Provisional Council of the Duchy of Masovia the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising First Government an Outline of its Activities

Abstract

In 1794 a national uprising broke out in Poland. It was aimed against the interference by the neighboring countries, mainly Russia, with Polish affairs. After Warsaw was liberated, on 19^th April the Provisional Council of the Duchy of Masovia (RZT) was established. It performed its functions for 38 days, when the Uprising was most threatened in the military sense. The commander of the Uprising, Tadeusz Kościuszko, recognized and approved of the RZT, granting it a broad range of competences. The course of events caused that the Council extended its influence to a considerable area of the Polish Republic, in fact acting as the central organ of the Uprising. The RZT formed the Criminal Court, several deputations and local disciplinary commissions. It conducted diplomatic talks, maintained relations with King Stanislaus II August, mediated in the conflict between Kościuszko and the Uprising authorities in Lithuania. All these circumstances caused that in the consequence of the development of the situation, contrary to the intentions of the people who had established RZT, it in fact became the first central government of the Kościuszko Uprising. It concluded its activities on 28^th May and transferred the authority to the new government – the Supreme National Council.