Constitution of 3 May 1791
The Constitution of 3 May 1791 — adopted by a surprise session in which reformers packed the chamber while opponents were away for Easter — abolished the liberum veto, replaced elected monarchy with a hereditary constitutional throne, strengthened the executive, gave townspeople civic rights, and placed peasants under 'protection of the law'. Edmund Burke hailed it as nobler than the French Revolution. The triumph lasted fourteen months. Catherine the Great, alarmed by the precedent of constitutional reform on her border, backed the Targowica Confederation of conservative Polish magnates who invited Russian intervention. Russian troops invaded in 1792, and the constitution was abolished. The Second Partition followed in 1793. Tadeusz Kościuszko's uprising of 1794 was suppressed, and the Third Partition of 1795 erased Poland from the map entirely.
- Year: 1791 CE
- Category: Political
