Józef Ankwicz
Encyclopedia
Józef Ankwicz of Awdaniec coat of arms, also known as Józef z Posławic and Józef Awdaniec, was a politician and noble (szlachcic) in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
. He held the office of castellan
of Nowy Sącz
from 1782. Deputy to the Great Sejm
, and most infamously, the Grodno Sejm
. His actions there earned him the memory of one of the most prominent collaborators with the foreign partitioners of Poland
.
He was also awarded with Order of Saint Stanislaus
in 1781. In 1782 he received the office of castellan
of Nowy Sącz
. Elected deputy to the Sejm
s in the period 1782 - 1790, he was a member of the royal faction. In 1784 he the Order of the White Eagle from king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, as well as the title of count
(hrabia) from Empress of Austro-Hungary, Maria Theresa of Austria
; later, he also received the office of Chamberlain
at the Austrian court. He was a chief member of the diplomatic mission
sent to Denmark
in 1791, acting as the Polish ambassador. While in Denmark, he supported the Polish position, and is said to have vocally opposed the Russian diplomats there.
In 1792 a number of Polish diplomatic missions were cancelled, and Ankwicz was recalled to Warsaw. This meant that he lost his main source of income. He was able to briefly return to Denmark, but the end of the Polish-Russian War of 1792
(after the passage of the Constitution of 3 May) saw him in Warsaw once again. Known for his lavish lifestyle, poor investments and as a gambler, he quickly fell in debts and was recruited by Russian ambassador and Jacob Sievers
. He became associated with the Targowica Confederation
. Subsequently, he was known for his support of foreign powers (Austro-Hungary, Prussia
, Russian Empire
), most infamously during the last Sejm
of the Commonwealth - the Grodno Sejm
of 1793, he was the leader of the "Russian Party" and the deputy who concluded that the unwillingness of other deputies to speak (threatened by Russian soldiers present in the room) means that they accept the demands of the Prussian and Russian Empire
s (the Second Partition of Poland
). For that he was rewarded by his Russian masters with a pension and a position in the Permanent Council
.
During the Kościuszko Uprising
he was captured by the Polish revolutionaries. On the request of Polish Jacobins, he was sentenced by the summary revolutionary court to hanging
, together with some of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation: Józef Kossakowski
, hetman
Piotr Ożarowski
and hetman Józef Zabiełło. He was executed on 9 May 1794 in Warsaw
, in the aftermath of the Warsaw Uprising
, a part of the Kościuszko Uprising
. His last actions earned him further recognition, as he gifted the executioner with a golden box, to commemorize the moment of the execution, and put the rope on his neck himself.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. He held the office of castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
of Nowy Sącz
Nowy Sacz
Nowy Sącz is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County, but is not included within the powiat.-Names:...
from 1782. Deputy to the Great Sejm
Great Sejm
The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm was a Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that was held in Warsaw, beginning in 1788...
, and most infamously, the Grodno Sejm
Grodno Sejm
Grodno Sejm was the last Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Grodno Sejm, held in fall of 1793 in Grodno, Grand Duchy of Lithuania is infamous because its deputies, bribed or coerced by the Russian Empire, passed the act of Second Partition of Poland...
. His actions there earned him the memory of one of the most prominent collaborators with the foreign partitioners of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
.
Biography
Son of Stanisław Walenty Ankwicz and Salomea Schwarcemberg-Czerny. Married to Anna Biberstein-Starowieyska, father of Andrzej Alojzy Jan Stanisław Ankwicz (archbishop of Lviv) and daughters Kordula and Krystyna.He was also awarded with Order of Saint Stanislaus
Order of Saint Stanislaus
The Order of Saint Stanislaus , also spelled Stanislas, was an Order in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and The Kingdom of Poland between 1765 and 1831 and of Russian Empire from 1831 to 1917.-History of the Order of Saint Stanislaus:Stanisław August Poniatowski, King of Poland, established the...
in 1781. In 1782 he received the office of castellan
Castellan
A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...
of Nowy Sącz
Nowy Sacz
Nowy Sącz is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County, but is not included within the powiat.-Names:...
