata o f the nobility held in abundance, w as thus transformed into real eco n o m ic and p olitical power. A ccordingly, the plight o f the peasantry is pivotal to any w ork on early Polish society, since there certainly existed a sym biotic, if not parasitic, re­ lationship betw een serfs and landed elites.

During the brief period o f the Duchy o f W arsaw, and the even shorter dura­ tion in w hich L u belszczyzn a w as a part o f the duchy, the Department Lubelski w itnessed noticeable changes in the econ om ic and social standing o f its agrarian populace. W hile governed by Austria the unilateral increase o f peasant dues, without a corresponding expansion o f serf properties, w as prohibited, but under the duchy

28 A G A D , A Z 96, „S tatystyka K sięstw a W arszaw skiego i K rólestw a K ongresow ego z lat 1806­ 1812, 1 8 1 7 -1 8 2 4 , 1852 i w yw oza G dańskiego 1 6 9 1 -1 8 1 7 ", 456; 11. G rossm an: S tm k lu r a sp o łe cz­ na i g o sp o d a rcza K sięstw a W arszaw skiego na p o d sta w ie sp isó w lu d n o ści 1808 i 18 1 0 r.. W arsz a­ w a 1925, s. 4 5 -4 6 .

s A N , A P 136/3 Papiers du B aron B ignon, d o ssier I, „A utriche G allicie S tatistique".

30 A G A D , K R P iS 1020, „Tabella statystyczna okazująca ilo ść m iast, w sió w , d o m ó w y dusz w p ow iecie L ubelskim - znay d u iący ch się".

this becam e an accepted and legitimate arrangement betw een a private landowner and his labor. A s Professor W iesław Śladkow ski points out, ”to be a peasant w as considerably w orse (in the time o f N apoleon)”.31 French reforms, as im plem ented by the Polish szlach ta, and the frequent cam paigns associated w ith their im ple­ mentation drove the Polish peasantry into ruin, as they struggled under increasing monetary rents, co rvees, and military appropriations. A s the fam iliar w orld o f the peasant crumbled under reform and warfare one thing remained a constant, their poor diet and deplorable livin g conditions. A s the A g e o f N apoleon cam e to a close in 1815, the average Polish peasant’s diet consisted primary o f dark breads, which were usually filled out with barley chaff, and vegetab le greens or even grass, but no salt. The peasant’s family often had tattered or inadequate clothing and lived in a w ooden hut. Their houses w ere usually dark, because they rarely had w in d ow s or chim neys. The absence o f chim neys forced the occupants to open all doors in the cabin, to release the sm oke, w hen a fire w as b eing used for cook in g or heat. Finally, the hard winters o f the East proved esp ecially d ifficu lt for the peasants as they w ere often com pelled to protect their few head o f liv e ­ stock from the cold by sharing their sm all hovel with the cattle, sw in e, or sh eep .32 Late-eighteenth and early-nineteeenth century inventories o f regional estates reveal that many peasants paid only a pittance, w hen compared to later years, in the form o f monetary rents before the arrival o f French troops in 1807. These sam e pre-N apoleonic peasants were, how ever, forced to pay the balance o f their bur­ d en som e rents with their labor and the produce o f their leased property (se e T able 1).

The requirements o f the northern part o f the region typically varied sligh tly from the southern section, sin ce the southern and southeastern areas traditionally pursued the som ew hat different historical path o f Eastern G alicia. The distinctive regional variations o f the south com m only meant higher rents and ob ligation s for the serfs o f Z am oyszczyzna. This area, w h ile dom inated by the considerable h o l­ dings o f the O rdyn acja Zam oyska, generally follow ed the established early m o ­ dern trends o f the western Ukraine. In the late-sixteenth century the territory w it­ nessed the rapid proliferation o f the fo lw a rk system ; as local landlords discovered the profitable transportation o f the San and Bug Rivers, tributaries o f the c o m ­ merce laden Vistula River, to haul local grains to the B altic port o f Gdańsk. The

31 W. Śladkow ski; P o d za /ю гет austriackim и· K sięstw ie W arszaw skim i K ró le stw ie P o lskim (17Q 5-]831) [w: ] D zieje L u belszczyzny, W arszaw a 1474, s. 504.

Zam ość region and parts o f western Ukraine also suffered sim ilar hardships with the various wars and invasions o f the seventeenth and early-eighteenth century. "

T ab le 1. O bligations due landlords a t L u b elszczyzn a (1 7 0 7 -1 80Ч)34

Y ear N am e o f co m m u n ity N o. farm . Pańsz^z. d ay s O xen Пог. D aniny* C hick F « z i . g r * 1797 K lucz Puhaczeski 54 99 - - - -1798 W ieś O siny 10 70 - - - - -1800 P o d e d w ó rze 15 53 - - - - 4.12 1800 L ipow skie 27 1265 - - - - 54.00 1800 P iechow skie 46 212 - - - - 86.00 1803 W ieś R ogów 51 79.5 - - 51 29 7.07 1803 W ieś W ilków 11 33 - - 9 63 4.24 1803 K ielczew ice 15 42 37 17 52 102 3Ό6 1803 W ilczopole 18 68 30 - - -1803 Z m iio w isk o * 9 14 - - 10 - -1805 K orylow szczyzna 6 16 10 3 - - -1805 P ilaszkow ice 85 194.5 - - 179 895 101.00 1808 Skrom ow ice 8 20 10 з - - -1809 T o ro k an o w a 45 117 - 108 189 195.00

‘ D aniny (tributes) typically included m any other things, such as: balls ot' yarn, geese, bread, and grains.

