similarly Poles living in the Kresy were Poles. They called themselves Poles, spoke Polish, were held within Polish culture, had Polish parents, etc....
There were immigrants from Poland in Litwa but the majority of Polish-speaking szlachta People were Ruthenians and Zmud (ethnic Lithuanians) by origin. They felt a unity with Pole szlachta but we have few evidence they called Poles themselves. The lists of szlachta in Grodno at the beginning of 19 century shows us that people called themselves bielaruska or litowska szlachta (sorry for spelling).
Most of them spoked Polish (as well as Belorussian) but they didn't feel themselves Poles by ground (lex soli). There was still a difference between Crown and Litwa.
As to the immigrants, most of them were really naturalized there as people from Bogatyrowiczi described by Elisa Orgezkowa.
My version is that they felt themselves Poles alter Poland received status of Kingdom and Litwa passed to be Russian Gubernijas. The second reason was the liquidation of United Church. Greek-Catholics gave the feeling of some national unanimity within Litwa: 80 per cent of peasants and at least 25 per cent of poor szlachta. When Greek Catholicism disappeared Roman Catholics and former Greek Catholics passed to Roman rite felt themselves in minority and the wish to feel themselves within a great catholic nation appeared.
I'm sure this is common with 19 century not before.
This is my version. Historians in Belarus (except official) support this idea
Remember not to tell it to anybody, it's dangerous for your teeth ;).
Now it is not dangerous especially among middle classers.
Old Victorian Polish speking middle class is still in memory and respect among Russian middle classers.
They hate contemporary Polish behaviour presented in the films and in private contacts: angry agressive and inmoral.
Gamal I'd like to invite you to a discussion
https://polishforums.com/archives/2005-2009/history/poland-russia-ending-story-11550/ As ro me it seems to be very interesting
Compare Polish community in Kresy (now western Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania) to German one on former German land (now western Poland). Germans living there were Germans, similarly Poles living in the Kresy were Poles.
As to Germans you give an example of colonists. As to Polish speaking people in Litwa. the majority was formed by native szlachta that could speak Polish and used it in pyblic places since 1696. By the way, in 18 century the petitions in Grodno tribunale from little szlachta nearly always have signs of national Belarus language.
But even if sarmats from Litwa knew a perfect Polish that doesn't signify they thought about themselves they were not only Pospolitny people but also Poles.
Belarus cities are speaking Russian mainly but in you ask anybody if he is Russian he'll respond No I'm Bielorussian. Only some intellectuals cultivate local language (its numbe grows) but everydody is Bielorussian
I don't think one should put in doubt that:
1. There were in Litwa native bojary and semjany of Ruthenian and Zemajtian origin.
2. They were quite numerous and in 15-16 centuries its number multiplicated considerably.
3. They could speak Polish as well as Ruthenian.
4. They considered Litwa to be their Fatherland. They didn't consider they were from Crown.
They were Litwins and Litwins weren't Poles in that time
I'm not an expert. Please correct me if I am wrong. It is quite uneasy to learn such details away fron Poland without Polish language.
But I thought Pole and Litwin were in 15-18 centuries quite a different terms and Litwin never was Pole
