Archiwum Chmarów – jego historia, rozproszenie i potencjalne znaczenie dla badań nad dziejami państwa polsko-litewskiego w XVIII wieku i ziem polskich zaboru rosyjskiego
The Chmara Archive – History, Scattering, and Potential Significance for the Research of the History of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th Century and the Polish Lands under the Russian Partition

Author(s): Dariusz Rolnik
Subject(s): 19th Century, Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Transformation Period (1990 - 2010)
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Chmara Archive; Adam Chmara; Stanisław August Poniatowski; polonica in the archives of Belarus
Summary/Abstract: It is difficult to unequivocally determine the significance of the Chmara Archive in the research of the Commonwealth in the 18th century and the territory of the Russian Partition in the 19th century. The records are undoubtedly worth exploring by anyone looking to analyse political ties in the aforementioned eras. The archive certainly holds greatest value for the study of the last years of Augustus III’s reign, the period of the rule of Stanisław August Poniatowski, and the turn of the 20th century. Referring to the introduction, it bears emphasising that the collection is of considerable importance to the research of the mentality and identity of provincial elites in the period of Old Poland and the first half of the 19th century. Taking a broader look at these issues helps shed a new light on various smaller threads. The archive includes many materials concerning issues related to the economies of noble estates, for example escapes of peasants or floating goods to Königsberg. In terms of geography, the Chmara Archive may prove useful in studying the public life of the Minsk Province and later the Minsk Governorate. While the records are of marginal importance for the 18th century and the politics of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, some materials, for example the accounts of J.N. Chęcki, clarify certain issues or help look at seemingly obvious matters from a new perspective.

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