| Revision as of 09:38, 7 April 2006 editGhirlandajo (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers89,629 edits restored deletions← Previous edit | Revision as of 09:47, 7 April 2006 edit undoMolobo (talk | contribs)13,968 edits Except of course the legitimate Princes of Poland were brothers of Poniatowski not ZajączkiNext edit → | ||
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| When the Polish state was recreated as ] by Napoleon, Zajączek believed he should be put in charge of war departament, when his unjustified demands weren't granted he refused to wear Polish uniform, and was forced to do so only on direct orders of Napoleon. His constant disputes and demands were problematic for Polish government, and there was even a proposal to give him some sort of bribe so that he would stop. He particulary insisted on being granted more and more land and possesions, going as far as adressing Napoleon himself. He was put in charge of the so-called Northern Legion, composed primarily of Poles. During ] in ] Zajączek commanded the 16th infantry division of ] until a wound at ] claimed his leg and he was taken prisoner by the ] in ]. | When the Polish state was recreated as ] by Napoleon, Zajączek believed he should be put in charge of war departament, when his unjustified demands weren't granted he refused to wear Polish uniform, and was forced to do so only on direct orders of Napoleon. His constant disputes and demands were problematic for Polish government, and there was even a proposal to give him some sort of bribe so that he would stop. He particulary insisted on being granted more and more land and possesions, going as far as adressing Napoleon himself. He was put in charge of the so-called Northern Legion, composed primarily of Poles. During ] in ] Zajączek commanded the 16th infantry division of ] until a wound at ] claimed his leg and he was taken prisoner by the ] in ]. | ||
| In captitvity through contacts gained by ]<!--name, ilink?-->, Zajączek managed to contact Russian Grand Duke Constantine<!--name, ilink?-->, which helped to place him on Russian created comittee on military organisation. Thereupon he was presented to the ]; his desire to serve the tsar resulted in appointment as his representative in Russian puppet state of ] in 1815. He adopted the position of utmost servility towards Aleksander I, who bestowed on him the title of a 'prince of Poland' in 1818. |
In captitvity through contacts gained by ]<!--name, ilink?-->, Zajączek managed to contact Russian Grand Duke Constantine<!--name, ilink?-->, which helped to place him on Russian created comittee on military organisation. Thereupon he was presented to the ]; his desire to serve the tsar resulted in appointment as his representative in Russian puppet state of ] in 1815. He adopted the position of utmost servility towards Aleksander I, who bestowed on him the title of a 'prince of Poland' in 1818. | ||
| His wife Aleksandra Pernet, though of advanced age, was known for her youthful looks. They had no children, and the princely title went extinct upon Zajączek's death, which happened in Warsaw's palace called '']'' (Regent's Palace), nowadays a seat of the ]. He was burried in ] near ], but his heart was placed in the Bernardine Church in Warsaw. The choice of Opatówek was not accidental, because he contributed a lot to the economic growth of the town. | His wife Aleksandra Pernet, though of advanced age, was known for her youthful looks. They had no children, and the princely title went extinct upon Zajączek's death, which happened in Warsaw's palace called '']'' (Regent's Palace), nowadays a seat of the ]. He was burried in ] near ], but his heart was placed in the Bernardine Church in Warsaw. The choice of Opatówek was not accidental, because he contributed a lot to the economic growth of the town. | ||
Revision as of 09:47, 7 April 2006
Prince Józef Zajączek (1 November, 1752, Kamieniec Podolski — 28 August, 1826, Warsaw) was a controversial Polish general and politician.
His first important military post was that of an aide-de-champ to hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki. Before the partitions of Poland in 1795 he was a deputy to the 4-year Sejm (1788-1792), one of the secretaries of the Assembly of Friends of the Government Act, commander of a division during the Polish-Russian War of 1792, hero of the battle of Zieleńce (for his valor he received the highest decoration of Polish military: Virtuti Militari, becoming the 5th person to receive this award (instituted that year)) and a Polish Jacobin. He was a general and the commander of the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794 after Tadeusz Kościuszko was imprisoned. He is criticised for his poor military skill in preparing defence of Warsaw against Russian invasion. Just before Warsaw fell he escaped to Polish Galicia where he was interned by Austrians. Due to his wife's influence, he was relased one year later.
After the uprising was subdued, Zajączek like many other Polish soldiers joined the Polish Legions in Italy led by Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, which were part of Napoleon's army. He later took part in the Revolutionary Wars and the Egyptian Expedition. At this time he decided to break all ties with his homeland during this time as a result of criticism of his person in Poland. When the Polish state was recreated as Duchy of Warsaw by Napoleon, Zajączek believed he should be put in charge of war departament, when his unjustified demands weren't granted he refused to wear Polish uniform, and was forced to do so only on direct orders of Napoleon. His constant disputes and demands were problematic for Polish government, and there was even a proposal to give him some sort of bribe so that he would stop. He particulary insisted on being granted more and more land and possesions, going as far as adressing Napoleon himself. He was put in charge of the so-called Northern Legion, composed primarily of Poles. During Napoleon's Invasion of Russia in 1812 Zajączek commanded the 16th infantry division of la Grande Armée until a wound at Berezyna claimed his leg and he was taken prisoner by the Russian army in Wilna.
In captitvity through contacts gained by Princess of Łowicz, Zajączek managed to contact Russian Grand Duke Constantine, which helped to place him on Russian created comittee on military organisation. Thereupon he was presented to the Emperor Alexander I; his desire to serve the tsar resulted in appointment as his representative in Russian puppet state of Congress Poland in 1815. He adopted the position of utmost servility towards Aleksander I, who bestowed on him the title of a 'prince of Poland' in 1818.
His wife Aleksandra Pernet, though of advanced age, was known for her youthful looks. They had no children, and the princely title went extinct upon Zajączek's death, which happened in Warsaw's palace called Pałac Namiestnikowski (Regent's Palace), nowadays a seat of the President of Poland. He was burried in Opatówek near Kalisz, but his heart was placed in the Bernardine Church in Warsaw. The choice of Opatówek was not accidental, because he contributed a lot to the economic growth of the town.
Due to the fact that he decided to serve tsar in return for privileges instead of resisting Russian occupation of Polish state, and the fact that he decided to turn over most decision making to the Russian senator and chief of Russian secret police in Poland Nikolay Novosiltsev most people in Poland regarded him as a traitor of their ideals and their country..
External links
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)