History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1648–1764)

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The history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1648–1764) covers a period in the history of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, from the time their joint state became the theater of wars and invasions fought on a great scale in the middle of the 17th century, to the time just before the election of Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.^[1]

From the 17th century, the nobles' democracy, experienced devastating wars and fell into internal disorder and then anarchy, and as a result declined. The once powerful Commonwealth had become vulnerable to internal warfare and foreign intervention. In 1648 the Cossack Khmelnytsky Uprising engulfed the south and east of the vast Polish–Lithuanian state, and was soon followed by a Swedish invasion, which raged through core Polish lands. Warfare with the Cossacks and Russia left Ukraine divided; the eastern part, lost by the Commonwealth, became a dependency of the Tsardom of Russia. John III Sobieski, who fought protracted wars against the Ottoman Empire, revived the Commonwealth's military might once more. In one decisive engagement he helped in 1683 to deliver Vienna from a Turkish onslaught.^[1]

Further disintegration followed nevertheless. The Commonwealth, subjected to almost constant warfare until 1720, suffered devastating population losses and massive damage to its economy and social structure. The economic regression had not been fully compensated for the duration of the Commonwealth's existence.

Unlike the previously fought wars, which had affected mostly the peripheries of the huge state, from the mid-17th century onward central Poland was being ravaged by warfare as well. The two Northern Wars turned out particularly destructive. Several massive foreign armies traversed the Commonwealth in the course of the Second Northern War. The protracted role of the country as a battlefield, the quartering of troops and armies, combined with the policy of exacting contributions and pillage during the Great Northern War, greatly deteriorated the economy of the country which had not yet recovered from the damage incurred two generations earlier. Internal warfare and looting by unpaid Commonwealth troops added to the damage.^[3]

The destruction and depletion of resources applied to all segments of the society, affecting rural villages, cities and towns, of which many had practically lost their urban character. Industry and manufacturing suffered as well as the funds flowing into the state treasury. The war losses and epidemic disease outbreaks (especially during 1659–63)^[4] reduced the population by a third to 6–7 million. As the peasants, the townspeople and ordinary szlachta each lost their economic base, the magnate class had become the only social group capable of significant economic and political activity, which led to their more total domination of what was left of the Commonwealth politics.^[3]

The war and economic pressures intensified the already present fragmentation processes and class conflicts between the social classes and within each of them. Xenophobia and intolerance became prevalent, different social and territorial groups stressed their separate statuses and traditions. The nation building efforts of Renaissance era reformers was undone.^[3]

Further stratification among nobility

The predominant 16th century agricultural production organization, the

The increased dominance of the magnates negatively affected the class integrity of the so far crucially important middle szlachta stratum. The fragmentation of szlachta deepened the decentralizing tendencies in the large state. The magnates established networks of szlachta supporters and national loyalty was being replaced with loyalty based on regional ties, as for the nobility the weak state institutions provided neither attractive career opportunities, nor sufficient protection.[5]

The magnate control over the lesser or petty szlachta (szlachta zaściankowa), a group whose members possessed little or no property and were poorly educated, has long been recognized. The lesser szlachta was useful, as it provided crowds of armed men able to influence various public events, such as sejmiks or elections, according to directions given.^[5] Most commonly the basic "clientele" of the magnates constituted the lowest ranked nobles, czynszownicy (renters), free but landless and poor, whose status in reality resembled that of the peasants: they were completely dependent on a wealthy patron. The brukowcy (pavement people) had no property and engaged in a variety of trades. Domestic szlachta functioned as servants in magnate family households. Szlachta zaściankowa proper, or zagrodowa (homestead people) was the very numerous propertied petty nobility; among the lower ranks they alone enjoyed something of a, at least symbolic, privileged noble status.^[6]

Of fundamentally greater importance was the role of the middle nobility, propertied and better qualified people, able to pursue careers within magnate courts, or assume public offices obtained with the help of their magnate benefactors. The noblemen in question, through the magnates they served, experienced also material gains, such as profitable land leases, and legal protection in times of common and often reckless and disruptive litigation.^[5]

The magnates themselves or magnate clans formed groupings, or factions, with common regional or other interests. In the 17th century, the factions were usually confined to a region, such as the Lithuanian cliques of the

The subordination to magnate interests took place not without some resistance, but the various szlachta movements lacked coordination and in the first half of the 18th century the middle nobility ceased being an independent force in national politics.^[5]

The lack of legal distinction among various ranks of the nobility gave many noblemen a false sense of equality and opportunity. The majority of the nobility of the

The deep agricultural crisis lasted from the 1650s through the 1720s. Under the plight of constant warfare and adverse economic conditions the

After the Khmelnytsky Uprising and the Swedish Deluge, approx. 35% of villages in Royal Prussia and 60% in Podolia were destroyed completely.^[8]

The tendency was for each village, or a small cluster of villages, possibly corresponding to a parish, to function as a self-contained organism, arbitrarily ruled by the lord's administrator, with some participation from local self-government, whose continuous existence depended on its degree of cooperativeness. The parish schools taught mostly the catechism with added social indoctrination. The one allowed peasant activity, sometimes even required because of mandatory purchases of such staples as beer form the lord's brewery, was the participation in village tavern life. The taverns provided some entertainment, functioned as outlets for significant folk artistic creativity, and places of occasional contacts with traveling representatives of the largely unknown to the peasants, outside world.^[7]

Average living conditions in the increasingly impoverished rural villages were very bad and the exploited peasants resorted to various forms of resistance, most often running away from particularly abusive landlords. Some villages or areas engaged in collectively refusing to perform the prescribed duties, or, rarely in ethnically Polish lands, armed rebellions. The

On a grand scale peasant armed resistance became a crucial factor in the eastern Ruthenian lands of the Commonwealth, where it combined with Cossack unrest.^[7]

Disintegration of towns and urban classes

The peasants, who had traditionally constituted a vital part of the town merchants' clientele, now impoverished and forced by their feudal masters to limit their purchases to what was produced or sold within their home estate, largely stopped plying their role in the internal market. The market became confounded further by the monetary crisis, warfare destruction and the fact that some of the most major Poland's and Lithuania's municipal centers were lost to the neighboring states, either permanently or at times of reversals of military fortunes.[9]

The slow rebuilding after 1720 took place unevenly, with some of the largest cities, Warsaw and Danzig (Gdańsk) among them, faring the best, while other like Kraków, reduced to 10 thousand inhabitants, remaining depressed. Most smaller towns suffered badly, except for those in western Greater Poland, where the remarkable ascent of Wschowa took place.^[9]

