History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]

hey, i can pull random quotes too. if you're gonna do that then at least write down the page number and relevance or the point you're trying to make.

but at least you're reading. i'm proud of you!

History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]


In the words of Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

"To err is human, to forgive divine"


I agree with what you say but do you refer to truth or opinion? Because when you say "viewpoint and time matter" that is very gray area...there rarely is a single viewpoint of an event whether historical or not (i realize that this may be an opening to some sort of a joke here :))

Lets say you have an event that was witnessed by 5 (random number, obviously 1 or 2 would have been useless to my point being given) parties, if you ask each of the 5 parties what they saw, they will tell you their individual versions of the event. Hence if you get all the 5 answers you can start piecing the jigsaw puzzle and get a more vivid and accurate picture of the issue as a whole. You would be much closer to the truth in that regard than if you simply took one version of the event as the truth.

History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]


Good point.

There is not a single country on the face of this planet that does not have its own version of its own history. Whether it be true or false or somewhere in the middle. Compare Japanese history through the eyes of the Chinese or American history through the eyes of a Native American Indian tribe...in each case you will hear two different historical versions.

Ultimately you come to "historical truth" when every angle of an issue is exposed, dissected and analyzed.

History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]


I was referring to this portion of your comment...but I'm sure you don't seriously believe this. right?

Touché on your response.

I don't contend with what the author wrote in the book (to be honest I'm an amateur historian). One thing I know is that there wasn't simply a single thing that let Poland to its political fate but a conglomerate of serious political errors both internal and external starting about 100 years before its ultimate fate in the 18th century.

History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]


Well done! Great definition to a meaningless word in this case.

"seized and held by one state that tries to make its move legitimate by being recognised by the other international bodies"

Gee..i wonder how hard it would have been to convince the Royal Seeded Europe that a Democratic Poland was bad for business.

Lets take a step back and see what was happening at the time.

"Stanislaw August's process of renovation reached its climax on May 3, 1791, when, after three years of intense debate, the "Four Years' Sejm" produced Europe's first written constitution."

"Destruction of Poland-Lithuania

Passage of the constitution alarmed nobles who would lose considerable stature under the new order. In autocratic states such as Russia, the democratic ideals of the constitution also threatened the existing order, and the prospect of Polish recovery threatened to end domination of Polish affairs by its neighbors. In 1792 domestic and foreign reactionaries combined to end the democratization process. Polish conservative factions formed the Confederation of Targowica and appealed for Russian assistance in restoring the status quo. Catherine gladly used this opportunity; enlisting Prussian support, she invaded Poland under the pretext of defending Poland's ancient liberties. The irresolute Stanislaw August capitulated, defecting to the Targowica faction. Arguing that Poland had fallen prey to the radical Jacobinism then at high tide in France, Russia and Prussia abrogated the Constitution of May 3, carried out a second partition of Poland in 1793, and placed the remainder of the country under occupation by Russian troops." countrystudies.us/poland/11.htm

The Polish Partitions were systematic means for the Autocratic States to make sure that Poland did not become a democracy. They did not want to see a strong Poland because they feared it and knew that they couldn't control it to serve their ends.

BTW
The book mentions that it was during the last years of the Sobieski rule that the Commonwealth started to decline.
pg.152

archive.org/stream/polandknightamon00vannuoft#page/152/mode/2up

History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]

I don't get it. I post what I think is an interesting subject. Provide a link to the book which spotlights the Poles under the Partition years through American eyes. Yet somehow this thread has mutated into a bickering over semantics, neo-nazism and overall absolutely nothing that has to do with the topic.

All I ask for is some opinions on the book.

History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]

Wow! I mean...wow! you most certainly are a "pollack" polak...
so you think that it is still true today that there is no middle class in Poland? I must have missed something...there's still a divide between the nobles and the peasants? how embarrassing.

you may want to re-read the book. take it for what its worth, an American perspective on Poland and its people in the early 20th century.

History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]

cool, much thanks!

History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]


You're welcome.

History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]


You're welcome. It's a pretty good read overall.

History / 'Poland: A Knight Among Nations' - Book about Poland by an American Author, dated 1907 [51]

ok...i get it, to be politically correct i respect the position of foreigners that Poland was partitioned by foreign powers, yes it was, in the eyes of the outside world. but the people of these lands remained, they were still Polish...so to an outsider it was a "partition" to a Pole it was an occupation. sorry if thats hard to understand.

anyways...
did you read any of the chapters in the book?

Life / COMBATING "POLACK" JOKES [460]

the thing with polish jokes is that they are about one subject (for the most part), and that is on how stupid Polish people are. Hardly will you hear anything else, thats whats insulting...the jokes aren't bad per say, but if you keep hearing the same joke over and over on how stupid your nation and people are, well...it just looses its comedic punch and becomes something that for some is taken personally.

don't worry peeps, with all the f'uck up the Americans have made in the last couple of decades the jokes 'bout them will ring louder then anyone else...

and its true....they're only jokes