Historical Facts: The Polish Partitions

     Alright. I know I said that my next post will be on my Visita Iglesia. But don't worry. It's coming soon! Just a few more days. 

    Anyway, Poland has such a history of being partitioned and annexed. Yet it kept fighting back. Still, they have such a tough history. They only truly gained independence in 1990, a mere 34 years ago. But why is it like this? Why did Poland have to suffer so much? Find out today on Historical Facts. 

The First Partition (1772)

    From the beginning of the 18th century to the end of World War I, the Russians and Austrians were big rivals. In 1772, it seemed almost inevitable that Russia and Austria would go to war. But to prevent this, Prussia had an idea. They decided to partition Poland among themselves. This marked the beginning of Poland's partitions. Poland was still a large empire in union with Lithuania, known as the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but this was the beginning of the end for the empire. 

    

https://britannica.com/event/Partitions-of-Poland
This map shows Polish and Lithuanian losses in the first three partitions. 

Second Polish Partition (1793)

    By 1793, Poland-Lithuania was weak. Though they had formed an alliance with Prussia, this was broken. (Germans do often break alliances. You have this, and then the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.) Austria did not take part in this partition, but this saw significant gains for Russia, which gained White and Red Ruthenia, and Prussia, which gained Pozńan. Many of these lands weren't returned to Poland until the end of World War I. 


Third Polish Partition and the Napoleonic Wars (1795 - 1815)

    At this point, Poland was merely a pawn for other nations to battle for. Poland was partitioned again, this time wiping it off the map. Napoleon restored Poland for three years, but he failed. Poland was not restored until 1918. 

    Also, please note that while Russia, Prussia, and Austria got land here, only Russia got land in the long run. The border was adjusted after the Congress of Vienna:

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Imperial-Partition-of-Poland-1815-1914-This-map-is-partly-based-on-the-following_fig4_335700518

    As you can see, comparing this with the previous map, Russia took a lot of land Austria and Prussia previously gained. Austria only gained in the first partition, only gaining the region of Galicia and Lodomeria. (That's present-day Poland, Ukraine, and Romania.)

World War I, the Second Polish Republic, and the Fourth Polish Partition (1914 - 1939)

    During World War I, Germany made Russian Poland a puppet state. After the war, Poland was truly restored as the Second Polish Republic. (However, many people there were actually Belarusian, Ukrainian, or Lithuanian.) However, this did not last long. In 1939, the fourth partition happened. This time, Poland was split by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union:

Made using MapChart.

    Unfortunately, Poland did not recover from this until 1989.  

Poland Under Soviet Rule (1945 - 1989)

    In 1945, Poland became a Soviet puppet. They were given former German territories in the west, but lost several territories to the Soviets. They would remain like that until Solidarity, another political party, finally won the elections in 1989, ending Soviet rule. 

The End

    It's been that tough for Poland. But they're good now. They're a rich nation. And when they joined NATO, that put only Russia (through the Kaliningrad Oblast) and Belarus as enemies on their borders. 

    Alright, that's it. Bye, guys!

The Library of Enotita

Historical Facts: The 1867 Compromise and the Austro-Hungarian Empire

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     Okay. I think I gave you the end before the beginning, because this is about the rise of Austria-Hungary. If you didn't read the last article , that's on the fall of Austria-Hungary. But, I didn't know I would post on this. So, let's go!     Let's look at Austria in 1867. The previous year, they lost a war to Prussia and Italy. After Prussia defeated Austria, the other German states dependent on Austria had an uncertain future. (This would be resolved after the Franco-Prussian War.) But Austria also had an uncertain future. After losing wars, you would generally have a bad economy. Austria was no exception. And Austria already had many ethnicities in their empire. As I said in the last article, Austria had many minorities. In fact, I'll list just some of the most significant minorities in the Austrian Empire: Czechs Slovaks Poles Ukrainians Romanians Hungarians Serbs Croats Slovenes Italians     If this doesn't sound too complicated to you, think ...
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The Ager Centralis Enotitae and Pecunia - Enotitan Finance Guide

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The first ever bill issued by the Ager Centralis. This bill is for one Pecunia.      Almost every country has a currency. You have the dollar, peso, euro, pound, and much more. However, we did not have a currency. This is bad, because the economy is very vital to every country. That's why we established the Ager Centralis Enotitae (Latin for Enotitan Central Bank). From now on, Enotitans can use the Pecunia, our new currency.      To start, open an account at any branch of the Ager Centralis. (Currently, there are only branches in Olsen, the main state.) Present the teller any valid Enotitan government ID. Following that, give the teller any bill from any currency. After around 10 minutes, it will be converted and transformed into a Pecunia for the initial deposit.      You can use the card in Enotitan shops. You can buy souvenirs, food, or even use it to receive salary. (Enotitan companies besides government agencies do not exist at the mome...
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Historical Facts: American and Japanese Rule in the Philippines

     This was based on Reader's Digest: The Story of the Filipino People - Parts 6 and 7 ( Under the Stars and Stripes  and The Japanese Occupation ) by Milagros C. Guerrero and Ricardo T. Jose.      Now that I think about it, I would call the Spanish occupation "the first storm," the American occupation "the second storm," and the Japanese occupation "the third storm." The "between the storm" parts would be 1898 - 1901 and 1935 - 1941.  Part 1 - The Second Storm (1901 - 1935)     After the Philippine-American War, the United States turned the Philippines into a colony. They gained it in the Treaty of Paris along with Puerto Rico, Cuba, and some other islands. The Americans needed to keep it away from Spain, France, and Germany.      Under Spanish rule, the Filipinos were taught Catholicism. But the Americans were mainly Methodist (a sect of Protestantism). American missionaries were sent to the Philippines, although most ...
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