November Uprising

In 1830 and 1831 Poles rose against Russian rule in Congress Poland, an insurrection crushed by the army of Tsar Nicholas I.

Overview

After the partitions of Poland, the Congress Kingdom of Poland was joined to the Russian Empire under the tsar. Violations of its constitution and fears that the Polish army would be used against the revolutions in France and Belgium led young officer cadets in Warsaw to rebel on 29 November 1830. The Polish parliament dethroned Nicholas I as king of Poland in January 1831, and a full scale war followed. Despite some victories, Polish forces were outnumbered and Warsaw fell in September 1831. Repression followed, the constitution was abolished, and thousands of Poles went into exile in the Great Emigration, including Frederic Chopin and Adam Mickiewicz.