Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

<h2 id="name">Name</h2>
The official name of the state was the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Królestwo Polskie i Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie, <a href="/facts/Latin_language/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>: Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae). The Latin term was usually employed in international treaties and diplomacy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:35" href="#fn:35">35</a> By concluding the 1569 Union of Lublin the <a href="/facts/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania/9czbKcfs">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a> remained a separate state from the <a href="/facts/Crown_of_the_Kingdom_of_Poland/oDvfPXaI">Crown of the Kingdom of Poland</a> with its own name, laws, and territory.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:36" href="#fn:36">36</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:37" href="#fn:37">37</a> The name 'Commonwealth of Two Nations' (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów) came into force during the reign of <a href="/facts/Stephen_B%25C3%25A1thory/kVe7fB78">Stephen Báthory</a> (since 1582, and was officially used until 1795).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:38" href="#fn:38">38</a> On 28 January 1588, <a href="/facts/Sigismund_III_Vasa/lBFXL8m8">Sigismund III Vasa</a> confirmed the <a href="/facts/Statutes_of_Lithuania/sLQVpdkt">Third Statute of Lithuania</a> in which it was stated that the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth is a <a href="/facts/Federation/R846sufb">federation</a> of two countries – Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland where both countries have equal rights within it.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:39" href="#fn:39">39</a>
In the 17th century and later it was also known as the 'Most Serene Commonwealth of Poland' (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Najjaśniejsza <a href="/facts/Rzeczpospolita/dv9HktRM">Rzeczpospolita</a> Polska, <a href="/facts/Latin_language/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:40" href="#fn:40">40</a> the Commonwealth of the Polish Kingdom,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:41" href="#fn:41">41</a> or the Commonwealth of Poland.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:42" href="#fn:42">42</a>
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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:43" href="#fn:43">43</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:44" href="#fn:44">44</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:45" href="#fn:45">45</a> The terms 'Commonwealth of Poland' and 'Commonwealth of Two Nations' (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów, <a href="/facts/Latin_language/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>: Res Publica Utriusque Nationis) were used in the <a href="/facts/Reciprocal_Guarantee_of_Two_Nations/s3kLTKjz">Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations</a> (1791).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:46" href="#fn:46">46</a> In the <a href="/facts/Preamble/qll70z3Y">preamble</a> of the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations (1791) the dualistic nature of the state was confirmed and separate monarchial titles of <a href="/facts/Stanis%25C5%2582aw_August_Poniatowski/mnFY9pwY">Stanisław August Poniatowski</a> were included: King of Poland (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Krol Polski) and Grand Duke of Lithuania (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Wielki xiązę litewski), also the land envoys of the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: posłów ziemskich Korony Polskiey, y Wielkiego Xięstwa Litewskiego) were mentioned.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:47" href="#fn:47">47</a> The English term Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and German Polen–Litauen are seen as renderings of the 'Commonwealth of Two Nations' variant.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:48" href="#fn:48">48</a>
Other informal names include the 'Republic of Nobles' (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Rzeczpospolita szlachecka) and the 'First Polish Republic' (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: I Rzeczpospolita), the latter relatively common in historiography to distinguish it from the <a href="/facts/Second_Polish_Republic/YEYGMvn9">Second Polish Republic</a>. In Lithuania, the state is referred to as 'Republic of Both Nations' (<a href="/facts/Lithuanian_language/p0bS9M0R">Lithuanian</a>: Abiejų Tautų Respublika).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:49" href="#fn:49">49</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:50" href="#fn:50">50</a>

<h2 id="history">History</h2>
Main articles: <a href="/facts/History_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1569%25E2%2580%25931648)/ahSIdNvn">History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648)</a>, <a href="/facts/History_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1648%25E2%2580%25931764)/qbBeLtMx">(1648–1764)</a>, and <a href="/facts/History_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1764%25E2%2580%25931795)/4UFCSnpS">(1764–1795)</a>
<h3>Prelude (1370–1569)</h3>

The <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Poland/xwYbgG7x">Kingdom of Poland</a> and the <a href="/facts/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania/9czbKcfs">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a> underwent an alternating series of wars and alliances across the 13th and 14th centuries.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:51" href="#fn:51">51</a> The relations between the two states differed at times as each strived and competed for political, economic or military dominance of the region.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:52" href="#fn:52">52</a> In turn, Poland had remained a staunch ally of its southern neighbour, <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Hungary/91tLqn81">Hungary</a>. The last Polish monarch from the native <a href="/facts/Piast_dynasty/tA6n23Ku">Piast</a> dynasty, <a href="/facts/Casimir_the_Great/bxF1ALTK">Casimir the Great</a>, died on 5 November 1370 without fathering a legitimate male heir.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:53" href="#fn:53">53</a> Consequently, the crown passed onto his Hungarian nephew, <a href="/facts/Louis_I_of_Hungary/GfRqnDSo">Louis of Anjou</a>, who ruled the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Hungary/91tLqn81">Kingdom of Hungary</a> in a <a href="/facts/Union_of_Hungary_and_Poland/y2KcyMLF">personal union with Poland</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:54" href="#fn:54">54</a> A fundamental step in developing extensive ties with Lithuania was a succession crisis arising in the 1380s.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:55" href="#fn:55">55</a> Louis died on 10 September 1382 and, like his uncle, did not produce a son to succeed him. His two daughters, <a href="/facts/Mary%2c_Queen_of_Hungary/vgNNakjn">Mary</a> and <a href="/facts/Jadwiga_of_Poland/0YU6C89P">Jadwiga</a> (Hedwig), held claims to the vast dual realm.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:56" href="#fn:56">56</a>
The Polish lords rejected Mary in favour of her younger sister Jadwiga, partly due to Mary's association with <a href="/facts/Sigismund%2c_Holy_Roman_Emperor/loG9hn3o">Sigismund of Luxembourg</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:57" href="#fn:57">57</a> The future <a href="/facts/Queen_regnant/LKL3KQdf">queen regnant</a> was betrothed to young <a href="/facts/William%2c_Duke_of_Austria/F9Yec2qv">William Habsburg, Duke of Austria</a>, but certain factions of the nobility remained apprehensive believing that William would not secure domestic interests.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:58" href="#fn:58">58</a> Instead, they turned to <a href="/facts/Jogaila/D0wzcRK6">Jogaila</a>, the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Jogaila was a lifelong <a href="/facts/Paganism/JaWTHBtJ">pagan</a> and vowed to <a href="/facts/Baptism/wEY6gtGA">adopt Catholicism</a> upon marriage by signing the <a href="/facts/Union_of_Krewo/IbEG1fqF">Union of Krewo</a> on 14 August 1385.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:59" href="#fn:59">59</a> The Act imposed Christianity in Lithuania and transformed Poland into a <a href="/facts/Diarchy/jJ66pMgN">diarchy</a>, a kingdom ruled over by two sovereigns; their descendants and successive monarchs held the titles of king and grand duke respectively.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:60" href="#fn:60">60</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:61" href="#fn:61">61</a> Jogaila was crowned as Władysław II Jagiełło at <a href="/facts/Wawel_Cathedral/E1MqRHEQ">Wawel Cathedral</a> on 4 March 1386.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:62" href="#fn:62">62</a>

