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Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

January 07, 2023

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth,[b] formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,[c] was a bi-confederal[11] state, sometimes called a federation,[12] of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch in real union, who was both King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. It was one of the largest[13][14] and most populous countries of 16th- to 17th-century Europe. At its largest territorial extent, in the early 17th century, the Commonwealth covered almost 1,000,000 km2 (400,000 sq mi)[15][16] and as of 1618 sustained a multi-ethnic population of almost 12 million.[17][18] Polish and Latin were the two co-official languages.

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1569–1795[1]
Royal Banner
(c. 1605–1795)[a]
Motto: 
Anthem: Gaude Mater Polonia
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (green) with vassal states (light green) at their peak in 1619
Capital
de jure:

de facto:

  • Kraków[2] (1569–1596)
  • Warsaw[2][b] (1596–1795)
Common languagesOfficial:
Polish and Latin
Regional:
Religion
Official:
Roman Catholicism[3]
Minority:
Government
King / Grand Duke 
• 1569–1572 (first)
Sigismund II Augustus
• 1764–1795 (last)
Stanislaw II Augustus
LegislatureGeneral sejm
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
Chamber of Deputies
Historical eraEarly modern period
1 July 1569
5 August 1772
3 May 1791
23 January 1793[1]
24 October 1795[1]
Area
1582[8]815,000 km2 (315,000 sq mi)
1618[9][10]1,000,000 km2 (390,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1582[8]
~8,000,000

The Commonwealth was established by the Union of Lublin in July 1569, but the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had been in a de facto personal union since 1386 with the marriage of the Polish queen Jadwiga (Hedwig) and Lithuania's Grand Duke Jogaila, who was crowned King jure uxoris Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland. The First Partition in 1772 and the Second Partition in 1793 greatly reduced the state's size and the Commonwealth was partitioned out of existence due to the Third Partition in 1795.

The Union possessed many features unique among contemporary states. Its political system was characterized by strict checks upon monarchical power. These checks were enacted by a legislature (sejm) controlled by the nobility (szlachta). This idiosyncratic system was a precursor to modern concepts of democracy,[19] as of 1791 constitutional monarchy,[20][21][22] and federation.[23] Although the two component states of the Commonwealth were formally equal, Poland was the dominant partner in the union.[24]

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was marked by high levels of ethnic diversity and by relative religious tolerance, guaranteed by the Warsaw Confederation Act 1573;[25][26][d] however, the degree of religious freedom varied over time.[27] The Constitution of 1791 acknowledged Catholicism as the "dominant religion", unlike the Warsaw Confederation, but freedom of religion was still granted with it.[22]

After several decades of prosperity,[28][29][30] it entered a period of protracted political,[22][31] military, and economic decline.[32] Its growing weakness led to its partitioning among its neighbors (Austria, Prussia, and Russia) during the late 18th century. Shortly before its demise, the Commonwealth adopted a massive reform effort and enacted the 3 May Constitution, which was the first codified constitution in modern European history and the second in modern world history after the United States Constitution.[33][34][35][36][37]

Name

The official name of the state was the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Polish: Królestwo Polskie i Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie, Lithuanian: Lenkijos Karalystė ir Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė, Latin: Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae) and the Latin term was usually used in international treaties and diplomacy.[38]

In the 17th century and later it was also known as the 'Most Serene Commonwealth of Poland' (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae),[39] the Commonwealth of the Polish Kingdom,[40] or the Commonwealth of Poland.[41]

Western Europeans often simplified the name to 'Poland' and in most past and modern sources it is referred to as the Kingdom of Poland, or just Poland.[38][42][43] The terms 'Commonwealth of Poland' and 'Commonwealth of Two Nations' (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów, Latin: Res Publica Utriusque Nationis) were used in the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations.[44] The English term Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and German Polen-Litauen are seen as renderings of the 'Commonwealth of Two Nations' variant.[38]

Other informal names include the 'Republic of Nobles' (Polish: Rzeczpospolita szlachecka) and the 'First Commonwealth' (Polish: I Rzeczpospolita), the latter relatively common in historiography to distinguish it from the Second Polish Republic.

History

Main articles: History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648), (1648–1764), and (1764–1795)

Prelude (1370–1569)

The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania underwent an alternating series of wars and alliances across the 13th and 14th centuries.[45] The relations between the two states differed at times as each strived and competed for political, economic or military dominance of the region.[46] In turn, Poland had remained a staunch ally of its southern neighbour, Hungary. The last Polish monarch from the native Piast dynasty, Casimir the Great, died on 5 November 1370 without fathering a legitimate male heir.[47] Consequently, the crown passed onto his Hungarian nephew, Louis of Anjou, who ruled the Kingdom of Hungary in a personal union with Poland.[47] A fundamental step in developing extensive ties with Lithuania was a succession crisis arising in the 1380s.[48] Louis died on 10 September 1382 and, like his uncle, did not produce a son to succeed him. His two daughters, Mary and Jadwiga (Hedwig), held claims to the vast dual realm.[47]

The Polish lords rejected Mary in favour of her younger sister Jadwiga, partly due to Mary's association with Sigismund of Luxembourg.[49] The future queen regnant was betrothed to young William Habsburg, Duke of Austria, but certain factions of the nobility remained apprehensive believing that William would not secure domestic interests.[50] Instead, they turned to Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Jogaila was a lifelong pagan and vowed to adopt Catholicism upon marriage by signing the Union of Krewo on 14 August 1385.[51] The Act imposed Christianity in Lithuania and transformed Poland into a diarchy, a kingdom ruled over by two sovereigns; their descendants and successive monarchs held the titles of king and grand duke respectively.[52] The ultimate clause dictated that Lithuania was to be merged in perpetuity (perpetuo applicare) with the Polish Kingdom; however, this did not take effect until 1569.[53] Jogaila was crowned as Władysław II Jagiełło at Wawel Cathedral on 4 March 1386.[54]

Union of Lublin (1569)

Main article: Union of Lublin

Several minor agreements were struck before unification, notably the Union of Kraków and Vilnius, the Union of Vilnius and Radom and the Union of Grodno. Lithuania's vulnerable position and rising tensions on its eastern flank persuaded the nobles to seek a closer bond with Poland.[55] The idea of a federation presented better economic opportunities, whilst securing Lithuania's borders from hostile states to the north, south and east.[56] Lesser Lithuanian nobility were eager to share the personal privileges and political liberties enjoyed by the Polish szlachta, but did not accept Polish demands for the incorporation of the Grand Duchy into Poland as a mere province, with no sense of autonomy.[57] Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł (Radvila Rudasis) and his cousin Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł, two prominent nobles and military commanders in Lithuania, vocally opposed the union.[58]

A fierce proponent of a single unified Commonwealth was Sigismund II Augustus, who was childless and ailing. According to historians, it was his active involvement which hastened the process and made the union possible.[59] A parliament (sejm) convened on 10 January 1569 in the city of Lublin, attended by envoys from both nations. It was agreed that the merger will take place the same year and both parliaments will be fused into a joint assembly.[60] No independent parliamentary convocation or diet was henceforth permitted.[60] Subjects of the Polish Crown were no longer restricted in purchasing land on Lithuanian territory and a single currency was established.[61] Whilst the military remained separate, a unified foreign policy meant that Lithuanian troops were obliged to contribute during a conflict not to their advantage.[62] As a result, several Lithuanian magnates deplored the accords and left the assembly in protest.[63] Sigismund II used his authority as grand duke and enforced the Act of Union in contumaciam. In fear, the absent nobles promptly returned to the negotiations.[64] The Union of Lublin was passed by the gathered deputies and signed by attendees on 1 July, thus creating the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[63]

Sigismund's death in 1572 was followed by an interregnum during which adjustments were made to the constitutional system; these adjustments significantly increased the power of the Polish nobility and established a truly elective monarchy.[65]

Apex and the Golden Age (1573–1648)

Main article: Polish Golden Age
 
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at its greatest extent in 1619.

On 11 May 1573, Henry de Valois, son of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici, was proclaimed King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in the first royal election outside Warsaw. Approximately 40,000 nobles cast a vote in what was to become a centuries-long tradition of a nobles' democracy (Golden Liberty). Henry already posed as a candidate before Sigismund's death and received widespread support from the pro-French factions. The choice was a political move aimed at curtailing Habsburg hegemony, ending skirmishes with the French-allied Ottomans, and profiting from the lucrative trade with France. Upon ascending the throne, Henry signed the contractual agreement known as the Pacta conventa and approbated the Henrician Articles.[66] The Act stated the fundamental principles of governance and constitutional law in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[67] In June 1574, Henry abandoned Poland and headed back to claim the French crown following the death of his brother and predecessor, Charles IX.[68] The throne was subsequently declared vacant.

The interregnum concluded on 12 December 1575 when primate Jakub Uchański declared Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, as the next king.[69] The decision was condemned by the anti-Habsburg coalition, which demanded a "native" candidate.[70] As a compromise, on 13 December 1575 Anna Jagiellon – sister of Sigismund Augustus and a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty – became the new monarch.[71] The nobles simultaneously elected Stephen Báthory as co-regent, who ruled jure uxoris.[70] Báthory's election proved controversial – Lithuania and Ducal Prussia initially refused to recognize the Transylvanian as their ruler.[72] The wealthy port city of Gdańsk (Danzig) staged a revolt, and, with the help of Denmark, blockaded maritime trade to neutral Elbląg (Elbing).[73] Báthory, unable to penetrate the city's extensive fortifications, succumbed to the demands for greater privileges and freedoms.[73] However, his successful Livonian campaign ended in the annexation of Livonia and the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (modern-day Estonia and Latvia, respectively), thus expanding the Commonwealth's influence into the Baltics.[74] Most importantly, Poland gained the Hanseatic city of Riga on the Baltic Sea.

 
Sigismund III Vasa, who reigned between 1587 – 1632, presided over an era of prosperity and territorial expansion of the Commonwealth.

In 1587, Sigismund Vasa – the son of John III of Sweden and Catherine Jagiellon – won the election, but his claim was overtly contested by Maximilian III of Austria, who launched a military expedition to challenge the new king.[75] His defeat in 1588 at the hands of Jan Zamoyski sealed Sigismund's right to the throne of Poland and Sweden.[76] Sigismund's long reign marked an end to the Polish Golden Age and the beginning of the Silver Age.[77] A devout Catholic, he hoped to restore absolutism and imposed Roman Catholicism during the height of the Counter-Reformation.[78] His intolerance towards the Protestants in Sweden sparked a war of independence, which ended the Polish–Swedish union.[79] As a consequence, he was deposed in Sweden by his uncle Charles IX Vasa.[80] In Poland, the Zebrzydowski rebellion was brutally suppressed.[81]

Sigismund III then initiated a policy of expansionism, and invaded Russia in 1609 when that country was plagued by a civil war known as the Time of Troubles. In July 1610, the outnumbered Polish force comprising winged hussars defeated the Russians at the Battle of Klushino, which enabled the Poles to take and occupy Moscow for the next two years.[82] The disgraced Vasili IV of Russia was transported in a cage to Warsaw where he paid a tribute to Sigismund; Vasili was later murdered in captivity.[83] The Commonwealth forces were eventually driven out on 4 November 1612 (celebrated as Unity Day in Russia). The war concluded with a truce that granted Poland–Lithuania extensive territories in the east and marked its largest territorial expansion.[84] At least five million Russians died between 1598 and 1613, the result of continuous conflict, famine and Sigismund's invasion.[85]

 
Sejm (parliament) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the early 17th century

The Polish–Ottoman War (1620–21) forced Poland to withdraw from Moldavia in southeastern Europe, but Sigismund's victory over the Turks at Khotyn diminished the supremacy of the Sultanate and eventually led to the murder of Osman II.[86] This secured the Turkish frontier for the duration of Sigismund's rule. In spite of the victories in the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629), the exhausted Commonwealth army signed the Treaty of Altmark which ceded much of Livonia to Sweden under Gustavus Adolphus.[87] At the same time, the country's powerful parliament was dominated by nobles (Pic. 2) who were reluctant to get involved in the Thirty Years' War; this neutrality spared the country from the ravages of a political-religious conflict that devastated most of contemporary Europe.[88]

During this period, Poland was experiencing a cultural awakening and extensive developments in arts and architecture; the first Vasa king openly sponsored foreign painters, craftsmen, musicians and engineers, who settled in the Commonwealth at his request.[89]

Sigismund's eldest son, Ladislaus succeeded him as Władysław IV in 1632 with no major opposition.[90] A skilled tactician, he invested in artillery, modernised the army and fiercely defended the Commonwealth's eastern borders.[91] Under the Treaty of Stuhmsdorf, he reclaimed regions of Livonia and the Baltics which were lost during the Polish-Swedish wars.[92] Unlike his father who worshipped the Habsburgs, Władysław sought closer ties with France and married Marie Louise Gonzaga, daughter of Charles I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, in 1646.[93]

Deluge, rebellions and Vienna (1648–1696)

Main articles: Swedish Deluge and Battle of Vienna (1683)
 
John III Sobieski, victor over the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Vienna in 1683.

The Commonwealth's power and stability began waning after a series of blows during the following decades. Władysław's brother, John II Casimir, proved to be weak and impotent. The multicultural and mega-diverse federation already suffered domestic problems. As persecution of religious and ethnic minorities strengthened, several groups started to rebel.[citation needed]

A major rebellion of self-governed Ukrainian Cossacks inhabiting south-eastern borderlands of the Commonwealth rioted against Polish and Catholic oppression of Orthodox Ukraine in 1648, in what came to be known as the Khmelnytsky Uprising. It resulted in a Ukrainian request, under the terms of the Treaty of Pereyaslav, for protection by the Russian Tsar. In 1651, in the face of a growing threat from Poland, and forsaken by his Tatar allies, Khmelnytsky asked the Tsar to incorporate Ukraine as an autonomous duchy under Russian protection. Russian annexation of Zaporizhian Ukraine gradually supplanted Polish influence in that part of Europe. In the years following, Polish settlers, nobles, Catholics and Jews became the victims of retaliation massacres instigated by the Cossacks in their dominions. The other blow to the Commonwealth was a Swedish invasion in 1655, known as the Deluge, which was supported by troops of Transylvanian Duke George II Rákóczi and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg. Under the Treaty of Bromberg in 1657, Catholic Poland was forced to renounce its suzerainty over Protestant Prussia; in 1701 the once-insignificant duchy was transformed into the Kingdom of Prussia, which became a major European power in the 18th century and proved to be Poland's most enduring foe.[citation needed]

In the late 17th century, the king of the weakened Commonwealth, John III Sobieski, allied with Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I to deal crushing defeats to the Ottoman Empire. In 1683, the Battle of Vienna marked the final turning point in the 250-year struggle between the forces of Christian Europe and the Islamic Ottomans. For its centuries-long opposition to Muslim advances, the Commonwealth would gain the name of Antemurale Christianitatis (bulwark of Christianity).[23][94] During the next 16 years, the Great Turkish War would drive the Turks permanently south of the Danube River, never again to threaten central Europe.[95]

Political turmoil and the enlightenment (1697–1771)

Main article: Enlightenment in Poland
 
Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, wearing the Order of the White Eagle which he established in 1705.

John Sobieski's death in 1696 arguably ended the period of national sovereignty, and Poland's relative authority over the region dwindled swiftly. By the 18th century, destabilization of its political system brought the Commonwealth to the brink of civil war and the state became increasingly susceptible to foreign influence.[96] The remaining European powers perpetually meddled in the country's affairs.[97] Upon the death of a king, several royal houses actively intruded in the hope of securing votes for their desired candidates.[98] The practice was common and apparent, and the selection was often the result of hefty bribes directed at corrupt nobles.[99] Louis XIV of France heavily invested in François Louis, Prince of Conti, in opposition to James Louis Sobieski, Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria and Frederick Augustus of Saxony.[100] The latter's conversion from Lutheranism to Catholicism awed the conservative magnates and Pope Innocent XII, who in turn voiced their endorsement.[101] Imperial Russia and Habsburg Austria also contributed by financing Frederick, whose election took place in June 1697. Many questioned the legality of his elevation to the throne; it was speculated that the Prince of Conti had received more votes and was the rightful heir. Frederick hurried with his armies to Poland to quell any opposition. He was crowned as Augustus II in September and Conti's brief military engagement near Gdańsk in November of the same year proved fruitless.[102]

The House of Wettin ruled Poland–Lithuania and Saxony simultaneously, dividing power between the two states. In spite of his controversial means of attaining power, Augustus II lavishly spent on the arts and left an extensive cultural and architectural (Baroque) legacy in both countries. In Poland, he expanded Wilanów and facilitated the refurbishment of the Warsaw Royal Castle into a modern palatial residence.[103] Countless landmarks and monuments in the city bear a name referencing the Saxon kings, notably Saxon Garden, Saxon Axis and the former Saxon Palace.[104] The period saw the development of urban planning, street allocation, hospitals, schools (Collegium Nobilium), public parks and libraries (Załuski Library). First manufactories producing on a mass scale were opened to satisfy the demands of the nobility as consumers.[105]

 
 
Warsaw near the end of the Commonwealth's existence. Paintings by Bernardo Bellotto, 1770s

At the height of the Great Northern War a coalition (Warsaw Confederation) against Augustus II was formed by Stanisław Leszczyński and other magnates sponsored by Sweden. The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was formally neutral at this point, as Augustus entered the war as Elector of Saxony. Disregarding Polish negotiation proposals supported by the Swedish parliament, Charles crossed into the Commonwealth and vanquished the Saxe-Polish forces at the Battle of Klissow in 1702 and at the Battle of Pultusk in 1703.[106] Charles then succeeded in dethroning Augustus and coercing the Sejm (parliament) to replace him with Stanisław in 1704.[107] Augustus regained the throne in 1709,[108] but his own death in 1733 sparked the War of the Polish Succession in which Stanisław once more attempted to seize the crown, this time with the support of France.[109] The Pacification Sejm (1736) culminated in Augustus III succeeding his father.[110]

The relative peace and inactivity that followed only weakened Poland's reputation on the world stage.[111] Aleksander Brückner noted that Polish customs and traditions were abandoned in favour of everything foreign, and neighbouring states continued to exploit Poland to their advantage.[111] Moreover, Western Europe's increasing exploitation of resources in the Americas rendered the Commonwealth's supplies less crucial which resulted in financial losses.[112] Augustus III spent little time in the Commonwealth, instead preferring the Saxon city of Dresden. He appointed Heinrich von Brühl as viceroy and minister of Polish affairs who in turn left the politics to Polish magnate families, such as the Czartoryskis and the Radziwills.[113] It was also during this period that the Polish Enlightenment began to sprout.

