Poland’s national movements

At the congress of Vienna of 1815, it was decided that Russia received most of the Duchy of Warsaw, and that Prussia was given the rest. Russia organized its Polish lands as ‘the Congress Kingdom of Poland’. Russia gave to the congress a relatively liberal constitution, an army, and limited autonomy . However, in the 1820s, Russian rules grew stricter. In Poland nationalist and patriotic feelings grew, secret societies were plotting an insurrection and a demand of independence. Modern nationalism was at that time the most dynamic and appealing political doctrine. It preached the value and dignity of native cultures and languages.

During the next decades Poland had a series of uprising and revolts. In November 1830, Polish troops in Warsaw rose in revolt, starting a new Polish-Russian war. The Poles received no aid form France. By September 1831, the Russians had repressed Polish resistance, intellectual and religious activity throughout Poland. And the Congress of Poland lost its constitution and its army. This first uprising failed.
A conservative group headed by Adam Jerzy Czartoryski wanted to restore Poland's status as it was established by the Congress of Vienna. This group wanted polish independence with republicanism and the emancipation of the serfs. But the poles were handicapped by internal division, limited resources, heavy surveillance, and persecution, the Polish national movement suffered numerous losses.

Another uprising occurred in 1846 in the Austrian part of Poland, organized by the Polish Democratic Society. Unfortunately, The uprising ended in a bloody fiasco when the peasantry took up arms against the rebel leadership dominated by nobility and gentry, which was a worse oppressor than the Austrians. The Polish nationalist were harshly repressed by the Austrians, which left them in a poor position to participate in the wave of national revolutions that crossed Europe in 1848 and 1849.

The last and