•T h is is an aggregate sum o f all m onetary rents extracted from each p articular holding (1 Polish Zloty = 30 G rosze).w • Pańszczyzna d a ys (a com bination o f ciągły w ork & p ieszy w ork) are th e total num ber o f days per w eek a v illag e was re ­ quired to w ork on th e lan d lo rd ’s holding?. This figure includes only the num ber o f days assigned to constant day to d a y w ork and does not include the additional w o rk days that w ere typically required during the harvest and p lan tin g seasons.

Il w as during this extended period o f con flict that the financial position o f the landowners o f Z am oyszczyzn a began to crum ble, as they w ere unable to e f ­ fectively utilize their traditional com m ercial w aterways. On this very important point the northern and southern sections o f the Department Lubelski differed, be­ cause in the Lublin region m ost landlords did not depend on the transportation o f the V istu la ’s sm aller tributaries, rather, they had direct a c c e ss to the V istula R iver. A lso , northern landholders had the luxury o f taking their g o o d s to the c it y o f L u b lin , w h ich lay on the e a s t-w e s t trade route b e tw e e n W ro cła w an d L w ó w . T h is d iv e r g e n t ten d en cy co n tin u ed into the e ig h te e n th cen tu ry, a s th e Z a m o ść area w a s o b ta in ed by the A ustrian E m pire d u rin g the first p a rtitio n in 1772. The partitions eco n o m ica lly crippled the region by cutting across many natural trade routes and temporarily severing north-south commerce.

33 Ż ytkow icz: op. cit., s. 144.

4 A P L Księgi Z iem skie L ubelskie, books 5 -1 0 ; A S 62, „S u in m ary u sz hrabstw a O p olskiego fol­ w arkam i pon iżey o k azu iący ”; A L 58, ..Inw entarz w si T oro k an o w a".

A c c o rd in g ly , m uch o f the eigh teen th c e n tu r y w a s f in a n c ia lly s t r e s s f u l for

Z a m o y s z c z y z n a , as the e stim a ted in c o m e received from the h old in gs o f the

O rd y n a cja d ip p ed to o n ly s o m e 4 0 0 ,0 0 0 z ip fo r m o s t o f th e c e n t u r y .36 W h ile 4 0 0 ,0 0 0 zip. w as certainly a significant am ount, it paled in com parison with the 100,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 zip incom e o f the Czartoryski fam ily and the 3 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 zip. earned by the Potocki fam ily. A s trade returned to normal a lo n g the V istula and its tributaries in the 1 7 80s, the Z am oyski fam ily renew ed their d w in d lin g fortunes by investing heavily in the local textile industry and the building o f bar­ ges to once again transport their produce to the profitable Baltic ports.37 Ultim ately, w h a t historian L eon id Z y tk o w ic z w ro te o f trade in the P o lish C o m m o n ­ w ea lth w as equally true o f the southern part o f the Department Lubelski; he main­ tained, ’’W here the transport o f cereals w as not rem unerative, the lan d ow n ers' incom es were based on rents, and the manufacture and sale o f spirits acquired grow ing importance”.38 Thus, as Z am oyszczyzn a endured num erous trade inter­ ruptions, many o f w hich the Lublin region did not undergo, the local landlords w ere forced to sustain them selves through incereased rents and the grow in g inter­ nal market.

Paradoxically, the Zam ość region traditionally had problem s gettin g produce to the lucrative Baltic market, but it had no difficulty producing large quantities o f grains; because it generally, unlike the northern territory, enjoyed the fertile black soils w hich are today usually associated with U kraine.39 O ver the years the higher soil productivity o f the periodically isolated south often yielded an e x cess o f cereals, which in times o f peace caused locally cheaper grain prices. The e f ­ fects o f this relatively closed region market are also consistently reflected in the significantly larger populations and higher birth rates o f the southern p o w ia ts .40 A sim ple com parison o f the populations o f the three southern-m ost p o w ia ts in 1810, Tarnogrodzki (6 0 ,6 9 4 ), Zam oyski (4 8 ,6 9 9 ), and T om aszow sk i (5 4 ,5 7 2 ), with three o f the northern p o w ia ts o f the region, Lubartowski (3 5 ,7 5 8 ), Ż elech o ­ w ski (3 2 ,0 2 2 ), and Łukow ski (20, 379), reveals a distinct difference betw een the

36 Korzon: op. cit., s. 248.

37 R. O rłow ski: Z dziejó w organizacji h andlu s/d a w n eg o w O rd yn a cji Z a m o jskie j w k o ń cu X V III w ieku. „A nn. U niv. M ariae C urie-S k ło d o w sk a”, sectio F, vol. X I, 1456, s. 8 1 -1 0 0 ; J. B artys: S u - kien n ictw o w O rd yn a cji Z a m o jskiej iv p ie r w sze j p o ło w ie X I X w ieku, „P rzeg ląd H isto ry c zn y ” ,

1958, X L l X ,3 ,s . 4 8 6 -5 0 9 . 38 Ż ytkow icz: op. cit., s. 144. 35 Sladkow ski: op. c it.,s . 494.

