Polonization (in Polish: polonizacja) is the assumption, voluntary or involuntary, complete or partial, of the Polish language or another real or supposed Polish attribute. It may be regarded as a subclass of a historically ubiquitous process of assimilation. (Other recent examples are Germanization, Russification, Americanization.) Such assimilation has commonly accompanied the evolution of empires, broadly construed. In the social sciences, assimilation is the process of integration whereby immigrants, or other minority groups, are absorbed into a generally larger community. ... This article is about the political term. ... Charles Darwin, the father of modern evolutionary theory In the life sciences, evolution is a change in the traits of living organisms over generations, including the emergence of new species. ... An empire (also known technically, abstractly or disparagingly as an imperium, and with powers known among Romans as imperium) comprises a set of regions locally ruled by governors, viceroys or client kings in the name of an emperor. ...

Polonization was especially noted in the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth or Republic, when Polish drew to itself the upper classes of the Lithuanian, Belarusian and Ukrainian communities, leading to those classes' lesser or greater alienation from their ethnic roots. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... In a broad definition a republic is a state or country that is led by people who do not base their political power on any principle beyond the control of the people living in that state or country. ... Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ... The term class, when used by itself, has several meanings in English. ... Alienation is estrangement or splitting apart. ... An ethnic group is a group of people who identify with one another, or are so identified by others, on the basis of a boundary that distinguishes them from other groups. ... For other meanings of root, see Root (disambiguation). ...

One of the features of Polonization was the promotion of the Roman Catholic Church at the expense of the Orthodox Churches. Saint Peters Basilica in Rome. ... ...

As a consequence of the process of Polonization, disputes sometimes occur as to the ethnicities of notable persons such as Tadeusz Kościuszko, Adam Mickiewicz and Ignacy Domeyko, who are claimed as national celebrities by Poles, Belarusians and Lithuanians alike. Tadeusz Kościuszko. ... Adam Mickiewicz (December 24, 1798 – November 26, 1855) was one of the most well-known Polish poets and writers, considered as the greatest Polish poet, besides Zygmunt Krasiński and Juliusz Słowacki. ... Ignacy Domeyko Ignacy Domeyko (in Belarusian Ігнат Дамейка, also spelt Domejko and Damiejka) (b. ...

  This culture-related article is a stub. You can help by expanding it. The word culture comes from the Latin root colere (to inhabit, to cultivate, or to honor). ... Shortcut: WP:STUB stub, please see Stub (disambiguation). ... Shortcut: WP:STUB stub, please see Stub (disambiguation). ...

External Links

• The Polonization of the Ukrainian Nobility (http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mdemkowicz1/dobra/poloniz.html)