Nobility Polish and Peasant Liberties Devine

Scotland and Poland: Historical Encounters, 1500-2010, by T.M. Devine (Editor). 2011

Scots in Poland: Poles in Scotland. Good Detail on Polish Peasant Liberties (Undemonizing the Polish Nobility)

This work covers both the positive and negative aspects of Polish-Scottish relations. Many Scots moved to Poland centuries ago. Poles came to Scotland during WWII, and again during the post-1989 period. Some of the negative features of their relationship stemmed from ignorance. Thus, the Pole was as offended when asked by the Scot if he was a Russian as the Scot was offended when asked by the Pole if he was an Englishman.

The book is full of interesting information. For instance, the reader learns that Alexander Chalmers, from Dyce, Scotland, was four times the mayor of Warsaw in the 1600’s. (Neal Ascherson, p. 9). Scottish poet Robert Burns, in a poem, excoriated Catherine the Great for her role in the Partitions of Poland. (p. 11).

POLISH HOSTILITY TO ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION, NOT HOSTILITY TO JEWS PER SE

Interestingly, centuries ago, some Polish writers spoke negatively of Scottish merchants–in the same manner as was done of Jewish ones. (Robert I. Frost, p. 22). This supports the premise that Polish hostility to Jews (who, of course, were vastly more numerous–and economically powerful–than Scots) owed primarily to economic rivalries, not “ingrained Polish anti-Semitism”.
New archival information sheds light on how the British saw Poland between WWI and WWII. The ambassadorial personnel had a positive attitude towards Poland’s achievements, and discounted claims that Poland mistreated her minorities, notably the Jews. (Peter D. Stachura. p. 165, 171).

POLES AND SCOTS DURING WORLD WAR II

The Scotch came to see Poles as Bonnie Fechters–those who struggle in determined fashion for a cause. (p. 135, 145). The German Operation Sea Lion was real, and not a bluff. (p. 145). Poles were mobilized to defend Scotland in the event of its implementation. Poles were heralded for their valor in combat throughout WWII. During and after the war, genuine friendships between Poles and Scots developed, at different levels. (p. 157).

As in England, support for Poland eventually slipped, in favor of the USSR, owing partly to left-wing influence.

THE MODERN POLONIA OF SCOTLAND

After WWII, some 8,000 Polish ex-servicemen, unable to return to the Communist Poland that precipitated from the Teheran-Yalta betrayal by Churchill and Roosevelt, settled in Scotland. (p. 15).
Scots were sometimes hostile to immigrant Poles owing to economic matters. There were also religion-based conflicts between Protestant Scots and Catholic Poles, and this, in part, animated the postwar “Poles Go Home” calls. (pp. 160-161).

Far from taking jobs from Scots, Poles have actually increased the productivity of Scottish businesses. (p. 192). In addition, many Polish-owned businesses have sprung up in Scotland in just the last several years. (p. 194). Grazyna Fremi provides the URL’s of internet portals that elaborate on Polish events and issues in Scotland. (p. 200).

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UNDEMONIZING THE POLISH NOBILITY. COUNTERING THE AWFULIZATION OF THE LOT OF THE POLISH PEASANTRY

Attention is now focused on Poland’s much-maligned pre-Partition so-called feudal structure.

Robert I. Frost, a Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Aberdeen, presents fascinating information on the pre-Partition Polish feudal system, beginning with a comparison of the respective situations in Scotland and Poland. He notes that Communist propaganda had long denigrated this system (and much of pre-Communist Poland as well) for obvious ideological and political reasons. Earlier, the Partitioning powers had cited the “horrible” Polish feudal system as a justification of the Partitions–which conveniently overlooked the fact that the same system in parts of Prussia and Russia was even worse. (p. 115).

The negative anecdotal opinions of Polish class-based society, many made by those who never actually visited Poland, must be balanced by the positive ones of some of those who did. Bernard Connor, an Irishman who spent a long time in Poland in the late 1600’s, reported that he never saw the gentry acting cruelly towards the peasants. (p. 123). Both Connor and his contemporary, Ulrich Werdum, saw a bountiful country in which peasants were seldom in want. (p. 124).

Much more reliable than anecdotes, of course, are facts. (p. 114). These show that, far from eking out a subsistence existence, Poland’s peasants generally had landholdings large enough for adequate feeding. In fact, some peasants (KMIECIE) were wealthy. In addition, peasants had economic freedom in the form of being able to raise money to pay taxes and to take part in at least rudimentary market activity. (p. 121). In addition, peasants in Poland-Lithuania had more secure land tenure than their counterparts in other countries, including Scotland. (p. 122).

Frost cites the studies of Andrzej Wyczanski, who showed that peasant degree of economic freedom was considerable. Peasants could sometimes rent or buy land from their lords to add to their holdings. They sold agricultural products, on a significant scale, directly to consumers to profit directly, and sometimes even sent their sons to the university. (pp. 124-125). Finally, the tax burden on Polish peasants was lighter than that in many western and eastern European nations. (p. 127).