The Polish Revolutionary War in 1792

The shift in real power threatened to unbalance the empire and made a mockery of the formal constitutional order. The Elector of Mainz remained the premier imperial prince, yet ruled only 336,000 subjects in 1795 compared to 26 million in the Habsburg lands and 8.2 million in Prussia. It seemed obvious to many that the empire faced a Polish future as imperial institutions appeared powerless to prevent Austria and Prussia dictating its affairs.