40 A A L , R ep. 6 0 - V I - 1 , „W ykaz statystyczny o ruchu ludności w p arafiach d zisiejszy ch guberni lubelskiej o d najdaw niejszych czasów (X V II w .) do 1901 r.”

populations o f the north and south.41 Even though the southern territories w ere som ew hat more productive the peasants did usually not reap the benefits; rather landlords, through elevated rents, reaped the profits o f serf labor (see Table 2.).

T ab le 2. O bligations due landlords o f Z a m o yszczy zn a (1 7 4 0 -1 8 0 8 )42

Y ear N a m e of co m m u n ity

N o. farm . P ań szczyzna day s Y am balls D an in y Z l .g r * C hick Eggs 1790 S tary Zam ość - 46 206 63 • 1X5.12 1790 K rasne - 56 216 28 1X5 277.08 1790 W ierzba - 26 120 38 - 2 3 0 0 3 1803 N ielisza 47 90 188 - - 313.00 1805 Plusy - 86 480 - - 903.18 1805 W ilkołaz 101 482 493 297 166 2476.15 1805 Zalesie 24 62 63 30 27 232.10 1805 W ólka R u d n ick a 17 42 14 15 38 172.15 1807 N ielisza 58 98 228 - - 411.27 1807 K rasne 62* 62 256 32 137 619.27 1807 W ierzba 64* 32 128 40 - 311.25 1807 Stary Zam ość 68* 70 270 8? * 254.10 1808 Plusy - 113 561 - - 1834.24

* T h e sam e m ethod as in T ab le 1 w as used in T aN e 2 to estim ate Pańszczyzna days. Also, it should b e noted that in the sum m er the total num ber o f w ork days typically doubled in the south, because o f the addition o f extra w ork days during p lan tin g and harvest.

* T h e sam e m ethod as in Table 1 w as used here to establish the total m onetary am ount extracted from each v illag e yearly. * The 1807 figures for K rasne, W ierzba, and S tary Zam ość d o not refer to total num ber o f farm ers in each com m unity, but rather to num ber o f hom es in 1805 (A O Z 3215).

With the introduction o f N apoleonic reforms to G alicia in 1809, the status o f the peasantry quickly deteriorated. The traditional rents and duties o f the serf, particularly monetary rents, began to increase rapidly. A s stated earlier, dramatic drops in Polish grain profits often forced landlords to rely on increased rents and local markets to maintain their financial position.4‘, Thus, as the Polish landlords lost m oney to the Continental B lockade, increased taxes, and the co st o f N apoleo­ nic campaigning, he was able to recoup som e o f his lost fortune through higher

41 A G A D , A Z 4 6 ,3 4 6 -3 8 2 ; G rossm an: op. cit., 48.

42 A P L , A O Z 52-, „Inw entarz klucza S taro zam o y sk ieg o ..., dnia 24 czerw ca, 1740 r., „A O Z 2 1 5 3 , „Inw entarz S tarego Z am ościa w 1807 r." A O Z 2 143, „W ieś Plusy. Inw entarz... w roku 1805/08"; A O Z 2 134, „Inw entarz d ó b r N ielisza roku 1803/07"; A O Z 216 8 , „ Inw entarz d ó b r W il- kolarza z roku 1805"; A O Z 3215, „[...] po ukończoney m ilitarney konskrypcyi w roku 1805".

monetary dem ands on the tenants o f his land.44 In the v illa g e o f Plusy, there w ere no significant changes in population or in the am ount o f land farmed (1 7 8 m org) betw een 1805 and 1909; however, there were substantial increases in alm ost e v e ­ ry peasant obligation.45 The village c o rv e e s w ere increased; the num ber o f ciq g ly work (labor performed with an anim al) days per w eek w ere increased from 4 0 (1 8 0 5 ) to 45 (1809) and the number o f pieszy work (labor perform ed w ithout an anim al) days per w eek w ere increased from 46 (1 8 0 5 ) to 68 (1 8 0 9 ). In addition to these increases a new labor burden also appeared in the villa g e inventory; it took the form o f the ch ałupniczy work, w hich added an additional 36 days o f labor per year to the villa g e corvees. Rents in-kind also increased; balls o f yarn pro­ gressed from 4 7 8 2/3 (1 8 0 5 ) to 5 6 0 3/5 (1 8 0 9 ) and the am ount o f oats required from the v illage rose from 26 kor. 2 1/3 miar. (1 8 0 5 ) to 31 kor. 2 miar. (1 8 0 9 ).

