NOVEMBER 27 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

NOVEMBER 27

1815

The Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland, was signed on November 27, 1815 by the Tsar of Russia. It was a constitution octroyée, that is, decreed by the ruler, and not voted upon by a parliament.  The Congress of Vienna obliged Emperor Alexander I of Russia, and King of Poland, to issue a constitution to the newly recreated Polish state which was under Russian domination. The Polish state was one of the smallest states in Polish history, even smaller than the preceding Duchy of Warsaw, and much smaller than the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Since it was the Congress of Vienna which, de facto created the Kingdom of Poland, it became unofficially known as the Congress Poland. The constitution promised freedom of speech, religious tolerance,  and other freedoms that rendered the document among the most liberal in all of Europe at the time. However, the constitution was never respected by the Russian authorities, whose manipulation and violations prompted growing unrest by the Polish people.  Their discontent led to the failed November Uprising of 1830. (see November 30)


City of Kraków was declared a free republic state by the Congress of Vienna. On November 27, 1815, the Congress of Vienna, declared the Free City of Krakow, a city republic which included its surrounding areas. The city state was jointly occupied by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, and was a hub centre of agitation by the Polish people struggling for an independent Poland.   In 1846, following the unsuccessful Kraków Uprising, the Free City of Cracow was annexed by the Austrian Empire.  The Free City of Kracow had a vast majority of Polish-speaking people - its population consisted of 85% Catholics, 14% of Jews while other religions comprised less than 1%. The city of Kraków itself had a Jewish population almost nearing 40%, while the remainder were  Polish-speaking Catholics. The most notable szlachta family was the Potocki family of magnates, who owned a mansion in Krzeszowice.  The Free City was a duty-free area, and granted privileges to trade with Russia, Prussia and Austria. Not only were there no duties whatsoever, taxes were very low, and numerous economic favors were granted by the neighbouring powers. Consequently, the Free City rapidly grew to become one of the European centres of economic liberalism and supporters of laissez-faire, attracting new enterprises and immigrants.  Weavers from Prussian Silesia had often used the Free City as a contraband outlet to avoid tariff barriers along the borders of Austria and the Kingdom of Poland. However, when Austria annexed the Free City, the Prussian textile exports dropped significantly.

1937

Legia Akademicka was re-activated. A Council of Ministers re-activated the Legia Akademicka,  a paramilitary organization of student volunteers.  It was originally founded on November 11, 1918 comprising students from Warsaw universities and POW members and reformed into a regular infantry unit. In 1929, it was reformed into an organization for the preparation of military listeners of higher schools in Poland, then dissolved in August 1932 and reactivated again in 1937.  Activities included military exercises, lectures in university halls and physical education on sports fields and other sports facilities. The mission of Legia Akademica was to disseminate military knowledge and educate in the spirit of noble Polish militarism as an expression of creative power.

1942

French Fleet Scuttled.  On November 27, 1942, the French fleet at Toulon was scuttled to avoid its capture by Nazi Germans. The Allied invasion of North Africa had provoked the Germans into invading the ‘Free Zone’ (Vichy France) which was officially neutral according to the terms of the 1940 Armistice. Vichy Secretary of the Navy, Admiral Darlan, defected to join De Gaulle and the Free French, who were gaining increasing support from both servicemen and civilians. His replacement, Admiral Auphan, guessed correctly that the Germans were planning to capture the large fleet at Toulon, and issued orders for scuttling these vessels. The French destroyed 77 vessels, including three battleships, seven cruisers, 15 destroyers, 13 torpedo boats, six sloops, 12 submarines, nine patrol boats, 19 auxiliary ships, one school ship, 28 tugs and four cranes. The Nazis captured thirty-nine small ships, most of which had already been disarmed by the French and cleverly sabotaged.  Some of the major ships were ablaze for several days, and the oil spills polluted the harbour so badly that it was unsafe to swim there for two years.