The Polish Émigrés and the Eastern Question in the Nineteenth Century

ABSTRACT This article examines Polish participation in the Eastern Question in the nineteenth century. In particular, it explores the intensive links between the idea of restoring independent Poland and the rivalry of the European powers as they sought to influence the Ottoman Empire. The most active Polish political group known as the Hôtel Lambert – leaded by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski – devoted considerable effort, especially in the 1830s, to convince the British and French governments, that a positive solution of the Polish question was an indispensable condition of resolving the Eastern Question. Polish diplomacy also supported the Caucasian highlanders against Russia till 1864, developed close relations with the Balkan Slavs (Serbs, Croats, Bulgarians) and Romanians and tried to be a useful ally of the Western powers during Crimean War. Nevertheless, the idea of gaining tangible support for the Polish cause by linking it with the Eastern Question proved ineffective, although it did help the Poles to keep attract the attention of both European statesmen and public opinion till at least the end of 1870’s.