Peasants and Peasantry case in the historiography discourse of the January Uprising of 1863

Abstract

Presented paper is a kind of analysis in historiography. It reflects to the problem of the peasants participation in the January Uprising of 1863. Chronologically consideration are not reaching beyond 1918. All the text taken into consideration are historical synthesis of January Uprising against Russia or brochures. Especially second type presented what might have been thought by the Polish common people. Analysis was prepared according to different ideological interpretations. All those created in the circles of the Peasant Movement in the end of 19th century were mostly didactical narrations. Their aims were connected with intensification of national identification of Polish farmers and peasantry. However, the interpretations crated by the independence orientated Polish left (Bolesław Limanowski, Stanisław Krzemiński) were concentrated on the idea of „people’s war”. These kind of war should have liberated the peasants and started the social revolution. Nevertheless, there was also conservative point of view presented by Stanisław Koźmian, the politician from Galicia. He saw the problem of peasants in Uprising as a myth. Peasantry could not have participated in the uprising made by the nobility, that is what Koźmian assumes to be historical truth. Another author, Walery Przyborowski from the Russian partition mentioned similar to the Koźmian ideas, except of he was more ironic.