Poland/Poles:
Development of a Nation How Poland became
Poland,
and how the Poles became Polish.
How
the Poles as a people, and the country of Poland as a nation-state,
evolved and materialized into current form, in terms of ancestral
bloodlines, the Polish language, borders, culture, and even how they
received their name.
Around 1000 BC, a group splinters from the
Proto-Baltic-Slavic people near the shores of the Baltic Sea
(centered around modern Lithuania). This group becomes the Slavic
people, settling around modern Ukraine.
By 750 BC, a group of Slavic people migrate
westward into modern
Poland, becoming the ancient forefathers to modern Poles.
In the 10th century, Polans were
the dominant tribe
in the region of modern Poland, consolidating tribes in area into
the Kingdom of Poland beginning in 1025. This constitutes the
primary ancestry of modern Poles. Over the centuries, Germans would
be invited to settle in Polish territories, contributing a minor
amount to the Polish nationality gene pool, but
those that remained Germanized into 20th century were forced
back into Germany's redrawn borders by the USSR’s Red Army during brutal
population transfer following WWII.
3000 BC – The Proto-Balto-Slavic language
(branch of
Proto-Indo-European) is spoken by Proto-Balto-Slavic group
centered around Lithuania.
After a split in the Proto-Balto-Slavic nation
around 1000 BC, the language of those that migrate east and south
evolves into Slavic (thus the origin of Slavic peoples). The
language of those that remain in the Baltic region evolves into
Baltic.
The Polen tribe began to form its own distinct
branch of the Slavic language by the 9th century, known as Old Polish,
which would evolve into modern Polish by the 16th
century. Throughout the development of Polish, it incorporated many borrowed words from a variety
of other languages with whom Poles had relations, such as Germans,
Latins (the official language of the Church), Lithuanians (Balts),
and East Slavs.
By 750 BC, a group of Slavic people migrate
westward into modern
Poland, becoming the ancient forefathers to modern Poles.
In the 10th century, the Polans
became the dominant tribe
in region of modern Poland, consolidating tribes in the area into
the Kingdom of Poland, established in 1025. By 1100, Germans and Baltic
Prussians had expanded across Poland’s northern border, closing off
access to the Baltic Sea.
In 1226, the Teutonic Knights (German knightly
order) were invited by
Poland to help
them defend
their northern border against the Baltic Prussians. The German
Knights began to conquer Prussian lands, forcing them into
submission, or into retreat back to Lithuania.
In the 13th and 14th
centuries, the Polish would fight with Baltic Prussians and Germans to
the north in an attempt to gain access to Baltic Sea. The Poles
would suffer defeat at the hands of their rival Germans
(led by the Teutonic Knights) by 1343.
1349 - Poles conquered Galicia from the Ukrainians,
ending their sovereignty.
1370-85 - Poland falls temporarily under Hungarian
rule.
1385 - A merger was forged between Poland and Lithuania,
forming the Polish-Lithuanian Union. The two kingdoms still operated
independently, but formed a
defensive alliance against
the Teutonic
Knights and Moscow, common threats to both. They soon began to gain
the upper
hand against the German Teutonic Knights to the north.
1454 – Poland gains Western Prussia (Royal
Prussia) from the Teutonic Knights, finally gaining access to the Baltic
Sea again for first time since 11th century.
1525 – Poland captures Eastern Prussia (Baltic
Prussia) from the Teutonic Knights, forming the Duchy of Prussia under
the Polish crown.
1569 – Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
established.
Lithuania was forced to combine with Poland to protect itself from
the expanding Russian threat. Russia had been taking lands and diminishing
Lithuanian dominance since consolidating in 1478 with the annexation
of Novgorod. Lithuania would continue to exist as the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania with its own set of laws, but under Polish authority.
1618 -
The Duchy of Prussia (Eastern Prussia)
is inherited by Brandenburg of the Holy Roman Empire (Germany),
removing it from Poland rule.
In the Polish-Swedish War of 1625 – 1629
(battle for supremacy along southern Baltic coast), Sweden gained
Livonia (from Lithuania), consisting of southern portion of Estonia,
along with northern Latvia. Southern Latvia remained part of
Poland-Lithuania.
1657 – Russia gained Ukraine from Poland-Lithuania
in the Russian-Polish War.
In the Great Northern War (1700-21, battle over
supremacy of Baltic Sea), Russia defeated Sweden, gaining Livonia.
Southern Latvia remains with Poland-Lithuania.
1725 – A weakened Poland-Lithuania came under
Russian control.