Partitions (1772–1795)

Main article: Partitions of Poland

In 1764, aristocrat Stanisław August Poniatowski was elected monarch with the connivance and support of his former lover Catherine the Great, a German noblewoman who became Empress of Russia.[114]

Poniatowski's attempts at reform were met with staunch resistance both internally and externally. Any goal of stabilizing the Commonwealth was dangerous for its ambitious and aggressive neighbours. Like his predecessors, he sponsored artists and architects. In 1765 he founded the Warsaw Corps of Cadets, the first state school in Poland for all classes of society.[115] In 1773 the king and parliament formed the Commission of National Education, the first Ministry of Education in European history.[116][117] In 1792, the king ordered the creation of Virtuti Militari, the oldest military decoration still in use.[118] Stanisław August also admired the culture of Ancient kingdoms, particularly Rome and Greece; Neoclassicism became the dominant form of architectural and cultural expression.

Politically, however, the vast Commonwealth was in steady decline and by 1768, it started to be considered by Russians as a protectorate of the Russian Empire despite the fact that it was still an independent state.[119][120] A majority of control over Poland was central to Catherine's diplomatic and military strategies.[121] Attempts at reform, such as the Four-Year Sejm's May Constitution, came too late. The country was partitioned in three stages by the Russian Empire, the German Kingdom of Prussia, and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy. By 1795, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had been completely erased from the map of Europe. Poland and Lithuania were not re-established as independent countries until 1918.[122]

State organization and politics

See also: Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

Golden Liberty

Main article: Golden Liberty
 
Royal Castle in Warsaw was the formal residence of Polish kings after the capital was moved from Kraków in 1596
 
Crown Tribunal in Lublin was the highest court of appeals in the Kingdom of Poland
 
Palace of the Lithuanian Tribunal in Vilnius, which exclusively was the highest appeal court for the Lithuanian nobility in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The political doctrine of the Commonwealth was our state is a republic under the presidency of the King. Chancellor Jan Zamoyski summed up this doctrine when he said that Rex regnat et non-gubernat ("The King reigns but [lit. 'and'] does not govern").[123] The Commonwealth had a parliament, the Sejm, as well as a Senat and an elected king (Pic. 1). The king was obliged to respect citizens' rights specified in King Henry's Articles as well as in pacta conventa, negotiated at the time of his election.[67]

The monarch's power was limited in favour of a sizable noble class. Each new king had to pledge to uphold the Henrician Articles, which were the basis of Poland's political system (and included near-unprecedented guarantees of religious tolerance). Over time, the Henrician Articles were merged with the pacta conventa, specific pledges agreed to by the king-elect. From that point onwards, the king was effectively a partner with the noble class and was constantly supervised by a group of senators. The Sejm could veto the king on important matters, including legislation (the adoption of new laws), foreign affairs, declaration of war, and taxation (changes of existing taxes or the levying of new ones).[67]

The foundation of the Commonwealth's political system, the "Golden Liberty" (Latin: Aurea Libertas or Polish: Złota Wolność, a term used from 1573 on), included:

  • election of the king by all nobles wishing to participate, known as wolna elekcja (free election);
  • Sejm, the Commonwealth parliament which the king was required to hold every two years;
  • pacta conventa (Latin), "agreed-to agreements" negotiated with the king-elect, including a bill of rights, binding on the king, derived from the earlier Henrician Articles.
  • religious freedom guaranteed by Warsaw Confederation Act 1573,[25][page needed]
  • rokosz (insurrection), the right of szlachta to form a legal rebellion against a king who violated their guaranteed freedoms;
  • liberum veto (Latin), the right of an individual Sejm deputy to oppose a decision by the majority in a Sejm session; the voicing of such a "free veto" nullified all the legislation that had been passed at that session; during the crisis of the second half of the 17th century, Polish nobles could also use the liberum veto in provincial sejmiks;
  • konfederacja (from the Latin confederatio), the right to form an organization to force through a common political aim.

The three regions (see below) of the Commonwealth enjoyed a degree of autonomy.[124][page needed] Each voivodship had its own parliament (sejmik), which exercised serious political power, including choice of poseł (deputy) to the national Sejm and charging of the deputy with specific voting instructions. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania had its own separate army, treasury and most other official institutions.[125][126]

Golden Liberty created a state that was unusual for its time, although somewhat similar political systems existed in the contemporary city-states like the Republic of Venice.[127][page needed] Both states were styled "Serenissima Respublica" or the "Most Serene Republic".[128] At a time when most European countries were headed toward centralization, absolute monarchy and religious and dynastic warfare, the Commonwealth experimented with decentralization,[23] confederation and federation, democracy and religious tolerance.[129]

This political system unusual for its time stemmed from the ascendance of the szlachta noble class over other social classes and over the political system of monarchy. In time, the szlachta accumulated enough privileges (such as those established by the Nihil novi Act of 1505) that no monarch could hope to break the szlachta's grip on power. The Commonwealth's political system is difficult to fit into a simple category, but it can be tentatively described as a mixture of:

  • confederation and federation, with regard to the broad autonomy of its regions. It is, however, difficult to decisively call the Commonwealth either confederation or federation, as it had some qualities of both;
  • oligarchy, as only the szlachta (nobility) – around 15% of the population – had political rights;[23]
  • democracy, since all the szlachta were equal in rights and privileges, and the Sejm could veto the king on important matters, including legislation (the adoption of new laws), foreign affairs, declaration of war, and taxation (changes of existing taxes or the levying of new ones). Also, the 15% of Commonwealth population who enjoyed those political rights (the szlachta)[130] was a substantially larger percentage than in majority European countries even in the nineteenth century;[131] note that in 1820 in France only about 1.5% of the male adult population had the right to vote, and in 1840 in Belgium, only about 5%.[130][131]
  • elective monarchy, since the monarch, elected by the szlachta, was Head of State;
  • constitutional monarchy, since the monarch was bound by pacta conventa and other laws, and the szlachta could disobey any king's decrees they deemed illegal.

Magnate oligarchy

 
The Republic at the Zenith of Its Power, the Royal Election of 1573

The end of the Jagiellonian dynasty in 1572 – after nearly two centuries – disrupted the fragile equilibrium of the Commonwealth's government. Power increasingly slipped away from the central government to the nobility.[67]

When presented with periodic opportunities to fill the throne, the szlachta exhibited a preference for foreign candidates who would not establish a strong and long-lasting dynasty. This policy often produced monarchs who were either totally ineffective or in constant debilitating conflict with the nobility.[citation needed] Furthermore, aside from notable exceptions such as the able Stefan Batory from Transylvania (1576–86), the kings of foreign origin were inclined to subordinate the interests of the Commonwealth to those of their own country and ruling house. This was especially visible in the policies and actions of the first two elected kings from the Swedish House of Vasa, whose politics brought the Commonwealth into conflict with Sweden, culminating in the war known as the Deluge (1655), one of the events that mark the end of the Commonwealth's Golden Age and the beginning of the Commonwealth's decline.[132]

The Zebrzydowski Rebellion (1606–1607) marked a substantial increase in the power of the Polish magnates, and the transformation of szlachta democracy into magnate oligarchy. The Commonwealth's political system was vulnerable to outside interference, as Sejm deputies bribed[133][134] by foreign powers might use their liberum veto to block attempted reforms. This sapped the Commonwealth and plunged it into political paralysis and anarchy for over a century, from the mid-17th century to the end of the 18th, while its neighbours stabilized their internal affairs and increased their military might.[citation needed]

Late reforms

 
The Constitution of 3 May adopted in 1791 was the first modern constitution in Europe.

The Commonwealth did eventually make a serious effort to reform its political system, adopting in 1791 the Constitution of 3 May 1791, which historian Norman Davies calls the first of its kind in Europe.[37] The revolutionary Constitution recast the erstwhile Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as a Polish–Lithuanian federal state with a hereditary monarchy and abolished many of the deleterious features of the old system.

The new constitution:

These reforms came too late, however, as the Commonwealth was immediately invaded from all sides by its neighbors, which had been content to leave the Commonwealth alone as a weak buffer state, but reacted strongly to attempts by king Stanisław August Poniatowski and other reformers to strengthen the country.[124][page needed] Russia feared the revolutionary implications of the 3 May Constitution's political reforms and the prospect of the Commonwealth regaining its position as a European power. Catherine the Great regarded the May constitution as fatal to her influence[135] and declared the Polish constitution Jacobinical.[136] Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin drafted the act for the Targowica Confederation, referring to the constitution as the "contagion of democratic ideas".[137] Meanwhile, Prussia and Austria used it as a pretext for further territorial expansion.[136] Prussian minister Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg called the constitution "a blow to the Prussian monarchy",[138] fearing that a strengthened Poland would once again dominate Prussia.[135][139] In the end, the 3 May Constitution was never fully implemented, and the Commonwealth entirely ceased to exist only four years after its adoption.[140]

Economy

 
 
Gdańsk (Danzig), the Commonwealth's chief seaport and trading centre from which goods would be transported along the Vistula River to Warsaw, Kraków and other towns in the country.
 
Cereals exports in the years 1619–1799. Agriculture, once extremely profitable to the nobility, became much less so after the mid-17th century.

The economy of the Commonwealth was predominantly based on agricultural output and trade, though there was an abundance of artisan workshops and manufactories — notably paper mills, leather tanneries, ironworks, glassworks and brickyards.[141] Some major cities were home to craftsmen, jewellers and clockmakers.[141] The majority of industries and trades were concentrated in the Kingdom of Poland; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was more rural and its economy was driven by farming and clothmaking.[141] Mining developed in the south-west region of Poland which was rich in natural resources such as lead, coal, copper and salt.[142] The currency used in Poland–Lithuania was the złoty (meaning "the golden") and its subunit, the grosz. Foreign coins in the form of ducats, thalers and shillings were widely accepted and exchanged.[143] The city of Gdańsk had the privilege of minting its own coinage.[144] In 1794, Tadeusz Kościuszko began issuing the first Polish banknotes.[145]

The country played a significant role in the supply of Western Europe by the export of grain (rye), cattle (oxen), furs, timber, linen, cannabis, ash, tar, carminic acid and amber.[146][147][148][149] Cereals, cattle and fur amounted to nearly 90% of the country's exports to European markets by overland and maritime trade in the 16th century.[148] From Gdańsk, ships carried cargo to the major ports of the Low Countries, such as Antwerp and Amsterdam.[150][151] The land routes, mostly to the German provinces of the Holy Roman Empire such as the cities of Leipzig and Nuremberg, were used for the export of live cattle (herds of around 50,000 head) hides, salt, tobacco, hemp and cotton from the Greater Poland region.[152][153] In turn, the Commonwealth imported wine, beer, fruit, exotic spices, luxury goods (e.g. tapestries, Pic. 5), furniture, fabrics as well as industrial products like steel and tools.[154]

The agricultural sector was dominated by feudalism based on the plantation system (serfs).[32] Slavery was forbidden in Poland in the 15th century, and formally abolished in Lithuania in 1588,[155] replaced by the second enserfment. Typically a nobleman's landholding comprised a folwark, a large farmstead worked by serfs to produce surpluses for internal and external trade. This economic arrangement worked well for the ruling classes and nobles in the early years of the Commonwealth, which was one of the most prosperous eras of the grain trade.[156] The economic strength of Commonwealth grain trade waned from the late 17th century on. Trade relationships were disrupted by the wars, and the Commonwealth proved unable to improve its transport infrastructure or its agricultural practices.[157] Serfs in the region were increasingly tempted to flee.[158] The Commonwealth's major attempts at countering this problem and improving productivity consisted of increasing serfs' workload and further restricting their freedoms in a process known as export-led serfdom.[157][158]

The owner of a folwark usually signed a contract with merchants of Gdańsk, who controlled 80% of this inland trade, to ship the grain north to that seaport on the Baltic Sea.[159] Countless rivers and waterways in the Commonwealth were used for shipping purposes, including the Vistula, Pilica, Bug, San, Nida, Wieprz, Neman. The rivers had relatively developed infrastructure, with river ports and granaries. Most of the river shipping moved north, southward transport being less profitable, and barges and rafts were often sold off in Gdańsk for lumber. Grodno become an important site after formation of a customs post at Augustów in 1569, which became a checkpoint for merchants travelling to the Crown lands from the Grand Duchy.[160]

 
Coat of arms of the Commonwealth on a 15 ducat coin, 1617
 
5-złoty banknote issued in 1794

Urban population of the Commonwealth was low compared to Western Europe. Exact numbers depend on calculation methods. According to one source, the urban population of the Commonwealth was about 20% of the total in the 17th century, compared to approximately 50% in the Netherlands and Italy (Pic. 7).[149] Another source suggests much lower figures: 4–8% urban population in Poland, 34–39% in the Netherlands and 22–23% in Italy.[161] The Commonwealth's preoccupation with agriculture, coupled with the nobles' privileged position when compared to the bourgeoisie, resulted in a fairly slow process of urbanization and thus a rather slow development of industries.[149] The nobility could also regulate the price of grain for their advantage, thus acquiring much wealth. Some of the largest trade fairs in the Commonwealth were held at Lublin.[162]

Several ancient trading routes such as the Amber Road (Pic. 4)[163] extended across Poland–Lithuania, which was situated in the heart of Europe and attracted foreign merchants or settlers.[164] Countless goods and cultural artefacts continued to pass from one region to another via the Commonwealth, particularly that the country was a link between the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe.[165] For instance, Isfahan rugs imported from Persia to the Commonwealth were incorrectly known as "Polish rugs" (French: Polonaise) in Western Europe.[166]

Military

Main article: Military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
 
Winged Hussars were a heavy cavalry formation serving the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.
 
Kraków Militia, a local guard formation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the 16th and 17th centuries

The military in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth evolved from the merger of the armies from the Polish Kingdom and from the Grand Lithuanian Duchy, though each state maintained its own division.[167] The united armed forces comprised the Crown Army (armia koronna), recruited in Poland, and the Lithuanian Army (armia litewska) in the Grand Duchy.[167] The military was headed by the Hetman, a rank equivalent to that of a general or supreme commander in other countries. Monarchs could not declare war or summon an army without the consent of the Sejm parliament or the Senate.[168] The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy never played a major role in the military structure from the mid-17th century onwards.[169]

The most prestigious formation of the two respective armes were their 16th- and 17th-century heavy cavalry in the form of Winged Hussars (husaria), whereas the Polish Royal Guards and Lithuanian Guards [pl] were the elite of the infantry; the regiments were supervised by the king and his family.[170] In 1788, the Great Sejm approved landslide reforms and defined future structures of the military; the Crown Army was to be split into four divisions, with seventeen field infantry regiments and eight cavalry brigades excluding special units; the Lithuanian Army was to be subdivided into two divisions, eight field regiments and two cavalry brigades excluding special units.[171] If implemented, the reform predicted an army of almost 100,000 men.[172]

The armies of those states differed from the organization common in other parts of Europe; according to Bardach, the mercenary formations (wojsko najemne), common in Western Europe, never gained widespread popularity in Poland.[173] Brzezinski, however, notes that foreign mercenaries did form a significant portion of the more elite infantry units, at least until the early 17th century.[174] In 16th-century Poland, several other formations formed the core of the military.[175] There was a small standing army, obrona potoczna ("continuous defense") about 1,500–3,000 strong, paid for by the king, and primarily stationed at the troubled southern and eastern borders.[175][176] It was supplemented by two formations mobilized in case of war — the pospolite ruszenie (Polish for levée en masse – feudal levy of mostly noble knights-landholders), and the wojsko zaciężne, recruited by the Polish commanders for the conflict. It differed from other European mercenary formations in that it was commanded by Polish officers, and dissolved after the conflict has ended.[175]

 
A historical re-enactor dressed in the Polish Winged Hussars armour

Several years before the Union of Lublin, the Polish obrona potoczna was reformed, as the Sejm (national parliament of Poland) legislated in 1562–1563 the creation of wojsko kwarciane, named after kwarta tax levied on the royal lands for the purpose of maintaining this formation.[175] This formation was also paid for by the king, and in the peacetime, numbered about 3,500–4,000 men according to Bardach;[175] Brzezinski gives the range of 3,000–5,000.[176] It was composed mostly of the light cavalry units manned by nobility (szlachta) and commanded by hetmans.[175][177] Often, in wartime, the Sejm would legislate a temporary increase in the size of the wojsko kwarciane.[175]

Following the end of the Commonwealth, the Polish-Lithuanian military tradition would be continued by the Napoleonic Polish Legions and the Army of the Duchy of Warsaw.[178]

Culture

Further information: Renaissance in Poland, Baroque in Poland, Enlightenment in Poland

Science and literature

 
Multi-stage rocket from Artis Magnæ Artilleriæ pars prima by Kazimierz Siemienowicz

The Commonwealth was an important European center for the development of modern social and political ideas. It was famous for its rare quasi-democratic political system, praised by philosophers, and during the Counter-Reformation was known for near-unparalleled religious tolerance, with peacefully coexisting Roman Catholic, Jewish, Orthodox Christian, Protestant and Muslim (Sufi) communities. In the 18th century, the French Catholic Rulhiere wrote of 16th century Poland: "This country, which in our day we have seen divided on the pretext of religion, is the first state in Europe that exemplified tolerance. In this state, mosques arose between churches and synagogues."[33] The Commonwealth gave rise to the famous Christian sect of the Polish Brethren, antecedents of British and American Unitarianism.[179]

With its political system, the Commonwealth gave birth to political philosophers such as Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski (1503–1572) (Pic. 9), Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki (1530–1607) and Piotr Skarga (1536–1612). Later, works by Stanisław Staszic (1755–1826) and Hugo Kołłątaj (1750–1812) helped pave the way for the Constitution of 3 May 1791, which Norman Davies calls the first of its kind in Europe.[37]

