The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution

by Alex Storozynski

Austria sided with Russia in its war against Turkey, causing the Prussians to grow more concerned about the Russian-Austrian alliance. The Prussians wanted to pull Poland into Berlin’s sphere of influence, but they didn’t hide their opinion of Poles and had a slogan that said: “Poland is the hell of peasants, the paradise of Jews, the purgatory of burghers, the heaven of nobles, and the gold mine of foreigners.”36 Prussia forced Poland to sign a treaty, and Lucchesini squeezed King Stanislaw, saying, “If you do not sign the alliance, not only will we keep on wronging you, but we will increase our wrongdoing, and you, without an ally, not only will be forced to endure it, but Poland will become a battleground and finally the peace prize.”37 Stanislaw signed the treaty on March 29, 1790. It was a shaky alliance at best.