The changes altered the ethnic character of the burgher classes. The peasant influx into towns slowed to a trickle, while the proportion of Jewish inhabitants increased considerably. Of the 750,000 Jews living in the Commonwealth in the middle of the 18th century (other sources give about a million in the 1770s),^[10] 3/4 resided in cities, making up almost half of the total urban population. The Jews were very industrious, accepted even marginal profits and soon dominated the crafts and trade, especially in smaller towns. Their communities (Qahal autonomous congregations) conducted extensive credit operations, servicing the Polish middle and upper social strata. Christian townspeople had made at times unsuccessful attempts to limit the commercial rights of the Jews.^[9]

Some Polish cities had the de non tolerandis Judaeis "privilege", which meant that they were able to exclude Jews from the area under the town's jurisdiction. Many Jews were often still able to remain within city limits, while others lived in jurydykas, areas typically under feudal jurisdiction outside city walls. Jews also lived in shtetls, their own small countryside towns, existing under protection of a feudal lord. Jews usually functioned under the Jewish court system, subject to noble (sejm mandated) courts in case of conflict with municipal authorities or other Christians and in appellate cases. The spatial separation was only partial and in the Commonwealth there were no formal ghettos. Jewish residents of cities participated in the upkeep of public infrastructure, and made other contributions, including to common military defense.^[11][12]

The weakness of central government prevented an introduction of a uniform statewide economic policy, even as feeble attempts to implement

Nationwide the urban classes had become marginalized and lacked influence, as even by the end of the 18th century the population of town residents constituted no more than 15% of the Commonwealth total. Most cities were private, as opposed to "royal" or public, with their inhabitants accordingly subjected to arbitrary obligations imposed by feudal owners. In the 18th century royal city of Kraków, 55% of the grounds within the city walls belonged to the Church, 17% to nobility interests and only the rest to the actual city folks. The degradation of towns was recognized as one of the leading factors contributing to national decline by the more enlightened of szlachta publicists (Garczyński, Fredro, Leszczyński).^[9]

The Commonwealth city populations were fragmented on the basis of trade, class, ethnicity, religious affiliation or jurisdiction type and consumed by internal conflicts. The most enterprising and successful of burghers were able to join the ranks of nobility, thus leaving the urban occupations or introducing additional tensions within cities. Townspeople in larger cities, including Danzig, supported with dedication and generosity the national cause during the foreign invasions. The Commonwealth's urban upper layer had lost its previously prominent role in the promotion of cultural advancement, but in

The first changes indicating an upcoming economic recovery took place in the 1725–50 period. More clearly visible agricultural and industrial progress occurred during the two following decades (1750–70) and had to do with the improved by that time state of the agricultural market in Europe. During the earlier period some technical advances were made and contributed to improved agriculture and, more importantly, the nature of rural social relations was changing. Beginning in Poznań region and then elsewhere in western Greater Poland and Royal Prussia, the manorial serfdom labor requirements were being replaced with peasant land rentals and owners collecting monetary compensation. This "buying off" of the forced labor obligations was often favored by the peasants themselves, as it improved their financial situation and reconnected them to city markets.^[13]

The same two regions and the capital city of Warsaw experienced also a moderate awakening in the area of industrial activities and urban business enterprises. A major trading house was established in Warsaw by French Huguenots in 1723. Manufacturing businesses were created by a number of magnates in various regions. Among the most important was the developing iron industry in southern and central Poland (Old-Polish Industrial Region). These modest signs of industrial progress occurred within the Commonwealth with a nearly half-century delay not only in comparison to Poland's western and southern neighbors, but also with respect to Russia.^[13]

Wars fought to protect territorial integrity, decline of government

Khmelnytsky Uprising, peasant movements, Cossack alliance with Russia

The long-lasting

The unusually dry summer of 1648 and locust attacks caused destruction of crops and hunger in Ukraine, adding to the region's instability.^[15]

As

The disastrous consequences of the erroneous and short-sighted, during the reigns of the first two Vasa kings, Cossack policies of the Polish Republic of Nobility were about to make their impact, first of many. In April and May 1648, in the Battle of Zhovti Vody and the Battle of Korsuń the joined Cossack-Tatar forces completely destroyed the Crown army, capturing Crown Hetmans Mikołaj Potocki and Marcin Kalinowski.^[17] Thousands of Registered Cossacks, sent into combat with the Polish forces, were persuaded by the rebels to change sides. As a result of the dramatic events, vast expanses of Dnieper Ukraine became engulfed in the spreading social upheaval and the region's separation from the Polish kingdom had begun.^[14][15]

Ukrainian land potentate Jeremi Wiśniowiecki, who embarked on the defense of his huge threatened latifundium and its people, began retreating at the end of May from left-bank Ukraine. Fighting the Cossacks with some measure of success he matched the ruthlessness of the rebels, but brought no resolution to the conflict and prevented a possibility of the considered negotiated solution. Wiśniowiecki commanded his army at the Battle of Starokostiantyniv in late July against Cossack forces led by Maksym Kryvonis; its indecisive outcome allowed Wiśniowiecki and his units to continue their westward movement.^[18]

The death of Władysław IV on May 20 and the discordant

A period of peace lasted from August 1649 to February 1651, but the Polish side balked at the implementation of the Zboriv agreements and further confrontations became inevitable.[20] Khmelnytsky pursued diplomatic activities and obtained a promise of the Ottoman Empire protection and Moldavia's rule for himself upon swearing a fealty oath to the Sultan in 1650. The Cossack Hetman's emissaries also established contacts with Commonwealth dissidents and disaffected peasants in several regions of the Polish Crown and Silesia.^[14]

The

In February 1651, Hetman Kalinowski advanced against the Cossacks, but suffered heavy losses and withdrew to Kamieniec Podolski; in May he fought his way to Sokal, where he joined the gathering of the Crown army.^[20] In June, both the regular army and szlachta's pospolite ruszenie moved decisively against the Tatar-Cossack forces. At the Battle of Berestechko King John Casimir was able to impose on the enemy the site for the confrontation he chose and in heavy fighting destroy the Cossack army, while the fleeing Tatars took Khmelnytsky with them.^[14] However, a majority of the Cossack soldiers were saved by one of their outstanding commanders, Ivan Bohun.^[22]

Berestechko, "one of the greatest achievements of the Polish military", removed the threat to the Commonwealth present since 1648, but brought no resolution to the Ukrainian conflict. The szlachta fighters soon left. Khmelnytsky regrouped and with Tatar reinforcements resumed his military harassment. As the combined Crown and Lithuanian armies were not able to follow up the Berestechko victory in the inconclusive Battle of Bila Tserkva, the two sides signed the Treaty of Bila Tserkva, which reduced the Treaty of Zboriv Cossack gains.^[14][22]

With the Sultan's support Hetman Khmelnytsky then attempted to subjugate Moldavia by demanding a marriage of his son