Kraków's Jagiellonian University is one of the oldest universities in the world (established in 1364),[180] together with the Jesuit Academy of Wilno (established in 1579) they were the major scholarly and scientific centers in the Commonwealth. The Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, Polish for Commission for National Education, formed in 1773, was the world's first national Ministry of Education.[181] Commonwealth scientists included: Martin Kromer (1512–1589), historian and cartographer; Michael Sendivogius (1566–1636), alchemist and chemist; Jan Brożek (Ioannes Broscius in Latin) (1585–1652), polymath: a mathematician, physician and astronomer; Krzysztof Arciszewski (Crestofle d'Artischau Arciszewski in Portuguese) (1592–1656), engineer, ethnographer, general and admiral of the Dutch West Indies Company army in the war with the Spanish Empire for control of Brazil;[182] Kazimierz Siemienowicz (1600–1651), military engineer, artillery specialist and a founder of rocketry; Johannes Hevelius (1611–1687), astronomer, founder of lunar topography; Michał Boym (1612–1659), orientalist, cartographer, naturalist and diplomat in Ming Dynasty's service (Pic. 11); Adam Adamandy Kochański (1631–1700), mathematician and engineer; Baal Shem Tov (הבעל שם טוב in Hebrew) (1698–1760), considered to be the founder of Hasidic Judaism; Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt (1728–1810), astronomer and mathematician (Pic. 12); Jan Krzysztof Kluk (1739–1796), naturalist, agronomist and entomologist, John Jonston (1603–1675) scholar and physician, descended from Scottish nobility. In 1628 the Czech teacher, scientist, educator, and writer John Amos Comenius took refuge in the Commonwealth, when the Protestants were persecuted under the Counter Reformation.[179][183]

The works of many Commonwealth authors are considered classics, including those of Jan Kochanowski (Pic. 10), Wacław Potocki, Ignacy Krasicki, and Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz. Many szlachta members wrote memoirs and diaries. Perhaps the most famous are the Memoirs of Polish History by Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł (1595–1656) and the Memoirs of Jan Chryzostom Pasek (ca. 1636–ca. 1701). Jakub Sobieski (1590–1646) (father of John III Sobieski) wrote notable diaries. During the Khotyn expedition in 1621 he wrote a diary called Commentariorum chotinensis belli libri tres (Diary of the Chocim War), which was published in 1646 in Gdańsk. It was used by Wacław Potocki as a basis for his epic poem, Transakcja wojny chocimskiej (The Progress of the War of Chocim). He also authored instructions for the journey of his sons to Kraków (1640) and France (1645), a good example of liberal education of the era.[184]

Art and music

 
 
Polonaise dress (left) and the Polish bed (right), both from the 18th century

The art and music of the Commonwealth was largely shaped by prevailing European trends, though the country's minorities, foreigners as well as native folk cultures also contributed to its versatile nature. A common art form of the Sarmatian period were coffin portraits (portrety trumienne) used in funerals and other important ceremonies.[185] As a rule, such portraits were nailed to sheet metal, six- or eight- sided in shape, fixed to the front of a coffin placed on a high, ornate catafalque.[186] These were a unique and distinguishable feature of the Commonwealth's high culture, not found elsewhere in Europe.[187] A similar tradition was only practiced in Roman Egypt.[187] Polish monarchs and nobles frequently invited and sponsored foreign painters and artisans, notably from the Low Countries (the Netherlands, Flanders and Belgium), Germany or Italy.[188] The interiors of upper-class residences, palaces and manors were adorned by wall tapestries (arrasy or tapiseria) imported from Western Europe; the most renowned collection are the Jagiellonian tapestries exhibited at Wawel Royal Castle in Kraków.[189]

The economic, cultural and political ties between France and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth gave rise to the term à la polonaise, French for "Polish-styled".[190] With the marriage of Marie Leszczyńska to Louis XV of France in 1725, Polish culture began to flourish at the Palace of Versailles.[191] Polish beds (lit à la polonaise) draped with baldachins became a centrepiece of Louis XV furniture in French chateaus.[192] Folk flower motifs as well as Polish fashion were popularized in the form of a back-draped polonaise dress (robe à la polonaise) worn by aristocrats at Versailles.[193]

The religious cultures of Poland–Lithuania coexisted and penetrated each other for the entirety of the Commonwealth's history – the Jews adopted elements of the national dress,[194] loanwords and calques became commonplace and Roman Catholic churches in regions with significant Protestant populations were much simpler in décor than those in other parts of Poland–Lithuania.[195] Mutual influence was further reflected in the great popularity of Byzantine icons (Pic. 13) and the icons resembling effigies of Mary in the predominantly Latin territories of today's Poland (Black Madonna) and Lithuania (Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn).[196] Conversely, Latin infiltration into Ruthenian Orthodox and Protestant art was also conventional (Pic. 3).[197]

Music was a common feature of religious and secular events. To that end many noblemen founded church and school choirs, and employed their own ensembles of musicians. Some, like Stanisław Lubomirski built their own opera houses (in Nowy Wiśnicz). Others, like Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz and Krzysztof Radziwiłł were known for their sponsorship of arts which manifested itself in their permanently retained orchestras, at their courts in Wilno (Vilnius).[198] Musical life further flourished under the House of Vasa. Both foreign and domestic composers were active in the Commonwealth. Sigismund III brought in Italian composers and conductors, such as Luca Marenzio, Annibale Stabile, Asprilio Pacelli, Marco Scacchi and Diomedes Cato for the royal orchestra. Notable home grown musicians, who also composed and played for the King's court, included Bartłomiej Pękiel, Jacek Różycki, Adam Jarzębski, Marcin Mielczewski, Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński, Damian Stachowicz, Mikołaj Zieleński and Grzegorz Gorczycki.[198]

Architecture

Main article: Baroque in Poland–Lithuania
 
Krasiczyn Castle was built between 1580-1631 in the mannerist style.

The architecture of the cities in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth reflected a combination of Polish, German and Italian trends. Italian Mannerism or the Late Renaissance had a profound impact on traditional burgher architecture which can be observed to this day – castles and tenements were fitted with central Italianate courtyards composed of arched loggias, colonnades, bay windows, balconies, portals and ornamental balustrades.[199] Ceiling frescos, sgraffito, plafonds and coffering (patterned ceilings; Polish kaseton; from Italian cassettone) were widespread.[200] Rooftops were generally covered with terracotta rooftiles. The most distinguishable feature of Polish Mannerism are decorative "attics" above the cornice on the façade.[201] Cities in northern Poland–Lithuania and in Livonia adopted the Hanseatic (or "Dutch") style as their primary form of architectural expression, comparable to that of the Netherlands, Belgium, northern Germany and Scandinavia.[202]

 
Wilanów Palace, completed in 1696, exemplifies the opulence of royal and noble residences in the Commonwealth.

The introduction of Baroque architecture was marked by construction of several Jesuit and Roman Catholic churches across Poland and Lithuania, notably the Peter and Paul Church in Kraków, the Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh, Lublin Cathedral and UNESCO-enlisted sanctuary at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska. Fine examples of decorative Baroque and Rococo include Saint Anne's in Kraków and the Fara Church in Poznań. Another characteristic is the common usage of black marble.[203] Altars, fonts, portals, balustrades, columns, monuments, tombstones, headstones and whole rooms (e.g. Marble Room at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, St. Casimir Chapel of the Vilnius Cathedral and Vasa Chapel at Wawel Cathedral) were extensively decorated with black marble, which became popular after the mid-17th century.[204]

Magnates often undertook construction projects as monuments to themselves: churches, cathedrals, monasteries (Pic. 14), and palaces like the present-day Presidential Palace in Warsaw and Pidhirtsi Castle built by Grand Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski. The largest projects involved entire towns, although in time many of them would lapse into obscurity or were abandoned. These towns were generally named after the sponsoring magnate. Among the most prominent is Zamość, founded by Jan Zamoyski and designed by the Italian architect Bernardo Morando as an ideal city. The magnates throughout Poland competed with the kings. The monumental castle Krzyżtopór, built in the style palazzo in fortezza between 1627 and 1644, had several courtyards surrounded by fortifications. Similar fortified complexes include castles in Łańcut and Krasiczyn.[citation needed]

 
Nieborów Palace designed by Dutch architect Tylman van Gameren and built in 1697

The fascination with the culture and art of the Orient in the late Baroque period is reflected by Queen Marie's Chinese Palace in Zolochiv (Złoczów).[205] 18th-century magnate palaces represents the characteristic type of Baroque suburban residence built entre cour et jardin (between the entrance court and the garden). Its architecture – a merger of European art with old Commonwealth building traditions are visible in Wilanów Palace in Warsaw (Pic. 15), Branicki Palace in Białystok, Potocki Palace in Radzyń Podlaski, Raczyński Palace in Rogalin, Nieborów Palace and Kozłówka Palace near Lubartów. Lesser nobility resided in country manor houses known as dworek. Neoclassicism replaced Baroque by the second half of the 18th century – the last ruler of the Poland–Lithuania, Stanisław August Poniatowski, greatly admired the classical architecture of Ancient Rome and promoted it as a symbol of the Polish Enlightenment.[206] The Palace on the Isle and the exterior of St. Anne's Church in Warsaw are part of the neoclassical legacy of the former Commonwealth.

Szlachta and Sarmatism

Main articles: Szlachta and Sarmatism
 
The First Lady of the Republic[207] – Elżbieta Sieniawska portrayed in Sarmata pose and in a male coat called delia
 
Sarmatian style for men; moustache, red kontusz coat, gold-silk pas with blue sash of the Order of the White Eagle

The prevalent ideology of the szlachta became "Sarmatism", named after the Sarmatians, alleged ancestors of the Poles.[139] This belief system was an important part of szlachta culture, penetrating all aspects of its life. Sarmatism enshrined equality among szlachta, horseback riding, tradition, provincial quaint life in manor houses, peace and pacifism; championed oriental-inspired souvenirs or attire for men (żupan, kontusz, sukmana, pas kontuszowy, delia, szabla); favoured European Baroque architecture; endorsed Latin as a language of thought or expression; and served to integrate the multi-ethnic nobility by creating an almost nationalistic sense of unity and of pride in Golden Liberty.[139]

In its early, idealistic form, Sarmatism represented a positive cultural movement: it supported religious belief, honesty, national pride, courage, equality and freedom. In time, however, it became distorted. Late extreme Sarmatism turned belief into bigotry, honesty into political naïveté, pride into arrogance, courage into stubbornness and freedom into anarchy.[208] The faults of Sarmatism were blamed for the demise of the country from the late 18th century onwards. Criticism, often one-sided and exaggerated, was used by the Polish reformists to push for radical changes. This self-deprecation was accompanied by works of German, Russian and Austrian historians, who tried to prove that it was Poland itself that was to blame for its fall.[209]

Demographics

Further information: Historical demographics of Poland
 
Social strata in the Commonwealth's society in 1655. From left: Jew, barber surgeon, painter, butcher, musician, tailor, barmaid, pharmacist, shoemaker, goldsmith, merchant and Armenian

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was immensely multicultural throughout its existence — it comprised countless religious identities and ethnic minorities inhabiting the country's vast territory.[210] The precise number of minority groups and their populations can only be hypothesized.[211] Statistically, the most prominent groups were the Poles, Lithuanians, Germans, Ruthenians and Jews.[212] There were also considerable numbers of Czechs, Hungarians, Livonians, Romanis, Vlachs, Armenians, Italians, Scots and the Dutch (Olędrzy), who were either categorized as merchants, settlers or refugees fleeing religious persecution.[212]

Prior to the union with Lithuania, the Kingdom of Poland was much more homogenous; approximately 70% of the population was Polish and Roman Catholic.[213] With the creation of the Commonwealth, the number of Poles in comparison to the total population decreased to 50%.[214] In 1569, the population stood at 7 million, with roughly 4.5 million Poles, 750,000 Lithuanians, 700,000 Jews and 2 million Ruthenians.[215] Historians Michał Kopczyński and Wojciech Tygielski suggest that with the territorial expansion after the Truce of Deulino in 1618, the Commonwealth's population reached 12 million people, of which Poles constituted only 40%.[214][17] At that time the nobility made up 10% of the entire population and the burghers around 15%.[17] The average population density per square kilometer was: 24 in Mazovia, 23 in Lesser Poland, 19 in Greater Poland, 12 in Lublin palatinate, 10 in the Lwów area, 7 in Podolia and Volhynia, and 3 in the Kiev Voivodeship. There was a tendency for the people from the more densely inhabited western territories to migrate eastwards.[216]

 
Density of urban network of the Commonwealth per each voivodeship in 1650

A sudden change in the country's demographics occurred in the mid-17th century.[17] The Second Northern War and the Deluge followed by famine in the period from 1648 to 1657 were accountable for at least 4 million deaths.[17] Coupled with further territorial losses, by 1717 the population had fallen to 9 million.[17] The population slowly recovered throughout the 18th century; just before the first partition of Poland in 1772, the Commonwealth's population was 14 million, including around 1 million nobles.[217] In 1792, the population of Poland was around 11 million and included 750,000 nobles.[217]

The most multicultural and robust city in the country was Gdańsk, a major Hanseatic seaport on the Baltic and Poland's wealthiest region. Gdańsk at the time was inhabited by a German-speaking majority[218] and further hosted large numbers of foreign merchants, particularly of Scottish, Dutch or Scandinavian extraction.[219] Historically, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was more diverse than the Kingdom of Poland, and was deemed a melting pot of many cultures and religions.[220] Hence, the inhabitants of the Grand Duchy were collectively known as Litvins regardless of their nationality, with the exception of Jews residing in Lithuania who were called Litvaks.

Despite guaranteed religious tolerance, gradual Polonization and Counter-Reformation sought to minimize the Commonwealth's diversity; the aim was to root out some minorities by imposing the Polish language, Latin, Polish culture and the Roman Catholic religion where possible.[221] By the late 18th century, the Lithuanian language, culture and identity became vulnerable;[221] the country's name was changed to "Commonwealth of Poland" in 1791.

Religion

Main article: Warsaw Confederation
 
Saints Peter and Paul Church in Kraków was built between 1597-1619 by the Jesuit order

The Warsaw Confederation signed on 28 January 1573 secured the rights of minorities and religions;[222] it allowed all persons to practice any faith freely, though religious tolerance varied at times. As outlined by Norman Davies, "the wording and substance of the declaration of the Confederation of Warsaw of were extraordinary with regards to prevailing conditions elsewhere in Europe; and they governed the principles of religious life in the Republic for over two hundred years."[223] Subsequently, the Catholic church initiated a counter-reformation in Poland, relying heavily on methods of persuasion and legal means. As a result, compared to many other European countries, the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants in Poland was relatively peaceful.[224][225]

Poland retained religious freedom laws during an era when religious persecution was an everyday occurrence in the rest of Europe.[226] The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a place where the most radical religious sects, trying to escape persecution in other countries of the Christian world, sought refuge.[227] In 1561 Giovanni Bernardino Bonifacio d’Oria, a religious exile living in Poland, wrote of his adopted country's virtues to a colleague back in Italy: "You could live here in accordance with your ideas and preferences, in great, even the greatest freedoms, including writing and publishing. No one is a censor here."[33] Others, particularly the leaders of the Roman Catholic church, the Jesuits and papal legates, were less optimistic about Poland's religious frivolity.

"This country became a place of shelter for heretics" – Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius, papal legate to Poland.[227]

 
Original act of the Warsaw Confederation in 1573, the first act of religious freedom in Europe

To be Polish, in remote and multi-ethnic parts of the Commonwealth, was then much less an index of ethnicity than of religion and rank; it was a designation largely reserved for the landed noble class (szlachta), which included Poles, but also many members of non-Polish origin who converted to Catholicism in increasing numbers with each following generation. For the non-Polish noble such conversion meant a final step of Polonization that followed the adoption of the Polish language and culture.[228] Poland, as the culturally most advanced part of the Commonwealth, with the royal court, the capital, the largest cities, the second-oldest university in Central Europe (after Prague), and the more liberal and democratic social institutions had proven an irresistible magnet for the non-Polish nobility in the Commonwealth.[23] Many referred to themselves as "gente Ruthenus, natione Polonus" (Ruthenian by blood, Polish by nationality) since the 16th century onwards.[229]

 
The Greek-Catholic St. George's Cathedral in Lwów was constructed between 1746 and 1762 following the Act of Unification of the Lwów archeparchy with the Holy See.[230]
 
The church in Kamieniec Podolski was converted into a mosque during the Turkish occupation between 1672 and 1699, with the 33-meter minaret being added at that time.[231]

As a result, in the eastern territories a Polish (or Polonized) aristocracy dominated a peasantry whose great majority was neither Polish nor Catholic. Moreover, the decades of peace brought huge colonization efforts to the eastern territories (nowadays roughly western and central Ukraine),[232] heightening the tensions among nobles, Jews, Cossacks (traditionally Orthodox), Polish and Ruthenian peasants. When the latter, deprived of their native protectors among the Ruthenian nobility, turned for protection to cossacks that facilitated violence which in the end broke the Commonwealth. The tensions were aggravated by conflicts between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Greek Catholic Church following the Union of Brest, overall discrimination of Orthodox religions by dominant Catholicism,[233] and several Cossack uprisings. In the west and north, many cities had sizable German minorities, often belonging to Lutheran or Reformed churches. The Commonwealth had also one of the largest Jewish diasporas in the world – by the mid-16th century 80% of the world's Jews lived in Poland (Pic. 16).[234]

Until the Reformation, the szlachta were mostly Catholics (Pic. 13). However, many noble families quickly adopted the Reformed religion. After the Counter-Reformation, when the Catholic Church regained power in Poland, the szlachta became almost exclusively Catholic.[235]

The Crown had about double the population of Lithuania and five times the income of the latter's treasury. As with other countries, the borders, area and population of the Commonwealth varied over time. After the Peace of Jam Zapolski (1582), the Commonwealth had approximately 815,000 km2 area and a population of 7.5 million.[236] After the Truce of Deulino (1618), the Commonwealth had an area of some 990,000 km2 and a population of 11–12 million (including some 4 million Poles and close to a million Lithuanians).[237]

Languages

 
First anniversary anthem of the Constitution of 3 May 1791 (1792) in Hebrew, Polish, German and French

Legacy

Main article: Intermarium

The Duchy of Warsaw, established in 1807 by Napoleon Bonaparte, traced its origins to the Commonwealth. Other revival movements appeared during the November Uprising (1830–31), the January Uprising (1863–64) and in the 1920s, with Józef Piłsudski's failed attempt to create a Polish-led Intermarium (Międzymorze) federation that, at its largest extent, would span from Finland in the north to the Balkans in the south.[264] The contemporary Republic of Poland considers itself a successor to the Commonwealth,[265] whereas the Republic of Lithuania, re-established at the end of World War I, saw the participation of the Lithuanian state in the old Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth mostly in a negative light at the early stages of regaining its independence,[266] although this attitude has been changing in recent years.[267]

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
See also: Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
 
Outline of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with its major subdivisions after the 1618 Truce of Deulino, superimposed on present-day national borders.
  Crown of the Kingdom of Poland
  Grand Duchy of Lithuania
  Duchy of Livonia
  Duchy of Prussia, Polish fief
  Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, Commonwealth fief

While the term "Poland" was also commonly used to denote this whole polity, Poland was in fact only part of a greater whole – the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which comprised primarily two parts:

The Commonwealth was further divided into smaller administrative units known as voivodeships (województwa). Each voivodeship was governed by a Voivode (wojewoda, governor). Voivodeships were further divided into starostwa, each starostwo being governed by a starosta. Cities were governed by castellans. There were frequent exceptions to these rules, often involving the ziemia subunit of administration.[citation needed]

The lands that once belonged to the Commonwealth are now largely distributed among several Central and East European countries: Poland, Ukraine, Moldova (Transnistria), Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.[268][269] Also some small towns in Upper Hungary (today mostly Slovakia), became a part of Poland in the Treaty of Lubowla (Spiš towns).

