View source for Greater Poland Uprising (1846)

{{Short description|Insurgency in Poland}}
{{For|other uprisings in Greater Poland|Greater Poland Uprisings (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Attack on the Wallische (Chwaliszewski) Bridge, March 1846 (J. Minutoli).png|thumb|''Attack on the Wallische'' (Chwaliszewski) ''Bridge'', March 1846 (engraving by [[Julius Rudolph Ottomar Freiherr von Minutoli|Julius von Minutoli]])]]
{{Campaignbox German–Polish Wars}}
The '''Greater Poland Uprising''' ({{langx|pl|powstanie wielkopolskie}}) was a planned military insurrection by [[Polish people|Poles]] in the land of [[Greater Poland]] against the [[Prussia]]n forces, designed to be part of a general Polish uprising in all three partitions of Poland, against the Russians, Austrians and Prussians.

== Plans ==
Plans to start an uprising across all parts of the [[Partitions of Poland|partitioned Poland]] simultaneously on 21 February 1846 were made by several Polish organisations.<ref name=Davies>[https://books.google.com/books?id=9Tbed6iMNLEC&dq=posen+willisen&pg=PA108 Norman Davies, "God's playground"]</ref> In the Prussian [[Grand Duchy of Posen]], [[Ludwik Mierosławski]], who had recently arrived in [[Poznań]] out of French exile, was supposed to lead the military operations.<ref name=Alvis>{{cite book|first=Robert E.|last=Alvis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uj2UaAKuE8YC&dq=posen+Colomb&pg=PA54 |title=Religion and the Rise of Nationalism – A Profile of an East European City|date=2005 |page=54|publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0-8156-3081-4}}</ref>
While the [[Kraków Uprising]] in the [[Austrian partition]] was started but failed, the insurgents in Poznań were betrayed by a conspirator and the leaders of the organization were arrested by Prussian authorities two weeks before actions were supposed to start.<ref name=Davies /><ref name=Urban>[https://books.google.com/books?id=D40pVOjJuB4C&dq=posen+Mieros%C5%82awski&pg=PA61 Thomas Urban, Von Krakau bis Danzig, Munich 2000] {{ISBN|978-3-406-46766-0}}</ref>

No serious hostilities occurred that year.

== Aftermath ==
254 insurgents were charged with high treason at the [[Berlin]] [[Kammergericht]]. The trial was the first one after a new criminal trial law was invented in Prussia. The hearing was now publicly accessible and caused a large interest among the populace of Berlin and Prussia in sympathy with the defendants.<ref name=Saar>[https://books.google.com/books?id=fIoLMTUOqBkC&dq=posen+Mieroslawski+recht&pg=PA190 Saar/Roth/Hattenhauer "Recht als Erbe und Aufgabe: Heinz Holzhauer zum 21. April 2005"]</ref>
The trial ended on 2 December 1847, when 134 of the defendants were acquitted and returned to the [[Grand Duchy of Posen]]. 8 defendants, including Mierosławski, who had written his book "Débat en la révolution et la contrerévolution en Pologne" throughout his custody,<ref name=Saar /> were sentenced to death, the rest to prison in the [[Berlin]]-[[Moabit]] prison. The death sentences were not enforced and all convicts were amnestied by King [[Frederick William IV of Prussia]] on the demand of the revolutionary populace of Berlin in the [[Spring of Nations]] in March 1848. They immediately joined the [[Greater Poland Uprising (1848)|Greater Poland Uprising of 1848]].<ref name=Makowski>{{cite book|first=Krzysztof|last=Makowski|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jxy11rzVZBAC&dq=friedrich+colomb&pg=PA152 |title=Das Großherzogtum Posen im Revolutionsjahr 1848/49|date=1996 |pages=149–172|publisher=Oldenbourg |isbn=978-3-486-56012-1 |location=Munich |language=de}}</ref>

== Famous insurgents ==
* [[Karol Libelt]] (1807–1875)
* [[Ludwik Mierosławski]] (1814–1878)
* [[Władysław Niegolewski]] (1819–1885) was a Polish liberal politician and member of parliament, an [[Insurgency|insurgent]] in the 1846 Wielkopolska Uprising, the [[Wielkopolska Uprising (1848)|1848 Wielkopolska Uprising]] and the [[January Uprising 1863|1863 Uprising]], and a cofounder (1861) of the [[Central Economic Society]] (''TCL'') and (1880) of the [[People's Libraries Society]] (''CTG'').
* [[Edmund Taczanowski]] (1822–1879) was a Prussian-Polish general, noble and Lord of [[Choryn]] who led a revolt in 1843 and participated in the 1846 Wielkopolska Uprising.  He later served with [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] in the [[Italy|Italian]] [[Risorgimento]].
* [[Włodzimierz Krzyżanowski]] (1824–1887) was an important brigade commander during the American Civil War.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Wielkopolska Uprisings}}
{{Polish uprisings}}
{{Polish wars and conflicts}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1846 in Poland]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1846]]
[[Category:19th-century rebellions]]
[[Category:Rebellions in Poland]]
[[Category:Grand Duchy of Posen]]
[[Category:Polish nationalism (1795–1918)]]
[[Category:Prussian Partition]]
[[Category:Frederick William IV of Prussia]]
[[Category:19th-century military history of Poland]]