The Treaty of the Three Black Eagles, or Treaty of Berlin, was a secret treaty signed in September and December 1732 between the Habsburg monarchy, the Russian Empire and Prussia.
It concerned the joint policy of the three powers regarding to the succession of the Polish throne in light of the expected death of King Augustus II of Poland (and Elector of Saxony from the House of Wettin) and the Polish custom of royal elections. It intended to exclude the candidacies of Augustus' son, Frederick Augustus, and of Stanislas Leszczynski, who had already been king of Poland from 1704 to 1709.
However, in 1733, as Stanislaus was about to be elected, Russia and Austria signed Löwenwolde's Treaty (on 19 August 1733) to support Frederick Augustus. Stanislas eventually had to leave Poland, and Frederick Augustus was elected as Augustus III of Poland.
The usual name comes from the fact all three signatories used a black eagle as a state coat of arms. [1] in contrast to the white eagle, a symbol of Poland. Another name is the Treaty of Berlin, where it was signed by Prussia (Russia and Austria had signed on 13 September 1732 and were joined by Prussia on 13 December).
The three powers agreed that they would oppose another candidate from the House of Wettin as well as the candidacy of the pro-French Pole Stanisław Leszczyński, the father-in-law of Louis XV. [2] Instead, they chose to support either Infante Manuel, Count of Ourém, brother of the Portuguese king, [3] or a member of the Piast family. [4] [ dubious ]
The Treaty of the Three Black Eagles had several goals. None of the three parties seriously supported Infante Manuel. [5] The agreement had provisions for all three powers to agree that it was in their best interest that their common neighbour, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, did not undertake any reforms that might strengthen it [6] and for its elected monarch to be friendly towards them. [2] In addition to the obvious, increasing the influence of the three powers over the Commonwealth, Austria and Russia also discreetly wanted to reduce the possibility of a French-Prussian-Saxon alliance. Prussia received promises of support for its interests in Courland (now southern and western Latvia). [3]
The political situation changed rapidly, and the Treaty of the Three Black Eagles was superseded soon after it had been formulated. With the death of Augustus II on 1 February 1733, Austria and Russia distanced themselves from the earlier treaty, which was never ratified by the Empress of Russia. [3] Their primary goal, the disruption of the French-Saxon-Prussian alliance, had already been achieved and so they sought to secure support from various Polish and Saxon factions. Thus, on 19 August 1733, Russia and Austria entered into the Löwenwolde's Treaty with Saxony in the person of the new elector, Frederick Augustus II of Saxony. The treaty was named after one of the chief diplomats involved in the negotiations, the Russian Karl Gustav von Löwenwolde.
The terms of Löwenwolde's Treaty were straightforward. Russia would provide troops to ensure Frederick Augustus's election and coronation, and Frederick Augustus would, as the Polish king, recognise Anna Ivanovna as Empress of Russia, relinquish Polish claims to Livonia and remain unopposed to Russian interests [7] in Courland. [8] Austria received a promise that as king, Frederick Augustus would both renounce any claim to the Austrian succession and respect the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. [2]
Prussia allowed the French candidate, Leszczyński, safe passage across their lands [9] and continued to oppose the election of Frederick Augustus. [10] Both Austria and Russia publicly declared in advance that they would not recognise Leszczyński if he was elected. [2] However, the election sejm in Wola went ahead and picked Leszczyński on 12 September 1733, which was announced by the interrex, Primate Potocki. [2] [11] Diplomatic promises [2] and the arrival of Russian troops outside Warsaw on 20 September [8] caused a "rump" group, led by Michael Wisniowiecki (Great Chancellor of Lithuania) and Teodor Lubomirski (governor of Kraków) together with the Bishop of Poznań (Stanisław Józef Hozjusz) and the Bishop of Kraków (Jan Aleksander Lipski) to decamp to another Warsaw suburb, where they held a new election, under the protection of the Russian troops, picking Frederick Augustus II of Saxony, who became Augustus III of Poland. [2]
The interference of various foreign powers into the Polish election led to the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1738), between Augustus III, with his foreign allies Austria and Russia, against the supporters of Leszczyński, allied with France. Prussia reluctantly sent 10,000 troops. [3] In the Treaty of Vienna of 1738, which formally ended the war, Leszczyński renounced his claim to the Polish throne [12] and was made Duke of Lorraine in compensation. [9]
The War of the Polish Succession was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of their own national interests. France and Spain, the two Bourbon powers, attempted to test the power of the Austrian Habsburgs in Western Europe, as did the Kingdom of Prussia, whilst Saxony and Russia mobilized to support the eventual victor. The fighting in Poland resulted in the accession of Augustus III, who in addition to Russia and Saxony, was politically supported by the Habsburgs.
