About Józef Kanty Ossoliński, Wine and the Turbulent Course of the Pre-convocation Sejmik in Lutsk in the Winter of 1764

Abstract

The article attempts to assess the influence of magnates on the course of sejmiks in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through the lens of the actions taken by Volyn voivode Jozef Kanty Ossolinski in late 1763 and early 1764 to push through decisions favorable to the party of the so-called republicans at the pre-convocation sejmik in Lutsk. Despite very intensive efforts and a great deal of material generosity, including the importation of several thousand liters of wine, these efforts failed due to the equally good preparation of political opponents – the ‘family’ led by the Crown huntsman Stanisław Czartoryski, supported by several other magnates, as well as the court militia and the Czartoryski rented nobility, who managed to dominate the sejm. Although Ossoliński managed to unite the republican camp, he failed to prevent first a brawl and profanation of the church, and then a division of the sejm into two circles sitting separately. At both instances’, deputies to the Convocation Sejm and extraordinary, so called “kapturowy” judges were elected, which meant that the struggle for political domination of Volhynia continued for another three months. In the end, it was the deputies appointed by the Czartoryskis who were declared legitimately elected, although it should be noted that three of them did not come to the convocation for political reasons. The article is based on hitherto under-utilized source material from the resources of archives and academic libraries in Poland and abroad, which has been critically evaluated using research methods characteristic of the discipline of history.