POLAND-LITHUANIA (DUAL KINGDOM)

• The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania joined together in a series of acts

• Beginning in 1385 with the marriage of Polish queen Hedwig and Lithuania's Grand Duke Jogaila (who became Wladyslaw II Jagiello of Poland)

• The "Republic of Two Nations" was formally joined together in 1569 in the Union of Lublin

• Becoming the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

• With its capital at Warsaw

• In 1791, the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania were abolished

• Creating the Polish Commonwealth in their place.

• By then, Poland had already experienced its First Partition (1772)

• The Second Partition in 1793 greatly reduced the size of the nation.

• Poland disappeared altogether in the Third Partition in 1795.

POLAND-LITHUANIA AS A MAJOR POWER (16th and 17th c.)

• Russia going through Time of Troubles (1584-1613)

• Poles had captured Moscow for a few years (until 1613)

• Religion

• Primarily Catholic

• Protestants and Jews persecuted.

WEAKNESSES

Geography

• Large area between Russia and Germany

• No natural, protective boundaries

Competition between monarchy and nobility

• King

• King Sigismund II died in 1572

• Ending long-ruling Jagellon dynasty

• Nobles made sure tht no strong king would ascend throne.

• King had no army, law courts, officials or income

• King was elected by nobles

• Nobles (szlachta)

• Cosmopolitan, cultured and educated

• Paid no taxes

• Some had their own armies and foreign policy

• Jealously maintained their power and independence

• In order to prevent absolutism, elections were held

• People too split to accept any Polish king.

Ineffective Diet

• The Diet was the bicameral legislative body (or sejm)

• Established by the Union of Lublin in 1569.

• The king could not pass laws without the approval of the sejm.

• Monopolized by nobles.

• Required unanimous vote to pass any measure.

• Every member held veto power - the right to "explode" the diet.

• Called Liberum veto -- "free veto"

• Made it almost impossible to pass any legislation

Heterogeneous population

• Ethnic and religious differences

• Lithuania, Duchy of Prussia, Ukraine

• No national language

• Very small middle class

• Townspeople were largely Germans and Jews

• Jews

• Once thriving Jewish population pushed out of homes to live in ghettos.

• Pogroms (organized persecution) targeted Jews 1648-1658.

Economy

• Late Middle Ages, overland commerce between Black and Baltic seas flowed across Poland

• But shifting commercial routes and centers to west in 16th c. bypassed Poland.

• Nobles were fearful of alliance between merchants and the king

• So penalized merchants by passing legislation to restrict trade.

• Vast majority of Polish people remained serfs on noble lands.

PARTITION OF POLAND

First Partition 1772

• Catherine the Great (Russia)

• Secured election of her former lover, Stanislas Poniatowski, as king of Poland in 1763

• Prussians under Frederick the Great

• Wanted to prevent Russians from taking control of Poland

• Arranged first partition in 1772.

• Division

• Prussia got West Prussia uniting Prussian-ruled East Prussia with Brandenburg.

• Consolidated Hohenzolern domains.

• Russia got large part of Byelorussia (White Russia)

• Austrians took province of Galicia.

Second Partition 1793

• Russia got most of Lithuania and western Ukraine

• Prussia took area around seaport of Danzig

Third Partition 1794

• Polish national revolt broke out led by Thaddeus Kosciuszko

• In response, Prussia, Austria, Russia carried out Third Partition.

• Poland ceased to exist as independent state

• Division

• Prussia took area around Warsaw

• Austria gained Krakow region.

• Russians took what remained of Lithuania and the Ukraine.