The marriage did take place, but the Moldavian

The Tatars, concerned with the preservation of the regional balance of power, over all may have saved the Commonwealth, by deciding not to support the Cossacks at crucial junctures. While for the moment they reaped the benefits of their position and actions (the King agreed not to resist the next Tatar slave-taking raids into Poland), for the Poles the Berestechko victory was by that time wasted.[23]

The Commonwealth and Cossack combatants were unable to arrive at a military solution, the Crimean and Ottoman alliances had not been reliable for Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and Ukraine was devastated by five years of warfare. Enslavement of Ukrainians by the Tatar "allies", plagues and periods of hunger complemented the destruction and depopulation reached 40% in some regions of the country. The losses caused damage to the cohesiveness of the Cossack army and led to greater pro-Moscow orientation and dependence on the northeastern neighbor. The Cossack hetman turned to his prior concepts of increasing cooperation with Russia (talks with the Tsardom took place already in 1651, but the deal was not consummated at that time because of the Berestechko defeat), the country of more distant common historic tradition, but close linguistic, religious and East Slavic cultural ties with Ukraine. The Cossack leaders expected on the one hand Russia's help in eliminating what was left of the Commonwealth's nobility rule in Ukraine, and broad autonomy for the Cossack state on the other. The Polish reverses in the region convinced Tsar Alexis to abandon his policy of non-involvement and move against the Commonwealth.^[14][24][25]

A Russian mission arrived in

The Commonwealth's failure to emancipate the Cossacks led to a shift in the regional balance of power (the Khmelnytsky Uprising marks the turning point)^[29] and gave rise to the western expansion of the Russian Empire, which eventually resulted in the loss of the Commonwealth's independent existence.^[14][30]

Defense and foreign policy in time of crisis

The

In the decentralized state and treasury, the military potential was hampered by the inefficient fiscal apparatus and insufficient taxation. The Commonwealth in the second half of the 17th century developed huge indebtedness in respect to its own armed forces. Military

The Commonwealth forces had a much higher (50%) than in other European, infantry-dominated armies, proportion of cavalry, which was of unrivaled in Europe quality. The infantry was also of high battlefield value. Artillery was well-developed and effective, with nearly two thousand pieces present throughout the country. A majority and increasing proportion of soldiers were now of native, rather foreign origin, with decreasing participation of szlachta, who however monopolized the command and dominated the officer corps. The highest ranks belonged to wealthy magnates, with the notable exception of Stefan Czarniecki, a nobleman of more humble origins. Czarniecki introduced guerrilla warfare with heavy participation of peasant masses. Afterwards the last great Polish battlefield successes were made possible by the universal military talent of Jan Sobieski.^[31]

The one major weakness and backwardness of the Commonwealth defenses was the lack of significant system of modern fortifications throughout most of its territory, which allowed the invading armies to inflict damage disproportionate to military effort. The exceptions were the mouth of the Vistula region and the south-east, where there were powerful, even if neglected fortresses, such as the Kamieniec Podolski (Kamianets-Podilskyi) Castle.^[31]

The fiscal difficulties affected also the Commonwealth diplomacy and foreign policy. John III kept resident diplomats in several major capitals, but the

The Swedish invasion of the Commonwealth, known as the Deluge, took place within the context of the Second Northern War. In 1655 the Commonwealth's survival had become endangered, when the huge federation, already critically weakened by the offensive of the Russians, who occupied most of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and by Khmelnytsky's Cossacks holding fast to the lands they overran in Ukraine, was subjected to a massive attack by Sweden. The Swedish leaders, emboldened by the Peace of Westphalia gains, including the western Duchy of Pomerania,^[32] intended precisely to take advantage of Poland's grave difficulties, hoping to easily take over at least Courland and Prussia, and thus to enforce their total domination over the Baltic Sea area.^[33]

Worried about the Russian strength and advances in the East Baltic region and toward

Other provinces of the Polish Crown by that time had also surrendered to the King of Sweden. Warsaw did not resist the invaders and was thoroughly plundered. John Casimir fought, but was defeated at the Battle of Żarnów and sought refuge, first in Żywiec district and then in Oberglogau in the Duchy of Oppeln (Opole) in Silesia, outside of the Crown. Kraków was defended with determination for three weeks under Stefan Czarniecki's command, but had to capitulate when a rescue force was crushed by the Swedes in the Battle of Wojnicz. The bulk of the Polish nobility and the armed forces declared loyalty to Charles Gustav.^[33]

The Swedes failed to take advantage of the local support and treated the Commonwealth as a conquered country, subjecting it to widespread violence, predatory contributions, ruthlessness and pillage. Spontaneous popular resistance arose first among the peasants, beginning with a skirmish they fought near Myślenice. Partisan groups included also townspeople and szlachta, who disillusioned with Charles Gustav often switched sides and took the lead of the fighting. Krzysztof Żegocki led the uprising in Greater Poland. Carpathian foothills region units were highly successful, liberating Nowy Sącz and many other towns. Lwów (Lviv) and Zamość resisted both the Cossack and the Swedish assaults, similarly Danzig (Gdańsk) and Marienburg in case of the Swedes. Some of the Lithuanian forces, under Paweł Jan Sapieha, had remained faithful to John Casimir. They fought in Podlaskie against the Radziwiłłs and took Tykocin. John Casimir himself still in Silesia, issued a universal calling for national resistance against the Swedes, and then on December 18 embarked on a return trip to Poland. The Commonwealth's remaining ally, Crimean Khan Mehmed IV Giray, who had just defeated Khmelnytsky, was offering help and support.^[33]

The

The Poles were still at a disadvantage facing the Swedish army in the open field, and Czarniecki's forces were defeated at the

Seeking help the Swedish king made Frederick William an offer of Greater Poland. The combined armies of the two monarchs approached Warsaw and fought at the end of July a three-day heavy battle against Polish and Lithuanian troops aided by the Tatars,^[34] won by the Swedish-Brandenburg coalition. Frederick William however soon had to retreat after his duchy was attacked by Polish and Tatar forces. Hetman Gosiewski managed to defeat the combined enemy at the Battle of Prostki, while Czarniecki conducted further clearing activities in Greater Poland followed by a revenge incursion into the Brandenburg March and Farther Pomerania.^[33]

The international balance of power was also shifting in favor of the Commonwealth because of the agreement with Russia in fall of 1656, motivated in part by the Tsardom's strategic interest in preventing a collapse of the Polish–Lithuanian state and uncontrolled expansion of Sweden. Not giving up its own claims and gains in the east, Russia moved against the Swedish forces in Livonia, which also facilitated their removal from Lithuania. This new situation forced Charles Gustav to alter his plans of conquering all of Poland and to propose a territorial partitioning scheme, under which the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was to be eliminated altogether and he would be able to keep at least some of Sweden's prospects.^[33]

First in the Treaty of Labiau the Swedish king granted sovereign rights in Prussia and possession of Greater Poland to Frederick William. In December 1656 a partition treaty involving several monarchs and other parties was concluded in Radnot in Transylvania.^[33]

