Udział Polonii w Powszechnej Wystawie Krajowej we Lwowie w 1894 r
Contribution of the Polish diaspora to the Universal Exposition of the Land in Lviv, 1894

Summary/Abstract: Since the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London, universal exhibitions have been held on a regular basis around the world to showcase nations’ cultural, industrial, and agricultural achievements. In Galicia, too, land exhibitions were held to highlight regional achievements. The exhibition held in Lwów in 1894 played an extraordinary role for two reasons: 1) it was supposed to refute the allegations made by Stanisław Szczepanowski in famous polemical book Nędza Galicyi..., published in 1888 and depicting Galicia as a land of extreme poverty; 2) it was the centenary of the Kościuszko Uprising, regarded as the important insurection in Polish history. Due to the significant anniversary of the national history, the event was transformed into an exhibition not only of Galicia, but of the entire Polish nation, with contributions from other Polish lands and the Polish diaspora. The Brazilian diaspora was unable to participate in the exhibition due to the civil war, known in Brazillian historiography as the Federalist Revolution, which erupted in 1893 and derailed their plans. The event, however, was supported by the diasporas of England, France, Switzerland, and, most notably, the United States, which even managed to construct the exhibition pavilion. The diaspora sent samples of their agricultural, industrial, and craftman’s products; women’s needlework; minerals and gold nuggets; ethnical association uniforms; photographs, images, and models of churches; posters and photographs of spectacles; volumes of ethnic newspapers; and essays written by ethnic school students. The separate exhibition pavilion and numerous sent specimens represent the diaspora’s developing national self-identification and struggles to contribute to the life of their country of origin.

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