Other notable parts of the Commonwealth, without respect to region or voivodeship divisions, include:

 
Topographical map of the Commonwealth in 1764

Commonwealth borders shifted with wars and treaties, sometimes several times in a decade, especially in the eastern and southern parts. After the Peace of Jam Zapolski (1582), the Commonwealth had approximately 815,000 km2 area and a population of 7.5 million.[236] After the Truce of Deulino (1618), the Commonwealth had an area of some 1 million km2 (990,000 km2) and a population of about 11 million.[237]

Geography

In the 16th century, the Polish bishop and cartographer Martin Kromer, who studied in Bologna, published a Latin atlas, entitled Poland: about Its Location, People, Culture, Offices and the Polish Commonwealth, which was regarded as one of the most comprehensive guides to the country.[271]

Kromer's works and other contemporary maps, such as those of Gerardus Mercator, show the Commonwealth as mostly plains. The Commonwealth's southeastern part, the Kresy, was famous for its steppes. The Carpathian Mountains formed part of the southern border, with the Tatra Mountain chain the highest, and the Baltic Sea formed the Commonwealth's northern border. As with most European countries at the time, the Commonwealth had extensive forest cover, especially in the east. Today, what remains of the Białowieża Forest constitutes the last largely intact primeval forest in Europe.[272]

Image gallery

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Pro Fide, Lege et Rege was the motto since the 18th century.

a. ^ Name in native and official languages:

  • Latin: Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae / Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae[39]
  • French: Royaume de Pologne et Grand-duché de Lituanie / Sérénissime République de Pologne et Grand-duché de Lituanie[278]
  • Polish: Królestwo Polskie i Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie
  • Lithuanian: Lenkijos Karalystė ir Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė
  • Belarusian: Каралеўства Польскае і Вялікае Княства Літоўскае (Karaleŭstva Polskaje і Vialikaje Kniastva Litoŭskaje)
  • Ukrainian: Королівство Польське і Велике князівство Литовське
  • German: Königreich Polen und Großfürstentum Litauen

b. ^ Some historians date the change of the Polish capital from Kraków to Warsaw between 1595 and 1611, although Warsaw was not officially designated capital until 1793.[279] The Commonwealth Sejm began meeting in Warsaw soon after the Union of Lublin and its rulers generally maintained their courts there, although coronations continued to take place in Kraków.[279] The modern concept of a single capital city was to some extent inapplicable in the feudal and decentralized Commonwealth.[279] Warsaw is described by some historians as the capital of the entire Commonwealth.[280][281] Wilno, the capital of the Grand Duchy,[282][283][284] is sometimes called the second capital of the entity.[285][286]

Notes

  1. ^ Royal Banner used by the Vasa dynasty
  2. ^
    • Polish: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów;
    • Latin: Res Publica Utriusque Nationis;
    • Lithuanian: Abiejų Tautų Respublika, Žečpospolita;
    • German: Republik beider Nationen, Republik beider Völker, Republik Polen-Litauen;
    • Ukrainian: Річ Посполита;
    • Belarusian: Рэч Паспалітая;
    • Ruthenian: Рѣчъ Посполита
  3. ^
    • Polish: Królestwo Polskie i Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie;
    • Latin: Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae;
    • Lithuanian: Lenkijos Karalystė ir Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė;
    • German: Königreich Polen und des Großfürstentums Litauen
    • Ukrainian: Королівство Польське і Велике князівство Литовське;
    • Belarusian: Польскае Каралеўства і Вялікае Княства Літоўскае
  4. ^ This quality of the Commonwealth was recognized by its contemporaries. Robert Burton, in his The Anatomy of Melancholy, first published in 1621, writes of Poland: "Poland is a receptacle of all religions, where Samosetans, Socinians, Photinians ..., Arians, Anabaptists are to be found"; "In Europe, Poland and Amsterdam are the common sanctuaries [for Jews]".