One of the treaty signatories was George II Rákóczi, Prince of Transylvania, whose forces entered the Commonwealth in early 1657 on a pillaging spree, reaching in cooperation with the Swedes as far north as Warsaw and Brest. Rákóczi's initially successful offensive had in the end favorable for Poland consequences, as it led to a new configuration of international interests, which prevented the Treaty of Radnot from being implemented.^[33]

The so-far rather indifferent

Austrian intermediaries facilitated the decisively important negotiations between Frederick William of

The Deluge's long term deleterious effects included an increase in xenophobic attitudes and intolerance in Poland. The religious minorities, accused of supporting foreign adversaries, were persecuted and pressured to emigrate, in the case of the Polish Brethren forced to leave the country. The international standing of the Commonwealth power had become much diminished, especially (with the loss of control over a major part of Livonia and Eastern Prussia) in the crucially important Baltic Sea region.^[33]

Treaty of Hadiach, war with Russia, Truce of Andrusovo and division of Ukraine

The Polish–Lithuanian magnates were preoccupied with the issue of recovery of their old feudal lands in the east, lost to the Cossacks and Russia. There was one more and the most significant, even if belated and in the end botched, attempt to resolve the Cossack conflict in an amicable way, by including Ukraine as a partner in the Commonwealth federation.^[37]

After

The provisions of the treaty, and of the proposed union, included the creation of the Duchy of

The Treaty of Hadiach became also a major factor leading to the Commonwealth's renewed warfare with the

John Casimir made one more attempt to reverse the losses and regain all of Ukraine by attacking the Tsardom in 1663 and 1664. While some of his forward units approached Moscow, fighting the Russian people and weather took its toll, which combined with the internal difficulties at home made the withdrawal unavoidable. The Commonwealth's failures encouraged anti-Polish sentiments in right-bank Ukraine. The popular uprisings there were subdued with great effort,^[40] with Hetman Czarniecki dying in the fighting in 1665.^[37] The Commonwealth nobility attempted return to their Ukrainian possessions and the warfare caused widespread destruction in Ukraine. In 1665, as the Crown forces were being withdrawn from right-bank Ukraine, the pro-Polish orientation among the Cossacks was greatly diminished and Teteria lost power.^[25]

During the

The

In 1667, when Tatar-Cossack forces attacked Lwów (Lviv), Hetman John Sobieski confronted them with a small force. After the Polish troops withstood two weeks of enemy assaults at the Battle of Podhajce (Pidhaitsi), the Tatars agreed to renew the alliance with the Commonwealth and Doroshenko acknowledged its authority.^[45]

Soon King

At that point, however, the

This outcome had a sobering effect in Poland. Bickering stopped, the 1673 sejm funded a 50,000 strong army, diplomatic arrangements were made to assure neutrality of the Crimean Khanate and Russian cooperation. Hetman Sobieski's military offensive commenced in the fall.^[45]

Sobieski decided to attack the largest of the three Turkish corps, stationed at Khotyn, where another battle with the Ottoman Empire took place half a century earlier. The Battle of Khotyn was won when Sobieski's infantry and cavalry stormed and took over the reinforced enemy positions, at the former camp of Hetman Chodkiewicz. With a broken bridge on the Dniester River, the trapped Ottoman army was destroyed on Nov. 11, 1673. The battle was the greatest by that time land victory over the Ottoman Empire in Europe.^[45]

Detrimental to further military progress was the death of King

The outcome of the

Peace with Turkey was however the aim of John III Sobieski, who, faced with a new situation in Europe after the Treaty of the Pyrenees, wished to pursue an ambitious policy in the more crucial for the Commonwealth Baltic Sea area.^[45]

The French-Polish intentions were to be thwarted by both the international and Commonwealth internal obstacles. Austria and Brandenburg in turn provided funds for the King's rivals to tie his hands. Vienna and Moscow signed their own treaty against Sobieski's policies, in which for the first time the external powers pledged to defend szlachta's "liberties", the guarantees of the Commonwealth's weakness. Most importantly the Swedes failed in their military endeavors.^[45]

As the King failed to convince the nobility of the necessity of action in the north, the country's establishment directed its attention back toward the recovery of the lands lost in the east. Russia however was now seen as an ally against the Ottoman power. In order to reclaim the areas lost to Turkey in the south-east and to reestablish influence in Moldavia, John III sought to build a grand European anti-Ottoman league. While his ideas met with cool reception in most European centers of power, except for the papacy and Vienna, Turkey's own military undertakings worked in favor of Sobieski's plans.^[48]

Mehmed IV, having concluded in 1681 the

The limited mutual defense alliance with Austria was approved in the Sejm and signed on April 1, 1683. It provided for mutual rescue obligation in the event of an enemy attack on either Kraków or Vienna. Indeed, in July, the over 100,000 strong Ottoman army led by Kara Mustafa Pasha laid a siege to Vienna.^[48]

Hieronim Lubomirski had already been

The pursuit of the enemy resulted in the two Battles of Párkány. In the first confrontation Sobieski was subjected to a surprise attack, and only two days later, on October 9, together with the Austrians, the Poles destroyed the Turkish army defending the north Hungarian Ottoman possessions.^[48]

At this juncture, a protectorate by the Commonwealth was sought by the leaders of

For the rest of his life the

After Sobieski's death, King Augustus II the Strong attempted another anti-Ottoman Commonwealth campaign, during which only the Battle of Podhajce (1698) was fought. The final Treaty of Karlowitz concluded in 1699 the Holy League's wars with the Ottoman Empire. The Commonwealth ended up recovering Podolia with Kamieniec Podolski and the Bratslav region. The Austrian Habsburg Monarchy, expanded by Hungary and Transylvania, had become the leading Central European power.^[48]

After the turn of the century, in Polish Ukraine there was no

The wars fought by the Commonwealth during the second half of the 17th century fulfilled their main role of protecting as much as possible of the eastern possessions, where latifundia of the magnates were for the most part located. More comprehensive foreign policy needs were neglected, the functioning of the state had become even more disorganized and the military effort and destruction contributed to further disintegration of the economy.^[48]

Magnate oligarchies, decline of central government

The reigns of

John Casimir's poor relations with the magnates contributed to his initial alienation from the Commonwealth's nobility and armed forces in 1655 at the time of the Swedish

With the disintegration of the system, and of the functionality of central and local parliamentary assemblies in particular, confederations had assumed an important role, as a substitute but necessary mode of governance. Confederations, which in reality usually constituted more closely knit magnate factions, were temporary (lasting up to several years) associations, whose members were at times pressured into joining, but were sworn and often deeply committed. Confederate decisions were generally made by a majority of votes. All nobility could join, and there was some urban participation. A confederation was led by a marshal and a council and was typically directed against a monarch or aspired to defend the country from foreign oppression.^[52]

