Settlement contracts and leases

The legal foundation and mark of the beginning of settlement was the settlement "privilege" (also called the "contract" (kontract) or "law" (prawo), which was rendered in Latin as the privilegium or ius, and in German as the Gerichtigkeit), which was issued in the case of a significant majority of settlements.^{[Note 5]} It usually took a ceremonial and ornamental form, being drawn up on parchment and appropriately stamped with official seals, either placed directly on the document or on cords attached to the document. From a formal legal point of view, this document was not a binding contract, but rather a unilateral declaration expressing the will of the land owner. De facto, however, its contents reflected the agreement of both sides. In this regard, the most important distinguishing factor of olęder settlement is the fact that the second party was not a zasadźca (that is, a figure in medieval Poland who acted as a sort of headman of a village, and intermediary between the land owner and his peasants), but rather the community of settlers acting collectively, or their representative acting on their behalf. The original document remained in the hands of the land owner, although it was often recopied into the appropriate "land book," since the land owner was obligated to produce a duplicate in case the original was lost or destroyed.

Contracts were drawn up in German, Polish or Latin. German or Latin appear most often in Royal Prussia (although contracts in Polish were also found there). The Polish language dominated elsewhere in the Kingdom of Poland.^[28] In Greater Poland, around 22% of contracts were written in German, and one can even find contracts written both in German and Polish.^[27] Most often contracts were written only at the outset of settlement, although situations did occur—especially in later periods—where a contract's purpose was to recognize legally an already existing situation, such as the rights and relations of settlers already living on the land owner's lands. It also happened that a land owner would extend the new Olęder law to peasants who had been living on given lands for some time.^[29]

The contract precisely regulated relations of the Olęder community with the land owner and with other persons and institutions. One basic issue was the conditions on which the settlers were given tenure of lands (dzierżawa). At the beginning of the period of Olęder settlement, land was delivered to the settlers for a specified period, usually from a few dozen to 60 years (although it also occurred that Olęder settlers were given the land only for a few years—as a test period—and if the settlement was successful, the tenure was extended. In later periods, often tenure was turned into emphyteusis, often in perpetuity. (In Roman and civil law, an emphyteusis was a contract by which a landed estate was leased to a tenant, either in perpetuity or for a long term of years, upon the reservation of an annual rent, and upon condition that the lessee should improve the property; the real right by which a person is entitled to enjoy another's estate as if it were his own, and to dispose of its substance, as far as can be done without deteriorating it.^[30] This occurred both in cases of extended contracts of tenure, as well as in the founding of new Olęder settlements. (Rusiński gives as an example Olędry Róża, in Greater Poland, settled before 1624).^[31] Such tenure was not only perpetual, but also heritable and alienable, although nothing could be done that would harm the interests of the land owner.)

In return for tenure of the land, the settler paid the land owner the so-called wkupne (also called the gottespfenik)^{[Note 6]} While in Royal Prussia and Kuyavia the wkupne had to be paid before the first assumption of tenure, and also at each subsequent extension, in Greater Poland Olęder settlers paid the land owner the so-called Gruntgeld only upon converting tenure for a term of years into tenure in perpetuity.^[33]

For the use of the land, the community had to pay the land owner an annual rent (czynsz), specified in the settlement contract. (Rent usually were paid only in money; rents in kind were rare outside of Greater Poland). Frequently, at the founding of a settlement, the land owner gave the settlers a few years to get established, foregoing collection of rents during that period (the so-called wolnizna).^[34] In only a few cases were Olęder settlers also obligated to provide labor, and even then to a limited degree.^{[Note 7]}

Personal and legal relationships

The Olęder settlers were free persons. They were not dependent upon the land owner, as underscored in the majority of contracts for settling new villages. They could, at any time of their choice, sell their farm and depart the property. The situation is not entirely clear regarding existing inhabitants of a village to which the Olęder law was subsequently extended. For example, the inhabitants of Olędrów Chorzępowa, on the Sieraków estate, theoretically could sell their farms (and perhaps depart the property), but the settlement contract did not clearly describe them as free people, and an inventory of the estate made a few years later counts some of the farmers as serfs.^[36]

Minor judicial matters generally were tried before the local government of the Olęder community. However, the land owner reserved the right to hear the matter himself in the case of serious crimes (robbery, arson, murder, assault causing bodily harm, etc.)^[37] The land owner's court was also the court of review for appeals from the decision of the community. That legal arrangement placed the Olęder settler on a somewhat higher level than an enserfed peasant, who did not have access to community justice.^[38] Only rarely were Olędrzy without the right to settle any legal questions. Such was the case on Saska Kępa, where only the mayor and the land owner's clerk were entitled to judge disputes.^[39]

On royal estates, in case of a conflict with the starosta in charge of administering the estate for the king, the Olędrzy could appeal to the royal referendary court (sąd referendarski), a right which they invoked frequently.^[40] In the case of noble estates, nothing is known regarding the regulatory conditions allowing appeal from decisions of the land owner. However, almost certainly the Olędrzy had the capacity on their own initiative to file a complaint in the civic and land courts (urzęd grodzki i ziemski), in contrast to serfs who could file such a complaint only in the presence of the land owner himself.^[41]