W hile all o f these mark significant increases, particularly w hen taken in the context o f only years, none are as telling as the dramatic increases in monetary rents. The total am ount due from Plusy in 1805 w as 9 0 3 .1 8 zip ., but by 1809 this sum doubled to an exorbitant 1,834.23 zip.46 Substantial increases in feudal dues w ere not alw ays consistent throughout the Department L ubelski, w hich w as the case in the v illage o f N ielisza, where filly -eig h t farmers {g o sp o d a rze) w ere o b li­ gated to work 9 0 cią g ły and 8 p ie s z y days per w eek in 1807; how ever, by 1827 this village had w itnessed an increase o f one farmer, but a decrease to 78 c ią g ły work and 6 p ie s z y work days per w eek. L ikew ise, the number o f required balls o f yam dropped from 228 to 192 yearly and w h ile their land rent rose from 164.20 zip. to 299 .0 8 zip., the total monetary rent (i. e. land, grain m ill, and estate oven s) dropped from 4 1 1 .2 7 zip. in 1807 to 3 5 2 .2 0 zip. in 1827.47

A lthough som e holdings, like N ielisza, w ere fortunate enough to maintain constant or marginal declines in rents and duties during the N ap oleon ic period, they w ere the exceptions to the general rule, for m ost o f the estates o f Depart­ m ent Lubelski confirm an expansion o f the established form s o f serfdom . This growth is clearly discernable betw een 1807 and 1825 in the constituent parts o f K lucz Stary Zam ość; on the fo lw a rk s o f Stary Z am ość, Krasne, W ierzby, and

44 В. G rochulska confirm s in Uwagi o bilansie handlow ym Księstwa W arszaw skiego, „Przegląd H i­ storyczny" I960, 51, 3, s. 4 8 3-512; that the Continental System closed P oland's largest grain m arket, England. A s evidenced by the period 1 7 9 3 -1 8 0 5 , w hen the E nglish p u rc h ased 5 0 .1 % o f all g rain s ship p ed through G dansk, w ith H olland a d istant seco n d p u rch asin g 17.8%' for the sam e period.

45 O ne m org chełm iński= 5 984 993 square m eters. S ee Ihnatow icz: op. cit., s. 37.

46 APL., A O Z 2 1 4 3 , „W ieś Plusy. Inw entarz pow inności i dan in na g ro n ie sp isa n y w ro k u 1805­ 1822/23".

C hom ecisk all monetary obligations rose markedly. Stary Z am ość w itnessed an increase in their land rent from 2 1 3.15 zip. in 1807, to an incredible 1,674.12 zip. in 1825; how ever, the number o f required balls o f yarn dropped from 2 7 0 to 184. The sam e phenom enon occurred in all parts o f K lucz Stary Zam ość: in Krasne the land rents rose from 564.26 zip. to 2 ,8 7 9 zip.; in W ierzby rents increased from 2 7 0 .1 2 zip. to 1,522 zip.; and finally, in C hom ecisk their rent clim bed from 4 8 6 .1 8 zip. to 3 ,296.24 zip. T hese increases w ere also typically paralleled by e le ­ vated rents in-kind: in Krasne the number o f chickens due yearly rose from 31 1/2 do 38; in Wierzby the amount increased from 4 0 to 49, and lastly; in C hom e­ cisk the total expanded from a m eager 5 to 70. T hese figures usually included all rents in-kind, thus there w ere also significant increases in numbers o f eg g s and balls o f yarn.

Increases in nu m b ers of eggs and balls o f yarn

N a m e of co m m u n ity 1807 Eggs 1825 Eggs 1807 Y am 1825 Y am

S tary Zam ość 0 270 270 №

K rasne 136 312 256 358

W ierzby 0 408 128 319

C hom ecisk 0 540 312 408

TO TA L 136 1530 966 1269

T hese spiralling rents, both in-kind and monetary, w ere surprisingly not re­ flected in labor obligations, w hich regularly remained stable or declined in terms o f the number o f co rve e days required.

The parallel trends o f stagnate labor obligations and rising monetary rents al­ so occurred in other parts o f the Lublin region. In the sm all v illa g es o f P od ed w ó­ rze (18 farmers) and Stare O pole (35 farmers) the w eek ly co rv e e s decreased sligh tly, but the land rents increased in Podedw órze from 4 .1 2 zip. in 1800, to 144 zip. in 1811, and for the sam e period in Stare O pole land rent rose from 2 0 .1 0 zip. to 2 7 2 zip. A s evidence o f the worth o f the fo lw a rfo and other agrarian properties, the Szlubow ski family in 1811 estim ated the value o f all duties paid by these two sm all holdings, and both monetary and in-kind obligations cam e to a total o f 4,395 zip. for Podedwórze and 8,301.20 zip. for the slightly larger village o f Stare O pole.44 T hese various rental increases, particularly the elevations o f monetary rents, w ould ultimately lead to serious hardships on the peasantry. By

48 A P L , A O Z 215 3 , „Inw entarz Starego Z am ościa w 1807 r. sp o rząd zo n y ", and „Inw entarz dóbr K lucza S taro zam o jsk ieg o po u regulow aniu tych d ó b r w roku 1825 sp o rz ąd z o n y ” .