<h3>Union of Lublin (1569)</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Union_of_Lublin/mvur9WtP">Union of Lublin</a>

Several minor agreements were struck before unification, notably the <a href="/facts/Union_of_Krak%25C3%25B3w_and_Vilnius/EAFmEdrQ">Union of Kraków and Vilnius</a>, the <a href="/facts/Union_of_Vilnius_and_Radom/MJSxjqQB">Union of Vilnius and Radom</a> and the <a href="/facts/Union_of_Grodno_(1432)/4j14v8o4">Union of Grodno</a>. Lithuania's vulnerable position and rising tensions on its eastern flank persuaded the nobles to seek a closer bond with Poland.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:63" href="#fn:63">63</a> The idea of a federation presented better economic opportunities, whilst securing Lithuania's borders from hostile states to the north, south and east.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:64" href="#fn:64">64</a> Lesser Lithuanian nobility were eager to share the personal privileges and political liberties enjoyed by the Polish <a href="/facts/Szlachta/u5dCoYbX">szlachta</a>, but did not accept Polish demands for the incorporation of the Grand Duchy into Poland as a mere province, with no sense of autonomy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:65" href="#fn:65">65</a> <a href="/facts/Miko%25C5%2582aj_%2522the_Red%2522_Radziwi%25C5%2582%25C5%2582/QbvcqUL1">Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł</a> (Radvila Rudasis) and his cousin <a href="/facts/Miko%25C5%2582aj_%2522the_Black%2522_Radziwi%25C5%2582%25C5%2582/pNNPbT5w">Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł</a>, two prominent nobles and military commanders in Lithuania, vocally opposed the union.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:66" href="#fn:66">66</a>
A fierce proponent of a single unified Commonwealth was <a href="/facts/Sigismund_II_Augustus/zhCVhmkJ">Sigismund II Augustus</a>, who was childless and ailing. According to historians, it was his active involvement which hastened the process and made the union possible.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:67" href="#fn:67">67</a> A parliament (<a href="/facts/Sejm/994fTSgW">sejm</a>) convened on 10 January 1569 in the city of <a href="/facts/Lublin/MIuLH9pa">Lublin</a>, 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:68" href="#fn:68">68</a> No independent parliamentary convocation or <a href="/facts/Diet_(assembly)/Q9kXgytB">diet</a> was henceforth permitted.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:69" href="#fn:69">69</a> Subjects of the Polish Crown were no longer restricted in purchasing land on Lithuanian territory and a single <a href="/facts/Currency/g5GPGfTe">currency</a> was established.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:70" href="#fn:70">70</a> Whilst the military remained separate, a unified foreign policy meant that Lithuanian troops were obliged to contribute during a conflict not to their advantage.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:71" href="#fn:71">71</a> As a result, several Lithuanian <a href="/facts/Magnate/aMKIqrmB">magnates</a> deplored the accords and left the assembly in protest.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:72" href="#fn:72">72</a> Sigismund II used his authority as grand duke and enforced the Act of Union <a href="/facts/Contumacy/komXeE0Q">in contumaciam</a>. In fear, the absent nobles promptly returned to the negotiations.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:73" href="#fn:73">73</a> The <a href="/facts/Union_of_Lublin/mvur9WtP">Union of Lublin</a> was passed by the gathered deputies and signed by attendees on 1 July, thus creating the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:74" href="#fn:74">74</a>
Sigismund's death in 1572 was followed by an <a href="/facts/Interregnum/Hzvwhu8Q">interregnum</a> during which adjustments were made to the constitutional system; these adjustments significantly increased the power of the <a href="/facts/Szlachta/u5dCoYbX">Polish nobility</a> and established a truly <a href="/facts/Elective_monarchy/QbmeAjck">elective monarchy</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:75" href="#fn:75">75</a>

<h3>Apex and the Golden Age (1573–1648)</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Polish_Golden_Age/UUfc3rhj">Polish Golden Age</a>

On 11 May 1573, <a href="/facts/Henry_III_of_France/AR5xkFLv">Henry de Valois</a>, son of <a href="/facts/Henry_II_of_France/ceVVB9Ll">Henry II of France</a> and <a href="/facts/Catherine_de%2527_Medici/rVVuaIcu">Catherine de' Medici</a>, was proclaimed King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in the first royal election outside <a href="/facts/Warsaw/0cRqN3pw">Warsaw</a>. Approximately 40,000 nobles cast a vote in what was to become a centuries-long tradition of a nobles' democracy (<a href="/facts/Golden_Liberty/oxxP6MdR">Golden Liberty</a>). 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 <a href="/facts/Habsburg/0ttzWDwA">Habsburg</a> hegemony, ending skirmishes with the French-allied <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottomans</a>, and profiting from the lucrative trade with France. It was also believed that an Austrian Archduke could be too powerful and attempt to limit noble privileges. French envoys had also offered large amounts of bribes, amounting to several hundred thousand <a href="/facts/%25C3%2589cu/vGouNYpb">ecus</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:76" href="#fn:76">76</a> Upon ascending the throne, Henry signed the contractual agreement known as the <a href="/facts/Pacta_conventa/jJbkF9K9">Pacta conventa</a> and approbated the <a href="/facts/Henrician_Articles/xqhNpvDq">Henrician Articles</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:77" href="#fn:77">77</a> The Act stated the fundamental principles of governance and <a href="/facts/Constitutional_law/zygegD9G">constitutional law</a> in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:78" href="#fn:78">78</a> In June 1574, Henry abandoned Poland and headed back to claim the French crown following the death of his brother and predecessor, <a href="/facts/Charles_IX_of_France/5aTPABkd">Charles IX</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:79" href="#fn:79">79</a> The throne was subsequently declared vacant.
The interregnum concluded on 12 December 1575 when primate <a href="/facts/Jakub_Ucha%25C5%2584ski/loGqQhMq">Jakub Uchański</a> declared <a href="/facts/Maximilian_II%2c_Holy_Roman_Emperor/vdwubGGd">Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor</a>, as the next king.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:80" href="#fn:80">80</a> The decision was condemned by the anti-Habsburg coalition, which demanded a "native" candidate, known as "Piasts".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:81" href="#fn:81">81</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:82" href="#fn:82">82</a> As a compromise, on 13 December 1575 <a href="/facts/Anna_Jagiellon/MYGHYclh">Anna Jagiellon</a> – sister of Sigismund Augustus and a member of the <a href="/facts/Jagiellonian_dynasty/bQStmRdE">Jagiellonian dynasty</a> – became the new monarch.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:83" href="#fn:83">83</a> The nobles simultaneously elected <a href="/facts/Stephen_B%25C3%25A1thory/kVe7fB78">Stephen Báthory</a> as co-regent, who ruled <a href="/facts/Jure_uxoris/1LSd13Gm">jure uxoris</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:84" href="#fn:84">84</a> Báthory's election proved controversial – Lithuania and <a href="/facts/Ducal_Prussia/Aop3q6Mh">Ducal Prussia</a> initially refused to recognise the Transylvanian as their ruler.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:85" href="#fn:85">85</a> <a href="/facts/Piotr_Zborowski/LKbAgcFS">Piotr Zborowski</a> supported Bathory as he wanted to promote a princely or ducal candidate. He also endorsed the <a href="/facts/Duke_of_Ferrara/trKNonwU">Duke of Ferrara</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:86" href="#fn:86">86</a> The wealthy port city of <a href="/facts/Gda%25C5%2584sk/a6VNPK28">Gdańsk</a> (Danzig) staged a <a href="/facts/Danzig_rebellion/U15aXJjB">revolt</a>, and, with the help of <a href="/facts/Denmark/KVtykzsw">Denmark</a>, blockaded maritime trade to neutral <a href="/facts/Elbl%25C4%2585g/Qfv06nSU">Elbląg</a> (Elbing).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:87" href="#fn:87">87</a> Báthory, unable to penetrate the city's extensive fortifications, succumbed to the demands for greater privileges and freedoms.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:88" href="#fn:88">88</a> However, his successful <a href="/facts/Livonian_War/tXFSVHIN">Livonian campaign</a> ended in the annexation of <a href="/facts/Livonia/GV0Kd6qw">Livonia</a> and the <a href="/facts/Duchy_of_Courland_and_Semigallia/499Psc1K">Duchy of Courland and Semigallia</a> (modern-day <a href="/facts/Estonia/PVjB16TI">Estonia</a> and <a href="/facts/Latvia/y2PSa8lx">Latvia</a>, respectively), thus expanding the Commonwealth's influence into the <a href="/facts/Baltic_states/s48uxWb6">Baltics</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:89" href="#fn:89">89</a> Most importantly, Poland gained the <a href="/facts/Hanseatic_League/oA756xvs">Hanseatic</a> city of <a href="/facts/Riga/PCWbJn2h">Riga</a> on the <a href="/facts/Baltic_Sea/jbQJGLQX">Baltic Sea</a>.

