Magnaci na sejmikach mińskich w latach 1778– 1787. O znaczeniu „głosu” Radziwiłłów i innych „możnych panów” w Mińskiem

Abstract

The times of Stanislav August brought many changes in the perception of the nobility of the Commonwealth. This is also evident in the sejmiks and in the relations of provincial elites with the magnates. The position of the magnate families after the Bar Confederation and the First Partition weakened, which Stanislaw Augustus took good advantage of to build his party, at the expense of the magnates themselves. This mechanism can be seen in the Minsk province, although in it the influence of the Radziwills was strong all the time, except that the most important of them, Karol Stanislaw, after his return from the “post-Bar confederacy” emigration, began to cooperate with the king. As a result, most of the elections of officials and the election of deputies and deputies in Minsk were carried out in agreement between K.S. Radziwill, Antoni Tyzenhauz, Joachim Chreptowicz and the local elite represented by the Bykowskis, the Chmars, the Proszynskis, the Świętorzeckis, the Wolodkowiczes or the Zawiszas. With regard to them, K.S. Radziwill behaved with detachment, adequately supporting members of these families in applying for functions or offices, however he was flexible in this, able to give up his candidate. In any case, he did not risk much, as kindness was shown to him by almost everyone. Supported himself by Jozef Mikolaj Radziwill, Voivode of Minsk, and Hieronim Wincenty Radziwill, Starost of Minsk, he maintained a balance among the ambitious families of Minsk. Attempts to involve representatives of other wealthy families: the Sapiehas, the Przezdzieckis or the Brzostowskis, were limited to isolated actions related to putting forward their candidates for parliamentary, deputy or electoral offices. The power of the middle nobility is also evident in Minsk. It was, next to the Radziwills and the royal party, the third force, increasingly independent, although most of the local elite accepted the direction of reforms proposed by Stanislaw Augustus, which also did not mean that they had their particular interests in mind all the time, and the Minsk sejmiks were usually very rational in their decisions. Translated by Stefan Kubiak