POLAND, called by the natives polska (a plain), a former kingdom of Europe—re nowned, in mediaeval history, as the sole champion of Christendom against the Turks; and, fill recently, an object of general and profound sympathy throughout western Europe, from its unprecedented misfortunes—was, immediately previous to its dismem berment, bounded on the n. by the Baltic sea from Dantzic to Riga, and by the Russian provinces of Riga and Pskov; on the c. by the Russian provinces of Smolensk, Tchern igov, Poltava. and Rherson; on the s. by Bessarabia, Moldavia, and the Carpathian mountains; and on the w. by the Prussian provinces of Silesia, Brandenburg, and Pom erania. Its greatest length from n. to s. was 713 English miles; and from c. to w., 693 miles, embracing an area of about 282,000 English sq.m.; an area which, in 1859, had a population of 24,000,000. This extensive tract forms part of the great central European plain, and is crossed by only one range of hills, which springs from the n. side of the Carpathians, and runs n.e. through the country, forming the water-shed between thy Baltic and Black sea rivers. The soil is mostly a light fertile loam, well adapted for the cereal crops, though here and there occur extensive barren tracts of sand, heath, and swamp, especially in the eastern districts. Much of the fertile land is permanent pas ture, which is of the richest quality; and much is occupied with extensive forests of pine, birch, oak, etc. Rye, wheat, barley, and other cereals, hemp, wood and its prod ucts, honey and wax, cattle, sheep, and horses, inexhaustible mines of salt, and a little silver, iron, copper, and lead, constitute the chief natural riches of the country; and for the export of the surplusage of these products, the Vistula, Dnieper, Duna, and their tributaries afford extraordinary facilities.
The kingdom of Poland, during the period of its greatest extent, after the accession of the grand-duchy of Lithuania in the beginning of the lath c., was subdivided for pur poses of government into about 40 palatinates or voivodics, which were mostly governed by hereditary chiefs. The people were divided into two great classes—nobles and serfs.
'lite noble class, which was the governing and privileged class, included the higher nobles, die inferior nobles (a nuinerous class, corresponding to the knights. gentry, etc., of other countries), and the clergy, and numbered in ail more than 200,000; the serfs were the merchants, tradesmen, and agriculturists, and were attached, not, as in oilier couutries, to masters, but to the soil. The serfs were thus much less liable to ill-usage, and retained snore of human energy and dignity than the generality of slaves. The nobles were the proprietors of the soil, and appropriated the larger portion of its prod the serfs in many eases receiving only as much as was necessary for the support of themselves mid their families. The nobles were chivalrous, high-spirited, hospitable, and patriotic; the serfs, who had also a stake, though a small one. in the independence of the country, were patriotic and good-natured, but sluggish. The present population of the provinces included in the Poland of former (lays consists of Poles, Lithuanians, Germans, JCWS, Russians, Roumanians, gipsies, etc. The Poles, who number 15.G00, 000, form the bulk of the population; the Lithuanians, 2,100,000 in number, inhabit the u.e. of the country; the Germans, of whom there are 2,000.000, live mostly in towns and in villages apart by themselves, and bear the usual character for economy, industry, and that excessive love and admiration for the "Fatherland," which guided their politics during the last days of Polish independence; the Jews are very numerous, being reck oned at 2,200,000, but here they are p-airer and less enterprising than in other countries; the remainder is composed of Russians (who are few in number, excepting iu some of the eastern districts), Russian soldiery, Roomfuls, gipsies, Magyars, etc. Of Roman Catholics, there are about 9,400,000; Greeks, united and non-united, 7,900,000; Protest ants (mostly Lutherans and German), 2,360,000; the rest are Jews, Armenians, Mos lems, etc.