Propination laws

The right of Propination was a privilege for the Polish landed gentry ( szlachta ). It landowners granted a monopoly on the profits from alcohol, to their tenants or serfs drank. In many cases, the gains from the Propination exceeded the agricultural production and from other sources.

The Propination was the main reason for the massive alcoholism in Poland and also a reason for the anti-Semitism of the rural population, because rural inns were almost exclusively leased by Jews who were excluded from most other occupations and were involved in the monitoring of these coercive rule.

In general, the Propination included the following provisions:

• Tenants were forbidden to procure alcohol, which was not produced in the distillery of the landowner.
• Alternatively, they could be allowed itself to produce alcohol and to pay a tax, which depended on the quantity produced.
• Tenants had to buy from the landowner a fixed minimum amount of vodka or Okovita. Did they not meet this obligation, the missing quantity was destroyed in front of her house and charged them.

Such laws first emerged in the 16th century and were widely used in the 17th century. After the partitions of Poland in 1795 they were in the Prussian part until 1845, in Galicia until 1889 and in the Russian part until 1898.

• History of Law (Poland )