1733 (MDCCXXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 1733rd year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 733rd year of the 2nd millennium, the 33rd year of the 18th century, and the 4th year of the 1730s decade. As of the start of 1733, the Gregorian calendar was 11 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 123 years. The partitions were conducted by the Habsburg monarchy, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Russian Empire, which divided up the Commonwealth lands among themselves progressively in the process of territorial seizures and annexations.
Frederick Augustus I was a member of the House of Wettin who reigned as the last Elector of Saxony from 1763 to 1806 and as the first King of Saxony from 1806 to 1827. He was also Duke of Warsaw from 1807 to 1815, and a legitimate candidate to the Polish throne.
Stanisław I Leszczyński, also Anglicized and Latinized as Stanislaus I, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at various times Prince of Deux-Ponts, Duke of Bar and Duke of Lorraine.
Augustus II, most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in the years 1697–1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin.
Augustus III was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Augustus II.
The Bar Confederation was an association of Polish nobles (szlachta) formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia, now part of Ukraine, in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian political influence and against King Stanislaus II Augustus with Polish reformers, who were attempting to limit the power of the Commonwealth's wealthy magnates.
The Duchy of Warsaw, also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnically Polish lands ceded to France by Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit, and was augmented in 1809 with territory ceded by Austria in the Treaty of Schönbrunn. It was the first attempt to re-establish Poland as a sovereign state after the 18th-century partitions and covered the central and southeastern parts of present-day Poland.
Prince Michał Fryderyk Czartoryski (1696–1775) was a Polish nobleman, the Duke of Klewań and Żuków, magnate, and Knight of the Order of the White Eagle. He headed Poland's Czartoryski "Familia".
Stanisław Poniatowski was a Polish military commander, diplomat, and noble. Throughout his career, Poniatowski served in various military offices, and was a general in both the Swedish and Polish–Lithuanian militaries. He also held numerous civil positions, including those of podstoli of Lithuania and Grand Treasurer of the Lithuanian army in 1722, voivode of the Masovian Voivodeship in 1731, regimentarz of the Crown Army in 1728, and castellan of Kraków in 1752. Throughout his lifetime, he served in many starost positions.
The House of Leszczyński was a prominent Polish noble family. They were magnates in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and later became royal family of Poland.
The only surviving original piece of the Polish crown jewels from the time of the Piast dynasty is the ceremonial sword Szczerbiec. It is currently on display along with other preserved royal items at the Wawel Royal Castle Museum in Kraków.
The early modern era of Polish history follows the Late Middle Ages. Historians use the term early modern to refer to the period beginning in approximately 1500 AD and lasting until around 1800.
The House of Sobieski was a prominent magnate family of Polish nobility in the 16th and 17th centuries, from which the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Jan III Sobieski originated. The family used the Janina coat of arms.
The Treaty of Warsaw was concluded on 18 November (O.S.) / 28 November 1705 during the Great Northern War. It was a peace treaty and an alliance between the Swedish Empire and the faction of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth loyal to Stanisław Leszczyński.
The history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1648–1764) covers a period in the history of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from the time their joint state became the theater of wars and invasions fought on a great scale in the middle of the 17th century, to the time just before the election of Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
The 1704 Polish–Lithuanian royal election was an election to decide on the new candidate for the Polish–Lithuanian throne.
The 1733 Polish–Lithuanian royal election was an election to decide on the new candidate for the Polish–Lithuanian throne.
The civil war in Poland was a military conflict from 1704 to 1706, and a part of a larger European conflict, the Great Northern War. It focused on the struggle for the Polish throne between King Stanisław I supported by his Warsaw Confederation and Sweden, and the Russian-backed Sandomierz Confederation of Augustus II the Strong. The war ended with Stanisław's victory and the Treaty of Altranstädt in 1706 in which August II renounced his claims to the Polish throne. Stanisław's triumph would be short-lived, however, as by 1709 he would be forced to give up the throne to Augustus II once again.