The History Book

FURTHER EVENTS

THE PARTITIONS OF POLAND

(1772–95)

From 1569 to the 18th century, Poland and Lithuania were united in a large federated commonwealth that occupied an extensive area of northern Europe. In 1772, the powerful neighbors of the commonwealth—Austria, Prussia, and Russia—encroached on its territory in a series of annexations, diminishing it until they absorbed it fully in 1795. Russia took over the eastern half of the country; Prussia, the north; and Austria, the southern and central parts. The elimination of the Polish state bolstered these three great European powers, leaving Polish patriots to struggle for independence, which they achieved in 1918.

THE SIKH EMPIRE IS FOUNDED

(1799)

Maharaja Ranjit Singh brought together a group of Sikh ...