49 A P L , A S 66, „S um m aryusz hrabstw a O polskiego folw arkam i po n iżey o k a zu iący ” , and „Sum - m aryusz g eneralny gru n tó w ornych pańszczyzny gw ałtó w i tlok

the trying tim es o f 1 8 1 2 -1 8 1 4 , such increases, taken in conjunction w ith the other various and sundry burdens placed on the rural population, led to an unbear­ able situation in the countryside. In 1 8 1 2 -1 8 1 4 , the v illa g es o f T w oryerów , Turo- kina, Aleksandrów , Biszera, G od ziszów , and Goraj all reported to the Zam oyski family their inability to pay the rent. 0

In order to appreciate fully the im plications o f these various fluctuations, one must ultimately remember that these transformations took place over a very short period o f time and that quite often as obligations increased the populations o f these v illa g es remained static or dwindled under the various burdens o f N ap oleon ic warfare. During the N apoleonic Era the countryside o f L u b elszczyzn a suffered much the sam e dem ographic fate as earlier provincial areas that w ere exp osed to the effects o f extended periods o f warfare (i. e. The Thirty Y ears’ War, French Wars o f R eligion, Seven Y ears’ War, etc.). Like the peasantry o f these earlier conflicts the many villages and estates o f the Department Lubelski found that the hardships o f warfare were not confined to the battlefield; rather, through c o n ­ scription, taxes, disease and military foraging, warfare touched the everyday life o f the village.

Historians o f Napoleon often debate the genius o f the emperor or quality o f his troops; however, rarely do they pause to consider the origins o f the enorm ous sum s o f m oney or the vast stores o f food required to keep the m assive N ap oleo­ nic military on its feet. In the Department Lubelski on e can discern the anony­ m ous parties responsible for the all-important ingredients that enabled the N apo­ leonic armies to take the field - the agrarian populace o f the countryside. Parts o f this particular region (i. e. p o w ia t Zam oyski) had endured the conscriptions and requisitions o f the Austrian Empire sin ce 1772, w h ile the balance o f L u b e lszc zy ­

zna had endured these im positions sin ce the final partition in 1795. Y et despite

their previous experience the populace w as ill-prepared for the exorbitant price o f the N apoleonic venture. For exam ple, the O rdyn acja Z am oyska reported in D e ­ cem ber 1809, several regional villages w ere not com pensated („bez k w itów czyli bon ów ”) for large amounts o f supplies dispensed to the cam paigning Polish m ili­ tary.51 In the O rdyn acja alone, w hich w itnessed heavy fighting in and around the Zam ość area in both 1809 and 1813, the official military requisitions o f the p e­ riod, to say nothing o f the unauthorized bandit-like foraging o f various arm ies, severely strained an already struggling agrarian society (see Table 3). In 1813,

50 A P L, A O Z 3245, t. U, „Suppliki w łościan (1 7 8 6 -1 8 1 4 r.)".

51 A P L, A O Z 3159, „Tych furażów y w iktuałów które z d ó b r P aństw a O rdynacji Z am oyskiej w oysku p olskiem u od czasu w kroczenia tegoż do G allicji az do ostatn ieg o gru d n ia 1809 [...]” .

the v illa g es o f H aryzów, W ieprow e, and Potok Górny, petitioned the Ordynat o f Ordynacja Zam oyska, head o f the Zam oyski holdings, for assistance, because the military had passed through and taken everything in their v illa g es.52 In addition and com pletely separate from the routine military requisitions, there w as the li-

w eru n ek. T h is tax w as instituted in 1790, and required that every four years

various com m unities should provide a fixed quantity o f supplies for the Polish military (i. e. grains, meats, vodka, etc.).53 This assessm ent w as only sligh tly less burdensom e than the traditional forms o f military appropriation, and taken in the con text o f an already faltering rural populace it made the later e x c ise s o f the p e­ riod (1 8 1 2 -1 8 1 4 ) all the more grievous.

Thus, the peasantry and their noble landlords w ere beset from all sid es by N apoleon’s creation, the Duchy o f Warsaw. While the serfs were clearly the great losers on this occasion , one should not forget that property lost by the peasantry (i. e. livestock, grain, m oney) w as ultim ately a loss for the noble landow ner. It is alm ost certain that had the peasantry not been forced to g iv e up a large portion o f their m eager resources to the N a p o leo n ic state, that the landlords w o u ld have absorbed this portiom through further rent increases. For this reason there seem s to have existed an invisible barrier in the area o f rents, w hich the szla ch ta either co n scio u sly , or unconsciously, respected. The landholders, recognizing the finite w ealth o f their tenants, could not prevent the state from taking its part o f the p easan ts good s; h ow ever, everyth in g the state left behind w a s open to rental increases. A s a co n seq u en ce, under the com bined e ffe c ts o f N a p o leo n ic w ar­ fare and reform , the rural population began to rapidly falter under the unrelen­ ting pressure.

