Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy was the navy of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
History
The Commonwealth Navy was small and played a relatively minor role in the history of the Commonwealth.[1] Despite having access to the Baltic Sea and temporarily to the Black Sea, neither Poland nor Lithuania had any significant navy until the first naval commission was established by Sigismund II Augustus during the Northern Seven Years' War in 1568.
Sigismund III Vasa's plans for fleet creation
At the turn of the seventeenth century, Poland became ruled by the
The plans for the independent fleet fell through shortly afterwards due to a badly executed alliance with the
The Commission of Royal Ships (Komisja Okrętów Królewskich) was created in 1625. This commission, along with the ultimate allocation of funds by the
The 58th article signed and sworn by king
Despite his attempts he did not recover ships taken by Swedes in Wismar and Travemuende. Władysław decided to build a new fleet and created a "Naval Commission" with
Thus the new 'Polish fleet' consisted of 10 ex-merchant ships: "Czarny Orzeł" (Black Eagle – 420 tons, 32 cannons), "Prorok Samuel" (Prophet Samuel – 400 tons, 24 cannons), "Wielkie Słońce" (Great Sun – 540 tons, 24 cannons), "Nowy Czarny Orzeł" (New Black Eagle – 24 cannons). Four smaller ships "Biały Orzeł" (White Eagle), "Charitas", "Gwiazda" (Star) and "Strzelec" (Saggitarius) had 200 tons and two the smallest "Święty Piotr" (Saint Peter) or "Fortuna" (Fortune) 160 tons and "Mały Biały Orzeł" (Small White Eagle) 140 tons and 4 small caliber cannons and additionally one small galley. Command of the newly created fleet was given to rear admiral Aleksander Seton.
The King did not forget to ensure a safe base for the newly created fleet. The Harbor in Puck was too shallow for the biggest ships and the usage of Wisłoujście (a
Additionally about 500
The king's plan never had strong support from Polish nobles (
The Swedes were without king after the death of
Commonwealth fleet after 1630s
The fleet was destroyed in 1637 by Denmark, without a declaration of war.[5]
The remaining ships were sold in the years 1641–1643, which marked the end of the Commonwealth Navy.[1]
- Rycerz Święty Jerzy ("Knight St George") – galleon, 31 guns, 400t under the command of Johann Storch
- Latający Jeleń ("Flying Deer") – galleon, 20 guns, 300t under the command of Ellert Appelman
- Panna Wodna ("Sea Virgo") – 12 guns, 160t under the command of Adolf von Arzen
- Czarny Kruk ("Black Raven") – 16 guns, 260t under the command of Alexander Bley
- Żółty Lew ("Yellow Lion") – 10 guns, 120t under the command of Hans Kizer
- Wodnik ("Aquarius") – galleon, 17 guns, 200t under the command of Hermann Witte
- Jakub Mora)
- Arka Noego ("Noah's Ark") – 16 guns, 180t under the command of Magnus Wesman
- Biały Lew ("White Lion") – 8 guns, 200t under the command of Peter Böse
- Płomień ("Fireblaze") – 18 guns, 240t
See also
- Polish Navy
- Lithuanian Navy
Notes and references
- ^ a b c d e f Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego. Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1987, p.231
- ^ "Gabriel de Roy | Real Academia de la Historia". dbe.rah.es. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
- ^ a b Wallenstein, Vasa Dynasty and Spanish-Polish Fleet in the Baltic Sea, 1628-1632. Karel Staněk, Michal Wanner. 2018 (in Spanish).
- ^ Some sources state that the Cossacks were used; others, that they didn't arrive before the armistice.
- ISBN 978-0-521-27889-8. Retrieved 7 June 2011.