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January 07, 2023
polish, lithuanian, commonwealth, formally, known, kingdom, poland, grand, duchy, lithuania, confederal, state, sometimes, called, federation, poland, lithuania, ruled, common, monarch, real, union, both, king, poland, grand, duke, lithuania, largest, most, po. The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth b formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania c was a bi confederal 11 state sometimes called a federation 12 of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch in real union who was both King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania It was one of the largest 13 14 and most populous countries of 16th to 17th century Europe At its largest territorial extent in the early 17th century the Commonwealth covered almost 1 000 000 km2 400 000 sq mi 15 16 and as of 1618 sustained a multi ethnic population of almost 12 million 17 18 Polish and Latin were the two co official languages Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth1569 1795 1 Royal Banner c 1605 1795 a Royal Coat of armsMotto Si Deus nobiscum quis contra nos If God is with us then who is against us Pro Fide Lege et Rege note 1 For Faith Law and King Anthem Gaude Mater PoloniaThe Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth green with vassal states light green at their peak in 1619Capitalde jure Krakow 2 1569 1793 Warsaw 2 b 1793 1795 de facto Krakow 2 1569 1596 Warsaw 2 b 1596 1795 Common languagesOfficial Polish and Latin Regional GermanLithuanianRuthenian see Languages section for details ReligionOfficial Roman Catholicism 3 Minority Eastern OrthodoxyEastern CatholicismProtestantismJudaismIslamGovernmentParliamentary hereditary monarchy 4 5 1569 1572 Parliamentary elective monarchy 4 5 6 1573 1791 1792 1795 Parliamentary constitutional monarchy 7 1791 1792 King Grand Duke 1569 1572 first Sigismund II Augustus 1764 1795 last Stanislaw II AugustusLegislatureGeneral sejm Upper houseSenate Lower houseChamber of DeputiesHistorical eraEarly modern period Union established1 July 1569 1st Partition5 August 1772 3 May Constitution3 May 1791 2nd Partition23 January 1793 1 3rd Partition24 October 1795 1 Area1582 8 815 000 km2 315 000 sq mi 1618 9 10 1 000 000 km2 390 000 sq mi Population 1582 8 8 000 000Preceded by Succeeded byCrown of the Kingdom of PolandGrand Duchy of Lithuania Austrian Habsburg MonarchyRussian EmpireKingdom of PrussiaThe Commonwealth was established by the Union of Lublin in July 1569 but the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania had been in a de facto personal union since 1386 with the marriage of the Polish queen Jadwiga Hedwig and Lithuania s Grand Duke Jogaila who was crowned King jure uxoris Wladyslaw II Jagiello of Poland The First Partition in 1772 and the Second Partition in 1793 greatly reduced the state s size and the Commonwealth was partitioned out of existence due to the Third Partition in 1795 The Union possessed many features unique among contemporary states Its political system was characterized by strict checks upon monarchical power These checks were enacted by a legislature sejm controlled by the nobility szlachta This idiosyncratic system was a precursor to modern concepts of democracy 19 as of 1791 constitutional monarchy 20 21 22 and federation 23 Although the two component states of the Commonwealth were formally equal Poland was the dominant partner in the union 24 The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth was marked by high levels of ethnic diversity and by relative religious tolerance guaranteed by the Warsaw Confederation Act 1573 25 26 d however the degree of religious freedom varied over time 27 The Constitution of 1791 acknowledged Catholicism as the dominant religion unlike the Warsaw Confederation but freedom of religion was still granted with it 22 After several decades of prosperity 28 29 30 it entered a period of protracted political 22 31 military and economic decline 32 Its growing weakness led to its partitioning among its neighbors Austria Prussia and Russia during the late 18th century Shortly before its demise the Commonwealth adopted a massive reform effort and enacted the 3 May Constitution which was the first codified constitution in modern European history and the second in modern world history after the United States Constitution 33 34 35 36 37 Contents 1 Name 2 History 2 1 Prelude 1370 1569 2 2 Union of Lublin 1569 2 3 Apex and the Golden Age 1573 1648 2 4 Deluge rebellions and Vienna 1648 1696 2 5 Political turmoil and the enlightenment 1697 1771 2 6 Partitions 1772 1795 3 State organization and politics 3 1 Golden Liberty 3 2 Magnate oligarchy 3 3 Late reforms 4 Economy 5 Military 6 Culture 6 1 Science and literature 6 2 Art and music 6 3 Architecture 6 4 Szlachta and Sarmatism 6 5 Demographics 6 6 Religion 6 7 Languages 7 Legacy 8 Administrative divisions 9 Geography 10 Image gallery 11 See also 12 Notes 13 Notes 14 References 15 Bibliography 16 External linksNameThe official name of the state was the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Polish Krolestwo Polskie i Wielkie Ksiestwo Litewskie Lithuanian Lenkijos Karalyste ir Lietuvos Didzioji Kunigaikstyste Latin Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae and the Latin term was usually used in international treaties and diplomacy 38 In the 17th century and later it was also known as the Most Serene Commonwealth of Poland Polish Najjasniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska Latin Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae 39 the Commonwealth of the Polish Kingdom 40 or the Commonwealth of Poland 41 Western Europeans often simplified the name to Poland and in most past and modern sources it is referred to as the Kingdom of Poland or just Poland 38 42 43 The terms Commonwealth of Poland and Commonwealth of Two Nations Polish Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodow Latin Res Publica Utriusque Nationis were used in the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations 44 The English term Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth and German Polen Litauen are seen as renderings of the Commonwealth of Two Nations variant 38 Other informal names include the Republic of Nobles Polish Rzeczpospolita szlachecka and the First Commonwealth Polish I Rzeczpospolita the latter relatively common in historiography to distinguish it from the Second Polish Republic HistoryMain articles History of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569 1648 1648 1764 and 1764 1795 Prelude 1370 1569 The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1526 The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania underwent an alternating series of wars and alliances across the 13th and 14th centuries 45 The relations between the two states differed at times as each strived and competed for political economic or military dominance of the region 46 In turn Poland had remained a staunch ally of its southern neighbour Hungary The last Polish monarch from the native Piast dynasty Casimir the Great died on 5 November 1370 without fathering a legitimate male heir 47 Consequently the crown passed onto his Hungarian nephew Louis of Anjou who ruled the Kingdom of Hungary in a personal union with Poland 47 A fundamental step in developing extensive ties with Lithuania was a succession crisis arising in the 1380s 48 Louis died on 10 September 1382 and like his uncle did not produce a son to succeed him His two daughters Mary and Jadwiga Hedwig held claims to the vast dual realm 47 The Polish lords rejected Mary in favour of her younger sister Jadwiga partly due to Mary s association with Sigismund of Luxembourg 49 The future queen regnant was betrothed to young William Habsburg Duke of Austria but certain factions of the nobility remained apprehensive believing that William would not secure domestic interests 50 Instead they turned to Jogaila the Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila was a lifelong pagan and vowed to adopt Catholicism upon marriage by signing the Union of Krewo on 14 August 1385 51 The Act imposed Christianity in Lithuania and transformed Poland into a diarchy a kingdom ruled over by two sovereigns their descendants and successive monarchs held the titles of king and grand duke respectively 52 The ultimate clause dictated that Lithuania was to be merged in perpetuity perpetuo applicare with the Polish Kingdom however this did not take effect until 1569 53 Jogaila was crowned as Wladyslaw II Jagiello at Wawel Cathedral on 4 March 1386 54 Union of Lublin 1569 Main article Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin joined the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1569 Several minor agreements were struck before unification notably the Union of Krakow and Vilnius the Union of Vilnius and Radom and the Union of Grodno Lithuania s vulnerable position and rising tensions on its eastern flank persuaded the nobles to seek a closer bond with Poland 55 The idea of a federation presented better economic opportunities whilst securing Lithuania s borders from hostile states to the north south and east 56 Lesser Lithuanian nobility were eager to share the personal privileges and political liberties enjoyed by the Polish szlachta but did not accept Polish demands for the incorporation of the Grand Duchy into Poland as a mere province with no sense of autonomy 57 Mikolaj the Red Radziwill Radvila Rudasis and his cousin Mikolaj the Black Radziwill two prominent nobles and military commanders in Lithuania vocally opposed the union 58 A fierce proponent of a single unified Commonwealth was Sigismund II Augustus who was childless and ailing According to historians it was his active involvement which hastened the process and made the union possible 59 A parliament sejm convened on 10 January 1569 in the city of Lublin attended by envoys from both nations It was agreed that the merger will take place the same year and both parliaments will be fused into a joint assembly 60 No independent parliamentary convocation or diet was henceforth permitted 60 Subjects of the Polish Crown were no longer restricted in purchasing land on Lithuanian territory and a single currency was established 61 Whilst the military remained separate a unified foreign policy meant that Lithuanian troops were obliged to contribute during a conflict not to their advantage 62 As a result several Lithuanian magnates deplored the accords and left the assembly in protest 63 Sigismund II used his authority as grand duke and enforced the Act of Union in contumaciam In fear the absent nobles promptly returned to the negotiations 64 The Union of Lublin was passed by the gathered deputies and signed by attendees on 1 July thus creating the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 63 Sigismund s death in 1572 was followed by an interregnum during which adjustments were made to the constitutional system these adjustments significantly increased the power of the Polish nobility and established a truly elective monarchy 65 Apex and the Golden Age 1573 1648 Main article Polish Golden Age The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth at its greatest extent in 1619 On 11 May 1573 Henry de Valois son of Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici was proclaimed King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in the first royal election outside Warsaw Approximately 40 000 nobles cast a vote in what was to become a centuries long tradition of a nobles democracy Golden Liberty Henry already posed as a candidate before Sigismund s death and received widespread support from the pro French factions The choice was a political move aimed at curtailing Habsburg hegemony ending skirmishes with the French allied Ottomans and profiting from the lucrative trade with France Upon ascending the throne Henry signed the contractual agreement known as the Pacta conventa and approbated the Henrician Articles 66 The Act stated the fundamental principles of governance and constitutional law in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 67 In June 1574 Henry abandoned Poland and headed back to claim the French crown following the death of his brother and predecessor Charles IX 68 The throne was subsequently declared vacant The interregnum concluded on 12 December 1575 when primate Jakub Uchanski declared Maximilian II Holy Roman Emperor as the next king 69 The decision was condemned by the anti Habsburg coalition which demanded a native candidate 70 As a compromise on 13 December 1575 Anna Jagiellon sister of Sigismund Augustus and a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty became the new monarch 71 The nobles simultaneously elected Stephen Bathory as co regent who ruled jure uxoris 70 Bathory s election proved controversial Lithuania and Ducal Prussia initially refused to recognize the Transylvanian as their ruler 72 The wealthy port city of Gdansk Danzig staged a revolt and with the help of Denmark blockaded maritime trade to neutral Elblag Elbing 73 Bathory unable to penetrate the city s extensive fortifications succumbed to the demands for greater privileges and freedoms 73 However his successful Livonian campaign ended in the annexation of Livonia and the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia modern day Estonia and Latvia respectively thus expanding the Commonwealth s influence into the Baltics 74 Most importantly Poland gained the Hanseatic city of Riga on the Baltic Sea Sigismund III Vasa who reigned between 1587 1632 presided over an era of prosperity and territorial expansion of the Commonwealth In 1587 Sigismund Vasa the son of John III of Sweden and Catherine Jagiellon won the election but his claim was overtly contested by Maximilian III of Austria who launched a military expedition to challenge the new king 75 His defeat in 1588 at the hands of Jan Zamoyski sealed Sigismund s right to the throne of Poland and Sweden 76 Sigismund s long reign marked an end to the Polish Golden Age and the beginning of the Silver Age 77 A devout Catholic he hoped to restore absolutism and imposed Roman Catholicism during the height of the Counter Reformation 78 His intolerance towards the Protestants in Sweden sparked a war of independence which ended the Polish Swedish union 79 As a consequence he was deposed in Sweden by his uncle Charles IX Vasa 80 In Poland the Zebrzydowski rebellion was brutally suppressed 81 Sigismund III then initiated a policy of expansionism and invaded Russia in 1609 when that country was plagued by a civil war known as the Time of Troubles In July 1610 the outnumbered Polish force comprising winged hussars defeated the Russians at the Battle of Klushino which enabled the Poles to take and occupy Moscow for the next two years 82 The disgraced Vasili IV of Russia was transported in a cage to Warsaw where he paid a tribute to Sigismund Vasili was later murdered in captivity 83 The Commonwealth forces were eventually driven out on 4 November 1612 celebrated as Unity Day in Russia The war concluded with a truce that granted Poland Lithuania extensive territories in the east and marked its largest territorial expansion 84 At least five million Russians died between 1598 and 1613 the result of continuous conflict famine and Sigismund s invasion 85 Sejm parliament of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth in the early 17th century The Polish Ottoman War 1620 21 forced Poland to withdraw from Moldavia in southeastern Europe but Sigismund s victory over the Turks at Khotyn diminished the supremacy of the Sultanate and eventually led to the murder of Osman II 86 This secured the Turkish frontier for the duration of Sigismund s rule In spite of the victories in the Polish Swedish War 1626 1629 the exhausted Commonwealth army signed the Treaty of Altmark which ceded much of Livonia to Sweden under Gustavus Adolphus 87 At the same time the country s powerful parliament was dominated by nobles Pic 2 who were reluctant to get involved in the Thirty Years War this neutrality spared the country from the ravages of a political religious conflict that devastated most of contemporary Europe 88 During this period Poland was experiencing a cultural awakening and extensive developments in arts and architecture the first Vasa king openly sponsored foreign painters craftsmen musicians and engineers who settled in the Commonwealth at his request 89 Sigismund s eldest son Ladislaus succeeded him as Wladyslaw IV in 1632 with no major opposition 90 A skilled tactician he invested in artillery modernised the army and fiercely defended the Commonwealth s eastern borders 91 Under the Treaty of Stuhmsdorf he reclaimed regions of Livonia and the Baltics which were lost during the Polish Swedish wars 92 Unlike his father who worshipped the Habsburgs Wladyslaw sought closer ties with France and married Marie Louise Gonzaga daughter of Charles I Gonzaga Duke of Mantua in 1646 93 Deluge rebellions and Vienna 1648 1696 Main articles Swedish Deluge and Battle of Vienna 1683 John III Sobieski victor over the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Vienna in 1683 The Commonwealth s power and stability began waning after a series of blows during the following decades Wladyslaw s brother John II Casimir proved to be weak and impotent The multicultural and mega diverse federation already suffered domestic problems As persecution of religious and ethnic minorities strengthened several groups started to rebel citation needed A major rebellion of self governed Ukrainian Cossacks inhabiting south eastern borderlands of the Commonwealth rioted against Polish and Catholic oppression of Orthodox Ukraine in 1648 in what came to be known as the Khmelnytsky Uprising It resulted in a Ukrainian request under the terms of the Treaty of Pereyaslav for protection by the Russian Tsar In 1651 in the face of a growing threat from Poland and forsaken by his Tatar allies Khmelnytsky asked the Tsar to incorporate Ukraine as an autonomous duchy under Russian protection Russian annexation of Zaporizhian Ukraine gradually supplanted Polish influence in that part of Europe In the years following Polish settlers nobles Catholics and Jews became the victims of retaliation massacres instigated by the Cossacks in their dominions The other blow to the Commonwealth was a Swedish invasion in 1655 known as the Deluge which was supported by troops of Transylvanian Duke George II Rakoczi and Frederick William Elector of Brandenburg Under the Treaty of Bromberg in 1657 Catholic Poland was forced to renounce its suzerainty over Protestant Prussia in 1701 the once insignificant duchy was transformed into the Kingdom of Prussia which became a major European power in the 18th century and proved to be Poland s most enduring foe citation needed In the late 17th century the king of the weakened Commonwealth John III Sobieski allied with Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I to deal crushing defeats to the Ottoman Empire In 1683 the Battle of Vienna marked the final turning point in the 250 year struggle between the forces of Christian Europe and the Islamic Ottomans For its centuries long opposition to Muslim advances the Commonwealth would gain the name of Antemurale Christianitatis bulwark of Christianity 23 94 During the next 16 years the Great Turkish War would drive the Turks permanently south of the Danube River never again to threaten central Europe 95 Political turmoil and the enlightenment 1697 1771 Main article Enlightenment in Poland Augustus II the Strong King of Poland and Elector of Saxony wearing the Order of the White Eagle which he established in 1705 John Sobieski s death in 1696 arguably ended the period of national sovereignty and Poland s relative authority over the region dwindled swiftly By the 18th century destabilization of its political system brought the Commonwealth to the brink of civil war and the state became increasingly susceptible to foreign influence 96 The remaining European powers perpetually meddled in the country s affairs 97 Upon the death of a king several royal houses actively intruded in the hope of securing votes for their desired candidates 98 The practice was common and apparent and the selection was often the result of hefty bribes directed at corrupt nobles 99 Louis XIV of France heavily invested in Francois Louis Prince of Conti in opposition to James Louis Sobieski Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria and Frederick Augustus of Saxony 100 The latter s conversion from Lutheranism to Catholicism awed the conservative magnates and Pope Innocent XII who in turn voiced their endorsement 101 Imperial Russia and Habsburg Austria also contributed by financing Frederick whose election took place in June 1697 Many questioned the legality of his elevation to the throne it was speculated that the Prince of Conti had received more votes and was the rightful heir Frederick hurried with his armies to Poland to quell any opposition He was crowned as Augustus II in September and Conti s brief military engagement near Gdansk in November of the same year proved fruitless 102 The House of Wettin ruled Poland Lithuania and Saxony simultaneously dividing power between the two states In spite of his controversial means of attaining power Augustus II lavishly spent on the arts and left an extensive cultural and architectural Baroque legacy in both countries In Poland he expanded Wilanow and facilitated the refurbishment of the Warsaw Royal Castle into a modern palatial residence 103 Countless landmarks and monuments in the city bear a name referencing the Saxon kings notably Saxon Garden Saxon Axis and the former Saxon Palace 104 The period saw the development of urban planning street allocation hospitals schools Collegium Nobilium public parks and libraries Zaluski Library First manufactories producing on a mass scale were opened to satisfy the demands of the nobility as consumers 105 Warsaw near the end of the Commonwealth s existence Paintings by Bernardo Bellotto 1770s At the height of the Great Northern War a coalition Warsaw Confederation against Augustus II was formed by Stanislaw Leszczynski and other magnates sponsored by Sweden The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth was formally neutral at this point as Augustus entered the war as Elector of Saxony Disregarding Polish negotiation proposals supported by the Swedish parliament Charles crossed into the Commonwealth and vanquished the Saxe Polish forces at the Battle of Klissow in 1702 and at the Battle of Pultusk in 1703 106 Charles then succeeded in dethroning Augustus and coercing the Sejm parliament to replace him with Stanislaw in 1704 107 Augustus regained the throne in 1709 108 but his own death in 1733 sparked the War of the Polish Succession in which Stanislaw once more attempted to seize the crown this time with the support of France 109 The Pacification Sejm 1736 culminated in Augustus III succeeding his father 110 The relative peace and inactivity that followed only weakened Poland s reputation on the world stage 111 Aleksander Bruckner noted that Polish customs and traditions were abandoned in favour of everything foreign and neighbouring states continued to exploit Poland to their advantage 111 Moreover Western Europe s increasing exploitation of resources in the Americas rendered the Commonwealth s supplies less crucial which resulted in financial losses 112 Augustus III spent little time in the Commonwealth instead preferring the Saxon city of Dresden He appointed Heinrich von Bruhl as viceroy and minister of Polish affairs who in turn left the politics to Polish magnate families such as the Czartoryskis and the Radziwills 113 It was also during this period that the Polish Enlightenment began to sprout Partitions 1772 1795 Main article Partitions of Poland Partitions of Poland in 1772 1793 and 1795 In 1764 aristocrat Stanislaw August Poniatowski was elected monarch with the connivance and support of his former lover Catherine the Great a German noblewoman who became Empress of Russia 114 Poniatowski s attempts at reform were met with staunch resistance both internally and externally Any goal of stabilizing the Commonwealth was dangerous for its ambitious and aggressive neighbours Like his predecessors he sponsored artists and architects In 1765 he founded the Warsaw Corps of Cadets the first state school in Poland for all classes of society 115 In 1773 the king and parliament formed the Commission of National Education the first Ministry of Education in European history 116 117 In 1792 the king ordered the creation of Virtuti Militari the oldest military decoration still in use 118 Stanislaw August also admired the culture of Ancient kingdoms particularly Rome and Greece Neoclassicism became the dominant form of architectural and cultural expression Politically however the vast Commonwealth was in steady