Following the Seven Years' War (1756-1763), Frederick II's Prussia and Catherine II's Russia turned their attention to Poland, taking advantage of France's temporary weakness and England's disinterest. Religious conflicts had erupted in Poland between Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and Protestants. The two Eastern powers, allied, decided to support the latter, but as the conflicts continued, Catherine II decided to invade Poland in 1768 with Prussia's consent.

France, weakened by the Seven Years' War and allied with Poland, could not stand by and watch, so it convinced the Ottoman Empire to declare war on Russia to avert a catastrophe for the Poles. The outcome, however, was the opposite of what Paris had expected: Russian forces achieved numerous successes in the Balkans and at sea, and the Ottoman Empire seemed on the brink of collapse. This event caused astonishment in the European courts, but also fear for a possible Russian territorial expansion in Eastern Europe; this was especially true for Austria, which also had vital interests in the region. Thus, Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria offered mediation between Catherine II and the Ottoman sultan.

For Prussia, an entente or war between Austria and Russia would have been a catastrophe: in the first case, the two powers would have gained territorial power, even at the expense of Prussia, which was very close to Austrian and Russian dominions; while in the second case, it would have been inevitably drawn into the war, being an ally of Russia at the time. Terrified by these scenarios, Frederick II proposed to the two Eastern sovereigns a partition of Poland to avoid an entente or war for the possession of Ottoman territories.

They thus reached an agreement in 1772: Prussia took Danzig and West Prussia (present-day northwestern Poland); Austria received Galicia and Lodomeria (now part of western Ukraine and southeastern Poland), while Russia received parts of White Russia and Livonia (parts of present-day Latvia, Lithuania, and Belarus). Poland was thus stripped of numerous territories in the west, south, and east during peacetime, astonishing the other European courts. The remainder of Polish territory was definitively divided among the three great Eastern powers between 1793 and 1795.