Lietuvos bajorai ir bajoraičiai Londone XVIII a. pabaigoje

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Abiejų Tautų Respublika (ATR; Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów; Žečpospolita; Sandrauga; Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth); Anglija; Apšvieta; Bajorai; Globa; Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); Londonas; Pažintinės kelionės; Pranciškus Bukota; Praniškus Bukota; Tadas Bukota; England; Enlightenment; Franciszek Bukaty; Lithuania; London; Noblemen; Patronage; Sightseeing tours; Tadeusz Bukaty.

ENDuring the Age of Enlightenment the number of sightseeing tours to England increased among Lithuanian noblemen. They were interested in the country where the news containing Enlightenment ideas, which in increasing amounts reached the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in general and Lithuanian in particular, originated. Strive for knowledge resulted in young Lithuanian noblemen Ignotas Gelgaudas' (Ignacy Gielgud) and Jurgis Tiškevičius' (Jerzy Tyszkiewicz) arrival in London in the autumn of 1784. Here they found themselves under the patronage of Pranciškus Bukota (Franciszek Bukaty), the ambassador of the Republic to England, and his assistant Tadas Bukota (Tadeusz Bukaty). The article, which is based on the literature on the subject and Antanas Gelgaudas', father of one of the young noblemen, letters written to T. Bukota in 1785-1787, reviews the situation around the young men's visit to England. The analysis is conducted against the background of other trips of Lithuanian noblemen to England and the activities of the Embassy of the Republic in London in 1769-1795. All ambassadors of the Republic to London, including Tadas Bužinskis (Tadeusz Burzyński), P. Bukota, and T. Bukota, were Lithuanian noblemen, therefore visitors from the Republic, the majority of whom were Lithuanians, would flock around them. High-ranked officials of the state, political figures, and scientists often travelled to London and England, however, the majority was young people driven by their hunger for knowledge. I. Gelgaudas and J. Tiškevičius' public and political activity pursued from their return to Lithuania in 1787 and throughout the last years of the Republic's existence suggests that during their stay in England they acquired knowledge and skills necessary for such work. [From the publication]