Wincenty Skrzetuski o wojsku dawnej Rzeczypospolitej i jego reformie

Abstract

The issue of the poor state of the armed forces as well as the army reform in the Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth remained one of the primary topics of political debate in the 18th century. Wincenty Skrzetuski, a prominent teacher, historian, lawyer and political writer of the era, also contributed significantly to the discussion. His reflections on the state of the Polish army, collected in his seminal work, The Political Law of the Polish Nation, published in 1782—1784, were mostly educational and historical in nature and referred to Gottfried Lengnich’s Ius publicum Regni Poloniae. Additionally, Skrzetuski, in his description of the poor state of the Polish army, postulated a series of changes, including the idea of basing the system of the armed forces on the so‑called national army and a strong contingent of professional forces. Skrzetuski’s postulates were not as precise as those formulated by his successors, such as Stanisław Staszic or Hugo Kołłątaj, but they still constituted an important voice in the debate and pointed to the necessity of change, in the spirit of reformation and the Enlightenment, where the absolutist army was increasingly contrasted with a national army.