Polonezkoy

The settlements of the Polish travellers, which were in the territory of Vincent de Paulo Society was called Lazarist.

The hills of Polonezkoy by ccarlstead

Polonezkoy was on the outskirts of Alemdag, on the Anatolian edge of the Strait. It was called Adanköy by the Ottomans. Later, it was called “Polonez Karyesi”. During the first and second world war (1923), it was officially called “Polonezkoy” where it gained an ethnic identity.

From the second half of the 18th century, the Ottoman Empire had accepted the need of making some changes against the challenges of Western Europe, especially Russia. Russia, who was making plans to conquer Istanbul, became enemies of the Ottomans, who shared the same destiny as Poland. This situation, that was of no importance at first, became more significant with the defeat of “November Mutiny” (1830-31) made against Russia in the Polish Kingdom and the efforts of Russia to remove the Ottomans from Caucasia. The first negotiations regarding the settling of a few thousand migrants whose majority had gone to France during the “Great Migration” in the Polish history. This was a result of the November Mutiny which was made between Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski and Namık Pasha in Paris in February 1833. But the plans that were made at those times failed. When the Ottoman Empire started the Westernization movements, the matter was again dealt with. The abolishment of Russian protection, that had been implemented during the Gülhane Hattı Hümayunu (1839) and the most important Hünkar İskelesi Agreement in 1833, with the London Straits Contract (June 13, 1841) caused Polish migrants to make attempts to continue their effects in the Ottoman Empire. Prince Adam J. Czartoryski selected the main representatives of the Poland East mission in 1841 and then appointed Michael Czajkowski to represent him, who was to be known as the faithful leader by the Ottomans. The representative would be in the centre of activities in the East and would resist against the Panislamism movements of the Russians with the help of the Slavs in the Balkans within the borders of the Ottoman Empire.

The representative’s mission was to provide information to both the Ottomans and to the Western countries by a network established from its sub-representatives. For this reason, it would not do anything which will be of benefit to the host country without the approval of it. This political representative that took the place of the diplomatic representative of Poland which was removed from the European map in the 18th century was often exposed to the Russian attacks and also caused strong diplomatic conflicts in the host countries. To bring a solution to this situation, a mission was given to the representative that did not take part in diplomatic implementations. It will protect the Polish living in the Ottoman Empire as a non-official establishment of a non-existing state. This matter had been negotiated in Paris and various solutions were recommended, including the creation of a Polish settlement. However, problems arose. The matter at hand was that, where could the Polish people who wanted to live in the Ottoman Empire could be found and how it would be achieved without getting the Ottomans involved in the matter or without allowing the Russians to start a diplomatic attempt at the Ottoman Empire. It was found that it was possible to establish a settlement where the Polish would live, however, it was thought that it would be better if it would be in a place under the French protectorate and not in the territories allocated to the emperor.

The attention was focused on the regions in St. Vincent d’Asia (New Farm) of Lazarist, where French laws were accepted and where the Polish lived before the establishment of Adampol. This issue had probably been negotiated before Michael Czajkowski moved to Istanbul, but taking an urgent measure couldn’t be accepted due to the financial problems of Prince Adam J. Czartoryski. The Prince was aware that the cost of this settlement would be very high for him. Although he was reluctant, he accepted the establishment of the settlement and the project was realized in this period. This project formed a base for activities of the representative in Istanbul and also a reasonable cause for the studies depending on the continuity of the settlement. The representative was dissolved 12 years later in 1852, the Ottoman territory began to be attractive for the Polish who wanted to gain their freedom again with the contributions of the representative. On the contrary, the settlement was thought to be a temporary one and whose population is formed from the Polish survivors.

The establishment of the village was officially realized after the signing of an agreement with Michael Czajkowski and Priest Leleu, the head of the Lazarist group in Istanbul, on behalf of Prince Adam J. Czartoryski, on March 3, 1842. The village is established as an agriculture settlement. The name “Adampol” appears as a result of combining the first name “Adam” of the Prince and the dream of establishing a free Poland (pol) in some place on earth. The aim of the establishers at this stage was to make the Adampol a base for other similar settlements. It would have military duties besides its agricultural function to allow the Polish go to this place on the Strait.

The dream of Micael Czajkowski that many, even millions of Polish would escape from the Russian army was far away from being realistic. On July in 1842, twelve Polish slaves many of them bought from Çerkez people by Lazarists settle on one part of the territory that is named St. Antonie by the Lazarists and Adampol by the Polish. Those are the people who form the center of the Polonez village named Adampol.

The Polish who wanted to live or find a temporary shelter had come to Adampol from many different places. The settlement has a territory of 5000 acres is clean and ready for use. The events in Europe and old Republic of Poland affect the migration to this place. The failure of the Hungarian revolt has directed the Polish soldier, who was fighting against Austria and Russia, to the Ottoman territory. Some of them came to Adampol and some families such as Biskunsiki settled in this area. The failure of the attempt of settling in Derbin (Tesela) caused an increase in the number of settlers coming to Adampol in the middle 1859s. The “January rebel” in Poland (1863-63) made the village a base for the ones who want to help the rebellions.

