Korespondencja kapelanów polskich powstań narodowych w XIX wieku jako źródło do dziejów emigracji

Abstract

According to the source query, more than 60 chaplains from the November Uprising emigrated in the years 1831–1832 to Western Europe (mainly France), the United States and to Algeria which was being conquered by the government of Louis Philippe. In the period 1832–1863 further 50–60 priests had to leave their homeland. Moreover, the defeat of the January Uprising caused even further emigration of clergymen. According to estimates, in 1863–1865 there were about 210 priests in France and the Papal States. The author undertakes an analysis of selected correspondence of chaplains as a source for the history of Polish emigration in France in the nineteenth century. Among the numerous epistolary sources, selected letters were chosen which can be found in the Military Archives at Chateau de Vincennes, the Princes Czartoryski Library and the Bernardine Archives in Krakow. This is both official and private correspondence. Epistolary legacy is an important source in biographical research, as one can find there, among others, details concerning social origin, participation in the uprising, places of emigration or pastoral activities.