In 1587, <a href="/facts/Sigismund_Vasa/lBFXL8m8">Sigismund Vasa</a> – the son of <a href="/facts/John_III_of_Sweden/eb0MC7sY">John III of Sweden</a> and <a href="/facts/Catherine_Jagiellon/Mr8CavFf">Catherine Jagiellon</a> – won the election, but his claim was overtly contested by <a href="/facts/Maximilian_III_of_Austria/j7orn2yt">Maximilian III of Austria</a>, who launched a <a href="/facts/War_of_the_Polish_Succession_(1587%25E2%2580%259388)/epPSlxjg">military expedition</a> to challenge the new king.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:90" href="#fn:90">90</a> His <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Byczyna/eS8rxUJf">defeat</a> in 1588 at the hands of <a href="/facts/Jan_Zamoyski/nUnBFBKc">Jan Zamoyski</a> sealed Sigismund's right to the throne of Poland and Sweden.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:91" href="#fn:91">91</a> Sigismund's long reign marked an end to the <a href="/facts/Polish_Golden_Age/UUfc3rhj">Polish Golden Age</a> and the beginning of the Silver Age.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:92" href="#fn:92">92</a> A devout Catholic, he hoped to restore <a href="/facts/Absolute_monarchy/bw15yYtX">absolutism</a> and imposed <a href="/facts/Catholic_Church/rJ4F4gqH">Roman Catholicism</a> during the height of the <a href="/facts/Counter-Reformation/NLk0bSr6">Counter-Reformation</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:93" href="#fn:93">93</a> His intolerance towards the <a href="/facts/Protestants/NXja4K3g">Protestants</a> in Sweden sparked a <a href="/facts/War_against_Sigismund/fGbEmNB2">war of independence</a>, which ended the <a href="/facts/Polish%25E2%2580%2593Swedish_union/ERvUjRMr">Polish–Swedish union</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:94" href="#fn:94">94</a> As a consequence, he was deposed in Sweden by his uncle <a href="/facts/Charles_IX_Vasa/hY8ft8fh">Charles IX Vasa</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:95" href="#fn:95">95</a> In Poland, the <a href="/facts/Zebrzydowski_rebellion/AbpWI9KH">Zebrzydowski rebellion</a> was brutally suppressed.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:96" href="#fn:96">96</a>
Sigismund III then initiated a policy of <a href="/facts/Expansionism/JvkIGCpg">expansionism</a>, and <a href="/facts/Polish%25E2%2580%2593Russian_War_(1609%25E2%2580%25931618)/94AvKrG1">invaded Russia</a> in 1609 when that country was plagued by a civil war known as the <a href="/facts/Time_of_Troubles/Fsy8WErd">Time of Troubles</a>. In July 1610, the outnumbered Polish force comprising <a href="/facts/Polish_hussars/exqYj0dY">winged hussars</a> defeated the Russians at the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Klushino/p2dlB3PS">Battle of Klushino</a>, which enabled the Poles to take and occupy <a href="/facts/Moscow/XUU6VkdY">Moscow</a> for the next two years.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:97" href="#fn:97">97</a> The disgraced <a href="/facts/Vasili_IV_of_Russia/v8hhUQSK">Vasili IV of Russia</a> was transported in a cage to Warsaw where he paid a tribute to Sigismund; Vasili was later murdered in captivity.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:98" href="#fn:98">98</a> The Commonwealth forces were eventually driven out on 4 November 1612 (celebrated as <a href="/facts/Unity_Day_(Russia)/FL19ugJ0">Unity Day</a> in Russia). The war concluded with a <a href="/facts/Truce_of_Deulino/hM9NwKIT">truce</a> that granted Poland–Lithuania extensive territories in the east and marked its largest territorial expansion.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:99" href="#fn:99">99</a> At least five million Russians died between 1598 and 1613, the result of continuous conflict, famine and Sigismund's invasion.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:100" href="#fn:100">100</a>