52 A P L , A O Z 3 2 4 5 , t. II, „S uppliki w łościan...".

53 A P L , A O Z 3 2 2 7 , „L iw erunki, składki i podatki w o jenne: 1809/14 r.”, 145, 147, 150, 151, 153, 158, 160.

T ab le 3. Λ partial listing o f contrib u tio n s to the m ilitary by the O rdyn a cja Z a m o yska 1804-1811 54

G o o d s requisitioned Q u a n tity 1809* 1810 1811 O ats 864 k. 4 g. 1017K. 2 3 g. 1629 k. 8 g. H ay 619 w . 416 p. 196w . 372 p 167 w . 2207 p. Straw 96w. 58p. 122w. - 144w. -F lour 9 4 k .3 8 g . 122 k. 30 g. 200 k. 40 g. Bread 4 7 2 7 .5 b u n s 18.06 b u n s 15.229.5 b u n s G roats 67 k. 16.5 g. 102 k. 15 g. 152 k. 29 g. M eat 8.894 lbs 8 7 6 3 lbs 1.364 lbs

Salt 10 b arrels 18 b arrels 64 b arrels

S o u r cream 38 g . Ihty. 38 g . 3 hty. 1 g . I hty.

C rea m 1 g. 65 hty. 3 g 65 hty. _{1 8}

-M ilk 96 g. 1 hty. 96 g. 1 hty.

-C heese 6 kopy 9 szt. 6 ko p y 9 szt. • 2 szt.

Eggs 160 d o z. 56 163 d o z. 36 7 d o z . 24

Beer 530 b. 128.5 g. 575 b. 9 1 5 g. 167 b. 35.25 g.

P o rt 19 b. 33 g. 20 b. 34.5 g.

-W ine 202 g. 3 hty. 210 g. 2 hty. 56 g . 1 hty.

H oney 106 g. 1 hty. 106 g. I hty. 94 g. 1 hty.

Coffee 85.5 lbs 86 lbs 12 lbs S u g ar 24 7 5 lbs 252 lbs 12 lbs L em ons 143 143 -W ood 274 lbs - -H orses - - 25 O xen 42 48 95 C ow s 23 39 48 C alves 4 4 4 G eese 36 38 19 -C hickens 1.926 1.362 149

*A11 goods listed for 1804 w ere taken w ithout com pensation („bez kw itów ”).

A s the villages, w hich normally existed at only a subsistence lev el, w ere continually drained o f their few resources they w ere left in a state o f crisis. The predicament began as the labor force o f many peasant households dim inished as men left the villages and joined the military as either volunteers or conscripts.55

M A P L , A O Z 315 4 , „Tych furażów y w itktuałów które z d ó b r p aństw a O rdynacyi Z am oyskiej w oy sk u polskiem u o d czasu w kroczenia tegoż do G allicji aż do o statn ieg o gru d n ia 1804 A O Z 3160, „F urażów y w ik tu ałó w w szelkich koni, bydła y p ieniędzy dla w o jsk p o lsk ich , rossyi- sk ich , y austryackich..."’; A O Z 3161, „F urażów w ik tu ałó w różnych kon i, bydła y p ien ięd zy z d ó b r państw a O rdynacyi w okręgu Z am oyskim leżących dla w oyska p o lsk ieg o [...]*’.

55 T raditionally, selected serfs (bojarzy) could exchange service in the m iliary fo r th eir y early la­ bor obligations.

T his situation continued to deteriorate as various armies marched through the re­ g io n and constantly dem anded enorm ous am ounts o f liv e s to c k and p rod u ce. In the short interval betw een 1809 and 1815, the region lost an alarm ing and cri­ tical am ount o f livestock (see Table 4).

T a b le 4 . L ivestock loss in parts o f D epartm ent L ubelski, 1 8 1 0 -1 8 1 5 56

N a m e of LIVESTOCK: 1810

co m m u n ity

H o rses O xen C o w s Sheep Sw ine

Ztoice 616 804 1002 336 759

S taiy Zam ość 646 743 1014 587 989

Sitaniec 906 900 1068 1247 1278

L ipsko 532 996 860 378 884

W ólka Ł uków . 34 13 46 26 31

Lipow iec 26 78 139 n o 89

W ieś O su ch y 43 13 62 77 40

W ieś Szos taki 16 * 2 14 12 14

G m . R oguzna 99 200 205 113 193

G m . W ieprzec 165 313 311 163 196

TO TA L 3083 4062 4721 3049 4473

N a m e of LIVESTOCK: 1815

co m m u n ity

H orses O xen C ow s Sheep Sw ine

Zloice 195 211 362 31 212

Stary Zam ość 143 188 433 64 269

Sitaniec 286 271 394 111 230

Lipsko 121 202 280 1 102

W ólka Ł u k ó w . 13 2 21 - 13

L ipow iec 12 27 62 4 11

W ieś O su ch y 29 6 42 3 15

W ieś Szos taki 7 - 5 6

G m . R oguzna 54 143 205 66 105

G m . W ieprzec 67 208 272 72 130

TOTAL 927 1258 2076 352 1093

V illage stocks w ere depleted and the countryside found itself in the m idst o f a sign ifican t subsistence crisis. O nce deprived o f the bulk o f their livestock and a substantial portion o f their agricultural produce, the serfs o f L u b elszczyzn a began to experience starvation and eventually sm allpox, m easles, and scurvy.57 A s early as 1810, epidem ics w ere reported in the areas o f Stary Z am ość and Wierzba. W hile this particular outbreak o f sickness only afflicted som e 58 people in the

