1791 The first constitution of Poland

225 years ago, on May 3, 1791, the Sejm in Warsaw adopted the constitution of Poland - the first in Europe and the second in the world after the American one. She proclaimed equality in political rights between nobles and townspeople. However, the peasants did not receive political rights, and even serfdom was not formally abolished. The constitution abolished the right of liberum veto, which allowed any deputy to interfere with a decision in the Sejm. Inviolability of the person - neminem captivabimus, the Polish equivalent of the English habeas corpus - now extended to all citizens, including Jews.

Austria, Russia and Prussia did not recognize the constitution, supported the Targowice confederation that rebelled against it, and in 1793 and 1795 carried out new partitions of Poland, eliminating the Polish state.