Kościuszko's proclamation refers to a speech given by

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

on March 24, 1794. The speech is considered the starting point of the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the P ...

against the forces of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

that were occupying Poland. Around 10 o'clock in the Old Town square in Kraków, the Act of Insurrection was read by Kraków's

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

representative. The document gave Tadeusz Kościuszko command over the ''National Armed Force'' () and he vowed to convene a Supreme National Council. Drafted by Hugo Kollontay, an advocate of

physiocracy Physiocracy (; from the Greek for "government of nature") is an economic theory developed by a group of 18th-century Age of Enlightenment French economists who believed that the wealth of nations derived solely from the value of "land agricult ...

, it began with:

"The wretched state in which Poland finds itself is known to the universe; the indiginities of two neighboring powers, and the crimes of traitors to their country have sunk this nation into an abyss of misery."

Soon afterwards Kościuszko stepped forward and recited his oath:Storozynski, A., 2009, The Peasant Prince, New York: St. Martin's Press,

Aftermath

On 10 May, the council was appointed by Kosciuszko, which was led by Kolontay as the minister of treasury, Potocki as minister of foreign affairs, and other ministers for justice, security, military needs, provisions, national affairs and administrative affairs. The council coined money with "Freedom, Unity, Independence-The Republic, 1794" on the new zloty. Kosciuszko stated the council was formed of "...virtuous citizens and friends of the people, and when I nominated them, I did not want to think about whether they are peasants, burghers or aristocrats.".

References

Kościuszko Uprising Oaths {{Poland-hist-stub