The <a href="/facts/Polish%25E2%2580%2593Ottoman_War_(1620%25E2%2580%259321)/mfkm9GMl">Polish–Ottoman War (1620–21)</a> forced Poland to withdraw from <a href="/facts/Moldavia/KDqRzNHf">Moldavia</a> in southeastern Europe, but Sigismund's victory over the Turks at <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Khotyn_(1621)/YqgsHV7q">Khotyn</a> diminished the supremacy of the Sultanate and eventually led to the murder of <a href="/facts/Osman_II/bf6DyV40">Osman II</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:101" href="#fn:101">101</a> This secured the Turkish frontier for the duration of Sigismund's rule. In spite of the victories in the <a href="/facts/Polish%25E2%2580%2593Swedish_War_(1626%25E2%2580%25931629)/Juck0NRs">Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629)</a>, the exhausted Commonwealth army signed the <a href="/facts/Truce_of_Altmark/1mGftuza">Treaty of Altmark</a> which ceded much of Livonia to Sweden under <a href="/facts/Gustavus_Adolphus/BAVDerpY">Gustavus Adolphus</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:102" href="#fn:102">102</a> At the same time, the country's powerful <a href="/facts/Sejm_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/A2zqeALc">parliament</a> was dominated by nobles (Pic. 2) who were reluctant to get involved in the <a href="/facts/Thirty_Years%2527_War/7bgcxoxf">Thirty Years' War</a>; this neutrality spared the country from the ravages of a political-religious conflict that devastated most of contemporary Europe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:103" href="#fn:103">103</a>
During this period, Poland was experiencing a cultural awakening and extensive developments in arts and architecture; the first <a href="/facts/House_of_Vasa/6hGaHExz">Vasa</a> king openly sponsored foreign painters, craftsmen, musicians and engineers, who settled in the Commonwealth at his request.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:104" href="#fn:104">104</a>
Sigismund's eldest son, <a href="/facts/Ladislaus_IV_of_Poland/fN3sFHVL">Ladislaus</a> succeeded him as Władysław IV in 1632 with no major opposition.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:105" href="#fn:105">105</a> A skilled tactician, he invested in <a href="/facts/Artillery/GLpMYG9o">artillery</a>, modernised the army and fiercely defended the Commonwealth's eastern borders.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:106" href="#fn:106">106</a> Under the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Stuhmsdorf/u7NzwYp0">Treaty of Stuhmsdorf</a>, he reclaimed regions of Livonia and the Baltics which were lost during the Polish-Swedish wars.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:107" href="#fn:107">107</a> Unlike his father who worshipped the Habsburgs, Władysław sought closer ties with France and married <a href="/facts/Marie_Louise_Gonzaga/hvPlrNzr">Marie Louise Gonzaga</a>, daughter of <a href="/facts/Charles_I_Gonzaga%2c_Duke_of_Mantua/MRKko9yd">Charles I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua</a>, in 1646.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:108" href="#fn:108">108</a>

<h3>Deluge, rebellions and Vienna (1648–1696)</h3>
Main articles: <a href="/facts/Swedish_Deluge/V0bm4Ksq">Swedish Deluge</a> and <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Vienna_(1683)/6l7oUkuA">Battle of Vienna (1683)</a>

The Commonwealth's power and stability began waning after a series of blows during the following decades. Władysław's brother, <a href="/facts/John_II_Casimir/qFw92US1">John II Casimir</a>, 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.
A major rebellion of self-governed <a href="/facts/Ukrainian_Cossacks/LRJq71Ml">Ukrainian Cossacks</a> inhabiting south-eastern borderlands of the Commonwealth rioted against Polish and Catholic oppression of Orthodox <a href="/facts/Ukraine/Qof0uqAj">Ukraine</a> in 1648, in what came to be known as the <a href="/facts/Khmelnytsky_Uprising/00wh8Ct6">Khmelnytsky Uprising</a>. It resulted in a Ukrainian request, under the terms of the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Pereyaslav/MDjHBlNw">Treaty of Pereyaslav</a>, for protection by the Russian Tsar. In 1651, in the face of a growing threat from Poland, and forsaken by his Tatar allies, <a href="/facts/Bohdan_Khmelnytsky/tW1l047D">Khmelnytsky</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Jews/T9Y4wE6A">Jews</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Deluge_(history)/V0bm4Ksq">Deluge</a>, which was supported by troops of <a href="/facts/Transylvania/Gc7JtLU6">Transylvanian</a> Duke <a href="/facts/George_II_R%25C3%25A1k%25C3%25B3czi/Bsxn3uDn">George II Rákóczi</a> and <a href="/facts/Frederick_William%2c_Elector_of_Brandenburg/tI5QAtv0">Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg</a>. Under the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Bromberg/n7jBlE83">Treaty of Bromberg</a> in 1657, Catholic Poland was forced to renounce its <a href="/facts/Suzerainty/jzSCjQe4">suzerainty</a> over Protestant <a href="/facts/Prussia/fs1wEGrk">Prussia</a>; in 1701 the once-insignificant duchy was transformed into the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Prussia/x796l7vx">Kingdom of Prussia</a>, which became a major European power in the 18th century and proved to be Poland's most enduring foe.
In the late 17th century, the king of the weakened Commonwealth, <a href="/facts/John_III_Sobieski/03qG12r7">John III Sobieski</a>, allied with Holy Roman Emperor <a href="/facts/Leopold_I%2c_Holy_Roman_Emperor/4Nm0Ix63">Leopold I</a> to deal crushing defeats to the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a>. In 1683, the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Vienna/6l7oUkuA">Battle of Vienna</a> marked the final turning point in the 250-year struggle between the forces of Christian Europe and the <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islamic</a> Ottomans. For its centuries-long opposition to Muslim advances, the Commonwealth would gain the name of <a href="/facts/Antemurale_Christianitatis/lStp26rb">Antemurale Christianitatis</a> (bulwark of Christianity).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:109" href="#fn:109">109</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:110" href="#fn:110">110</a> During the next 16 years, the <a href="/facts/Great_Turkish_War/NUwD1Uf5">Great Turkish War</a> would drive the Turks permanently south of the <a href="/facts/Danube_River/8lMeM9xg">Danube River</a>, never again to threaten central Europe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:111" href="#fn:111">111</a>

<h3>Political turmoil and the enlightenment (1697–1771)</h3>
Main articles: <a href="/facts/Enlightenment_in_Poland/XFJjT44j">Enlightenment in Poland</a> and <a href="/facts/Personal_union_of_Poland_and_Saxony/PIU7Isvm">Personal union of Poland and Saxony</a>

