*** Welcome to piglix ***

Duchy of Warsaw

Duchy of Warsaw
Duché de Varsovie
Herzogtum Warschau
Księstwo Warszawskie
Client state of the French Empire,
Personal union with the Kingdom of Saxony
1807–1815
Flag Coat of arms
The Duchy of Warsaw in 1812.
Capital Warsaw
Languages Polish, German, French
Religion Roman Catholic, Judaism
Government Constitutional monarchy
Duke
 •  1807–1815 Frederick Augustus I
Prime Minister
 •  1807 Stanisław Małachowski
 •  1807–1808 Ludwik Gutakowski
 •  1808–1809 Józef Poniatowski
 •  1809–1815
Legislature Sejm
 •  Upper house Senate
 •  Lower house Chamber of Deputies
Historical era Napoleonic Wars
 •  Treaties of Tilsit 9 June 1807
 •  Constitution adopted 22 July 1807
 •  Battle of Raszyn 19 April 1809
 •  Treaty of Schönbrunn 14 October 1809
 •  Invasion of Russia 24 June 1812
 •  Congress of Vienna 9 June 1815
Area
 •  1807 103,000 km² (39,769 sq mi)
 •  1809 155,000 km² (59,846 sq mi)
Population
 •  1807 est. 2,600,000 
     Density 25.2 /km²  (65.4 /sq mi)
 •  1809 est. 4,300,000 
     Density 27.7 /km²  (71.9 /sq mi)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
New East Prussia
South Prussia
New Silesia
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Congress Poland
Grand Duchy of Posen
Free City of Kraków

The Duchy of Warsaw (Polish: Księstwo Warszawskie, French: Duché de Varsovie, German: Herzogtum Warschau) was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony. Following Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia, the duchy was occupied by Prussian and Russian troops until 1815, when it was formally partitioned between the two countries at the Congress of Vienna. It covered central and eastern part of present Poland and minor parts of present Lithuania and Belarus.

The area of the duchy had already been liberated by a popular uprising that had escalated from anti-conscription rioting in 1806. One of the first tasks for the new government included providing food to the French army fighting the Russians in East Prussia.

The Duchy of Warsaw was officially created by French Emperor Napoleon I, as part of the Treaty of Tilsit with Prussia. Its creation met the support of both local republicans in partitioned Poland, and the large Polish diaspora in France, who openly supported Napoleon as the only man capable of restoring Polish sovereignty after the Partitions of Poland of late 18th century. Although it was created as a satellite state (and was only a duchy, rather than a kingdom), it was commonly hoped and believed that with time the nation would be able to regain its former status, not to mention its former borders.


...
Wikipedia

...