The three partitions of Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth divides Poland between
Russia, Austria and Prussia.
As a result, the Poles no longer have a sovereign state of their own,
completely relegated to foreign rule.
In 1807, as part of the Napoleonic Wars,
territories of Poland previously annexed by Prussia and Austria are
captured by the French, and reconstituted as the Duchy of Warsaw.
After the defeat of France in the Napoleonic
Wars in 1815, all of Poland is formed into the Kingdom of Poland,
and awarded by the coalition to Russian Tsar rule.
With the disarray caused by the Russian
Revolution (1917 – 22) and German occupation, Poland declared
independence in 1918, after German withdrawal and surrender in WWI.
This initiates
the Polish War of Independence against the USSR, which Poland wins.
Poland also gained
western Prussia to the north, forming Polish Corridor (1918), and
restoring access to the Baltic Sea.
Also following the end of WWI, Austria is
forced to cede a large swathe of Polish-inhabited territory to
newly-independent Poland, adding a significant block of land to
Southern
Poland.
As both Lithuania and Poland are in the
process of defeating the Russians to gain independence, a border
dispute between the two arises, surrounding the Vilnius Region.
Lithuania claimed it in 1920, since it was the historic capital of
Lithuania, and was ceded to Lithuania by the Russians upon the
conclusion of the Lithuanian War of Independence. Poland claimed it
due to its sizable Polish population. This led to the Polish-Lithuanian War
in 1920, resulting in a Polish victory. Consequently, the region
remained with Poland, despite the fact that the League of Nations
diplomatically sided with Lithuania, and had requested Poland to
withdraw, to which Poland refused.
In 1939, Nazis annexed West Prussia and Danzig
City away from Poland, creating the province of Danzig-West Prussia.
As part of secret pact between Nazi Germany
and USSR in 1939, USSR and Germany divvied up Poland between
themselves, with each agreeing to allocate Western Poland to
Germany, and Eastern Poland to the USSR. Germany invaded
from the west, and the USSR from the east in 1939. In betrayal of
the secret pact, Nazi Germany began its invasion of Russia in 1941,
occupying all of Poland in 1941. When the Red Army had the Nazis
retreating a few years later, it occupied all of Poland by 1945.
Upon the defeat of the Nazis in
WWII,
the Soviets assigned the western Vilnius region to Lithuania, and
eastern Vilnius region to Belarus. They also shaved territory off of
Eastern Poland, transferring it to Belarus and Ukraine. To
compensate, the Soviets awarded Silesia, Pomerania, southern East Prussia, Danzig-West Prussia, along with
other large portions of east Germany to Poland. So Poland was essentially
shifted westward at the expense of Germany. German populations were
forced to migrate inside the newly drawn German borders.
Poland then remained under the USSR’s sphere of influence
until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990.
At the
crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe, Poland culture has long
been an eclectic blend of European cultures, combined with uniquely
Polish elements. Unfortunately for Poland, its culture has also been
shaped by its serving as a primary battleground in
catastrophic
wars of the past two centuries, especially the Napoleonic Wars and World
Wars.
In this devastation, Poles lost many of its architectural monuments,
while becoming hardened as a people as well.
Poland's geography is
dominated by plains, enabling large, powerful armies to roll across it
without obstacle, which has invited conquering armies of the past few
centuries, including French, Germans and Russians, subjecting Poland to
long stints under foreign rule. During the earlier years of the
development of the Poland nation, the distance between neighboring
powers served as a sufficient barrier, but as population density
increased, and logistical technology advanced, the easily-crossed plains
became a liability to the Poles.
Recognizing its vulnerabilities,
Poland has customarily been open to immigration, to boost its numbers
and promote its collective
skillfulness. This is how Poland became home
to Europe's largest Jewish population before WWII. Unfortunately, the
Nazi extermination of Jews in Poland during WWII. Circumstances in the
time since have reversed this culturally tendency of openness, as Poland
was utterly damaged by competing powers during WWII, its demographics
permanently altered in damaging ways, and economy wrecked. In which
case, it was no longer an attractive destination for immigrants.
Compounding this, Poland came under Soviet domination, which further
dissuaded any hoped-for renaissance.
To this day, Poland is extremely
homogenous (nearly exclusively Polish in ethnological composition). It
also remains highly religious in light of Europe's secularization trend.
Roman Catholicism is deeply entrenched in Poland. Much of Poland was
subject to the Catholic Austrian Empire during its long existence, which
gave something for the Poles to rally around in the face of
anti-religion persecution during the Soviet Union era.