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 <a href="/facts/Civil_war/bMhgxnxC">civil war</a> and the state became increasingly susceptible to foreign influence.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:112" href="#fn:112">112</a> The remaining European powers perpetually meddled in the country's affairs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:113" href="#fn:113">113</a> Upon the death of a king, several royal houses actively intruded in the hope of securing votes for their desired candidates.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:114" href="#fn:114">114</a> The practice was common and apparent, and the selection was often the result of hefty bribes directed at corrupt nobles.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:115" href="#fn:115">115</a> <a href="/facts/Louis_XIV_of_France/2LseeIlj">Louis XIV of France</a> heavily invested in <a href="/facts/Fran%25C3%25A7ois_Louis%2c_Prince_of_Conti/L4mDsMDX">François Louis, Prince of Conti</a>, in opposition to <a href="/facts/James_Louis_Sobieski/QKlx8YJz">James Louis Sobieski</a>, <a href="/facts/Maximilian_II_Emanuel%2c_Elector_of_Bavaria/TmI5bD67">Maximilian Emanuel of Bavaria</a> and <a href="/facts/Augustus_II_the_Strong/Ij1sXp99">Frederick Augustus of Saxony</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:116" href="#fn:116">116</a> The latter's conversion from <a href="/facts/Lutheranism/L4pMlRcS">Lutheranism</a> to Catholicism awed the conservative magnates and <a href="/facts/Pope_Innocent_XII/EFUNzx21">Pope Innocent XII</a>, who in turn voiced their endorsement.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:117" href="#fn:117">117</a> Imperial Russia and <a href="/facts/Habsburg_monarchy/ctwsV3TC">Habsburg Austria</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Royal_Saxon_Army/uxL1WRUy">his armies</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:118" href="#fn:118">118</a>
The <a href="/facts/House_of_Wettin/bhHtq7QP">House of Wettin</a> 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 (<a href="/facts/Baroque_architecture/l9QT8K91">Baroque</a>) legacy in both countries. In Poland, he expanded <a href="/facts/Wilan%25C3%25B3w_Palace/UXW9wP5I">Wilanów</a> and facilitated the refurbishment of the <a href="/facts/Royal_Castle%2c_Warsaw/0as3NIPx">Warsaw Royal Castle</a> into a modern palatial residence.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:119" href="#fn:119">119</a> Countless landmarks and monuments in the city bear a name referencing the Saxon kings, notably <a href="/facts/Saxon_Garden/qYVM4HhW">Saxon Garden</a>, <a href="/facts/Saxon_Axis/tmyeX3LP">Saxon Axis</a> and the former <a href="/facts/Saxon_Palace/ea1cqn8H">Saxon Palace</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:120" href="#fn:120">120</a> The period saw the development of urban planning, street allocation, hospitals, schools (<a href="/facts/Collegium_Nobilium_(Warsaw)/9TyXTCRb">Collegium Nobilium</a>), public parks and libraries (<a href="/facts/Za%25C5%2582uski_Library/8KyVA5we">Załuski Library</a>). First manufactories producing on a mass scale were opened to satisfy the demands of the nobility as consumers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:121" href="#fn:121">121</a>

At the height of the <a href="/facts/Great_Northern_War/YVw3GjYw">Great Northern War</a> a coalition (<a href="/facts/Warsaw_Confederation_(1704)/ou9cv2Rh">Warsaw Confederation</a>) against Augustus II was formed by <a href="/facts/Stanis%25C5%2582aw_Leszczy%25C5%2584ski/yC4RuxXt">Stanisław Leszczyński</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Klisz%25C3%25B3w/bb9DAmVG">Battle of Kliszów</a> in 1702 and at the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Pu%25C5%2582tusk_(1703)/owTjFuoM">Battle of Pułtusk</a> in 1703.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:122" href="#fn:122">122</a> Charles then succeeded in dethroning Augustus and coercing the Sejm (parliament) to replace him with Stanisław in 1704.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:123" href="#fn:123">123</a> Augustus regained the throne in 1709,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:124" href="#fn:124">124</a> but his own death in 1733 sparked the <a href="/facts/War_of_the_Polish_Succession/MyM03ngj">War of the Polish Succession</a> in which Stanisław once more attempted to seize the crown, this time with the support of France.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:125" href="#fn:125">125</a> The <a href="/facts/Pacification_Sejm_(1736)/oGbMszLh">Pacification Sejm</a> culminated in <a href="/facts/Augustus_III_of_Poland/9DvbUlEw">Augustus III</a> succeeding his father Frederick Augustus of Saxony.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:126" href="#fn:126">126</a>
The relative peace and inactivity that followed only weakened Poland's reputation on the world stage.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:127" href="#fn:127">127</a> <a href="/facts/Aleksander_Br%25C3%25BCckner/Fwktl4oA">Aleksander Brückner</a> noted that Polish customs and traditions were abandoned in favour of everything foreign, and neighbouring states continued to exploit Poland to their advantage.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:128" href="#fn:128">128</a> Moreover, Western Europe's increasing exploitation of resources in the Americas rendered the Commonwealth's supplies less crucial which resulted in financial losses.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:129" href="#fn:129">129</a> Augustus III spent little time in the Commonwealth, instead preferring the Saxon city of <a href="/facts/Dresden/nKVXxIgq">Dresden</a>. He appointed <a href="/facts/Heinrich_von_Br%25C3%25BChl/YqfK4rt6">Heinrich von Brühl</a> as viceroy and minister of Polish affairs who in turn left the politics to Polish magnate families, such as the <a href="/facts/Czartoryski/fJSR7ym9">Czartoryskis</a> and the <a href="/facts/Radziwi%25C5%2582%25C5%2582_family/CFqN0PYd">Radziwiłłs</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:130" href="#fn:130">130</a> It was also during this period that the <a href="/facts/Polish_Enlightenment/XFJjT44j">Polish Enlightenment</a> began to sprout.

<h3>Partitions (1772–1795)</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Partitions_of_Poland/kyVSVxEc">Partitions of Poland</a>

In 1764, aristocrat <a href="/facts/Stanis%25C5%2582aw_August_Poniatowski/mnFY9pwY">Stanisław August Poniatowski</a> was elected monarch with the connivance and support of his former lover <a href="/facts/Catherine_the_Great/FTVM1heM">Catherine the Great</a>, a German noblewoman who became Empress of Russia.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:131" href="#fn:131">131</a>
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 <a href="/facts/Corps_of_Cadets_(Warsaw)/mrRJAk5e">Warsaw Corps of Cadets</a>, the first state school in Poland for all classes of society.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:132" href="#fn:132">132</a> In 1773 the king and parliament formed the <a href="/facts/Commission_of_National_Education/6mxvJo1F">Commission of National Education</a>, the first Ministry of Education in European history.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:133" href="#fn:133">133</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:134" href="#fn:134">134</a> In 1792, the king ordered the creation of <a href="/facts/Virtuti_Militari/n0aHKt5k">Virtuti Militari</a>, the oldest military decoration still in use.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:135" href="#fn:135">135</a> Stanisław August also admired the culture of ancient kingdoms, particularly Rome and Greece; <a href="/facts/Neoclassical_architecture/tKdIuJwx">Neoclassicism</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Protectorate/TEBGopb9">protectorate</a> of the <a href="/facts/Russian_Empire/hg1g5SpV">Russian Empire</a> despite the fact that it was still an independent state.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:136" href="#fn:136">136</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:137" href="#fn:137">137</a> A majority of control over Poland was central to Catherine's diplomatic and military strategies.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:138" href="#fn:138">138</a> Attempts at reform, such as the <a href="/facts/Four-Year_Sejm/1zKgv5fK">Four-Year Sejm</a>'s <a href="/facts/May_Constitution_of_Poland/VzBqlSTW">May Constitution</a>, came too late. The country was <a href="/facts/Partitions_of_Poland/kyVSVxEc">partitioned in three stages</a> by the Russian Empire, the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Prussia/x796l7vx">German Kingdom of Prussia</a>, and the Austrian <a href="/facts/Habsburg_monarchy/ctwsV3TC">Habsburg monarchy</a>. 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:139" href="#fn:139">139</a>

<h2 id="state-organization-and-politics">State organization and politics</h2>
See also: <a href="/facts/Offices_in_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/3fT6CKPY">Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>
<h3>Golden Liberty</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Golden_Liberty/oxxP6MdR">Golden Liberty</a>

The political doctrine of the Commonwealth was our state is a republic under the presidency of the King. <a href="/facts/Kanclerz/fIwuNk40">Chancellor</a> <a href="/facts/Jan_Zamoyski/nUnBFBKc">Jan Zamoyski</a> summed up this doctrine when he said that Rex regnat et non-gubernat ("The King reigns but [lit. 'and'] does not govern").<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:140" href="#fn:140">140</a> The Commonwealth had a parliament, the Sejm, as well as a <a href="/facts/Senate_of_Poland/2YIyaKYd">Senat</a> and an elected king (Pic. 1). The king was obliged to respect citizens' rights specified in <a href="/facts/King_Henry%2527s_Articles/xqhNpvDq">King Henry's Articles</a> as well as in <a href="/facts/Pacta_conventa/jJbkF9K9">pacta conventa</a>, negotiated at the time of his election.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:141" href="#fn:141">141</a>
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 <a href="/facts/Religious_toleration/ho38UdfK">religious tolerance</a>). 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 <a href="/facts/Senate/vTjxsNej">senators</a>. 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).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:142" href="#fn:142">142</a>
The foundation of the Commonwealth's political system, the "<a href="/facts/Golden_Liberty/oxxP6MdR">Golden Liberty</a>" (<a href="/facts/Latin_language/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>: Aurea Libertas or <a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Złota Wolność, a term used from 1573 on), included:

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Royal_elections_in_Poland/vNCIWHhe">election</a> of the king by all nobles wishing to participate, known as wolna elekcja (free election);</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Sejm_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/A2zqeALc">Sejm</a>, the Commonwealth parliament which the king was required to hold every two years;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Pacta_conventa/jJbkF9K9">pacta conventa</a> (<a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>), "agreed-to agreements" negotiated with the king-elect, including a bill of rights, binding on the king, derived from the earlier <a href="/facts/Henrician_Articles/xqhNpvDq">Henrician Articles</a>.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Religious_toleration/ho38UdfK">religious freedom</a> guaranteed by <a href="/facts/Warsaw_Confederation/M4T6s2Us">Warsaw Confederation Act 1573</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:143" href="#fn:143">143</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Rokosz/poMJvNHe">rokosz</a> (<a href="/facts/Insurrection/bUs5ESDx">insurrection</a>), the right of <a href="/facts/Szlachta/u5dCoYbX">szlachta</a> to form a legal rebellion against a king who violated their guaranteed freedoms;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Liberum_veto/jvqBzGhT">liberum veto</a> (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 <a href="/facts/Liberum_veto/jvqBzGhT">liberum veto</a> in provincial <a href="/facts/Sejmik/RbqWkANY">sejmiks</a>;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Confederation_(Poland)/y5RxkLA9">konfederacja</a> (from the Latin <a href="/facts/Confederatio/y5RxkLA9">confederatio</a>), the right to form an organization to force through a common political aim.</li></ul>
The three regions (see below) of the Commonwealth enjoyed a degree of <a href="/facts/Autonomous_entity/JnUkBUJc">autonomy</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:144" href="#fn:144">144</a> Each <a href="/facts/Voivodship/XuweA7Wt">voivodship</a> had its own parliament (sejmik), which exercised serious political power, including choice of <a href="/facts/Pose%25C5%2582/994fTSgW">poseł</a> (<a href="/facts/Chamber_of_Deputies/DtLMzoXj">deputy</a>) to the national Sejm and charging of the deputy with specific voting instructions. The <a href="/facts/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania/9czbKcfs">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a> had its own separate army, treasury and most other official institutions.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:145" href="#fn:145">145</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:146" href="#fn:146">146</a>
Golden Liberty created a state that was unusual for its time, although somewhat similar <a href="/facts/Political_system/FNQSMLxn">political systems</a> existed in the contemporary <a href="/facts/City-state/aj1EjbYy">city-states</a> like the <a href="/facts/Republic_of_Venice/5aqUw6gJ">Republic of Venice</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:147" href="#fn:147">147</a> Both states were styled "Serenissima Respublica" or the "<a href="/facts/Most_Serene_Republic/W5L9jLhP">Most Serene Republic</a>".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:148" href="#fn:148">148</a> At a time when most European countries were headed toward <a href="/facts/Centralization/xgEewEy4">centralization</a>, <a href="/facts/Absolute_monarchy/bw15yYtX">absolute monarchy</a> and religious and dynastic warfare, the Commonwealth experimented with <a href="/facts/Decentralization/5koMXAUs">decentralization</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:149" href="#fn:149">149</a> <a href="/facts/Confederation/8BLyhA5U">confederation</a> and federation, democracy and <a href="/facts/Religious_toleration/ho38UdfK">religious tolerance</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:150" href="#fn:150">150</a>
This political system unusual for its time stemmed from the ascendance of the szlachta <a href="/facts/Nobility/WLPIA8GT">noble class</a> over other social classes and over the <a href="/facts/Political_system/FNQSMLxn">political system</a> of monarchy. In time, the szlachta accumulated enough privileges (such as those established by the <a href="/facts/Nihil_novi/QlKnX6Aw">Nihil novi</a> 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:

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Confederation/8BLyhA5U">confederation</a> 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;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Oligarchy/1PjREsee">oligarchy</a>, as only the szlachta (nobility) – around 15% of the population – had political rights;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:151" href="#fn:151">151</a></li>
<li>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)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:152" href="#fn:152">152</a> was a substantially larger percentage than in majority European countries even in the nineteenth century;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:153" href="#fn:153">153</a> 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%.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:154" href="#fn:154">154</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:155" href="#fn:155">155</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Elective_monarchy/QbmeAjck">elective monarchy</a>, since the monarch, elected by the szlachta, was Head of State;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Constitutional_monarchy/C0TtVRq8">constitutional monarchy</a>, since the monarch was bound by pacta conventa and other laws, and the szlachta could disobey any king's decrees they deemed illegal.</li></ul>
<h3>Magnate oligarchy</h3>

