Poland's 1791 Constitution: Europe's First and a Nation's Last Hope

In 1791, as Poland-Lithuania faced annihilation by its absolutist neighbors, the Great Sejm passed the Constitution of 3 May — Europe's first written constitution and the world's second after the U.S. Constitution. This episode explores how King Stanisław August Poniatowski, reformers like Hugo Kołłątaj and Stanisław Małachowski, and the patriotic middle nobility crafted a document that abolished the liberum veto, created a hereditary monarchy, and guaranteed civil rights for burghers and some protection for peasants. We trace the dramatic four-year debate, the secret sessions, the military coup that the constitution barely survived, and the Russian backlash that led to the Targowica Confederation and the 1793 Grodno Sejm that annulled it. The constitution lived only 19 months, but its ideals inspired Polish uprisings for generations. Lucas and Luna discuss why this document mattered — and why it still matters today. #Constitution3May #PolishLithuanianCommonwealth #StanisławAugustPoniatowski #HugoKołłątaj #StanisławMałachowski #GreatSejm #LiberumVeto #TargowicaConfederation #GrodnoSejm #PolishEnlightenment #KnightSchool #Warsaw #History #FexingoHistory #EasternEurope #ConstitutionalHistory #18thCentury #Reform Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo