According to legend, when Kosciuszko fell off of his horse at the Battle of Maciejowice, shortly before he was captured, he said "Finis Poloniae", meaning in Latin "[This is] the end of Poland.

"[citation needed] Austrian, Prussian, and Russian representatives met on 24 October 1795 to dissolve the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, with the three conquering powers signing a treaty to divide the region on 26 January 1797.

The victors also agreed to erase the country's name: In view of the necessity to abolish everything which could revive the memory of the existence of the Kingdom of Poland, now that the annulment of this body politic has been effected ... the high contracting parties are agreed and undertake never to include in their titles ... the name or designation of the Kingdom of Poland, which shall remain suppressed as from the present and forever ...[2][page needed]The Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ended the existence of an independent Polish and Lithuanian state for the next 123 years.

Poland briefly regained semi-autonomy in 1807 when Napoleon created the Duchy of Warsaw, but this effectively ended with the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

Poland would not regain full independence until the end of World War I when the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire allowed for the resurrection of Polish national sovereignty.