Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/664

 644 POLAND and manufactures in those of the Germans. Woollen cloth, cotton goods, flannel, merinoes, shawls, hosiery, leather, paper, glass, beet-root sugar, heer, spirits, iron and zinc, musical instruments, clocks and watches, and carriages are among the principal manufactures, some of which are exported to the various prov- inces of Russia. Grain, seeds, oil, honey, wool, metals, and timber are exported to the Baltic ports. A strictly guarded customs line pro- tects home manufactures against foreign com- petition. Railroad lines connect the capital, Warsaw, with St. Petersburg, Moscow, Cra- cow, Berlin, and Dantzic. The principal manu- facturing town is Lodz. The last division of the country is into 10 governments, named after their capitals, viz. : Kalisz, Kielce, Lom- za, Lublin, Piotrkow, Plock, Radom, Siedlce, Suwalki, and Warsaw. The Poles form one of the principal branches of the Slavic family of nations. Their ancestors are believed by the best historians to have occupied the same regions during or soon after the time of the great migration of nations. A few centuries later they appear under the name of Polans between the Oder and Vistula, of Lenczycans E. of the Warta, of Masovians between the Vistula and the Narew, and of Kujavians, Kassubs, and Pomeranians on or near the lower Vistula. The Polans, probably so named as inhabitants of the plain (Pol; pole, field, plain), formed the most conspicuous group, and eventually gave their name to the whole nation. Their leader or prince Lech is the first among the heroes of legendary Polish his- tory, figuring as the founder of Gnesen; but as Lach is still used for Pole among the Russians, the name of the fabulous brother of Czech and Rus probably belonged to the people. Equally fabulous are, among others, Krakus, the founder of Cracow, and the ty- rant Popiel. The election of Piast, a pious and benevolent peasant of Kruszwica, as king, is also regarded as mythical, his son Zie- mowit being considered the first historical ruler of Poland (860). Little, however, is known of him, or of his successors before Miecislas I. (962-992), who having married Dombrowka, a Bohemian princess, was in- duced by her to convert his people to Chris- tianity. He divided his dominions among his sons, but Boleslas, the eldest of them, sur- named the Brave or the Great, made himself master of the whole inheritance, extending it by conquests beyond the Oder, the Carpathians, and the Dniester. He was acknowledged as an independent monarch by the emperor Otho III., but he afterward carried on long wars against Otho's successor Henry II. Dissen- sions between the successors of Vladimir, grand duke of Kiev, called him to Russia, and he en- tered that capital in triumph. He was no less successful in peace, promoting commerce, a strict administration of justice, and the spread of the new religion, and strengthening the in- ternal defences of the country. This was still I in a comparatively rude condition. Most of the inhabitants were agriculturists bound to do military service ; those who were able to equip a horse were regarded as nobles ; prisoners of war were held as serfs ; and the government was entirely autocratic. Boleslas was fond of splendor, sports, and military displays, and shortly before his death (1025) had himself crowned as king by his bishops. The reign of his son Miecislas II. was short. His widow Rixa, a granddaughter of the emperor Otho II., governed badly for some time in the name of her son Casimir, and anarchy and invasion ensued, but Casimir finally gained the surname of "the Restorer." His son Boleslas II., the Bold (1058-'81), triumphed over the Bohe- mians, decided by his intervention the dis- putes about the Hungarian throne, and on a similar expedition to Russia occupied Kiev. On his return from Russia he committed acts of tyranny, and slew St. Stanislas, bishop of Cracow, who had reprimanded him. This roused the people against him, and he died in exile. His brother Ladislas (Wladyslaw) Her- man (1081-1102), a weak-minded and sluggish prince, resigned the regal title, being satisfied with that of duke. His son Boleslas III. (1 102- '39) warred with success against the Prussians, conquered Pomerania, converting its inhabi- tants to Christianity, and defended Silesia against the emperor Henry V., but was worsted by the Hungarians, Bohemians, and Russians. By his will he divided his dominions among his four eldest sons ; but after long dissensions the crown devolved upon the fifth brother, Casimir II., the Just (1177). He was successful both in peace and war. An assembly of bish- ops convoked at Lenczyca in 1180 established the rights of the peasants and the clergy. A senate was formed consisting chiefly of bish- ops, palatines, and castellans, or governors of the fortified castles. Thus the monarchy be- came limited by the introduction of a kind of oligarchy, which by subsequent changes was developed into an aristocracy. The interests of the lower classes were after the death of Casimir soon disregarded; domains and sin- gle estates were granted as presents or rewards to favorites or public officers, with the right of jurisdiction over the peasantry ; the obligations of the latter were gradually extended, while the higher nobles were exempted from all pub- lic burdens. Of Casimir's two sons, Lesco received the provinces of Cracow, Sandomir, and Pomerania, and Conrad Masovia, Kujavia, Sieradz, and Lenczyca. Lesco was murdered by Sventopelk, a native governor of Pomera- nia, and that province was lost. Conrad, too, was unable to cope with his heathen Prus- sian neighbors. He called to his assistance the Teutonic knights, who were not satisfied with the conversion of the half savage people, but made conquest and power their principal object, carried their arms into Lithuania, and soon became terrible enemies of Poland. Un- der his son Boleslas V. (1227-'79), "an un-