Between Napoleon and Tsar Alexander: The Polish Question at Tilsit, 1807

Abstract

The defeat of Prussia by Napoleon in 1806 and the resulting insurrection in Prussian Poland re-opened the complex ‘Polish Question’. The former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had been wiped off the map only eleven years earlier. The large size and the civic traditions of the Polish ‘political nation’ meant that the three partitioning powers (Austria, Prussia, Russia) were bound to be alarmed by the developments in Prussian Poland. Napoleon’s attitude to the Poles was cautious, but, as the campaign against Russia (Prussia’s new ally) continued into 1807, he authorized the creation of a Polish army and of a quasi-government in Warsaw. The article examines the negotiations over the future of Prussia’s Polish lands held between Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I at Tilsit in June–July 1807. Hard geopolitical considerations influenced the negotiations which eventually produced a compromise solution in the form of a so-called ‘Duchy of Warsaw’ under the King of Saxony. Although the Poles had no direct influence on the negotiations, the Polish military effort on the side of France was an important factor in the outcome of the settlement. The Russians remained deeply wary of the new duchy, especially after its enlargement in 1809. With the collapse of the Napoleonic Empire in 1814–15, Tsar Alexander acquired most of the duchy which was to survive for many years under Russian rule as the so-called ‘Congress’ Kingdom of Poland.     

Historicising Material Agency: from Relations to Relational Constellations

Relational approaches have gradually been changing the face of archaeology over the last decade: analytically, through formal network analysis, and interpretively, with various frameworks of human-thing relations. Their popularity has been such, however, that it threatens to undermine their relevance. If everyone agrees that we should understand past worlds by tracing relations, then ‘finding relations’ in the past becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Focusing primarily on the interpretive approaches of material culture studies, this article proposes to counter the threat of irrelevance by not just tracing human-thing relations but characterising how sets of relations were ordered. Such ordered sets are termed ‘relational constellations’. The article describes three relational constellations and their consequences based on practices of ceramic fine ware production in the Western Roman provinces (first century BC–third century AD): the fluid, the categorical and the rooted constellation. Specifying relational constellations allows reconnecting material culture to specific historical trajectories and offers scope for meaningful cross-cultural comparisons. As such, a small theoretical addition based on the existing toolbox of practice-based approaches and relational thought can impact on historical narratives and can save relational frameworks from the danger of triviality.     

US Foreign Relations in the Twentieth Century: from World Power to Global Hegemony

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从"正常化"走向"睦邻友好"--1989～1992年中苏(俄)关系简析

1989～1992年是中苏(俄)关系史上一个重要的时期,它包括三个阶段:中苏关系实现正常化(1989年);中苏关系过渡到中俄关系(1991年);建立睦邻友好原则(1992年).在这三个阶段中,"正常化"是核心,它贯穿其间,使三个阶段紧密相连.中苏关系之所以实现"正常化"主要是由国际形势的变化和两国的国家利益所决定的.此外,灵活的政策运用在处理"三大障碍"问题上发挥了重要的作用,为中苏关系正常化的最终实现创造了不可或缺的条件.中苏关系正常化,对后来的中苏(俄)关系产生了深远的影响,其中最重要的就是确立了新型的国家关系,使两国关系经受住了国际形势风云变幻的考验,奠定了两国关系稳定发展的基础.     

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从宗教看古罗马社会的性别关系

本文从社会性别和阶级等不同的视角对古罗马宗教中的性别关系以及古罗马妇女的宗教地位作了探讨 ,指出在以家长制为重要文化特征的古罗马社会中 ,男性主宰着宗教世界。不过 ,由于女性在生育等方面的作用 ,她们仍然被包括在宗教领域之中 ,她们的祭祀活动也是古罗马宗教不可或缺的组成部分 ,维斯塔女祭司、朱庇特女祭司和西比尔女预言家等在古罗马宗教生活中起了重要作用。然而 ,女性的宗教活动主要与生育、贞洁相联系 ,这体现了在父权制社会中 ,男性对女性的角色期望。由于阶级、家庭等身份和婚姻状况的不同 ,古罗马女性不同群体的宗教地位也有较大差别。     

太平洋国际学会与1929-1937年中国农村问题研究——以金陵大学中国土地利用调查为中心

1929至1936年,金陵大学农业经济系在卜凯主持下进行了中国土地利用调查。这是当时官方之外所组织的最大规模的农村调查之一。作为调查的成果,《中国土地利用》一书自其问世,即备受学界关注,至今仍对研究者有一定参考价值。本文试从学术史的角度关注这一调查研究,探讨其缘起、进行、结果,特别是它与其最主要的赞助者——太平洋国际学会的关系,并由此窥探1920年代中期至1930年代中期该学会对中国农村问题研究,经济学研究,乃至整个社会科学研究领域的赞助。     

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胡锦涛总书记在中央民族工作会议上的重要讲话和中央的决定中提到"巩固和发展平等、团结、互助、和谐的社会主义民族关系"。在新的历史时期,我们要不断加强各民族人民的平等、团     

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