decline and by 1768 it started to be considered by Russians as a protectorate of the Russian Empire despite the fact that it was still an independent state 119 120 A majority of control over Poland was central to Catherine s diplomatic and military strategies 121 Attempts at reform such as the Four Year Sejm s May Constitution came too late The country was partitioned in three stages by the Russian Empire the German Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy By 1795 the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth had been completely erased from the map of Europe Poland and Lithuania were not re established as independent countries until 1918 122 State organization and politicsSee also Offices in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth Golden Liberty Main article Golden Liberty Royal Castle in Warsaw was the formal residence of Polish kings after the capital was moved from Krakow in 1596 Crown Tribunal in Lublin was the highest court of appeals in the Kingdom of Poland Palace of the Lithuanian Tribunal in Vilnius which exclusively was the highest appeal court for the Lithuanian nobility in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania The political doctrine of the Commonwealth was our state is a republic under the presidency of the King Chancellor Jan Zamoyski summed up this doctrine when he said that Rex regnat et non gubernat The King reigns but lit and does not govern 123 The Commonwealth had a parliament the Sejm as well as a Senat and an elected king Pic 1 The king was obliged to respect citizens rights specified in King Henry s Articles as well as in pacta conventa negotiated at the time of his election 67 The monarch s power was limited in favour of a sizable noble class Each new king had to pledge to uphold the Henrician Articles which were the basis of Poland s political system and included near unprecedented guarantees of religious tolerance Over time the Henrician Articles were merged with the pacta conventa specific pledges agreed to by the king elect From that point onwards the king was effectively a partner with the noble class and was constantly supervised by a group of senators The Sejm could veto the king on important matters including legislation the adoption of new laws foreign affairs declaration of war and taxation changes of existing taxes or the levying of new ones 67 The foundation of the Commonwealth s political system the Golden Liberty Latin Aurea Libertas or Polish Zlota Wolnosc a term used from 1573 on included election of the king by all nobles wishing to participate known as wolna elekcja free election Sejm the Commonwealth parliament which the king was required to hold every two years pacta conventa Latin agreed to agreements negotiated with the king elect including a bill of rights binding on the king derived from the earlier Henrician Articles religious freedom guaranteed by Warsaw Confederation Act 1573 25 page needed rokosz insurrection the right of szlachta to form a legal rebellion against a king who violated their guaranteed freedoms liberum veto Latin the right of an individual Sejm deputy to oppose a decision by the majority in a Sejm session the voicing of such a free veto nullified all the legislation that had been passed at that session during the crisis of the second half of the 17th century Polish nobles could also use the liberum veto in provincial sejmiks konfederacja from the Latin confederatio the right to form an organization to force through a common political aim The three regions see below of the Commonwealth enjoyed a degree of autonomy 124 page needed Each voivodship had its own parliament sejmik which exercised serious political power including choice of posel deputy to the national Sejm and charging of the deputy with specific voting instructions The Grand Duchy of Lithuania had its own separate army treasury and most other official institutions 125 126 Golden Liberty created a state that was unusual for its time although somewhat similar political systems existed in the contemporary city states like the Republic of Venice 127 page needed Both states were styled Serenissima Respublica or the Most Serene Republic 128 At a time when most European countries were headed toward centralization absolute monarchy and religious and dynastic warfare the Commonwealth experimented with decentralization 23 confederation and federation democracy and religious tolerance 129 This political system unusual for its time stemmed from the ascendance of the szlachta noble class over other social classes and over the political system of monarchy In time the szlachta accumulated enough privileges such as those established by the Nihil novi Act of 1505 that no monarch could hope to break the szlachta s grip on power The Commonwealth s political system is difficult to fit into a simple category but it can be tentatively described as a mixture of confederation and federation with regard to the broad autonomy of its regions It is however difficult to decisively call the Commonwealth either confederation or federation as it had some qualities of both oligarchy as only the szlachta nobility around 15 of the population had political rights 23 democracy since all the szlachta were equal in rights and privileges and the Sejm could veto the king on important matters including legislation the adoption of new laws foreign affairs declaration of war and taxation changes of existing taxes or the levying of new ones Also the 15 of Commonwealth population who enjoyed those political rights the szlachta 130 was a substantially larger percentage than in majority European countries even in the nineteenth century 131 note that in 1820 in France only about 1 5 of the male adult population had the right to vote and in 1840 in Belgium only about 5 130 131 elective monarchy since the monarch elected by the szlachta was Head of State constitutional monarchy since the monarch was bound by pacta conventa and other laws and the szlachta could disobey any king s decrees they deemed illegal Magnate oligarchy The Republic at the Zenith of Its Power the Royal Election of 1573 The end of the Jagiellonian dynasty in 1572 after nearly two centuries disrupted the fragile equilibrium of the Commonwealth s government Power increasingly slipped away from the central government to the nobility 67 When presented with periodic opportunities to fill the throne the szlachta exhibited a preference for foreign candidates who would not establish a strong and long lasting dynasty This policy often produced monarchs who were either totally ineffective or in constant debilitating conflict with the nobility citation needed Furthermore aside from notable exceptions such as the able Stefan Batory from Transylvania 1576 86 the kings of foreign origin were inclined to subordinate the interests of the Commonwealth to those of their own country and ruling house This was especially visible in the policies and actions of the first two elected kings from the Swedish House of Vasa whose politics brought the Commonwealth into conflict with Sweden culminating in the war known as the Deluge 1655 one of the events that mark the end of the Commonwealth s Golden Age and the beginning of the Commonwealth s decline 132 The Zebrzydowski Rebellion 1606 1607 marked a substantial increase in the power of the Polish magnates and the transformation of szlachta democracy into magnate oligarchy The Commonwealth s political system was vulnerable to outside interference as Sejm deputies bribed 133 134 by foreign powers might use their liberum veto to block attempted reforms This sapped the Commonwealth and plunged it into political paralysis and anarchy for over a century from the mid 17th century to the end of the 18th while its neighbours stabilized their internal affairs and increased their military might citation needed Late reforms The Constitution of 3 May adopted in 1791 was the first modern constitution in Europe The Commonwealth did eventually make a serious effort to reform its political system adopting in 1791 the Constitution of 3 May 1791 which historian Norman Davies calls the first of its kind in Europe 37 The revolutionary Constitution recast the erstwhile Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth as a Polish Lithuanian federal state with a hereditary monarchy and abolished many of the deleterious features of the old system The new constitution abolished the liberum veto and banned the szlachta s confederations provided for a separation of powers among legislative executive and judicial branches of government established popular sovereignty and extended political rights to include not only the nobility but the bourgeoisie increased the rights of the peasantry preserved religious tolerance but with a condemnation of apostasy from the Catholic faith These reforms came too late however as the Commonwealth was immediately invaded from all sides by its neighbors which had been content to leave the Commonwealth alone as a weak buffer state but reacted strongly to attempts by king Stanislaw August Poniatowski and other reformers to strengthen the country 124 page needed Russia feared the revolutionary implications of the 3 May Constitution s political reforms and the prospect of the Commonwealth regaining its position as a European power Catherine the Great regarded the May constitution as fatal to her influence 135 and declared the Polish constitution Jacobinical 136 Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin drafted the act for the Targowica Confederation referring to the constitution as the contagion of democratic ideas 137 Meanwhile Prussia and Austria used it as a pretext for further territorial expansion 136 Prussian minister Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg called the constitution a blow to the Prussian monarchy 138 fearing that a strengthened Poland would once again dominate Prussia 135 139 In the end the 3 May Constitution was never fully implemented and the Commonwealth entirely ceased to exist only four years after its adoption 140 Economy Gdansk Danzig the Commonwealth s chief seaport and trading centre from which goods would be transported along the Vistula River to Warsaw Krakow and other towns in the country Cereals exports in the years 1619 1799 Agriculture once extremely profitable to the nobility became much less so after the mid 17th century The economy of the Commonwealth was predominantly based on agricultural output and trade though there was an abundance of artisan workshops and manufactories notably paper mills leather tanneries ironworks glassworks and brickyards 141 Some major cities were home to craftsmen jewellers and clockmakers 141 The majority of industries and trades were concentrated in the Kingdom of Poland the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was more rural and its economy was driven by farming and clothmaking 141 Mining developed in the south west region of Poland which was rich in natural resources such as lead coal copper and salt 142 The currency used in Poland Lithuania was the zloty meaning the golden and its subunit the grosz Foreign coins in the form of ducats thalers and shillings were widely accepted and exchanged 143 The city of Gdansk had the privilege of minting its own coinage 144 In 1794 Tadeusz Kosciuszko began issuing the first Polish banknotes 145 The country played a significant role in the supply of Western Europe by the export of grain rye cattle oxen furs timber linen cannabis ash tar carminic acid and amber 146 147 148 149 Cereals cattle and fur amounted to nearly 90 of the country s exports to European markets by overland and maritime trade in the 16th century 148 From Gdansk ships carried cargo to the major ports of the Low Countries such as Antwerp and Amsterdam 150 151 The land routes mostly to the German provinces of the Holy Roman Empire such as the cities of Leipzig and Nuremberg were used for the export of live cattle herds of around 50 000 head hides salt tobacco hemp and cotton from the Greater Poland region 152 153 In turn the Commonwealth imported wine beer fruit exotic spices luxury goods e g tapestries Pic 5 furniture fabrics as well as industrial products like steel and tools 154 The agricultural sector was dominated by feudalism based on the plantation system serfs 32 Slavery was forbidden in Poland in the 15th century and formally abolished in Lithuania in 1588 155 replaced by the second enserfment Typically a nobleman s landholding comprised a folwark a large farmstead worked by serfs to produce surpluses for internal and external trade This economic arrangement worked well for the ruling classes and nobles in the early years of the Commonwealth which was one of the most prosperous eras of the grain trade 156 The economic strength of Commonwealth grain trade waned from the late 17th century on Trade relationships were disrupted by the wars and the Commonwealth proved unable to improve its transport infrastructure or its agricultural practices 157 Serfs in the region were increasingly tempted to flee 158 The Commonwealth s major attempts at countering this problem and improving productivity consisted of increasing serfs workload and further restricting their freedoms in a process known as export led serfdom 157 158 The owner of a folwark usually signed a contract with merchants of Gdansk who controlled 80 of this inland trade to ship the grain north to that seaport on the Baltic Sea 159 Countless rivers and waterways in the Commonwealth were used for shipping purposes including the Vistula Pilica Bug San Nida Wieprz Neman The rivers had relatively developed infrastructure with river ports and granaries Most of the river shipping moved north southward transport being less profitable and barges and rafts were often sold off in Gdansk for lumber Grodno become an important site after formation of a customs post at Augustow in 1569 which became a checkpoint for merchants travelling to the Crown lands from the Grand Duchy 160 Coat of arms of the Commonwealth on a 15 ducat coin 1617 5 zloty banknote issued in 1794 Urban population of the Commonwealth was low compared to Western Europe Exact numbers depend on calculation methods According to one source the urban population of the Commonwealth was about 20 of the total in the 17th century compared to approximately 50 in the Netherlands and Italy Pic 7 149 Another source suggests much lower figures 4 8 urban population in Poland 34 39 in the Netherlands and 22 23 in Italy 161 The Commonwealth s preoccupation with agriculture coupled with the nobles privileged position when compared to the bourgeoisie resulted in a fairly slow process of urbanization and thus a rather slow development of industries 149 The nobility could also regulate the price of grain for their advantage thus acquiring much wealth Some of the largest trade fairs in the Commonwealth were held at Lublin 162 Several ancient trading routes such as the Amber Road Pic 4 163 extended across Poland Lithuania which was situated in the heart of Europe and attracted foreign merchants or settlers 164 Countless goods and cultural artefacts continued to pass from one region to another via the Commonwealth particularly that the country was a link between the Middle East the Ottoman Empire and Western Europe 165 For instance Isfahan rugs imported from Persia to the Commonwealth were incorrectly known as Polish rugs French Polonaise in Western Europe 166 MilitaryMain article Military of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth Winged Hussars were a heavy cavalry formation serving the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland throughout the 16th and 17th centuries Krakow Militia a local guard formation in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth during the 16th and 17th centuries The military in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth evolved from the merger of the armies from the Polish Kingdom and from the Grand Lithuanian Duchy though each state maintained its own division 167 The united armed forces comprised the Crown Army armia koronna recruited in Poland and the Lithuanian Army armia litewska in the Grand Duchy 167 The military was headed by the Hetman a rank equivalent to that of a general or supreme commander in other countries Monarchs could not declare war or summon an army without the consent of the Sejm parliament or the Senate 168 The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy never played a major role in the military structure from the mid 17th century onwards 169 The most prestigious formation of the two respective armes were their 16th and 17th century heavy cavalry in the form of Winged Hussars husaria whereas the Polish Royal Guards and Lithuanian Guards pl were the elite of the infantry the regiments were supervised by the king and his family 170 In 1788 the Great Sejm approved landslide reforms and defined future structures of the military the Crown Army was to be split into four divisions with seventeen field infantry regiments and eight cavalry brigades excluding special units the Lithuanian Army was to be subdivided into two divisions eight field regiments and two cavalry brigades excluding special units 171 If implemented the reform predicted an army of almost 100 000 men 172 The armies of those states differed from the organization common in other parts of Europe according to Bardach the mercenary formations wojsko najemne common in Western Europe never gained widespread popularity in Poland 173 Brzezinski however notes that foreign mercenaries did form a significant portion of the more elite infantry units at least until the early 17th century 174 In 16th century Poland several other formations formed the core of the military 175 There was a small standing army obrona potoczna continuous defense about 1 500 3 000 strong paid for by the king and primarily stationed at the troubled southern and eastern borders 175 176 It was supplemented by two formations mobilized in case of war the pospolite ruszenie Polish for levee en masse feudal levy of mostly noble knights landholders and the wojsko zaciezne recruited by the Polish commanders for the conflict It differed from other European mercenary formations in that it was commanded by Polish officers and dissolved after the conflict has ended 175 A historical re enactor dressed in the Polish Winged Hussars armour Several years before the Union of Lublin the Polish obrona potoczna was reformed as the Sejm national parliament of Poland legislated in 1562 1563 the creation of wojsko kwarciane named after kwarta tax levied on the royal lands for the purpose of maintaining this formation 175 This formation was also paid for by the king and in the peacetime numbered about 3 500 4 000 men according to Bardach 175 Brzezinski gives the range of 3 000 5 000 176 It was composed mostly of the light cavalry units manned by nobility szlachta and commanded by hetmans 175 177 Often in wartime the Sejm would legislate a temporary increase in the size of the wojsko kwarciane 175 Following the end of the Commonwealth the Polish Lithuanian military tradition would be continued by the Napoleonic Polish Legions and the Army of the Duchy of Warsaw 178 CultureFurther information Renaissance in Poland Baroque in Poland Enlightenment in Poland Science and literature Multi stage rocket from Artis Magnae Artilleriae pars prima by Kazimierz Siemienowicz The Commonwealth was an important European center for the development of modern social and political ideas It was famous for its rare quasi democratic political system praised by philosophers and during the Counter Reformation was known for near unparalleled religious tolerance with peacefully coexisting Roman Catholic Jewish Orthodox Christian Protestant and Muslim Sufi communities In the 18th century the French Catholic Rulhiere wrote of 16th century Poland This country which in our day we have seen divided on the pretext of religion is the first state in Europe that exemplified tolerance In this state mosques arose between churches and synagogues 33 The Commonwealth gave rise to the famous Christian sect of the Polish Brethren antecedents of British and American Unitarianism 179 With its political system the Commonwealth gave birth to political philosophers such as Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski 1503 1572 Pic 9 Wawrzyniec Grzymala Goslicki 1530 1607 and Piotr Skarga 1536 1612 Later works by Stanislaw Staszic 1755 1826 and Hugo Kollataj 1750 1812 helped pave the way for the Constitution of 3 May 1791 which Norman Davies calls the first of its kind in Europe 37 Krakow s Jagiellonian University is one of the oldest universities in the world established in 1364 180 together with the Jesuit Academy of Wilno established in 1579 they were the major scholarly and scientific centers in the Commonwealth The Komisja Edukacji Narodowej Polish for Commission for National Education formed in 1773 was the world s first national Ministry of Education 181 Commonwealth scientists included Martin Kromer 1512 1589 historian and cartographer Michael Sendivogius 1566 1636 alchemist and chemist Jan Brozek Ioannes Broscius in Latin 1585 1652 polymath a mathematician physician and astronomer Krzysztof Arciszewski Crestofle d Artischau Arciszewski in Portuguese 1592 1656 engineer ethnographer general and admiral of the Dutch West Indies Company army in the war with the Spanish Empire for control of Brazil 182 Kazimierz Siemienowicz 1600 1651 military engineer artillery specialist and a founder of rocketry Johannes Hevelius 1611 1687 astronomer founder of lunar topography Michal Boym 1612 1659 orientalist cartographer naturalist and diplomat in Ming Dynasty s service Pic 11 Adam Adamandy Kochanski 1631 1700 mathematician and engineer Baal Shem Tov הבעל שם טוב in Hebrew 1698 1760 considered to be the founder of Hasidic Judaism Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt 1728 1810 astronomer and mathematician Pic 12 Jan Krzysztof Kluk 1739 1796 naturalist agronomist and entomologist John Jonston 1603 1675 scholar and physician descended from Scottish nobility In 1628 the Czech teacher scientist educator and writer John Amos Comenius took refuge in the Commonwealth when the Protestants were persecuted under the Counter Reformation 179 183 The works of many Commonwealth authors are considered classics including those of Jan Kochanowski Pic 10 Waclaw Potocki Ignacy Krasicki and Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Many szlachta members wrote memoirs and diaries Perhaps the most famous are the Memoirs of Polish History by Albrycht Stanislaw Radziwill 1595 1656 and the Memoirs of Jan Chryzostom Pasek ca 1636 ca 1701 Jakub Sobieski 1590 1646 father of John III Sobieski wrote notable diaries During the Khotyn expedition in 1621 he wrote a diary called Commentariorum chotinensis belli libri tres Diary of the Chocim War which was published in 1646 in Gdansk It was used by Waclaw Potocki as a basis for his epic poem Transakcja wojny chocimskiej The Progress of the War of Chocim He also authored instructions for the journey of his sons to Krakow 1640 and France 1645 a good example of liberal education of the era 184 Art and music Polonaise dress left and the Polish bed right both from the 18th century The art and music of the Commonwealth was largely shaped by prevailing European trends though the country s minorities foreigners as well as native folk cultures also contributed to its versatile nature A common art form of the Sarmatian period were coffin portraits portrety trumienne used in funerals and other important ceremonies 185 As a rule such portraits were nailed to sheet metal six or eight sided in shape fixed to the front of a coffin placed on a high ornate catafalque 186 These were a unique and distinguishable feature of the Commonwealth s high culture not found elsewhere in Europe 187 A similar tradition was only practiced in Roman Egypt 187 Polish monarchs and nobles frequently invited and sponsored foreign painters and artisans notably from the Low Countries the Netherlands Flanders and Belgium Germany or Italy 188 The interiors of upper class residences palaces and manors were adorned by wall tapestries arrasy or tapiseria imported from Western Europe the most renowned collection are the Jagiellonian tapestries exhibited at Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow 189 The economic cultural and political ties between France and the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth gave rise to the term a la polonaise French for Polish styled 190 With the marriage of Marie Leszczynska to Louis XV of France in 1725 Polish culture began to flourish at the Palace of Versailles 191 Polish beds lit a la polonaise draped with baldachins became a centrepiece of Louis XV furniture in French chateaus 192 Folk flower motifs as well as Polish fashion were popularized in the form of a back draped polonaise dress robe a la polonaise worn by aristocrats