56 A P L , A O Z 3 214, „S um m aryusz W ykazujący Ilość D ym ów , L udności, Z aprzęgu, R obocizny, W y siew ó w ...”; A O Z 320 3 , „Pow iat T arnogrodzki gm ina Ł ukow a ( 1814 r.)” ; A O Z 3 208, „Pow iat T om aszow ski m iasto T o m asz ó w (18 1 4 r.)” , 3.

two com m unities, it w as a sign o f things to com e. The population o f Stary Za­ m ość dropped from 463 people in 1810 to a low 239 inhabitants by 1812.58 This w ould be follow ed by the much more serious and far-reaching ep id em ics o f 1812-1813. Later bouts o f disease were worsened by the poor crops and alm ost fam ine-like conditions that existed in 1812. The crisis w as further intensified as the m odest food supplies o f the area were placed under the added pressure o f a recent baby boom . In 1811, follow in g the successful military cam paign o f 1809, an overw helm ing majority o f the regional G ith olic parishes reported trem endous increases in the number o f births.54 The w orst o f the sic k n e ss fo llo w e d on the heals o f the retreating G ran de A rm ée, as the remnants o f N a p o leo n ’s force left Russia they drifted across the duchy on their march w estward. The dire situation o f the Polish territory w as soon made even w orse as pursuing tsarist troops ente­ red the region and began the occupation o f the duchy.

In light o f intense military activity in 1 8 1 2 -1 3 , and the already poor con d i­ tions that existed in the Polish lands, it is not surprising that the w h o le o f the D e ­ partment Lubelski w as plagued by sickness. The landlords o f the northern p o -

w iats, like the entire area, reported numerous deaths am ong their peasantry near

the end o f 1812 and throughout 1813. The regional reports o f rising mortality rates are confirm ed by the significant, and revealing, increase in the number o f far­ m er’s deaths reported by the Breza family on their holdings "w e w si A ndryow i- czach y Slobodzie M aryanowce”: 1809 (1 death), 1810 (1 ), 1811 (2 ), 18 1 2 (7), 1813 (16), 1814 (3), 1815 ( l ) . 60 Clearly, the later m onths o f 1812 and the w h o le o f 1813, w as a period o f crisis for the area; it claim ed twenty-three lives, w h ile the remaining five and on e-h alf years o f the N apoleonic period only saw eight farmers die. This epidem ic, however, proved particularly acute in the area which w itnessed the m ost military action, the southern region o f the Departm ent Lubel­ ski, in th ep o w ia ts o f Zam oyski, Krasnystaw, and T om aszów .61

Zam ość, the ’’Renaissance Pearl o f Poland” and private city o f the Zam oyski fam ily, had served as a border stronghold and garrison to the Austrian military from 1771 until 1809, and w hile under the N apoleonic regim e it w as o n ce again fortified through peasant labor and asked to guard the southeastern passage into

58 A P L, A O Z 3 253, „w okoliczności graszuiącey choroby ep id em iczn ey [...] d o stateczn eg o ra ­ portu, 26 lutego 1810 r.", II; 332; A O Z 3214, „Tabella ludności w P a ń stw ie O rdynacji Z am o y ­ sk iej...”; A O Z 3227, „Podatek czo p o w e ” .

59 A A L , Rep. 6 0 - V I - 1 , „W ykaz statystyczny o ruchu ludności w parafiach d zisiejszy ch guberni lubelskiej...” .

60 A P L, A U S 111, 3.

the Polish lands.62 Thus, as the regional stronghold it drew a substantial number o f Polish troops into the area, and in 1813 attracted an even larger number o f Russian troops. A s tsarist forces overran the area they im m ediately placed the w eakened, scurvy afflicted city o f Zam ość under sie g e and proceeded to occupy the surrounding territory. W hile more than 10,000 Russian soldiers roamed the countryside engaging the sparse Polish detachm ents, they rapidly appropriated all available supplies and laid w aste to the country.63

A fter the Russian advance in 1813, the Ordynat Ordynacji Z am oyskiej, head o f the exten sive possession s o f the Zam oyski fam ily, som etim es received peti­ tions in Zamość from w idow s with children asking for assistance in repairing their hom e and farm ing the fields sin ce their husbands had recently d ied .64 T hese incidents, how ever, do not reflect either a new found aristocratic sym pathy for their tenants or significant warm ing o f customary peasant-landlord relations. Tra­ ditionally, landowners had assisted their serfs in tim es o f dire need through loans o f m oney or food, but quite often these advances w ere used to exact more goods and services from workers, in the form o f debt and interest paym ents. In the d e­ sperate days o f the duchy, reform broke this exp loitive, but effectiv e, bond be­ tween the szlachta and their laborers, by transforming serfs into private share-crop­ pers. Thus, landowners no longer felt com pelled to advance unsecured loans to a peasantry w hich w as no longer bound to the land and obliged to repay debts. U l­ tim ately, the d uchy’s governm ent intervened on 12 March 1812, and through royal decree required landlords to assist their starving and im poverished tenancy. T he edict m erely served to resurrect yet another exp loitive feudal relationship, and like the decree o f 1807, it too was shrouded in the modern language o f a s o ­ cially con sciou s N aopoleonic ruler. The mandate sought once again to bind the peasantry to landed elites and the land; as it held that landholders m ust extend loans o f food or m oney to their tenants, but indebted workers could not leave the landlord’s service until all debts were repaid in full.63 Thus, petitions asking for help w ere not particularly rare in the days o f dearth w hich follow ed the famine o f 1811 and the N apoleonic cam paign o f 1812, but they should be view ed as e v i­ den ce o f a revised feudal order in an allegedly non-feudal state.

