The unusual nature of the interregnum declared in 1770

Abstract

From the very first years of Stanisław August Poniatowski’s reign, the ruler’s enemies considered his dethronement. This idea was also familiar to the Bar Confederates. Even the monarch’s attempt to reach an agreement did not prevent the effort to realize this plan. As a result of its rejection, a proclamation of interregnum was signed on April 9, 1770, in the camp near Varna. The document was kept secret for several months, but was finally invoked on October 13, 1770, during the Confederates’ deliberations in Prešov. The proclamation of interregnum, adopted at that time, was then announced with a false place and date. It called for the assassination of the king. At the beginning of 1771, the ruler attempted to strengthen his position by gaining the support of the Lithuanian sejmiks, but his efforts did not bring the expected result. The interregnum declared in 1770 was met with varied assessments from eighteenth-century political writers. There was no shortage of critical opinions. It was also negatively received in the international arena (by Russia, Austria, Prussia, and even France) and, what was worse, it made it completely impossible to reach an agreement with the king, thereby condemning him to cooperation with the Russian Empire.