at Versailles 193 The religious cultures of Poland Lithuania coexisted and penetrated each other for the entirety of the Commonwealth s history the Jews adopted elements of the national dress 194 loanwords and calques became commonplace and Roman Catholic churches in regions with significant Protestant populations were much simpler in decor than those in other parts of Poland Lithuania 195 Mutual influence was further reflected in the great popularity of Byzantine icons Pic 13 and the icons resembling effigies of Mary in the predominantly Latin territories of today s Poland Black Madonna and Lithuania Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn 196 Conversely Latin infiltration into Ruthenian Orthodox and Protestant art was also conventional Pic 3 197 Music was a common feature of religious and secular events To that end many noblemen founded church and school choirs and employed their own ensembles of musicians Some like Stanislaw Lubomirski built their own opera houses in Nowy Wisnicz Others like Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz and Krzysztof Radziwill were known for their sponsorship of arts which manifested itself in their permanently retained orchestras at their courts in Wilno Vilnius 198 Musical life further flourished under the House of Vasa Both foreign and domestic composers were active in the Commonwealth Sigismund III brought in Italian composers and conductors such as Luca Marenzio Annibale Stabile Asprilio Pacelli Marco Scacchi and Diomedes Cato for the royal orchestra Notable home grown musicians who also composed and played for the King s court included Bartlomiej Pekiel Jacek Rozycki Adam Jarzebski Marcin Mielczewski Stanislaw Sylwester Szarzynski Damian Stachowicz Mikolaj Zielenski and Grzegorz Gorczycki 198 Architecture Main article Baroque in Poland Lithuania Krasiczyn Castle was built between 1580 1631 in the mannerist style The architecture of the cities in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth reflected a combination of Polish German and Italian trends Italian Mannerism or the Late Renaissance had a profound impact on traditional burgher architecture which can be observed to this day castles and tenements were fitted with central Italianate courtyards composed of arched loggias colonnades bay windows balconies portals and ornamental balustrades 199 Ceiling frescos sgraffito plafonds and coffering patterned ceilings Polish kaseton from Italian cassettone were widespread 200 Rooftops were generally covered with terracotta rooftiles The most distinguishable feature of Polish Mannerism are decorative attics above the cornice on the facade 201 Cities in northern Poland Lithuania and in Livonia adopted the Hanseatic or Dutch style as their primary form of architectural expression comparable to that of the Netherlands Belgium northern Germany and Scandinavia 202 Wilanow Palace completed in 1696 exemplifies the opulence of royal and noble residences in the Commonwealth The introduction of Baroque architecture was marked by construction of several Jesuit and Roman Catholic churches across Poland and Lithuania notably the Peter and Paul Church in Krakow the Corpus Christi Church in Nesvizh Lublin Cathedral and UNESCO enlisted sanctuary at Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Fine examples of decorative Baroque and Rococo include Saint Anne s in Krakow and the Fara Church in Poznan Another characteristic is the common usage of black marble 203 Altars fonts portals balustrades columns monuments tombstones headstones and whole rooms e g Marble Room at the Royal Castle in Warsaw St Casimir Chapel of the Vilnius Cathedral and Vasa Chapel at Wawel Cathedral were extensively decorated with black marble which became popular after the mid 17th century 204 Magnates often undertook construction projects as monuments to themselves churches cathedrals monasteries Pic 14 and palaces like the present day Presidential Palace in Warsaw and Pidhirtsi Castle built by Grand Hetman Stanislaw Koniecpolski The largest projects involved entire towns although in time many of them would lapse into obscurity or were abandoned These towns were generally named after the sponsoring magnate Among the most prominent is Zamosc founded by Jan Zamoyski and designed by the Italian architect Bernardo Morando as an ideal city The magnates throughout Poland competed with the kings The monumental castle Krzyztopor built in the style palazzo in fortezza between 1627 and 1644 had several courtyards surrounded by fortifications Similar fortified complexes include castles in Lancut and Krasiczyn citation needed Nieborow Palace designed by Dutch architect Tylman van Gameren and built in 1697 The fascination with the culture and art of the Orient in the late Baroque period is reflected by Queen Marie s Chinese Palace in Zolochiv Zloczow 205 18th century magnate palaces represents the characteristic type of Baroque suburban residence built entre cour et jardin between the entrance court and the garden Its architecture a merger of European art with old Commonwealth building traditions are visible in Wilanow Palace in Warsaw Pic 15 Branicki Palace in Bialystok Potocki Palace in Radzyn Podlaski Raczynski Palace in Rogalin Nieborow Palace and Kozlowka Palace near Lubartow Lesser nobility resided in country manor houses known as dworek Neoclassicism replaced Baroque by the second half of the 18th century the last ruler of the Poland Lithuania Stanislaw August Poniatowski greatly admired the classical architecture of Ancient Rome and promoted it as a symbol of the Polish Enlightenment 206 The Palace on the Isle and the exterior of St Anne s Church in Warsaw are part of the neoclassical legacy of the former Commonwealth Szlachta and Sarmatism Main articles Szlachta and Sarmatism The First Lady of the Republic 207 Elzbieta Sieniawska portrayed in Sarmata pose and in a male coat called delia Sarmatian style for men moustache red kontusz coat gold silk pas with blue sash of the Order of the White Eagle The prevalent ideology of the szlachta became Sarmatism named after the Sarmatians alleged ancestors of the Poles 139 This belief system was an important part of szlachta culture penetrating all aspects of its life Sarmatism enshrined equality among szlachta horseback riding tradition provincial quaint life in manor houses peace and pacifism championed oriental inspired souvenirs or attire for men zupan kontusz sukmana pas kontuszowy delia szabla favoured European Baroque architecture endorsed Latin as a language of thought or expression and served to integrate the multi ethnic nobility by creating an almost nationalistic sense of unity and of pride in Golden Liberty 139 In its early idealistic form Sarmatism represented a positive cultural movement it supported religious belief honesty national pride courage equality and freedom In time however it became distorted Late extreme Sarmatism turned belief into bigotry honesty into political naivete pride into arrogance courage into stubbornness and freedom into anarchy 208 The faults of Sarmatism were blamed for the demise of the country from the late 18th century onwards Criticism often one sided and exaggerated was used by the Polish reformists to push for radical changes This self deprecation was accompanied by works of German Russian and Austrian historians who tried to prove that it was Poland itself that was to blame for its fall 209 Demographics Further information Historical demographics of Poland Social strata in the Commonwealth s society in 1655 From left Jew barber surgeon painter butcher musician tailor barmaid pharmacist shoemaker goldsmith merchant and Armenian The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth was immensely multicultural throughout its existence it comprised countless religious identities and ethnic minorities inhabiting the country s vast territory 210 The precise number of minority groups and their populations can only be hypothesized 211 Statistically the most prominent groups were the Poles Lithuanians Germans Ruthenians and Jews 212 There were also considerable numbers of Czechs Hungarians Livonians Romanis Vlachs Armenians Italians Scots and the Dutch Oledrzy who were either categorized as merchants settlers or refugees fleeing religious persecution 212 Prior to the union with Lithuania the Kingdom of Poland was much more homogenous approximately 70 of the population was Polish and Roman Catholic 213 With the creation of the Commonwealth the number of Poles in comparison to the total population decreased to 50 214 In 1569 the population stood at 7 million with roughly 4 5 million Poles 750 000 Lithuanians 700 000 Jews and 2 million Ruthenians 215 Historians Michal Kopczynski and Wojciech Tygielski suggest that with the territorial expansion after the Truce of Deulino in 1618 the Commonwealth s population reached 12 million people of which Poles constituted only 40 214 17 At that time the nobility made up 10 of the entire population and the burghers around 15 17 The average population density per square kilometer was 24 in Mazovia 23 in Lesser Poland 19 in Greater Poland 12 in Lublin palatinate 10 in the Lwow area 7 in Podolia and Volhynia and 3 in the Kiev Voivodeship There was a tendency for the people from the more densely inhabited western territories to migrate eastwards 216 Density of urban network of the Commonwealth per each voivodeship in 1650 A sudden change in the country s demographics occurred in the mid 17th century 17 The Second Northern War and the Deluge followed by famine in the period from 1648 to 1657 were accountable for at least 4 million deaths 17 Coupled with further territorial losses by 1717 the population had fallen to 9 million 17 The population slowly recovered throughout the 18th century just before the first partition of Poland in 1772 the Commonwealth s population was 14 million including around 1 million nobles 217 In 1792 the population of Poland was around 11 million and included 750 000 nobles 217 The most multicultural and robust city in the country was Gdansk a major Hanseatic seaport on the Baltic and Poland s wealthiest region Gdansk at the time was inhabited by a German speaking majority 218 and further hosted large numbers of foreign merchants particularly of Scottish Dutch or Scandinavian extraction 219 Historically the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was more diverse than the Kingdom of Poland and was deemed a melting pot of many cultures and religions 220 Hence the inhabitants of the Grand Duchy were collectively known as Litvins regardless of their nationality with the exception of Jews residing in Lithuania who were called Litvaks Despite guaranteed religious tolerance gradual Polonization and Counter Reformation sought to minimize the Commonwealth s diversity the aim was to root out some minorities by imposing the Polish language Latin Polish culture and the Roman Catholic religion where possible 221 By the late 18th century the Lithuanian language culture and identity became vulnerable 221 the country s name was changed to Commonwealth of Poland in 1791 Religion Main article Warsaw Confederation Saints Peter and Paul Church in Krakow was built between 1597 1619 by the Jesuit order The Warsaw Confederation signed on 28 January 1573 secured the rights of minorities and religions 222 it allowed all persons to practice any faith freely though religious tolerance varied at times As outlined by Norman Davies the wording and substance of the declaration of the Confederation of Warsaw of were extraordinary with regards to prevailing conditions elsewhere in Europe and they governed the principles of religious life in the Republic for over two hundred years 223 Subsequently the Catholic church initiated a counter reformation in Poland relying heavily on methods of persuasion and legal means As a result compared to many other European countries the conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants in Poland was relatively peaceful 224 225 Poland retained religious freedom laws during an era when religious persecution was an everyday occurrence in the rest of Europe 226 The Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth was a place where the most radical religious sects trying to escape persecution in other countries of the Christian world sought refuge 227 In 1561 Giovanni Bernardino Bonifacio d Oria a religious exile living in Poland wrote of his adopted country s virtues to a colleague back in Italy You could live here in accordance with your ideas and preferences in great even the greatest freedoms including writing and publishing No one is a censor here 33 Others particularly the leaders of the Roman Catholic church the Jesuits and papal legates were less optimistic about Poland s religious frivolity This country became a place of shelter for heretics Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius papal legate to Poland 227 Original act of the Warsaw Confederation in 1573 the first act of religious freedom in Europe To be Polish in remote and multi ethnic parts of the Commonwealth was then much less an index of ethnicity than of religion and rank it was a designation largely reserved for the landed noble class szlachta which included Poles but also many members of non Polish origin who converted to Catholicism in increasing numbers with each following generation For the non Polish noble such conversion meant a final step of Polonization that followed the adoption of the Polish language and culture 228 Poland as the culturally most advanced part of the Commonwealth with the royal court the capital the largest cities the second oldest university in Central Europe after Prague and the more liberal and democratic social institutions had proven an irresistible magnet for the non Polish nobility in the Commonwealth 23 Many referred to themselves as gente Ruthenus natione Polonus Ruthenian by blood Polish by nationality since the 16th century onwards 229 The Greek Catholic St George s Cathedral in Lwow was constructed between 1746 and 1762 following the Act of Unification of the Lwow archeparchy with the Holy See 230 The church in Kamieniec Podolski was converted into a mosque during the Turkish occupation between 1672 and 1699 with the 33 meter minaret being added at that time 231 As a result in the eastern territories a Polish or Polonized aristocracy dominated a peasantry whose great majority was neither Polish nor Catholic Moreover the decades of peace brought huge colonization efforts to the eastern territories nowadays roughly western and central Ukraine 232 heightening the tensions among nobles Jews Cossacks traditionally Orthodox Polish and Ruthenian peasants When the latter deprived of their native protectors among the Ruthenian nobility turned for protection to cossacks that facilitated violence which in the end broke the Commonwealth The tensions were aggravated by conflicts between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Greek Catholic Church following the Union of Brest overall discrimination of Orthodox religions by dominant Catholicism 233 and several Cossack uprisings In the west and north many cities had sizable German minorities often belonging to Lutheran or Reformed churches The Commonwealth had also one of the largest Jewish diasporas in the world by the mid 16th century 80 of the world s Jews lived in Poland Pic 16 234 Until the Reformation the szlachta were mostly Catholics Pic 13 However many noble families quickly adopted the Reformed religion After the Counter Reformation when the Catholic Church regained power in Poland the szlachta became almost exclusively Catholic 235 The Crown had about double the population of Lithuania and five times the income of the latter s treasury As with other countries the borders area and population of the Commonwealth varied over time After the Peace of Jam Zapolski 1582 the Commonwealth had approximately 815 000 km2 area and a population of 7 5 million 236 After the Truce of Deulino 1618 the Commonwealth had an area of some 990 000 km2 and a population of 11 12 million including some 4 million Poles and close to a million Lithuanians 237 Languages First anniversary anthem of the Constitution of 3 May 1791 1792 in Hebrew Polish German and French Polish officially recognized 238 dominant language used by most of the Commonwealth s nobility 238 239 240 241 and by the peasantry in the Crown province 242 official language in the Crown chancellery and since 1697 in the Grand Duchy chancellery 243 Dominant language in the towns 242 Latin officially recognized 238 244 commonly used in foreign relations 243 and popular as a second language among some of the nobility 245 French not officially recognized replaced Latin at the royal court in Warsaw in the beginning of the 18th century as a language used in foreign relations and as genuine spoken language 246 247 It was commonly used as a language of science and literature and as a second language among some of the nobility 248 Ruthenian also known as Chancellery Slavonic 243 officially recognized 238 official language in the Grand Duchy chancellery until 1697 when replaced by Polish and in Bratslav Chernihiv Kiev and Volhynian voivodeships until 1673 249 250 used in some foreign relations 243 244 251 its dialects modern Belarusian and Ukrainian were widely used in the Grand Duchy and eastern parts of the Crown as spoken language Lithuanian not officially recognized 238 252 but used in some official documents in the Grand Duchy 253 254 255 and mostly used as a spoken language in the northernmost part of the country in Lithuania Proper 256 and the northern part of Ducal Prussia Polish fief German officially recognized 238 used in some foreign relations 243 in Ducal Prussia and by German minorities especially in the Royal Prussia and Greater Poland 242 257 Hebrew officially recognized 238 and Aramaic used by Jews for religious scholarly and legal matters Yiddish not officially recognized 258 259 used by Jews in their daily life 242 Italian not officially recognized used in some foreign relations and by Italian minorities in cities 260 Armenian officially recognized 238 used by the Armenian minority 259 261 Arabic not officially recognized used in some foreign relations 262 and by Tatars in their religious matters they also wrote Ruthenian in the Arabic script 263 LegacyMain article Intermarium The Duchy of Warsaw established in 1807 by Napoleon Bonaparte traced its origins to the Commonwealth Other revival movements appeared during the November Uprising 1830 31 the January Uprising 1863 64 and in the 1920s with Jozef Pilsudski s failed attempt to create a Polish led Intermarium Miedzymorze federation that at its largest extent would span from Finland in the north to the Balkans in the south 264 The contemporary Republic of Poland considers itself a successor to the Commonwealth 265 whereas the Republic of Lithuania re established at the end of World War I saw the participation of the Lithuanian state in the old Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth mostly in a negative light at the early stages of regaining its independence 266 although this attitude has been changing in recent years 267 Administrative divisionsMain article Administrative division of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth See also Offices in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth Outline of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth with its major subdivisions after the 1618 Truce of Deulino superimposed on present day national borders Crown of the Kingdom of Poland Grand Duchy of Lithuania Duchy of Livonia Duchy of Prussia Polish fief Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Commonwealth fief While the term Poland was also commonly used to denote this whole polity Poland was in fact only part of a greater whole the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth which comprised primarily two parts the Crown of the Polish Kingdom Poland proper colloquially the Crown the Grand Duchy of Lithuania colloquially Lithuania The Commonwealth was further divided into smaller administrative units known as voivodeships wojewodztwa Each voivodeship was governed by a Voivode wojewoda governor Voivodeships were further divided into starostwa each starostwo being governed by a starosta Cities were governed by castellans There were frequent exceptions to these rules often involving the ziemia subunit of administration citation needed The lands that once belonged to the Commonwealth are now largely distributed among several Central and East European countries Poland Ukraine Moldova Transnistria Belarus Russia Lithuania Latvia and Estonia 268 269 Also some small towns in Upper Hungary today mostly Slovakia became a part of Poland in the Treaty of Lubowla Spis towns Other notable parts of the Commonwealth without respect to region or voivodeship divisions include Lesser Poland Province Polish Malopolska southern Poland with two largest cities its capital at Krakow and Lublin in the north east Greater Poland Province Polish Wielkopolska west central Poland around Poznan and the Warta River system Mazovia Polish Mazowsze central Poland with its capital at Warsaw Lithuania Proper Lithuanian Didzioji Lietuva northwest Grand Duchy its most Catholic and ethnically Lithuanian part capital Vilnius Duchy of Samogitia Lithuanian Zemaitija Polish Zmudz westernmost and most autonomous part of Grand Duchy of Lithuania also the western part of Lithuania Proper capital Raseiniai Royal Prussia Polish Prusy Krolewskie at the southern shore of the Baltic Sea was an autonomous area since the Second Peace of Thorn 1466 incorporated into the Crown in 1569 with the Commonwealth s formation Pomerelia Polish Pomorze Gdanskie Pomerania around Gdansk western part of Royal Prussia Ruthenia Polish Rus the eastern Commonwealth adjoining Russia Duchy of Livonia Inflanty a joint domain of the Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Parts lost to Sweden in the 1620s and in 1660 Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Lithuanian Kursas ir Ziemgala Polish Kurlandia i Semigalia a northern fief of the Commonwealth It established a colony in Tobago in 1637 and on St Andrews Island at the Gambia River in 1651 see Couronian colonization Silesia Polish Slask was not within the Commonwealth but small parts belonged to various Commonwealth kings in particular the Vasa kings were dukes of Opole Oppeln Prudnik Neustadt and Raciborz Ratibor from 1645 to 1666 270 Topographical map of the Commonwealth in 1764 Commonwealth borders shifted with wars and treaties sometimes several times in a decade especially in the eastern and southern parts After the Peace of Jam Zapolski 1582 the Commonwealth had approximately 815 000 km2 area and a population of 7 5 million 236 After the Truce of Deulino 1618 the Commonwealth had an area of some 1 million km2 990 000 km2 and a population of about 11 million 237 GeographyIn the 16th century the Polish bishop and cartographer Martin Kromer who studied in Bologna published a Latin atlas entitled Poland about Its Location People Culture Offices and the Polish Commonwealth which was regarded as one of the most comprehensive guides to the country 271 Kromer s works and other contemporary maps such as those of Gerardus Mercator show the Commonwealth as mostly plains The Commonwealth s southeastern part the Kresy was famous for its steppes The Carpathian Mountains formed part of the southern border with the Tatra Mountain chain the highest and the Baltic Sea formed the Commonwealth s northern border As with most European countries at the time the Commonwealth had extensive forest cover especially in the east Today what remains of the Bialowieza Forest constitutes the last largely intact primeval forest in Europe 272 Image galleryPolitics and economy Statuta Regni Poloniae in ordinem alphabeti digesta Statutes of the Polish Kingdom Arranged in Alphabetical Order 1563 Grand Marshal of the Crown Lukasz Opalinski portraited with the insignium of his power in the parliament the Marshal s cane 1640 Rococo iconostasis in the Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit in Vilnius designed by Johann Christoph Glaubitz 1753 1756 18th century amber casket Gdansk patronized by the Polish court flourished as the center for amber working in the 17th century 273 Stanislaw Poniatowski Commander of the Royal Guards and Grand Treasurer Painted by Angelika Kauffmann in 1786 Equestrian portrait of King Sigismund III of Poland by Peter Paul Rubens 1624 Tapestry with the arms of Michal Kazimierz Pac Jan Leyniers Brussels 1667 1669 Silver tankard by Jozef Ceypler Krakow 1739 1745 Example of the merchant architecture Konopnica s tenement house in Lublin 1575 Hussars armours first half of the 17th centuryScience art and architecture De republica emendanda 1554 by Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski proposed a deep programme of reforms of the