During the

The resulting closer relationship with the Austrian Habsburg state contributed to drawing the Commonwealth to its sphere of alliances and into conflicts with the Ottoman Empire.^[53]

Displeased by the growing Austrian influence, the pro-French camp led by

Humiliated by the Treaty of Buchach the Commonwealth faced also a civil war, as Sobieski, dismissed from his office by the Gołąb Confederation, established a competing Confederation of Szczebrzeszyn. After fruitless bickering and the death of the pro-French party's royal candidate, urged by wartime necessities, the two confederations eventually became reconciled in 1673. The accord made possible a common sejm, which was able to come up with the necessary fiscal and military measures.^[52]

After Michał Wiśniowiecki's death, the election of 1674 elevated John Sobieski, who because of the recent field successes on the Ottoman front was able to outdistance other early favorites, including Duke Charles of Lorraine. Sobieski was an educated and well-traveled man of many interests and pursuits, son of Jakub Sobieski, an accomplished parliamentarian and diplomat. A great military leader, John III Sobieski became fascinated by the possibility of establishing a natively Polish ruling dynasty, and like his predecessors he allowed the succession issue to consume his attention in vain, at the expense of urgent matters of the deteriorating state.^[52]

John III initially intended to implement his various plans, including a conquest of the

During the sejm of 1688/1689 the King's supporters demanded decisive action against the increasingly bold domestic opposition, but John III was growing weak and refrained from forcefully acting against his enemies and pursuing his aspirations.^[52]

The 1691 marriage of Jakub Ludwik Sobieski, the King's eldest son, with Hedwig of Neuburg, resulted in moderate improvement of relations with Vienna.^[52]

The last years of the reign of the ailing king saw the disorder, lawlessness, factional infighting and anarchy overcoming the Commonwealth. The monarch was not even able to control the feud between his wife

Early Wettin rule, Great Northern War

The situation in the Commonwealth had changed to some degree after the election of 1697 and the unexpected ascent of Augustus II the Strong of the House of Wettin, the ruler (as Frederick Augustus I) of the affluent Electorate of Saxony. He invested large sums, obtained foreign support and converted to Catholicism to ensure his election, but the voting process did not give him a clear victory. The early favorite, François Louis, Prince of Conti, had many supporters and was proclaimed a king-elect by the Primate, Michał Stefan Radziejowski. Augustus and his followers acted however more quickly and decisively than the French prince, whose belated arrival in Danzig area, where he sailed, but was blocked by supporters of Augustus from landing in the city,^[54] was not enough to prevent the Saxon from gaining the throne. This result was confirmed, after the initial unrest, by the "pacification sejm" in 1699.^[55]

The personal union of the Commonwealth and Saxony lasted for over half a century, but joined two basically dissimilar political and economic entities, each of which resented the close integration and unification persistently attempted by Augustus. This difficulty naturally checked the ruler's "absolutist" tendencies in both states and his pursuit of the Wettin family dynastic domination. The ambitious and able Augustus, who aspired to follow in the footsteps of

Augustus II stationed the powerful Saxon army within the Commonwealth and applied various external pressures in order to alter its political system, which only alienated the Polish nobility and further demoralized the broader society, relegated to watching the corrupt, but unsuccessful at all levels establishment. The Commonwealth military lacked talented commanders and lost its will to fight for a cause, even though during the Northern War it could be up to 50,000 men strong (in addition to the Saxon army of 30,000). After 1717, the radically reduced Polish army had become a neglected rump of its former self. The Commonwealth diplomacy likewise fell into obscurity, in spite of the extensive resident European diplomatic service maintained by Augustus II and staffed mostly by Saxons. The Commonwealth had become a passive participant of European politics, which contrasted with the activist, but unconcerned in this respect Saxon court.^[55]

At the outset of his reign Augustus II arrived at an understanding with Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg, which allowed the Hohenzollern ruler to take over Elbing (Elbląg) in 1698. The strong negative reaction in the Commonwealth provided one more opportunity for attacking the former Prussian vassal, which might have been Augustus' objective. But the matter was resolved through negotiations and Frederick's withdrawal from the city in 1700, only to be followed by partial reoccupation of the area in 1703.^[56][57]

Charles defeated the Saxon army at a

The majority of the Polish nobility opposed the Warsaw Confederation and considered Leszczyński's election illegal. The predominant pro-Augustus party convened the Sandomierz Confederation in May 1704 under Stanisław Denhoff as marshal, declaring their intent to defend the King and the integrity of the state and seeking the Tsardom's protection. Accordingly, the Treaty of Narva was concluded on August 30, 1704 in the recently won by the Russians Narva, with the purpose of facilitating a common front against Sweden, giving Russia the right to fight Swedish armies on the Commonwealth's territory. The Commonwealth was promised a (never realized) recovery of Livonia and the Tsardom obliged itself to help in suppressing the Cossack uprising of Semen Paliy in the right-bank Ukraine, but the treaty opened opportunities for Russia's future involvement in the affairs of the Commonwealth.^[57]

The developments on the military front did not however proceed as hoped for by the pro-Saxon majority. The common Russian-Saxon-Polish offensive had failed, as Charles forced the Russians to abandon

Prior to the treaty ratification, Augustus still managed to

Under the circumstances Augustus wanted to terminate his participation in the war and free himself from his dependence on Peter I, previously formalized under the

The activities of Augustus II were aimed at strengthening his royal power in the Commonwealth. Nobility's opposition to the stationing of Saxon troops in Poland, its cost and internally threatening role, led to military resistance, first attempted in 1714 and then in a more definitive way pursued in 1715, when the action unified the pro-Swedish and pro-Russian camps and Peter I's support was secured. In the fall the Crown army became organized in an anti-Saxon capacity and fighting commenced, with large scale participation not only of szlachta, but also of the oppressed by military contributions peasants. In November, the Tarnogród Confederation, with Stanisław Ledóchowski as its marshal was formed, having the goal of removing the Saxons from the Commonwealth.^[60]

The spreading movement, unable to fulfill its mission alone, requested mediation by Peter I. Augustus agreed and several months of negotiations facilitated by the Russian ambassador followed, with the fighting still intermittently taking place. Eventually Augustus asked for an intervention by Russian forces, the confederates were defeated by the Saxons at the Battle of Kowalewo, and on November 3, 1716 a treaty between the King and the Polish nobility was signed in Warsaw. The treaty was ratified by the one-day Silent Sejm of Feb. 1, 1717, so called because no debate was allowed. The outcome was a compromise arrived by the negotiating representatives of the King and of the Tarnogród Confederation, but the Tsardom's mediation and supervision marked a turning point in the Polish-Russian relations.^[60]

The Treaty of Warsaw and the Silent Sejm settled numerous contentious issues and resulted in limited reform of the state, encompassing a part of what was demanded by the more enlightened szlachta political publicists (Stanisław Szczuka, Stanisław Dunin-Karwicki). Poland-Saxony relationship was strictly limited to a personal union. Saxon ministers were barred from ruling on matters concerning the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The King was to be able to keep only 1200 personal guard Saxon soldiers and was not allowed to reside in Saxony for prolonged periods.^[60]

The Commonwealth military force was practically limited to 18,000 soldiers, but was secured by permanent taxing arrangements. The state budget, while enlarged, was set at only a fraction of that of Russia or Prussia.

