Partitions of Poland
forced partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a term used in history. They took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.[1][2][3] Three partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth took place:
- 5 August 1772
- 23 January 1793
- 24 October 1795
The partitions were carried out by Prussia, Russia and Habsburg Austria dividing up the Commonwealth lands among themselves.
The less often used term "Fourth Partition of Poland" may refer to any later division of Polish lands, specifically:
- After the Napoleonic Era, the 1815 division of the Duchy of Warsaw at the Congress of Vienna;
- The 1832 incorporation of the "Congress Kingdom" into Russia, and the 1846 incorporation of the Republic of Kraków into Austria; and
- The 1939 division of Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.[4]