. Elected deputy to the Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
s in the period 1782 - 1790, he was a member of the royal faction. In 1784 he the Order of the White Eagle from king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, as well as the title of count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
(hrabia) from Empress of Austro-Hungary, Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...
; later, he also received the office of Chamberlain
Chamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
at the Austrian court. He was a chief member of the diplomatic mission
Diplomatic mission
A diplomatic mission is a group of people from one state or an international inter-governmental organisation present in another state to represent the sending state/organisation in the receiving state...
sent to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
in 1791, acting as the Polish ambassador. While in Denmark, he supported the Polish position, and is said to have vocally opposed the Russian diplomats there.
In 1792 a number of Polish diplomatic missions were cancelled, and Ankwicz was recalled to Warsaw. This meant that he lost his main source of income. He was able to briefly return to Denmark, but the end of the Polish-Russian War of 1792
Polish-Russian War of 1792
The Polish–Russian War of 1792 or War in Defence of the Constitution was fought between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on one side, and the Targowica Confederation and the Russian Empire on the other....
(after the passage of the Constitution of 3 May) saw him in Warsaw once again. Known for his lavish lifestyle, poor investments and as a gambler, he quickly fell in debts and was recruited by Russian ambassador and Jacob Sievers
Jacob Sievers
Count Jacob Sievers was a Russian statesman and a reformer of the empire....
. He became associated with the Targowica Confederation
Targowica Confederation
The Targowica Confederation was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catherine II. The confederation opposed the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, which had been adopted by the Great Sejm,...
. Subsequently, he was known for his support of foreign powers (Austro-Hungary, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
), most infamously during the last Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
of the Commonwealth - the Grodno Sejm
Grodno Sejm
Grodno Sejm was the last Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Grodno Sejm, held in fall of 1793 in Grodno, Grand Duchy of Lithuania is infamous because its deputies, bribed or coerced by the Russian Empire, passed the act of Second Partition of Poland...
of 1793, he was the leader of the "Russian Party" and the deputy who concluded that the unwillingness of other deputies to speak (threatened by Russian soldiers present in the room) means that they accept the demands of the Prussian and Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
s (the Second Partition of Poland
Second Partition of Poland
The 1793 Second Partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was the second of three partitions that ended the existence of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The second partition occurred in the aftermath of the War in Defense of the Constitution and the Targowica Confederation of 1792...
). For that he was rewarded by his Russian masters with a pension and a position in the Permanent Council
Permanent Council
The Permanent Council was the highest administrative authority in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1775 and 1789 and the first modern government in Europe...
.
During the Kościuszko Uprising
Kosciuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising was an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania in 1794...
he was captured by the Polish revolutionaries. On the request of Polish Jacobins, he was sentenced by the summary revolutionary court to hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
, together with some of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation: Józef Kossakowski
Józef Kossakowski (bishop)
Józef Kazimierz Korwin Kossakowski , of Ślepowron Coat of Arms, was a Polish noble , bishop of Livonia from 1781, political activist, writer, and supporter of Russian Empire....
, hetman
Hetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Piotr Ożarowski
Piotr Ozarowski
Piotr Ożarowski was a Polish noble , politic and military commander. Member of the infamous Confederation of Targowica, he reached the offices of Great Crown Hetman and castellan of Wojnice....
and hetman Józef Zabiełło. He was executed on 9 May 1794 in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, in the aftermath of the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising (1794)
The Warsaw Uprising of 1794 was an armed Polish insurrection by the city's populace early in the Kościuszko Uprising. Supported by the Polish Army, it aimed to throw off Russian control of the Polish capital city...
, a part of the Kościuszko Uprising
Kosciuszko Uprising
The Kościuszko Uprising was an uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania in 1794...
. His last actions earned him further recognition, as he gifted the executioner with a golden box, to commemorize the moment of the execution, and put the rope on his neck himself.