The reversals suffered by Poland and Saxony in the course of the Great Northern War reflected a new configuration of forces in Europe and were of lasting nature, of which the contemporaries were not immediately aware. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and George I of Great Britain worked out an alliance with Augustus II in Vienna in 1719, aimed at checking the expansion of imperial Russia, but requiring participation of the Commonwealth. Peter I, however, cooperated with the Commonwealth by withdrawing his forces that same year and accordingly the Sejm would not ratify the treaty. Augustus was still able to largely free himself from Peter's protectorate, but in return was excluded from the Treaty of Nystad negotiations, which concluded the war in 1721. Russia took Livonia and the Commonwealth no longer shared a border with Sweden. In real terms, Poland, besides Sweden, was the main victim of the war, because of the damage inflicted on its population, economy, degree of independence, ability to function politically and potential for self-defense.^[60]

Later Wettin rule, Polish Succession War, magnate factions

The last fifteen years of the rule of Augustus II the Strong was characterized by the continuation of magnate factions' private pursuits, but also by the arrival of long-awaited peace and the formation of the Commonwealth's reformist camp. Augustus II, after 1717 having his most ambitious or extreme undertakings curtailed, concentrated on ensuring the Polish succession for his son

In the Commonwealth Augustus was frustrated by the dogged opposition of the Crown Hetman Adam Sieniawski and Lithuanian Hetman Ludwik Pociej, who fought the royal court, themselves protected by Tsar Peter. They broke successive parliamentary sessions and by 1724 forced the King to remove his trusted minister, Jacob Heinrich von Flemming, from the command of a key military formation.^[61]

At this point Augustus was able to use the

The Potockis camp attempted to counteract the rise of the Familia and united the majority of historically most outstanding families, including the Lithuanian clans of the

A large majority of the Polish nobility, in a rare show of unity, elected Leszczyński on September 12, 1733. The former king however lacked strong support even from France and had to sneak into Warsaw in disguise.^[61]

The Saxon court in the meantime was able to arrive at an understanding with

Frederick Augustus' army entered the Commonwealth and took Kraków, where his crowning took place in January 1734. Stanisław Leszczyński went to Danzig, where he waited in vain for serious help from France. The city itself supported him, and surrounded by the Russian and Saxon forces, put up a brave defense for four months, but when the attempted rescue by the Crown army was thwarted by the Russians, Danzig had to surrender on May 29, 1734.^[61]

Leszczyński's supporters captured there were forced to recognize Augustus, while the King himself escaped and found refuge in Prussia under the protection of Frederick William. From Königsberg Stanisław issued a manifesto in November 1734, in response to which the Dzików Confederation was set up near Tarnobrzeg, under Adam Tarło as its marshal. The confederates mustered up armed resistance, dedicated to the defense of the Commonwealth's integrity and independence, but the forces of Russia and Saxony encountered no great difficulty in eliminating their units.^[61]

France,

In the Commonwealth the situation stabilized with the

Augustus III's deteriorating health caused him eventually to give up and transfer political activity to his powerful courtiers, including Minister Heinrich von Brühl and Marshal Jerzy Mniszech. After 1754 Augustus' court supported reformist activities of the Familia, still involved in the infighting of the magnate parties. Saxon defeats in the Seven Years' War that followed caused complete political stagnation of the Dresden court and its Polish supporters camp.^[64]

The internal political fight was influenced by the early Enlightenment ideology and the awareness of the deteriorated condition of the Polish–Lithuanian state. The necessity of reforms, including urgent social issues such as economic and political empowerment of the urban classes and personal freedom for the peasantry, was being addressed in numerous written works. Stanisław Konarski embarked on an educational reform, Stanisław Poniatowski's publication (Letter of a Country Gentleman to a Certain Friend) expounded the comprehensive reform program of the Czartoryski party, including a promotion of mercantilism and economic development, before the sejm of 1744. Antoni Potocki of the competing camp likewise postulated fundamental internal reforms.^[64]

The magnate factions utilized foreign help: The Potocki group was supported by Prussia of

Significant rearrangements were taking place among the powers surrounding the Commonwealth. The now sovereign in the former Ducal Prussia Hohenzollern rulers consolidated their control of the Baltic coast areas also west of the Commonwealth's Royal Prussia and were seeking annexations of parts of Polish Pomerania, including a "Via Regia" connection between East Prussia and the western portions of the Kingdom of Prussia. While for the time being Russia prevented the realization of these plans, Frederick II directed his attention to the takeover of Silesia, a region which had been under the Bohemian and Austrian control for several centuries.^[64]

Taking advantage of the Habsburg dynastic crisis after the assumption of the throne by Maria Theresa, he invaded Silesia in 1740. The Austrians tried to recover the conquered area, but were defeated at the Battle of Mollwitz and then became preoccupied with the War of the Austrian Succession. The Treaty of Breslau and Treaty of Berlin (1742) gave Prussia the majority of the Silesian territory. Prussia became Poland's only western neighbor and the Prussian advances threatened the (thus far strong) ethnically Polish, often Protestant, Silesian populations with increased Germanization pressures. The Habsburg state had a much better record of tolerating minority cultures than the Hohenzollerns in East Prussia.^[64]

The first Silesian war was followed by the second (1744–45), terminated by the Treaty of Dresden, and the third (1756–63). Saxony participated in all three, hoping for a territorial connection with the Commonwealth. The Saxon army, allied with Prussia, was destroyed during Frederick's Olomouc campaign in 1742. For the second (when the Electorate was invaded by Prussia) and the third war Saxony switched to supporting the Habsburgs, seeking unsuccessfully to involve Poland during the sejm of 1744. The Treaty of Warsaw (1745) failed to substantially strengthen Augustus' position in the Commonwealth.^[64]

The Seven Years' War brought a demise of the Saxon army, which attacked by the Prussians capitulated at Pirna in 1756; Saxony found itself under Prussian occupation. Despite the far reaching Prussian and Russian expansionist designs, the Treaty of Hubertusburg preserved the territorial status quo in the area in 1763. While the Saxon defeats precluded a continuation (beyond Augustus III) of the Wettin personal union with the Commonwealth, the disarmed and defenseless Rzeczpospolita was ripe for more definite territorial encroachments on the part of the neighboring powers.^[64]