The end of the <a href="/facts/Jagiellonian_dynasty/bQStmRdE">Jagiellonian dynasty</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:156" href="#fn:156">156</a>
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 <a href="/facts/Dynasty/6xXfAm3Y">dynasty</a>. This policy often produced monarchs who were either totally ineffective or in constant debilitating conflict with the nobility. Furthermore, aside from notable exceptions such as the able <a href="/facts/Stefan_Batory/kVe7fB78">Stefan Batory</a> from <a href="/facts/Transylvania/Gc7JtLU6">Transylvania</a> (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 <a href="/facts/House_of_Vasa/6hGaHExz">House of Vasa</a>, whose politics brought the Commonwealth into conflict with Sweden, culminating in the war known as the <a href="/facts/The_Deluge_(Polish_history)/V0bm4Ksq">Deluge</a> (1655), one of the events that mark the end of the Commonwealth's Golden Age and the beginning of the Commonwealth's decline.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:157" href="#fn:157">157</a>
The <a href="/facts/Zebrzydowski_Rebellion/AbpWI9KH">Zebrzydowski Rebellion</a> (1606–1607) marked a substantial increase in the power of the <a href="/facts/Polish_magnate/sAUj1x7l">Polish magnates</a>, and the transformation of szlachta democracy into magnate oligarchy. The Commonwealth's political system was vulnerable to outside interference, as Sejm deputies <a href="/facts/Bribery/wacTVqVz">bribed</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:158" href="#fn:158">158</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:159" href="#fn:159">159</a> 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 stabilised their internal affairs and increased their military might.

<h3>Late reforms</h3>

The Commonwealth did eventually make a serious effort to reform its political system, adopting in 1791 the <a href="/facts/Constitution_of_3_May_1791/VzBqlSTW">Constitution of 3 May 1791</a>, which historian <a href="/facts/Norman_Davies/t6vAfAWs">Norman Davies</a> calls the first of its kind in Europe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:160" href="#fn:160">160</a> The revolutionary Constitution recast the erstwhile Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as a Polish–Lithuanian federal state with a <a href="/facts/Hereditary_monarchy/IIUYbG8x">hereditary monarchy</a> and abolished many of the deleterious features of the old system.
The new constitution:

<ul><li>abolished the <a href="/facts/Liberum_veto/jvqBzGhT">liberum veto</a> and banned the szlachta's confederations;</li>
<li>provided for a <a href="/facts/Separation_of_powers/erlL7IMq">separation of powers</a> among <a href="/facts/Legislative/ycUCe91S">legislative</a>, executive and <a href="/facts/Judicial/CvMkSB6T">judicial</a> branches of government;</li>
<li>established "<a href="/facts/Popular_sovereignty/WKKaepkv">popular sovereignty</a>" and extended political rights to include not only the <a href="/facts/Nobility/WLPIA8GT">nobility</a> but the <a href="/facts/Bourgeoisie/Ho3RUrlA">bourgeoisie</a>;</li>
<li>increased the rights of the <a href="/facts/Peasantry/LpXfJ1HH">peasantry</a>;</li>
<li>preserved <a href="/facts/Religious_toleration/ho38UdfK">religious tolerance</a> (but with a condemnation of <a href="/facts/Apostasy/9QAL3bjK">apostasy</a> from the Catholic faith).</li></ul>
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 <a href="/facts/Stanis%25C5%2582aw_August_Poniatowski/mnFY9pwY">Stanisław August Poniatowski</a> and other reformers to strengthen the country.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:161" href="#fn:161">161</a> 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. <a href="/facts/Catherine_the_Great/FTVM1heM">Catherine the Great</a> regarded the May constitution as fatal to her influence<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:162" href="#fn:162">162</a> and declared the Polish constitution <a href="/facts/Jacobin_(politics)/bAHuhgHd">Jacobinical</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:163" href="#fn:163">163</a> <a href="/facts/Grigori_Aleksandrovich_Potemkin/bwe7Rw31">Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin</a> drafted the act for the <a href="/facts/Targowica_Confederation/4mBml588">Targowica Confederation</a>, referring to the constitution as the "contagion of democratic ideas".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:164" href="#fn:164">164</a> Meanwhile, <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Prussia/x796l7vx">Prussia</a> and <a href="/facts/Habsburg_monarchy/ctwsV3TC">Austria</a> used it as a pretext for further territorial expansion.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:165" href="#fn:165">165</a> Prussian minister <a href="/facts/Ewald_Friedrich_von_Hertzberg/1q242wr4">Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg</a> called the constitution "a blow to the Prussian monarchy",<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:166" href="#fn:166">166</a> fearing that a strengthened Poland would once again dominate Prussia.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:167" href="#fn:167">167</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:168" href="#fn:168">168</a> In the end, the 3 May Constitution was never fully implemented, and the Commonwealth entirely ceased to exist only four years after its adoption.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:169" href="#fn:169">169</a>

<h2 id="economy">Economy</h2>
Further information: <a href="/facts/Transportation_and_travel_during_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/tPodGEB9">Transportation and travel during the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>