A s the N apoleonic armies withdrew to their respective countries in 1815, the once prosperous agrarian society o f L u belszczyzn a lay in sham bles. In the rural

62 B ialas: op. c h ., s. 1020.

63 J. N adzieja: Z a m o ść 1813, W arszaw a 1444,8. 138. 64 A P L , A O Z 324 5 , t. II, „Suppliki w łościan [...]". 65 Bartel: et al. s. 2 2 7 -2 2 8 .

areas, particularly o f the O rdyn acja Z am oyska, suffered either stagnation or a dramatic decline in their population. Where the period o f Austrian rule, despite the thorough conscriptions o f the Habsburg m ilitary, w as marked by general in­ creases in population, livestock, and produce, the N ap oleon ic era w a s marked by dem ographic and econ om ic crisis (see Table 5).66

T able 5. Population loss in rural parts o f the D epartm ent L u b elsk i, 1810—1 8 1567

N am e of INHABITANTS: 1810

co m m u n ity

Families C atholic Jew ish

M ale Fem ale M ale Fem ale

Złoice 471 1116 1202 23 35

S taty Zam ość 544 1172 1221 21 22

Sitaniec 620 1484 1578 24 24 Lipsko 497 1170 1218 14 15 W ólka L uków . 22 67 66 - -Lipow iec 59 138 137 I -TOTAL 2213 5147 5422 83 96 N am e of N HABITANTS: 18 IE co m m u n ity

Families Catholic Jew ish

M ale Fem ale M ale Fem ale

Złoice 371 891 941 23 35

S tary Zam ość 394 879 928 12 16

Sitaniec 469 1140 1229 16 15

L ipsko 349 832 829 12 12

W ólka Luków . 20 55 60 -

-Lipow iec 58 135 135 I 2

TOTAL 1661 3932 4122 «. « 80

It is generally held that the decline o f the farming population w as caused by a mass exodus from the fo lw a rk s and villages, w hich w as brought about by the recent introduction o f usually harsh contractual agreem ents. W hile this explana­ tion certainly has merit, it suggests only part o f the reason for the sudden dips in population. The balance o f the answer lies in the previously m entioned sick n ess and deprivation associated with N apoleonic cam paigning. Thus, the southern border region, which endured more frequent visits from both the neighboring m i­ litaries and Polish detachm ents, w itnessed more dramatic population loss than did

66 A PK , T S 1858, „G alicja - S um m ariusze konskrypcyjne r. 1774, 1744: w y k azy ludności i b y d ­ ła 1 8 1 1 -1 8 2 4 ; w ykazy liw erunku 1774, 1804, 1823.

the w estern and northern districts o f the Department Lubelski (see T ables 6 - 7 ) .68 T his usually ignored detail suggests a direct relationship betw een the presence o f troops in the area and its adverse effects on the regional civilian population. S im ­ ply, if serfs tleein g the poor conditions o f their v illa g es Is taken as a constant throughout the department, then regional variations in dem ographic change must be attributed to differences in the amount o f military activity. Even though the re­ sulting deaths and disappearances in the area w ere not the direct con seq u en ce o f open com bat, they w ere nonetheless the outcom e o f numerous military appro­ priations and deprivations.

Thus, by the assem bly o f the C ongress o f Vienna in 1815, the relationship betw een Polish nobles and their agrarian labor force w as changed substantially by the years o f the D uchy o f Warsaw. Polish landlords, acting m uch the sam e as their forefathers o f the late-fifteenth century, took advantage o f the N apoleonic opportunity to rescind virtually all peasant rights and legal protction; thus cre­ ating a new m odem serfdom which w ould last w ell into the nineteenth century.64 After rem oving these securities the szla ch ta then typically proceeded to increase the various rents and obligations, w ithout increasing the peasants holdings. Ironi­ cally, the constitution and cam paigns o f N apoleon, w hich w ere in part meant to abolish all forms o f feudalism and insure a system o f m eritocracy, did neither in the D uchy o f Warsaw. U ltim ately, traditional Polish serfdom w as transformed from an oral agreem ent into a contractual arrangement, and w as all the more on e­ rous and entrenched because o f this change; w h ile, the Polish aristocracy, rather than other more talented and landless sectors o f so ciety , used its vast landhol­ dings to help reassert itself as the dom inate stratum in Polish society.

“ A P L , A O Z 3 1 5 9 -3 1 6 0 . From the peace o f 1809 through 1810, Ihe frontier regions, like the so u th eastern section o f D epartm ent L u belski, w ere required to pro v id e su p p lies to not only the P o ­ lish m ilitary, but also to the allies o f France (i. e. R ussia and A ustria).