GALICIA. Galicia is the name applied to that portion of Poland lying on the northern slopes of the Carpathians, which con stituted an Austrian Kronland between the years 1772 and 1918. The area was then 30,299 sq.m., the population (1910) 7,980,477. Of these, 4,672,50o were given as Poles, 3,208,092 as Ruthenian or Ukrainian. The linguistic frontier between these two races ran roughly north and south of Przemyl, east of which town 72% of the population was Ruthenian. The majority of the urban popu lation, especially in the east, is Jewish.
The early history of west Galicia is that of Poland (q.v.). In the east, an independent Ruthenian principality of Halicz appears in the nth th century. It grew in importance with the decay of Kiev, whence many refugees emigrated to Galicia. In the 12th century Galicia, under its prince Osmomysl, was one of the chief principalities of Russia. Many towns were founded, and much trade passed through Lemberg (Lvov), from Asia and the Black sea to Europe. Galicia failed, however, to achieve stability, largely owing to the character of its own nobles, who are described as rebellious to their king and tyrannical to their serfs. It was alter nately allied and at war with the neighbouring principality of Lodomeria ; and Poland, Hungary and Novgorod intrigued for possession of both districts. Hungary became master for short periods in 1190 and 1215 ; but the powerful native dynasty found ed by Roman of Lodomeria (d. 1205) retained its independence. Roman's son, Daniel was one of the strongest princes of eastern Europe, and was even crowned by a Papal Legate, temporarily deserting the Orthodox Church. In 1223, however, he lost his eastern provinces to the Mongols, who overran and ruined all Galicia in 1241. In 1324 the Romanov line died out, and Casimir of Poland occupied Galicia in 1340, Lodomeria in 1366. On his death both provinces again came under Hungary, but re verted to Poland in 1372. Under the Jagellion kings prosperity revived, to sink again when the world trade routes changed. The Ruthenian nobles adopted the Catholic faith and the Polish tongue, the Ruthenian nationality surviving only among the serfs, who were as wild and backward as any in Europe, and lived in almost unrelieved misery, despite the natural wealth of the soil. Galicia was repeatedly harassed by Cossacks, Tatars and Turks, and dis organized by the anarchy of the Polish State.
At the partitions of Poland, Galicia (including Lodomeria) was assigned to Austria, for the first time in 1772, definitively, with a slightly altered frontier in 1814, Cracow becoming an independent republic. Austrian rule introduced many improvements, but progress was slow. The Polish revolution of 1830 affected Galicia little, but Austria allowed legions to be formed here, and sheltered refugees from Russian Poland. In 1846, however, widespread and almost unconcealed preparations for revolution, to break out in mid-February, were made by the Polish nobles. The danger for Austria was averted by a rising of the Polish (not Ruthenian) peasants. whom disastrous floods had reduced to great misery. The peasants massacred a number of nobles in the Tarnow district. The revolt soon broke down, but as it had been largely directed from Cracow, Metternich took this pretext of incorporating the city in Galicia, as from Nov. I1, 1846.
In 1848 the Austrian Government countered the revolutionary movement among the Polish nobles by winning the peasants through land reforms, and the Governor of Galicia, Count Stadion, also for the first time encouraged the Ruthenians and won their support against the Poles. A period of centralized bureaucratic rule followed, during which Galicia was divided, on roughly ethnographical lines, into first three, and later two administrative districts; but the Polish nobles supported the Hungarian in their demand for decentralization, and after the Hungarian "Ausgleich" of 1867, Galicia, thanks to the efforts of Count Goluchowski, ob tained more liberty than any other Austrian province. Under a special minister for Galicia, the Poles enjoyed de facto home rule and a free hand against the Ruthenians, Galicia being reunited into a single province with Polish as the official language. In re turn, the Poles formed the chief support of the successive Austrian Governments, and took a large part in directing Austrian policy, the Polish irridenta in Galicia never being serious. Besides being the largest Austrian province, Galicia was now acquiring great importance owing to the discovery and exploitation of its oil fields, although these were mainly in Jewish hands and the provincial budget to the last was subsidized from the Austrian treasury; the strategic importance was also great, and was prob ably the main reason why the Austrian Government never yielded to the wish of the German nationalists to give Galicia an inde pendent status within the monarchy. The Ruthenian national movement made slow progress, discouraged by Poles and Austrians alike, while Russia gave it no support, for fear of awaking a national movement in the Ukraine. Leaders were lacking, and the movement itself divided.
The Neo-Slav movement had by 1910 laid the foundations for a reconciliation between Poles and Russians. The Galician Poles ceased to be safe supporters of the Austrian Government, which in return reverted to the idea of encouraging the "loyal" Ruthe nians; but this new development was cut short by the war of The Central Powers were obliged to grant the Poles wider inde pendence, and to promise them still more; and by 1918 Galicia was virtually independent of Austria. The Poles renounced allegiance to Austria in Oct. 1918, claiming all Galicia for the new Polish state. The Ruthenians, however, who had also been promised greater liberty after the Peace of Brest-Litovsk, also claimed the right to self-determination, and in November formed a Government under Dr. Petrushievicz in Lemberg, this being recognized by the liquidating Austrian Government. The Poles occupied Lemberg (Nov. 5), and the Ruthenian Government retired finally to Vienna. The Ruthenian troops joined the Ukrainian army of Petlura; the latter marched against the Poles and claimed East Galicia for the Ukrainian Republica claim first recognized, but later disallowed by Petrushievicz. Fighting continued throughout 1919. On May 8, 1919, the supreme council assigned West Galicia to Poland, and on June 24 allowed East Galicia the right of self-determination, while authorizing the con tinued Polish occupation. In December it announced that East Galicia should be granted autonomy under a Polish protectorate for 25 years, after which the League of Nations was to decide on its future. Petlura had meanwhile abandoned his claim to Galicia in return for recognition by Poland in the Ukraine ; but he was overthrown by the Soviet troops, who continued the struggle with Poland until the treaties of Riga (Oct. 12, 1920, and March 18, 1921) finally reaffirmed the old Galician frontier. The Ruthenian Governments, of which there were many, were quite helpless, from lack of funds and internal dissension. Finding their repeated appeals ignored, some of them made terms with Soviet Russia, which carried on a lively agitation in East Galicia, some were reconciled to Poland, a few abandoned politics. Poland continued to treat East Galicia as an integral part of herself, and it was recognized as such by the Council of Ambassadors on March 14. 1923. Under her minority legislation, Poland subsequently ac corded her Ruthenian population a limited degree of self-govern ment, and the active agitation against her rule diminished.
(C. A. M.) BIBLIOGRAPHY.—See under POLAND, RUSSIA, AUSTRIA, PANSLAVISM.Bibliography.—See under POLAND, RUSSIA, AUSTRIA, PANSLAVISM.
See also Die oesterreichisch-ungarische Monarchie in Wort and Bild, vol. xix. (1885-1902) ; Die Lander Oesterreich-Ungarns in Wort and Bild, vol. x. (1881-86) ; A. J. Brawer, Galizien, ivie es an Oesterreich kam (Leipzig and Vienna, 1910) ; and many publications issued in Geneva by the Ukrainian Government.