Economy: Since 1990, and
especially in recent years the Polish economy has improved
substantially, although still well behind other major European powers in
most metrics (unemployment, GDP per capita, average income, etc.). Still
overcoming centuries of devastating warfare and foreign occupation,
especially WWI and WWII, where Poland served as a battleground for
Germany and Russian fighting. Privatization still undergoing, as full
transition to free-market economy is near. Government: Democratic Republic Religion: Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing – very high
for Europe). 80% believe in God. Highly religious for Europe. Unlike
other nations under Soviet sphere of influence during USSR era, Poland
was able to achieve a degree of autonomy and freedom of worship,
enabling it to continue religious tradition of Roman Catholicism. But
oppressed/controlled enough that Catholicism was a respite in a
difficult existence under Russian control. Very little immigration to
introduce diverse peoples of diverse spiritual beliefs. Demographics: Polish 96.7%. Highly homogenous, very little
immigration due to harsh circumstances (mostly emigration), but things
are improving. Foreign Policy: Joined EU (2004) and NATO in 1999. Interested in
establishing economic and diplomatic relations with all neighbors, and
especially the west, including the U.S. Still leery of Russia, due to
long history of being under its domination. In favor of any move that
might weaken Russia, and against any move that might strengthen Russia.
Geopolitically vulnerable, since wide open plains from Western Russia,
through Belarus and into Poland mean an easy path to invade. Population: 38,500,696 (2008)
How
the Poles as a people, and the country of Poland as a nation-state,
evolved and materialized into current form, in terms of ancestral
bloodlines, the Polish language, borders, culture, and even how they
received their name.
Polish
3000 BC – The Proto-Balto-Slavic language
(branch of
By 750 BC, a group of Slavic people migrate
westward into modern
Poland, becoming the ancient forefathers to modern Poles.
1349 - Poles conquered Galicia from the Ukrainians,
ending their sovereignty.
1618 -
The Duchy of Prussia (Eastern Prussia)
is inherited by Brandenburg of the Holy Roman Empire (Germany),
removing it from Poland rule. 
After the defeat of France in the Napoleonic
Wars in 1815, all of Poland is formed into the Kingdom of Poland,
and awarded by the coalition to Russian Tsar rule.
As part of secret pact between Nazi Germany
and USSR in 1939, USSR and Germany divvied up Poland between
themselves, with each agreeing to allocate Western Poland to
Germany, and Eastern Poland to the USSR. Germany invaded
from the west, and the USSR from the east in 1939. In betrayal of
the secret pact, Nazi Germany began its invasion of Russia in 1941,
occupying all of Poland in 1941. When the Red Army had the Nazis
retreating a few years later, it occupied all of Poland by 1945.
Upon the defeat of the Nazis in
WWII,
the Soviets assigned the western Vilnius region to Lithuania, and
eastern Vilnius region to Belarus. They also shaved territory off of
Eastern Poland, transferring it to Belarus and Ukraine. To
compensate, the Soviets awarded Silesia, Pomerania, southern East Prussia, Danzig-West Prussia, along with
other large portions of east Germany to Poland. So Poland was essentially
shifted westward at the expense of Germany. German populations were
forced to migrate inside the newly drawn German borders.
Poland then remained under the USSR’s sphere of influence
until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990.
At the
crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe, Poland culture has long
been an eclectic blend of European cultures, combined with uniquely
Polish elements. Unfortunately for Poland, its culture has also been
shaped by its serving as a primary battleground in
catastrophic
wars of the past two centuries, especially the Napoleonic Wars and World
Wars.
skillfulness. This is how Poland became home
to Europe's largest Jewish population before WWII. Unfortunately, the
Nazi extermination of Jews in Poland during WWII. Circumstances in the
time since have reversed this culturally tendency of openness, as Poland
was utterly damaged by competing powers during WWII, its demographics
permanently altered in damaging ways, and economy wrecked. In which
case, it was no longer an attractive destination for immigrants.
Compounding this, Poland came under Soviet domination, which further
dissuaded any hoped-for renaissance.
Economy: Since 1990, and
especially in recent years the Polish economy has improved
substantially, although still well behind other major European powers in
most metrics (unemployment, GDP per capita, average income, etc.). Still
overcoming centuries of devastating warfare and foreign occupation,
especially WWI and WWII, where Poland served as a battleground for
Germany and Russian fighting. Privatization still undergoing, as full
transition to free-market economy is near.