The union with Saxony was of beneficial economic and cultural consequences for both participating societies. The Saxons were important in the dissemination of the early Enlightenment intellectual currents in the Commonwealth. Józef Aleksander Jabłonowski, the founder of a scientific society in Leipzig, was one of the Poles active in Saxony. The personal union times were to be remembered as a period of positive Polish-German interactions.^[64]

Sarmatism era culture

Sarmatism and Counter-Reformation

In the realm of culture the 1648–1764 period was dominated by the style of Baroque, with the final decades constituting also the early Enlightenment. The middle of the 18th century was a period of transition between the two. Being a part of the nonhomogeneous European Baroque, the Commonwealth holds a unique, original position. West European elements were blended with Oriental influence and native styles and traditions, all fully combined within the broader regional Sarmatism culture.^[65]

Close

The

The Polish populace was by and large brought back into the fold of Catholicism during the first half of the 17th century, but anti-Protestant attacks continued. They most often took the form of written Catholic propaganda pamphlets and strict

The "Arian registry", established after the sect's exodus, included in reality a variety of cases under religious persecution and prosecution, such atheism or apostasy, official separation from the Church. Apostasy was banned in 1668. From 1673 only Catholics could be granted nobility or indygenat, a recognition (transfer) of foreign nobility status. In 1717, after the Northern War destruction, Protestants were not allowed to restore the structures of their congregations or build new ones. They were banned from holding state offices and removed from central parliament. The discriminatory laws were all collected in the sejm statute of 1733, after which the Commonwealth Protestants no longer enjoyed meaningful political rights. Actual cases of religion-inspired violence, such as the Thorn Tumult of 1724, were rare and considerable freedom of religious practice had prevailed. Non-nobles attracted less scrutiny and many foreign persecuted minorities were allowed to settle in the country and keep their religion. The Orthodox Church hierarchy in the Commonwealth were all forced to accept the Union in the early 18th century.^[65]

The much-reduced Protestants remained significant. They cooperated among the several denominations and appealed to the Treaty of Oliva guarantees or to foreign (Prussian, English and Dutch) protection in case of imposed restrictions. The ethnically Polish and culturally active settlement concentrations that had remained in parts of Silesia, Pomerania and Prussia had the burgher Protestant class as their leading component.^[65]

Culture of Mature Baroque

The predominance of Sarmatism and Counter-Reformation and the weak cultural development of the Commonwealth were closely related to the lowered, in comparison with the

Protestant middle schools fared somewhat better, led by the well regarded gymnasiums in Danzig and Thorn. There were accomplished Polish Protestant schools in Silesia, led by the Pietist school in Teschen and the municipal school in Breslau.^[70]

Higher education institutions remained stagnant for a prolonged period of time. Interested young members of the upper nobility or wealthy burghers went to study in Italy or other West European countries. The Jesuit Breslau Academy was established in 1702 and attracted students form the Commonwealth. The existing native institutions in Kraków, Vilnius, Zamość and Lwów taught mostly scholastic theology and philosophy.^[70]

Scientific achievements were accordingly generally modest. The one accomplished astronomer was Johannes Hevelius (1611–87) of Danzig, noted for the accurate observations of the sky with the equipment he constructed. Adam A. Kochański and Stanisław Solski were Jesuit mathematicians and astronomers; the latter one was also an engineer.^[70]

For history research the most important is the heraldry work The Polish Crown (1740) by Kasper Niesiecki, which provides a wealth of information on Polish szlachta clans.^[70]

Social and political thought produced little that was new. Its main representatives in the 17th century were Krzysztof Opaliński, Andrzej Maksymilian Fredro and Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski. They postulated limited social reform. In the early 18th century Stanisław Antoni Szczuka and Stanisław Dunin-Karwicki proposed legislative, treasury and military reforms.^[70]

Nowe Ateny (The New Athens), the first encyclopedia published by Benedykt Chmielowski in 1745–46, was not scientifically current. Of the popular agricultural handbooks the most complete was produced by Jakub Kazimierz Haur in 1675. Merkuriusz Polski Ordynaryjny of 1661, the first printed periodical, lasted for a year (41 issues).^[71] The first permanent newspaper was Kurier Polski, published from 1729 by the Piarists and then the Jesuits.^[70]

The development of literature brought many new genres and themes, with the intended substance of a work often buried within heavy

Macaronic language, Polish mingled with Latin, was frequently used in writing. The mid 18th century movement to clear Polish from the Latin admixture was led by Stanisław Konarski and Franciszek Bohomolec.^[72]

Royal court theater continued under John Casimir, John III, August II and August III. Foreign troupes were brought from Italy (Italian repertoire was the most popular), France and Germany. At least ten magnate-supported theaters functioned in Saxon times, including one at the

Music served mostly the needs of the Church and had remained under primarily Italian influence. Pipe organs were brought from abroad and constructed locally; the instrument built in 1682 in Leżajsk is of the highest quality. Many instrumental and vocal ensembles were active at various church institutions. Bartłomiej Pękiel composed polyphonic music including a cappella masses and the first in Poland cantatas. Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński wrote instrumental music of which only one sonata has survived. Secular (court bands) and folk music was also practiced and the mazurka folk dance crystallized during that period. Foreign operas and ballets were staged in Warsaw under Augustus II and Augustus III.^[72]

The finest artistic manifestation of the

The Krasiński Palace built in Warsaw in the second half of the 17th century by Tylman van Gameren is an impressive monumental structure. Afterwards, however, residential forms more convenient and intimate, while still preserving much of the former grandeur, were given preference. The Wilanów Palace of King John III is an early representative of this trend. The Rococo style was triumphant under the Wettin rulers and the present Saxon Palace in Warsaw was rebuilt by Augustus II in that manner. Numerous magnate residencies, in Warsaw and throughout the country, where the former fortifications were replaced with parks and pavilions, followed the trend.^[72]

Gentry manors were built of wood and so were many country churches. Their builders were local and interesting native styles are still represented in extant structures.^[72]

Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter was a prominent painter, one of several who worked for John III. Krzysztof Lubieniecki and Teodor Lubieniecki of the Polish Brethren, painted in the West. Szymon Czechowicz represented religious painting in the 18th century. Of particular interest is the Sarmatist portrait painting. Usually anonymous, it often faithfully conveys crucial individual characteristics of ordinary Polish nobles and magnates, even if constrained by its artistic convention. Coffin portraits are an important subcategory of this type.^[72]

