Poland's last king and English culture : Stanislaw August Poniatowski, 1732-1798
Butterwick-Pawlikowski, Richard, 1968-1998
Books
The attempt by Stanislaw August Poniatowski (1764-95) 'to create anew the Polish world' was one of the most audacious enterprises of reform undertaken in the 18th century. With new perspectives on the successes and limitations of the Polish Enlightenment, this book presents a dynamic interpretation of European culture in the eighteenth century. The attempt by Stanislaw August Poniatowski (1764-95) 'to create anew the Polish world' was one of the most audacious enterprises of reform undertaken by any enlightened monarch in the eighteenth century. None started in less promising circumstances. Politically the King was trapped between a Russian protectorate and a nobility wedded to its anarchic liberty. The beginnings of the Polish Enlightenment had yet to make more than ripples on the stagnant waters of Polish culture. Yet by 1791, Poland-Lithuania had made a huge cultural advance, and had given herself a constitution admired across Europe. Tragically for Poland, her neighbours then destroyed much of these achievements and partitioned the country out of existence. Stanislaw August died in exile, cursed by most of his compatriots to this day. In Poland's Last King, Richard Butterwick reassesses the achievement of Poland's last and most controversial king. He shows how Stanislaw's radical plans for reform of Poland's constitution and culture were profoundly influenced by his love of England, and examines the successes and limitations of the Polish Enlightenment.
Main title:
Poland's last king and English culture : Stanislaw August Poniatowski, 1732-1798 / Richard Butterwick.
Imprint:
Oxford : Clarendon, 1998.
Collation:
xix,376p. : ill., 1 geneal. table, 1 plan, ports. ; 23cm.
Series title:
Notes:
Bibliography: p321-352. _ Includes index.
ISBN:
9780198207016
Language:
English
Subject:
Stanislaw August Poniatowski, King of Poland, 1732-1798HistoryEuropean historyHistorySocial & cultural historyCultural studiesConstitution: government & the statePoland18th century, c 1700 to c 1799General & world historyEastern EuropePoland -- Civilization -- English influencesPoland -- History -- Stanislaus II Augustus, 1764-1795
BRN:
94942
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