Antoni Walewski: historiozofia wyklętego lojalisty

Abstract

The historiosophy of the cursed loyalist. The case of Antoni Walewski

The aim of this article is the reconstruction and analysis of the historical and political beliefs of Antoni Walewski, Polish monarchist and conservative historian of the 19th century. In his youth, Walewski participated in the November Uprising and along with other Polish statesmen and soldiers went on exile to France, where he backed up Prince Adam J. Czartoryski and supported the controversial concept of “the kingship de facto”. According to this idea, all Poles should submit to Czartoryski (who himself was the king de facto; despite the lack of any legal arguments) in order to spread the new insurrection (far more powerful and well organized than the previous one) against the Commonwealth’s invaders. Later on, in 1848 Walewski totally changed his political orientation. He resigned from his insurrectionism, became a loyalist and started to support the governments of Austria and Russia. This sudden turn in his political beliefs may be understood on the ground of historiosophy. It appears that Walewski’s political statements had deeper roots in a very interesting perspective on the nature of the history, especially the Polish one.