Restoration of Poland's Monarchy?

Hi All,
In your opinion (especially if you are Polish!), what are the views of the Polish people towards ever having a King or Queen again? How do modern Poles view how the ancient Kingdom of Poland has shaped the modern People's Republic of Poland?

And, if the Polish monarchy were ever to return, what would make the ideal monarch? Would they be male/female or a ruling couple? Would they have to be Polish by birth and a Roman Catholic?

Any honest responses greatly welcome!
Barbastelle

I am for it (I'm Polish, born in Poland and having lived in Poland from birth). However, I think it not posible to happen in the forseeable future. The tradition of our monarchy has been abruptly stopped and in the period that followed Poland did not exist at all. Our royal crowns and other royal attributes were stolen by the Prusians from Kraków in 1794 and probably melted into gold by these barbarians who had no respect for such things. Notice, however, that neither of independent state which came into being in Central or Eastern Europe after the WW I restored or introduced monarchy (except, if I'm not mistaken, Yougoslavia and Romania) and some countries of the "old" Europe said good-bye to theirs (Germany) or even acted beyond that forbiding members of their royal families from entering the country (Austria).

There are a few monarchists in PL however it's a fringe thing. I've never heard anyone seriously propose restoring a monarchy, and indeed when one existed it didn't end well.

Can you tell me why? What do you think Poland would be like, under the rule of a King or Queen as opposed to a President? Would it increase the national pride that the people of Poland so rightfully deserve?


Again, can you tell me why? :)


Sick. The work of twisted and paranoid minds, I am sure.


Or murdered them, in the case of the Russian Imperial family.


Would you say that was circumstantial (the character of monarchic rulers, Polish and global economy and wars at the time, impending annexations, etc), or the fault of the monarchy overall?

Barbastelle

People are largely happy with the system in place now and there's no great desire to go back to something they see as an anachronism.

I see :)

Do you think that Poland is improving for the better in terms of economic growth, national wealth, national satisfaction etc? :)
Barbastelle

Massively so.

Those in favour of such a thing would have to make an argument that the present system is not fit for purpose then they would have to make an argument as to why it was a good idea to treat people differently by opting for such an undemocratic thing.

I gather that you are not in favour then, Barney ;)
Barbastelle

1794 ... how long ago is that once again ... ? :)

Not all that long ago to a British mind ;)
Barbastelle

Polish kings got their crown from the highest bidder, the foreign power which managed to buy the majority of the magnates and szlachta. Which royal tradition?

Yes, Poland had an elected Monarchy after the Jagiellon's died. Corrupt Magnates working for foreign powers where a big problem in the latter years, however most of the szlachta where OK and could veto any move the king made that seemed corrupt. see executionist movement :

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executionist_movement

This idea of electing monarchs has always been a marvel to me. Was it conducted in a similar way to how we elect Prime Ministers and Presidents today?

Barbastelle

No I'm not for the very simple reason that I believe that people should be treated equally.

i think you underestimate the numbers of szlachta - they were so numerous no foreing power can possibly bribe all of them or even a majority - this does not mean they could not have been manipulated

Are we talking hundreds?
Barbastelle

No, could be anywhere form 5-15 % of the entire population of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth.

Wow! But then that must make them not so special >_<
Barbastelle

what makes it special is the fact that there was nothing else like that in Europe at that time

That makes sense, did they have titles or just regional privileges?
Barbastelle

Titles, it had to be inherited by lineage for the most part

Titles were just "szlachcic" which means either nobleman or member of gentry ( there are some heated discussions on this forum , about which is correct).

About monarchy, it may work where it already exists or where there is lineage and tradition. In Poland partitions and earlier elections of kings means we have in last 440 years we had more than 200 years of elective kings, more than 40 of presidents and 200 of not existing and having forced government.

I cant imagine what possible positive purpose installing an ancient form of social segregation and hierarchy such as royalty could serve. Isn't humanity supposed to evolve and move forward, not backwards? So no, absolutely terrible idea.

Should Poland implement Feudalism too?

Very good point.
There is absolutely nothing in your post that any reasonable and well balanced person could possibly disagree with.

You are talking about the liberum veto here, which was the summum of anarchism. All schlachta were in the pay of their respective magnates and voted as instructed by them. And the magnates were in the pay of foreign powers.

[quot= Barbastelle]Wow! But then that must make them not so special >_<[/quote]
Most were nothing special at all, and to describe them as 'nobles' is stretching things. They were basically the caste who elected the monarch and had some rights that others didn't. In theory, they were all equal. There was however a problem with all this:


All were equal, but some were more equal than others. This frustrated the whole system and there was endless politicking between oligarchs.

Yes, I do acknowledge it was counter productive for any central authority but at the same time it was necessary for liberty


Yes, Magnates were a real problem. Some magnates owned land in the P-L C larger then some entire countries in Europe. Corruption is a problem, even in today's USA we can see a similar situation unfolding.


a quote from animal farm


allot were dirt poor, some did not even own land. I agree, noble is an incorrect term, I think they had compulsory military service so in a way it would make them the privileged military caste. But Szlachta was a prized title and was not determined by material wealth but based on ancestral importance, many of these title's have interesting historical stories of how one's ancestor acquired the title.

Were the Crown Jewels ever remade in Poland?
Barbastelle

Liberty for whom? Only for the privileged class. The vast majority of the population were peasants and townsfolk without rights.