The number of Polish living in Adampol has never exceeded 250 (1914), it has even gradually decreased. Only 65 of the total population of 545 in 1922 is of Polish origin. At first, it was accepted that not only Polish, but also the Slavs could settle in this place and people from different origins were allowed to settle in. Prince Adam J. Czartoryski wanted to cooperate with the Balkan Slavs to prevent the increasing number of Russians entering Poland. When the history of Adampol is examined, it can be seen that the population of the village was composed of people from different origins and even Slavs. Especially in the near past, it can be seen that, this principle is disregarded when the Armenian and Turkish women are mentioned.

One rule that is definitely obeyed, it is about religion. All of the settlers are Catholic. But a priest from Poland is hard to find, they have to make effort to keep their religion alive. The devotion of the settlers to the Catholic belief, makes the Adampol live till toady, despite the disputes arising between Czartoryski family, Lazarists, Ottoman Empire and later, the official authorities of the Republic of Turkey.

Life hasn’t always been easy in the village. In the beginning, all the people in the village were dependent on the Lazarists for everything. The villagers had opened the area, constructed the houses and had faced great poverty. In the course of time, some financial resources had reached Adampol. The villagers were able to produce goods that would help them survive and also make money when sold. This had made some changes to the conditions. Contrary to the anticipations, the village never turned into a military settlement during its history of 150 years. This plan hadn’t been realized in the 19th century when the Polish State wasn’t existent and it couldn’t find the possibility to be realized after 1918 when Poland again gained its freedom. The Adampol settlers stayed faithful to the Polish traditions and their language. However, they began to adapt to the economic life of the region they settled in. The love they had for the Turkish territory, although they aren’t their ancestors, makes them stay here and accept the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey as their second land. They eventually considered it to be their motherland, although they are from the first origin that have settled here in the 19th century, they dream of Poland and they want Poland to be free again. In the course of time, Adampol left its agricultural characteristic and become a holiday resort.

The long existence of Adampol, which is a settlement with different traditions, culture and religion, is a result of the tolerance of the Ottomans, the Republic of Turkey and the political regulations made in Europe.

The legal position of Adampol in the 19th century was rather complex. The settlement was under the protection of the Lazanists till 1884 and the French representatives living in Istanbul because of the only legal owners of those territories, Prince Jerzy Czartoryski and his son Prince Wladistaw Czartoryski, who bought the territory in 1883, were living in this city. The death of Prince Wladistaw Czartoryski (1884) made the legal position of the settlement rather complex. Wladistaw Czartoryski is of French nationality, but his son Adam is the citizen of Austria. This situation probably caused the end of the protection of Adampol. In 1897, Islam law doctor Leon Ostrog, who was the lawyer in Bab-ı Ali (1909-13) and who made the Ottoman Empire see Adampol as a possession of the Czartoryski family, was appointed as the fully authorized representative of Adampol.

The protection was undertaken by the Austrian representative from 1904 till the end of the First World War. The Czartoryskis protected Adampol with their own representatives Michael Czajkowski (Sadık Pasha), Wladyslaw Koscielski (Sefer Pasha) and Wladyslaw Jordan through fully authorized representatives Feliks Gnatowski and Leon Ostrorog. When the Czartoryskis had no representatives left, Adampol inhabitants chose their own administrator. An election was made between Dr. Stanislaw Drozdowski, Priest Michael Lawrynowicz and persons from the families Biskupski, Wilkoszewski and Dochoda living in the village. The Czartoryskis didn’t pay as much attention to the village as they did in the 19th century. However, the devotion of the people in village to the Czartoryskis has always been respected by the Republic of Turkey. The family abandoned their territory in 1968 and the Polish settlers become the owner of their own territory in January in 1969. A large number of people started to buy land in this region when they got the right to, the areas that belonged to the Polish then decreased in Adampol. Inhabitants of Adampol started to migrate to other countries. This was a situation anticipated from the middle of the 19th century. “Let it remain between us my friend, but when the permitting the selling of private possessions is regarded, I don’t think that this place will have a future for us. Everybody will sell his or her territory to the first person offering money. That’s why, Poland will no longer be a colony, it will rapidly become cosmopolite.” 8Krakov, Czartoryski Library, Ew. Ind. 1191, from F. Breanski to S. Drowski, 12th of October 1882).

This regression still observed in the Polish Adampol settlement is a fact. The Adampol inhabitants, who are Turkish citizens, rapidly integrate with the society in which they live and the country of which they are citizens of. This integration is a process of no turning back and it will accelerate with the death of the old generation. Dialect is less spoken.