The life and career of a Knight of Malta in the age of secularisation: Michele Enrico Sagramoso (1720–1791). The Order of Malta and the First Partition of Poland

Abstract

For contemporary and arguably disinterested British observers, the First Partition of Poland by Russia, Prussia and Austria 1772 was an “immoral act of appropriation”. This “most flagrant violation of natural justice and international law” was perpetrated by three absolute monarchs whose coordinated actions simultaneously removed the political threat of a progressive neighbour and delivered significant territorial gains, whilst cynically claiming to restore the balance of power in Europe. The 1772 Partition of Poland took place at the height of the Enlightenment, a movement which challenged the ancien régime and its mutually reinforcing pillars of the Church and State. This article examines ..