state society and church Merkuriusz Polski Ordynaryjny the first Polish newspaper published on the orders of Queen Marie Louise Gonzaga in 1661 Title page of Treny 1580 by Jan Kochanowski a series of elegies upon the death of his beloved daughter is an acknowledged masterpiece A plate from Michal Boym s Flora Sinensis 1656 the first description of an ecosystem of the Far East published in Europe 274 Taurus Poniatovii constellation originated by Marcin Poczobutt in 1777 to honor the king Stanislaw II Augustus 275 Branicki Palace in Bialystok designed by Tylman van Gameren is sometimes referred to as the Polish Versailles Pazaislis Monastery in Kaunas Pietro Puttini built 1674 1712 Church of St Peter and St Paul in Vilnius Pietro Puttini built 1675 1704 Zamosc City Hall designed by Bernardo Morando is a unique example of Renaissance architecture in Europe consistently built in accordance with the Italian theories of an ideal town 276 Plafond Allegory of Spring Jerzy Siemiginowski 1680s Wilanow Palace Lancut Synagogue was established by Stanislaw Lubomirski 1733 277 See alsoHistory of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569 1648 History of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 1648 1764 History of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 1764 1795 List of medieval great powers Armorial of Polish nobility List of szlachta Polish heraldry Lithuanian nobility Armenians in Poland History of the Germans in Poland History of the Jews in Poland History of Poland History of Lithuania Polish Lithuanian Ruthenian Commonwealth Polish Lithuanian Muscovite CommonwealthNotes Pro Fide Lege et Rege was the motto since the 18th century a Name in native and official languages Latin Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae 39 French Royaume de Pologne et Grand duche de Lituanie Serenissime Republique de Pologne et Grand duche de Lituanie 278 Polish Krolestwo Polskie i Wielkie Ksiestwo Litewskie Lithuanian Lenkijos Karalyste ir Lietuvos Didzioji Kunigaikstyste Belarusian Karaleystva Polskae i Vyalikae Knyastva Litoyskae Karaleŭstva Polskaje i Vialikaje Kniastva Litoŭskaje Ukrainian Korolivstvo Polske i Velike knyazivstvo Litovske German Konigreich Polen und Grossfurstentum Litauenb Some historians date the change of the Polish capital from Krakow to Warsaw between 1595 and 1611 although Warsaw was not officially designated capital until 1793 279 The Commonwealth Sejm began meeting in Warsaw soon after the Union of Lublin and its rulers generally maintained their courts there although coronations continued to take place in Krakow 279 The modern concept of a single capital city was to some extent inapplicable in the feudal and decentralized Commonwealth 279 Warsaw is described by some historians as the capital of the entire Commonwealth 280 281 Wilno the capital of the Grand Duchy 282 283 284 is sometimes called the second capital of the entity 285 286 Notes Royal Banner used by the Vasa dynasty Polish Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodow Latin Res Publica Utriusque Nationis Lithuanian Abieju Tautu Respublika Zecpospolita German Republik beider Nationen Republik beider Volker Republik Polen Litauen Ukrainian Rich Pospolita Belarusian Rech Paspalitaya Ruthenian Rѣch Pospolita Polish Krolestwo Polskie i Wielkie Ksiestwo Litewskie Latin Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae Lithuanian Lenkijos Karalyste ir Lietuvos Didzioji Kunigaikstyste German Konigreich Polen und des Grossfurstentums Litauen Ukrainian Korolivstvo Polske i Velike knyazivstvo Litovske Belarusian Polskae Karaleystva i Vyalikae Knyastva Litoyskae This quality of the Commonwealth was recognized by its contemporaries Robert Burton in his The Anatomy of Melancholy first published in 1621 writes of Poland Poland is a receptacle of all religions where Samosetans Socinians Photinians Arians Anabaptists are to be found In Europe Poland and Amsterdam are the common sanctuaries for Jews References a b Partitions of Poland at the Encyclopaedia Britannica a b c d Jagiellonian University Centre for European studies A Very Short History of Krakow see 1596 administrative capital the tiny village of Warsaw Archived from the original on 12 March 2009 Retrieved 29 November 2012 Richters Katja 2012 The Post Soviet Russian Orthodox Church Politics Culture and Greater Russia Routledge p 133 ISBN 9781136296369 formed part of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth which was ruled by Catholic monarchs who made Roman Catholicism the state religio a b Janusz Sykala Od Polan mieszkajacych w lasach historia Polski az do krola Stasia Gdansk 2010 a b Georg Ziaja Lexikon des polnischen Adels im Goldenen Zeitalter 1500 1600 p 9 Artykuly henrykowskie szlachecka prekonstytucja Historia polskieradio24 pl polskieradio24 pl Poland The First Partition Britannica www britannica com a b Panstwowe Przedsiebiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych Atlas Historyczny Polski wydanie X 1990 p 14 ISBN 83 7000 016 9 Bertram Benedict 1919 A history of the great war Bureau of national literature inc p 21 According to Panstwowe Przedsiebiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych Atlas Historyczny Polski wydanie X 1990 p 16 990 000 km2 Hahn Gordon M 9 November 2021 The Russian Dilemma Security Vigilance and Relations with the West from Ivan III to Putin McFarland p 35 ISBN 978 1 4766 8187 0 Zbigniew Pucek Panstwo i spoleczenstwo 2012 1 Krakow 2012 p 17 Norman Davies Europe A History Pimlico 1997 p 554 Poland Lithuania was another country which experienced its Golden Age during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries The realm of the last Jagiellons was absolutely the largest state in Europe Piotr Wandycz 2001 The price of freedom p 66 p 66 ISBN 978 0 415 25491 5 Retrieved 13 August 2011 Bertram Benedict 1919 A history of the great war Bureau of national literature inc p 21 Retrieved 13 August 2011 According to Panstwowe Przedsiebiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych Atlas Historyczny Polski wydanie X 1990 p 16 990 000 km2 a b c d e f Based on 1618 population map Archived 17 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine p 115 1618 languages map p119 1657 67 losses map p 128 and 1717 map Archived 17 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine p 141 from Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski Poland a Historical Atlas Hippocrene Books 1987 ISBN 0 88029 394 2 According to Panstwowe Przedsiebiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych Atlas Historyczny Polski wydanie X 1990 p 16 just over 9 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Wittmayer Baron 1976 A social and religious history of the Jews Columbia University Press ISBN 0 231 08853 1 Martin Van Gelderen Quentin Skinner Republicanism A Shared European Heritage Cambridge University Press 2002 ISBN 0 521 80756 5 p 54 a b The Causes of Slavery or Serfdom A Hypothesis Archived 15 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine discussion and full online text of Evsey Domar 1970 Economic History Review 30 1 March pp 18 32 a b c Page Not Found Error IU Robert H McKinney School of Law IUPUI IU Robert H McKinney School of Law a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Cite uses generic title help Blaustein Albert 1993 Constitutions of the World Fred B Rothman amp Company ISBN 9780837703626 Isaac Kramnick Introduction Madison James 1987 The Federalist Papers Penguin Classics p 13 ISBN 0 14 044495 5 May second oldest constitution John Markoff describes the advent of modern codified national constitutions as one of the milestones of democracy and states that The first European country to follow the U S example was Poland in 1791 John Markoff Waves of Democracy 1996 ISBN 0 8039 9019 7 p 121 a b c Davies Norman 1996 Europe A History Oxford University Press p 699 ISBN 0 19 820171 0 a b c Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae definicja synonimy przyklady uzycia sjp pwn pl Retrieved 27 October 2016 a b Ex quo serenissima respublica Poloniae in corpore ad exempluin omnium aliarnm potentiarum lilulum regiuin Borussiae recognoscere decrevit Antoine Francois Claude Ferrand 1820 Volume 1 Histoire des trois demembremens de la Pologne pour faire suite a l histoire de l Anarchie de Pologne par Rulhiere in French Deterville p 182 the name given by Marcin Kromer in his work Polonia sive de situ populis moribus magistratibus et re publica regni Polonici libri duo 1577 the therm used for instance in Zbior Deklaracyi Not I Czynnosci Glownieyszych Ktore Poprzedzily I Zaszly Pod Czas Seymu Pod Wezlem Konfederacyi Odprawuiacego Sie Od Dnia 18 Wrzesnia 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Republic of nobles studies in Polish history to 1864 CUP Archive p 209 ISBN 0 521 24093 X Jacek F Gieras 1994 Volume 30 of Monographs in electrical and electronic engineering Oxford science publications Linear induction drives Oxford University Press p V ISBN 0 19 859381 3 Norman Davies 2005 God s Playground A History of Poland Columbia University Press p 167 ISBN 0 231 12819 3 Setting Sail www warsawvoice pl 29 May 2003 Retrieved 21 May 2009 Paul Peucker Jan Amos Comenius 1592 1670 PDF www moravian org Archived from the original PDF on September 2 2009 Retrieved May 18 2009 Jacek Jedruch 1982 Constitutions Elections and Legislatures of Poland 1493 1977 A Guide to Their History University Press of America p 125 ISBN 978 08 19 12509 5 Portraits collection www muzeum leszno pl Retrieved 18 May 2009 Mariusz Karpowicz 1991 Baroque in Poland Arkady p 68 ISBN 83 213 3412 1 a b Lyczak Bartlomiej 1 January 2011 The Coffin Portrait and Celebration of Death in Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Modern Period IKON 4 233 242 doi 10 1484 J IKON 5 100699 Szablowski Jerzy 1975 Arrasy flamandzkie w zamku krolewskim na Wawelu in Polish Polska Arkady p 15 Retrieved 13 February 2021 Szablowski Jerzy 1975 Arrasy flamandzkie w zamku krolewskim na Wawelu in Polish Polska Arkady Retrieved 13 February 2021 Orlinska Mianowska Ewa 2008 Fashion world of the 18th and early 19th century Polska Bosz ISBN 9788387730727 Retrieved 13 February 2021 Singleton Esther 12 December 2019 French and English furniture distinctive styles and periods described and illustrated Good Press via Google Books Dialog Miesiȩcznik poswiȩcony dramaturgii wspolczesnej teatralnej filmowej radiowej telewizyjnej Vol 11 Polska RSW Prasa 1966 p 6 Retrieved 13 February 2021 Waugh Norah 1968 The Cut of Women s Clothes London Routledge pp 72 73 ISBN 0 87830 026 0 Lubliner Ludwig 1858 Obrona Zydow zamieszkalych w krajach polskich od nieslusznych zarzutow i falszywych oskarzen Brussels C Vanderauwer p 7 Retrieved 13 February 2021 Muthesius Stefan 1994 Polska art architecture design 966 1990 Langewiesche Koster p 34 ISBN 9783784576121 Retrieved 13 February 2021 Panstwowy Instytut Badania Sztuki Ludowej 1974 Volumes 28 29 Polska sztuka ludowa Polish Folk Art Panstwowy Instytut Sztuki p 259 Paul Robert Magocsi 1996 A history of Ukraine University of Toronto Press pp 286 287 ISBN 0 8020 7820 6 a b Michael J Mikos Baroque www staropolska pl Retrieved 13 May 2009 Rolska Boruch Irena 2003 Domy panskie na Lubelszczyznie od poznego gotyku do wczesnego baroku Polska Wydawnictwo KUL ISBN 9788373630291 Retrieved 13 February 2021 Kowalczyk Jerzy 1973 Sebastiano Serlio a sztuka polska Polska Zaklad Narodowy im Ossolinskich p 119 Retrieved 13 February 2021 Milobedzki Adam 1994 The architecture of Poland a chapter of the European heritage Krakow International Cultural Centre p 110 ISBN 9788385739142 Zdzislaw Klimczuk Jozef Garlinski 1996 Most Holandia Polska in Polish Polska Bis Press p 32 ISBN 9788390149424 Retrieved 13 February 2021 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint uses authors parameter link Karpowicz Mariusz 1994 Sztuki polskiej drogi dziwne in Polish Excalibur p 47 ISBN 9788390015286 Retrieved 13 February 2021 Feliks Gryglewicz Romuald Lukaszyk Wincenty Granat Zygmunt Sulowski 1973 Encyklopedia katolicka Kinszasa Krzymuska Lublin Tow Nauk Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego p 1189 ISBN 9788373060685 Retrieved 13 February 2021 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint uses authors parameter link Palaces and Castles in a Lion Country www lvivtoday com ua 2 June 2008 Retrieved 19 May 2009 Snopek Jerzy 1999 Oswiecenie Polska Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN p 134 ISBN 9788301129170 Retrieved 13 February 2021 Kazimierz Maliszewski 1990 Obraz swiata i Rzeczypospolitej w polskich gazetach rekopismiennych z okresu poznego baroku studium z dziejow ksztaltowania sie i rozpowszechniania sarmackich stereotypow wiedzy i informacji o theatrum mundi in Polish Schr p 79 ISBN 83 231 0239 2 W kazdym razie krolowa bez korony i pierwsza dama Rzeczypospolitej jak wspolczesni okreslali Sieniawska zasluguje na biografie naukowa Andrzej Wasko Sarmatism or the Enlightenment lt space gt The Dilemma of Polish Culture Sarmatian Review XVII 2 online Dziejochciejstwo dziejokretactwo Janusz Tazbir Polityka 6 2591 10 February 2007 in Polish Paradowski Ryszard 2005 Unia Europejska a spoleczenstwo obywatelskie in Polish Poznan Wydawn Nauk Instytutu Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa Uniwersytetu im Adama Mickiewicza p 168 ISBN 9788387704940 Kopczynski Michal Tygielski Wojciech 2010 Pod wspolnym niebem Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej in Polish Warszawa Bellona ISBN 9788311117242 a b Kopczynski amp Tygielski 2010 Kopczynski amp Tygielski 2010 p 236 a b Kopczynski amp Tygielski 2010 p 237 Total and Jewish population based on Frazee others are estimations from Pogonowski see the following reference Charles A Frazee World History the Easy Way Barron s Educational Series ISBN 0 8120 9766 1 Google Print 50 R B Wernham The new Cambridge modern history The Counter Reformation and price revolution 1559 1610 1968 Cambridge University Press Google print p 377 a b Matthew P Romaniello Charles Lipp Contested Spaces of Nobility in Early Modern Europe Ashgate Publishing Ltd 2011 p 233 Polish Sociological Review in Polish Polish Sociological Association 2007 p 96 Kopczynski amp Tygielski 2010 p 201 Kopczynski amp Tygielski 2010 pp 25 83 a b Kopczynski amp Tygielski 2010 pp 29 38 Stone Daniel The Polish Lithuanian State 1386 1795 Seattle and London University of Washington Press 2001 Norman Davies God s Playground A History of Poland Vol 1 The Origins to 1795 Vol 2 1795 to the Present Oxford Oxford University Press Page 126 ISBN 0 19 925339 0 ISBN 0 19 925340 4 Paul R Magocsi 2010 A History of Ukraine The Land and Its Peoples University of Toronto Press p 169 ISBN 978 1 4426 1021 7 Jeannie Labno 2011 Commemorating the Polish Renaissance Child Funeral Monuments and Their European Context Ashgate Publishing Ltd p 36 ISBN 978 0 7546 6825 1 Piekarski Adam 1979 Freedom of Conscience and Religion in Poland Interpress Publishers p 31 a b Memory of the World Register Nomination Form portal unesco org Retrieved 2 August 2011 Linda Gordon Cossack Rebellions Social Turmoil in the Sixteenth Century Ukraine SUNY Press 1983 ISBN 0 87395 654 0 Google Print p 51 Serhii Plokhy 2006 The origins of the Slavic nations premodern identities in Russia Ukraine and Belarus Cambridge University Press p 169 ISBN 0 521 86403 8 Lemberg Catholic Encyclopedia Retrieved 3 September 2010 Peter Kardash Brett Lockwood 1988 Ukraine and Ukrainians Fortuna p 134 ISBN 9780731675036 Magocsi Paul R 2010 A History of Ukraine The Land and Its Peoples University of Toronto Press p 190 ISBN 978 1442610217 Poland history of Encyclopaedia Britannica from Encyclopaedia Britannica Premium Service 3 Retrieved 10 February 2006 Archived 1 November 2004 at the Wayback Machine and Ukraine Encyclopaedia Britannica from Encyclopaedia Britannica Premium Service 4 Retrieved 14 February 2006 Archived 24 January 2005 at the Wayback Machine European Jewish Congress Poland Eurojewcong org Archived from the original on 11 December 2008 Retrieved 1 February 2009 Thus at the time of the first partition in 1772 the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth consisted of 43 per cent Latin Catholics 33 per cent Greek Catholics 10 per cent Christian Orthodox 9 per cent Jews and 4 per cent Protestant Willfried Spohn Anna Triandafyllidou 2003 Europeanisation national identities and migration changes in boundary constructions between Western and Eastern Europe Routledge p 127 ISBN 0 415 29667 6 a b Arturas Tereskinas 2005 Imperfect communities identity discourse and nation in the seventeenth century Grand Duchy of Lithuania Lietuviu literaturos ir tautosakos institutas p 31 ISBN 9955 475 94 3 a b Aleksander Gieysztor ed 1988 Rzeczpospolita w dobie Jana III Commonwealth during the reign of John III Royal Castle in Warsaw p 45 a b c d e f g h Anatol Lieven The Baltic Revolution Estonia Latvia Lithuania and the Path to Independence Yale University Press 1994 ISBN 0 300 06078 5 Google Print p 48 Stephen Barbour Cathie Carmichael Language and Nationalism in Europe Oxford University Press 2000 ISBN 0 19 925085 5 Google Print p 184 Osten Dahl Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm The Circum Baltic Languages Typology and Contact John Benjamins Publishing Company 2001 ISBN 90 272 3057 9 Google Print p 45 Glanville Price Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe Blackwell Publishing 1998 ISBN 0 631 22039 9 Google Print p 30 a b c d Mikulas Teich amp Roy Porter The National Question in Europe in Historical Context Cambridge University Press 1993 ISBN 0 521 36713 1 Google Print p 295 a b c d e Kevin O Connor Culture And Customs of the Baltic States Greenwood Press 2006 ISBN 0 313 33125 1 Google Print p 115 a b Daniel Z Stone A History of East Central Europe p 46 Karin Friedrich et al The Other Prussia Royal Prussia Poland and Liberty 1569 1772 Cambridge University Press 2000 ISBN 0 521 58335 7 Google Print p 88 Tomasz Kamusella 2008 The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe Palgrave Macmillan p 115 ISBN 978 0 230 55070 4 L union personnelle polono saxonne contribua davantage a faire connaitre en Pologne le francais que l allemand Cette fonction de la langue francaise devenue l instrument de communication entre les groupes dirigeants des deux pays Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of History 1970 Volume 22 Acta Poloniae historica in French National Ossolinski Institute p 79 They were the first Catholic schools in which one of the main languages of instruction was Polish Although he followed Locke in attaching weight to the native language in general Latin lost ground to French rather than Polish Richard Butterwick 1998 Poland s last king and English culture Stanislaw August Poniatowski 1732 1798 Oxford University Press p 70 ISBN 0 19 820701 8 Ruska Volinska metrika Although still sometimes in use by the end of the XVII century and lack of official decree like one for Grand Duchy chancellery there was no separate Ruthenian Metrica since 1673 Piotr Eberhardt Jan Owsinski Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth century Central Eastern Europe History Data Analysis M E Sharpe 2003 ISBN 0 7656 0665 8 Google Print p 177 Osten Dahl Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm The Circum Baltic Languages Typology and Contact John Benjamins Publishing Company 2001 ISBN 90 272 3057 9 Google Print p 41 Zinkevicius Z 1993 Rytu Lietuva praeityje ir dabar Vilnius Mokslo ir enciklopediju leidykla p 70 ISBN 5 420 01085 2 Official usage of Lithuanian language in the 16th century Lithuania s cities proves magistrate s decree of Wilno city which was sealed by Zygimantas Augustas in 1552 Courts juratory were written in Lithuanian language In fact such courts juratory written in Lithuanian survived from the 17th century Mes Wladislaus a letter from Wladyslaw Vasa issued in 1639 written in Lithuanian language Retrieved 3 September 2006 Alisauskas V L Jovaisa M Paknys R Petrauskas E Raila et al 2001 Lietuvos Didziosios Kunigaikstijos kultura Tyrinejimai ir vaizdai Vilnius p 500 ISBN 9955 445 26 2 In 1794 Government s declarations were carried out and in Lithuanian Daniel Z Stone A History of East Central Europe p 4 Czeslaw Milosz The History of Polish Literature University of California Press 1983 ISBN 0 520 04477 0 Google Print p 108 Jan K Ostrowski Land of the Winged Horsemen Art in Poland 1572 1764 Yale University Press 1999 ISBN 0 300 07918 4 Google Print p 27 a b Joanna B Michlic 2006 Poland s threatening other the image of the Jew from 1880 to the present U of Nebraska Press p 42 ISBN 0 8032 3240 3 Karol Zierhoffer Zofia Zierhoffer 2000 Nazwy zachodnioeuropejskie w jezyku polskim a zwiazki Polski z kultura Europy in Polish Wydawnictwo Poznanskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciol Nauk p 79 ISBN 83 7063 286 6 Podobna opinie przekazal nieco poznej w 1577 r Marcin Kromer Za naszej pamieci weszli do glownych miast Polski kupcy i rzemieslnicy wloscy a jezyk ich jest takze czesciowo w uzyciu mianowicie wsrod wytworniejszych Polakow ktorzy chetnie podrozuja do Wloch Rosemary A Chorzempa 1993 Polish roots Genealogical Pub ISBN 0 8063 1378 1 Jan K Ostrowski ed 1999 Art in Poland 1572 1764 land of the winged horsemen Art Services International p 32 ISBN 0 88397 131 3 In 1600 the son of the chancellor of Poland was learning four languages Latin Greek Turkish and Polish By the time he had completed his studies he was fluent not only in Turkish but also in Tatar and Arabic Lola Romanucci Ross George A De Vos Takeyuki Tsuda 2006 Ethnic identity problems and prospects for the twenty first century Rowman Altamira p 84 ISBN 0 7591 0973 7 Barile Davide 2019 Historic Power Europe A Post Hegelian Interpretation of European Integration New York Taylor amp Francis ISBN 9781000731132 A stated for instance by the preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997 Alfonsas Eidintas Vytautas Zalys Lithuania in European Politics The Years of the First Republic 1918 1940 Palgrave 1999 ISBN 0 312 22458 3 Print p 78 Zobaczyc Kresy Grzegorz Gorny Rzeczpospolita 23 August 2008 in Polish in Polish Rp pl 23 August 2008 Archived from the original on 10 July 2015 Retrieved 1 February 2009 Sarah Johnstone 2008 Ukraine Lonely Planet p 27 ISBN 978 1 74104 481 2 Stephen K Batalden Sandra L Batalden 1997 The newly independent states of Eurasia handbook of former Soviet republics Greenwood Publishing Group p 45 ISBN 0 89774 940 5 Richard M Golden 2006 Volume 4 Encyclopedia of witchcraft the Western tradition ABC CLIO p 1039 ISBN 1 57607 243 6 Girolamo Imbruglia Rolando Minuti Luisa Simonutti 2007 Traduzioni e circolazione delle idee nella cultura europea tra 500 e 700 in Italian Bibliopolis p 76 ISBN 978 88 70 88537 8 Daniel H Cole 2002 Pollution and property comparing ownership institutions for environmental protection Cambridge University Press p 106 ISBN 0 521 00109 9 Gordon Campbell 2006 The Grove encyclopedia of decorative arts Oxford University Press US p 13 ISBN 01 95189 48 5 Gwei Djen Lu Joseph Needham Vivienne Lo 2002 Celestial lancets a history and rationale of acupuncture and moxa Routledge p 284 ISBN 07 00714 58 8 Ian Ridpath Taurus Poniatovii Poniatowski s bull www ianridpath com Retrieved 18 May 2009 Old City of Zamosc UNESCO World Heritage Centre 23 September 2009 Retrieved 15 September 2011 After a fire had destroyed a wooden synagogue in 1733 Stanislaw Lubomirski decided to found a new bricked synagogue building Polin Travel Lancut www jewish guide pl Retrieved 2 September 2010 Guillaume de Lamberty 1735 Volume 3 Memoires pour servir a l histoire du XVIIIe siecle contenant les negociations traitez resolutions et autres documents authentiques concernant les affaires d etat avec le supplement aux annees MDCXCVI MDCCIII in French p 343 Genereux et Magnifiques Seigneurs les Senateurs et autres Ordres de la Serenissime Republique de Pologne et du grand Duche de Lithuanie a b c Francis W Carter 1994 Trade and urban development in Poland an economic geography of Cracow from its origins to 1795 Volume 20 of Cambridge studies in historical geography Cambridge University Press pp 186 187 ISBN 978 0 521 41239 1 Daniel Stone 2001 The Polish Lithuanian state 1386 1795 University of Washington Press p 221 ISBN 978 0 295 98093 5 Robert Bideleux Ian Jeffries 1998 A history of eastern Europe crisis and change Routledge p 126 ISBN 978 0 415 16111 4 Norman Davies 1998 Europe A History HarperCollins pp 657 660 ISBN 978 0 06 097468 8 vilnius capital grand duchy Politics and reformations communities polities nations and empires 2007 p 206 Zeitschrift fur Ostmitteleuropa Forschung 2006 Vol 55 p 2 Thomas A Brady Christopher Ocker entry by David Frick 2007 Politics and reformations communities polities nations and empires essays in honor of Thomas A Brady Jr Brill Publishers p 206 ISBN 978 90 04 16173 3 span, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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