Even with its civilizational influence diminished, the Commonwealth continued as a medium or conduit of cultural and diplomatic contacts between the West and the East, with the Polish culture and language being of international importance and retaining its attractiveness in a number of foreign (Tatar, Russian, Wallachian, Moldavian, German) circles and uses. This cultural attraction contributed to the Polonization in the 17th century of the majority of Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility of the Commonwealth. The ethnically non-Polish urban classes were much less affected by this process and the peasantry still less, so that the apparent cultural and linguistic uniformity of the country was largely an illusion. The ethnically Polish groups west of the Commonwealth (in Silesia and Pomerania) were often disregarded by the Polish establishment as non-nobles, and their ties with the country of their ethnic origin were getting weaker. These factors made it later difficult for Poles to find their proper place within the process of formation of modern European nations and states.^[72]

Early Enlightenment

The Enlightenment currents had been fully developed in Western Europe, especially in England and France, when its ideology and paradigms reached the Commonwealth during the last quarter-century of the union with Saxony period. Augustus II propagated France's culture, while Stanisław Leszczyński its social and philosophical thought. Protestant burghers of Royal Prussia came early under the influence of rationalist philosophy. They and many progressive Polish Catholics followed the Saxons and accepted the moderate rationalism of Christian Wolff and were inspired by it.^[73]

The postulated by the Enlightenment thinkers social changes depended on an improved level and wider dissemination of education. The Theatines had few colleges in the Commonwealth, but theirs were the first attempts at school reform in the 1830s. In

The bishops Andrzej Stanisław Załuski and Józef Andrzej Załuski became great patrons of science. In 1747 they opened a public library in Warsaw, known as the Załuski Library, one of the largest in Europe. Józef Załuski gathered scientists and charged them with reviving and expanding the Polish scientific and other cultural achievements of the Renaissance era. Foundations were laid for the development of Polish bibliography and many publishing actions were initiated.^[73]

Konarski undertook to compile all of the

Publications and periodicals were increasing in number and served the purpose of educating and informing the public. The earliest ones were published in German and many were intended for foreign consumption, beginning with Lengnich's Polnische Bibliothek in 1718–19. Lorenz Christoph Mizler of Saxony postulated economic innovations and edited and published Poland related periodicals in German in 1753–56 (Warschauer Bibliothek, Acta Litteraria), and in Polish Nowe Wiadomości Ekonomiczne i Uczone (New information economical and learned) in 1758–61. The Polish Patriot by Teodor Bauch of Thorn and Monitor by Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski were the first "moral" periodicals, dedicated to the new ideology and ethics.^[73]

From the circle of Stanisław Leszczyński came in 1743 (dated 1733) Głos wolny wolność ubezpieczający (A free voice in defense of freedom), with a comprehensive program of political and social reform. The publication advocated personal freedom for peasants and taking steps to secure their greater economic independence. Stefan Garczyński wrote in 1750 The Anatomy of the Polish Commonwealth, where he strongly criticized the social and economic plight of the lower classes and promoted economic policies based on mercantilism.^[73]

Of special importance were the writings of Stanisław Konarski. Beyond school reform, he fought over many years for reform of the central government and for moral renewal of the noble class, including lessening of the burdens and improving the lot of non-nobility. In his most important work

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to History of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

• Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
• History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648)
• History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764–95)
• History of Poland (1569–1795)

Notes

a.

Treaty of Pereyaslav though of all of Ukraine as rightfully belonging under the Tsardom's rule; and by Ukrainians, who fought for a country of their own

.

b.^{^} Because of the (completed by the first half of the 18th century) Polonization of Ruthenian aristocracy, the Ukrainian people became depraved of their national elites. The noble clans saw their position initially as being allied with the Polish state, but in time assumed its fundamental membership attributes. Ukrainian intellectual elites were restored only during the later part of the 19th century.^[75]

c.

Bratslav Voivodeship deliberated in the majority Ruthenian language, despite the increasing proportion of the Polish and Lithuanian szlachta settled there. Among the one hundred researched Ruthenian noble families from the region, most were opposed to the Union of Brest and almost all fought under Bohdan Khmelnytsky's command.^[6]

d.^{^} The extreme deterioration of the condition of the Polish and Ruthenian serfs caused the degeneration of their status into a form of slavery, referred to in Polish historiography as wtórna pańszczyzna or wtórne poddaństwo [secondary serfdom]. Peasants were basically free people, capable of upward mobility, until the 15th century. After the early modern precipitous decline, significant improvements in the lives of this large majority of the country's population took place only in the middle and later 19th century, in partitioned Poland.^[76]

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48. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 244–248
49. ^ Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Rzeczpospolita w dobie złotej wolności (1648–1763) (The Commonwealth in the era of golden liberty (1648–1763)), pp. 183–184
50. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 248–252
51. ^ Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Rzeczpospolita w dobie złotej wolności (1648–1763) (The Commonwealth in the era of golden liberty (1648–1763)), pp. 109–110
52. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 252–258
53. ^ Anita J. Prażmowska – A History of Poland, p. 114
54. ^ Anita J. Prażmowska – A History of Poland, p. 117
55. ^ ^{a b c} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 258–261
56. ^ Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Rzeczpospolita w dobie złotej wolności (1648–1763) (The Commonwealth in the era of golden liberty (1648–1763)), pp. 238–239
57. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 261–266
58. ^ Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Rzeczpospolita w dobie złotej wolności (1648–1763) (The Commonwealth in the era of golden liberty (1648–1763)), p. 267
59. ^ Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Rzeczpospolita w dobie złotej wolności (1648–1763) (The Commonwealth in the era of golden liberty (1648–1763)), p. 273
60. ^ ^{a b c d e} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 266–270
61. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 270–275
62. ISBN 0-521-44229-X
63. OCLC 626738
64. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 275–280
65. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 281–287
66. ^ Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Rzeczpospolita w dobie złotej wolności (1648–1763) (The Commonwealth in the era of golden liberty (1648–1763)), pp. 191–192
67. ^ Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Rzeczpospolita w dobie złotej wolności (1648–1763) (The Commonwealth in the era of golden liberty (1648–1763)), p. 192
68. ^ Norman Davies, Europe: A History, p. 581
69. ISBN 83-7212-020-X
    .
70. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 287–290
71. ^ Kalendarium dziejów Polski (Chronology of Polish History), ed. Andrzej Chwalba, p. 138, Jakub Basista
72. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 290–297
73. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Józef Andrzej Gierowski – Historia Polski 1505–1764 (History of Poland 1505–1764), pp. 297–301
74. ISBN 83-86328-60-6
    , p. 448
75. ^ Demokracji szlacheckiej nie było (There was no democracy of nobles), Jarosław Kurski's interview with Daniel Beauvois, Ornatowski genealogy www.ornatowski.com 27-01-2006
76. ^ Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper wyborcza.pl 2012-08-22, Arkadiusz Pacholski, Jak Polak zhańbił Polaka, czyli niewolnictwo po polsku [How a Pole shamed a Pole, or slavery in Polish]

Further reading

Main article: Bibliography of the history of Poland