Polish–Swedish union

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Polish-Swedish Union
)

Polish–Swedish union
Svensk-polska unionen (
Latin
)
1592–1599
Motto: "Pro iure et populo"
"Cor regis in manu Domini"
"Coelitus sublima dantur"
Parliamentary elective monarchy
Monarch 
• 1592–1599
Sigismund III Vasa
Legislature
Senate
Chamber of Deputies
Historical eraEarly modern period
17 November 1592
18 May 1595
30 September 1595
February 1598
24 July 1599
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611)
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611)

The Polish–Swedish union was a short-lived

King of Sweden following the death of his father John III. The union ended following a civil war in Sweden in which he lost the crown to his uncle, who eventually became Charles IX. Sigismund afterwards returned to Warsaw and pursued a war against his former realm
.

History

Prelude

After the death of John III, his son

Anna of Habsburg
, and other followers, departed for Sweden.

In Sweden, he encountered a serious problem due to his religion, as Sigismund was a devoted

religious freedom
to the Protestants, and forbade the Catholics from public demonstrations of their faith and from holding high offices.

Union

The agreement of 19 February seemed to have calmed the situation; Sigismund was crowned in the

Kingdom of Sweden was now in a personal union with Poland–Lithuania. In July, Sigismund left Sweden in the hands of the regency council and returned to Poland. Sweden was to be ruled jointly by the Privy Council of Sweden
and Sigismund's uncle Duke Charles.

Sigismund, however, reneged on his earlier promises, opening Catholic schools, and giving Catholics prominent posts. Charles in turn did not give up on acquiring the Swedish throne and pursued his own political agenda. On 18 May 1595 he signed a

Protestants and most of lower classes, he was opposed by most of the nobility, Catholics, the area constituting modern Finland, and most of the population of Stockholm. Sweden was now on the verge of civil war
.

Duke Charles sought to end the conflict by military means, but gained little support within the Privy Council. The new Riksdag he summoned at

peasants
for his army, and isolating Sigismund's followers.

In 1598, the Sejm gave Sigismund the go-ahead to wage a military campaign against his opponents in Sweden; however it refused to give him significant support. Sigismund's army was composed mostly of

mercenaries (Germans and Hungarians), supported by a relatively small Polish force (although with some artillery
).

senators, in an event known as the Linköping Bloodbath
(Linköpings blodbad).

Aftermath

Sigismund, who was allowed to return to Poland, did not relinquish his desire to regain the throne of Sweden. This attitude led to a series of

John II Casimir of Poland, with the giant Swedish invasion of Poland known as the Deluge
.

Geography

At the time of the union, the coastline of Poland stretched from Pomerania in the southwest to Pärnu in the northeast (modern-day Estonia). The Swedish coastline stretched from Brömsebro in the west, around the northern part of the Baltic, down to Pärnu. Thus the time of the Polish–Swedish union was unique in that the Baltic Sea effectively became an internal sea of this superstate.

See also

References

  • LCCN 97025197
    .
  • Stone, Daniel (2001). The Polish–Lithuanian State, 1386–1795. Seattle:
    LCCN 00051179
    .