Sejmiki ziemi zakroczymskiej 1778–1786

Abstract

The article concerns the Sejmiks in the land of Zakroczym, which belonged to the Mazovian palatinate. During the debates in Zakroczym the szlachta elected their envoys to the sejm and candidates for the judiciary offices in the land of Zakroczym. They also settled the relevant issues connected with local selfgovernment. The article discusses preparations for the Sejmiks, their course and lauda. It also analyzes the instructions meant for representatives of the land of Zakroczym in Parliament. What made the land of Zakroczym special was the continual recurrence of the same postulates in the recommendations for successive Sejms. Even though the royalist influence was prevalent in the period under analysis the instructions for envoys in this particular land reflected the traditional approach to the szlachta’s ethos. The fact that two out of four envoys from the land were later (1791) opposed to the Constitution of 3 May can be explained in light of conservative tendencies in the Sejmik. The article also highlights the role of local political elite inspired by the subcamerarius of Zakroczym Józef Radzicki and the Kicki brothers (August and Onufry).