Faith, public and religious obligations

Olęder settlers identified with different Christian sects. This is the case both with the first colonists, from the Netherlands and Frisia (most often Anabaptists and Mennonites), and with the later, ethnically different peasants (Lutherans and Roman Catholics). In general, they enjoyed freedom of religion, which after all was one of the reasons for the original Dutch colonization. The great majority of settlement contracts contained the limitation that the settlers were not allowed to prevent Catholic laborers they employed from participating in Holy Mass or other church visits. Only rarely did a founder interfere with the colonists' freedom to carry out their own religious observances (for example, the Warsaw authorities not only prohibited the Olędrzy from building a Protestant church, but also from holding services, either privately or publicly. They were required to participate in Catholic services.).^[42]

Even if an Olęder settlement was populated by non-Catholic peasants, most often the settlement was within the jurisdiction of Catholic Church administration. Consequently, both Catholics and Lutherans were required to make certain payments (in return for which, Lutherans were, in certain situations, authorized to use the services of Catholic priests). Olędrzy paid tithes or meszne, a payment for saying Mass, often made in kind but sometimes in money, and paid by all inhabitants in a parish (it was rare for both tithes and meszne to have to be paid), as well as payments for specific services (performing baptisms, marriages, burials, etc.) These were paid to the Roman Catholic Church by Lutherans even if the service was performed by a Protestant chaplain, and was treated as compensation for the reduction in Church finances.^[32] Payments for these things to the Roman Catholic Church were only abolished in 1768, when the Cardinal Laws equalized the legal rights of Catholics and dissenters.

Like other peasants, Olędrzy were also required to pay certain taxes to the state (and only rarely did the land owner take that responsibility upon himself, and in those cases he may have compensated himself through higher rents). These included taxes levied per capita or per hearth, having to provide winter quarters for soldiers, and other taxes (such as those on hides or the subsidium charitativum).^[43]

Local self-government

Strong self-government was one of the most fundamental distinguishing characteristics of Olęder settlement, even though there were cases where the land owner attempted to limit it (by trying to appoint a hereditary sołtys, who was a dependant of the manor), in which case the community's system of local government was closer to that of villages founded under the German Law. Most often, however, the manor respected the rights of the community granted in the settlement contract.

The local government of the community consisted of the sołtys and his councillors, each called a ławnik. Most often there were two of these,^[40] rarely three and extremely seldom four.^[44]). They were not appointed by the land owner, but chosen by all the inhabitants of the settlement (although women did not have the right to vote). Local government elections were usually held annually. At times the term of office lasted two or three years.^[45] Election to an office for life was truly exceptional.^{[Note 8]}

On the one hand, local officials served as intermediaries between the settlement and the manor. They were directly responsible for ensuring complete and punctual fulfillment of the obligations owed to the manor, such as collecting a delivering payments and rents to the land owner. On the other hand, the sołtys and councillors managed the administration of the community and its judicial system. This was most often regulated by administrative ordinances (wilkierz), which frequently were also spelled out in the settlement contract. The legal content of these had the objective of regulating relations among the peasants, which was especially important in the context of the shared responsibility of the community to fulfill the obligations toward the land owner contained in the contract. For example, the officials of the local government were even required to remove an Olęder who neglected his land and settle somebody else there. The local government was also responsible for the care of minor orphans, with security (especially against fires) and cleanliness of the settlement.^[46]

At the same time, the sołtys and councillors acted as the court of first instance for minor infractions and arguments. For all of these actions, local officials received payment from the community. Income from payments was placed in the community chest, kept by the sołtys (and keys to which were held by the councillors). Funds from the community chest were used, among other things, to cover the travel costs of jury members, as well, perhaps, as payment to a community shepherd, a night watchman, a teacher or the cost of insuring against fire.^[47]

Schools

An important distinguishing characteristic of non-Catholic Olęder settlements was the existence on their terrains of schools. Above all, these fulfilled a religious function, preparing youth to join the community of faith. Rusiński even doubts whether anything other than the catechism was taught in some schools.^[48]

The school generally was located in its own building, to the construction of which the land owner agreed in the settlement contract. He also facilitated upkeep of the school by designating for it a specified area of land free of rents. For example, in Chmielinko the settlers received one-half of a huba for the school.^[35] The teacher cultivated that land, although he often also received additional contributions from the community. His duties included providing instruction in religion, and how to participate in the religion's rituals, and teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. The community sometimes took advantage of the teacher's knowledge of how to write to perform certain tasks associated with administration of the settlement: maintaining the community's records and the local government's correspondence. Surely, the teacher also sometimes acted as scribe for the personal correspondence of the peasants.

It is difficult to assess the quality of instruction in the Olęder schools. In Rusiński's opinion, the manner of recruiting teachers in Olęder settlements in Greater Poland—from among weavers, innkeepers, shoekeepers or tailors in small towns who could not find work—is proof that the quality cannot have been very high.^[49] At the same time, he recognized that the fact of these schools' existence was an undeniable benefit to the community. In turn, Szałygin indicated that, for the settlers from the Netherlands the schools were a safeguard for their language, culture, traditions and Mennonite faith, which allowed them to keep their own identity and resist Polonization. However, after the partitions of Poland, Prussian policy led to their Germanization.^[49]