The Peasants Fleeing to „Podolia” in the 18th Century from the Perspective of Rural Documents

Abstract

The article analyzes the phenomenon of runaway peasants in the 18th century through the prism of documents preserved in village court books. Fleeing to Podolia, which became a migratory destination after it was reincorporated into the Crown in 1699, was particularly popular in eastern Lesser Poland and the western part of the Ruthenian Voivodeship at the time. However, the preserved rural documents talk less about actual fleeing to Podolia, and more about a flight as a kind of referential pattern, which designated success both in rupture from social ties and in securing a more satisfactory living for oneself. Therefore, the motif of „escape to Podolia” was primarily used in peasant discourse to formulate values. At the social level, this was above all the freedom of social and geographic mobility with preserving all rights within the framework of the village community and serfdom. At the individual level, the potential opportunity to start a new life outside the control of local social structures was posited as a main value. The negative image of Podolia as a land of criminals, lose women, and sorcerers, which functioned at the same time, served in turn to describe the dangers which the decision to leave the village could bring with it.