The economy of the Commonwealth was predominantly based on agricultural output and trade, though there was an abundance of <a href="/facts/Artisan/XNzAT1ua">artisan</a> workshops and manufactories – notably <a href="/facts/Paper_mill/n8ht8GtE">paper mills</a>, <a href="/facts/Tanning_(leather)/NqL8LFrg">leather tanneries</a>, <a href="/facts/Ironworks/bdzImAzP">ironworks</a>, <a href="/facts/Glassworks/aErFHSUC">glassworks</a> and <a href="/facts/Brickyard/arIL0QAd">brickyards</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:170" href="#fn:170">170</a> Some major cities were home to craftsmen, jewellers and clockmakers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:171" href="#fn:171">171</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:172" href="#fn:172">172</a> Mining developed in the south-west region of Poland which was rich in natural resources such as <a href="/facts/Lead/EYljasJN">lead</a>, coal, <a href="/facts/Copper/I8PEE8oX">copper</a> and salt.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:173" href="#fn:173">173</a> The currency used in Poland–Lithuania was the <a href="/facts/Polish_z%25C5%2582oty/e89qNVp6">złoty</a> (meaning "the golden") and its subunit, the <a href="/facts/Groschen/xCHax2WS">grosz</a>. Foreign coins in the form of <a href="/facts/Ducat/w80rIWf9">ducats</a>, <a href="/facts/Thaler/P3gMaECK">thalers</a> and <a href="/facts/Shilling/AwY1RJAz">shillings</a> were widely accepted and exchanged.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:174" href="#fn:174">174</a> The city of <a href="/facts/Gda%25C5%2584sk/a6VNPK28">Gdańsk</a> had the privilege of minting its own coinage.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:175" href="#fn:175">175</a> In 1794, <a href="/facts/Tadeusz_Ko%25C5%259Bciuszko/FqbPnbpe">Tadeusz Kościuszko</a> began issuing the first Polish banknotes.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:176" href="#fn:176">176</a>
The country played a significant role in the supply of <a href="/facts/Western_Europe/YmWlV59w">Western Europe</a> by the export of grain (rye), cattle (oxen), furs, timber, <a href="/facts/Linen/MHrhhjyW">linen</a>, <a href="/facts/Cannabis/gjdsgtoh">cannabis</a>, <a href="/facts/Ash/zG3qeoIq">ash</a>, <a href="/facts/Tar/E4tVbqyq">tar</a>, <a href="/facts/Carminic_acid/WHgaq8jP">carminic acid</a> and <a href="/facts/Amber/GHP6h5gx">amber</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:177" href="#fn:177">177</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:178" href="#fn:178">178</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:179" href="#fn:179">179</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:180" href="#fn:180">180</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:181" href="#fn:181">181</a> From Gdańsk, ships carried cargo to the major ports of the <a href="/facts/Low_Countries/umPWQ5hV">Low Countries</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Antwerp/v3Rwa1Mu">Antwerp</a> and <a href="/facts/Amsterdam/Xdd393bz">Amsterdam</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:182" href="#fn:182">182</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:183" href="#fn:183">183</a> The land routes, mostly to the German provinces of the <a href="/facts/Holy_Roman_Empire/6mdobnXN">Holy Roman Empire</a> such as the cities of <a href="/facts/Leipzig/KIqgMgLN">Leipzig</a> and <a href="/facts/Nuremberg/Bht6TsP4">Nuremberg</a>, were used for the export of live cattle (herds of around 50,000 head) <a href="/facts/Hide_(skin)/qqvr1cCz">hides</a>, salt, tobacco, <a href="/facts/Hemp/quexqR9M">hemp</a> and cotton from the <a href="/facts/Greater_Poland/xLaAtAbW">Greater Poland</a> region.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:184" href="#fn:184">184</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:185" href="#fn:185">185</a> In turn, the Commonwealth imported wine, beer, fruit, exotic spices, <a href="/facts/Luxury_good/WGfwoF5a">luxury goods</a> (e.g. <a href="/facts/Tapestry/xv2x9uE7">tapestries</a>, Pic. 5), furniture, fabrics as well as industrial products like steel and tools.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:186" href="#fn:186">186</a>
The agricultural sector was dominated by <a href="/facts/Feudalism/WCK7l9gA">feudalism</a> based on the <a href="/facts/Plantation_economy/Gpo0pfL9">plantation system</a> (<a href="/facts/Serfdom/HyajBMeR">serfs</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:187" href="#fn:187">187</a> <a href="/facts/Slavery/IXX2S92u">Slavery</a> was forbidden in Poland in the 15th century, and formally abolished in Lithuania in 1588,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:188" href="#fn:188">188</a> replaced by the second enserfment. Typically a nobleman's landholding comprised a <a href="/facts/Folwark/pkKq9qFC">folwark</a>, a large farmstead worked by <a href="/facts/Serf/HyajBMeR">serfs</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Grain_trade/ICzwqp6R">grain trade</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:189" href="#fn:189">189</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:190" href="#fn:190">190</a> Serfs in the region were increasingly tempted to flee.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:191" href="#fn:191">191</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:192" href="#fn:192">192</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:193" href="#fn:193">193</a>
The owner of a <a href="/facts/Folwark/pkKq9qFC">folwark</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Baltic_Sea/jbQJGLQX">Baltic Sea</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:194" href="#fn:194">194</a> Countless rivers and waterways in the Commonwealth were used for shipping purposes, including the <a href="/facts/Vistula/mnDW9Uqt">Vistula</a>, <a href="/facts/Pilica_(river)/7yjBJxQn">Pilica</a>, <a href="/facts/Bug_(river)/dqNRaxcP">Bug</a>, <a href="/facts/San_(river)/27SJnuxw">San</a>, <a href="/facts/Nida_(river)/JuzukavV">Nida</a>, <a href="/facts/Wieprz/5TF8aJhC">Wieprz</a>, and <a href="/facts/Neman/k8W9QjES">Neman</a>. The rivers had relatively developed infrastructure, with <a href="/facts/Inland_port/mstVTAxx">river ports</a> and <a href="/facts/Granary/zABS5kRh">granaries</a>. Most of the river shipping moved north, southward transport being less profitable, and barges and rafts were often sold off in Gdańsk for lumber. <a href="/facts/Grodno/HhjMkQlR">Grodno</a> become an important site after formation of a customs post at <a href="/facts/August%25C3%25B3w/CnW1IEbx">Augustów</a> in 1569, which became a checkpoint for merchants travelling to the Crown lands from the Grand Duchy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:195" href="#fn:195">195</a>

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).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:196" href="#fn:196">196</a> Another source suggests much lower figures: 4–8% urban population in Poland, 34–39% in the Netherlands and 22–23% in Italy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:197" href="#fn:197">197</a> The Commonwealth's preoccupation with agriculture, coupled with the nobles' privileged position when compared to the <a href="/facts/Bourgeoisie/Ho3RUrlA">bourgeoisie</a>, resulted in a fairly slow process of urbanization and thus a rather slow development of <a href="/facts/Industry_(economics)/nlB2hvkF">industries</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:198" href="#fn:198">198</a> The nobility could also regulate the price of grain for their advantage, thus acquiring much wealth. Some of the largest <a href="/facts/Trade_fair/p534DEaU">trade fairs</a> in the Commonwealth were held at <a href="/facts/Lublin/MIuLH9pa">Lublin</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:199" href="#fn:199">199</a>
Several ancient <a href="/facts/Trade_route/6x9h40Cy">trading routes</a> such as the <a href="/facts/Amber_Road/gC6JYcGR">Amber Road</a> (Pic. 4)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:200" href="#fn:200">200</a> extended across Poland–Lithuania, which was situated in the heart of Europe and attracted foreign merchants or settlers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:201" href="#fn:201">201</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Middle_East/8CD6pLWv">Middle East</a>, the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a> and Western Europe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:202" href="#fn:202">202</a> For instance, <a href="/facts/Isfahan_rug/FB4GsUQy">Isfahan rugs</a> imported from <a href="/facts/Persia/24yukge8">Persia</a> to the Commonwealth were incorrectly known as "Polish rugs" (French: Polonaise) in Western Europe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:203" href="#fn:203">203</a>

<h2 id="military">Military</h2>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Military_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/q99FkSpx">Military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>
See also: <a href="/facts/List_of_wars_involving_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/CvDBNk2x">List of wars involving the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>

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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:204" href="#fn:204">204</a> The united armed forces comprised the Crown Army (armia koronna), recruited in Poland, and the Lithuanian Army (armia litewska) in the Grand Duchy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:205" href="#fn:205">205</a> The military was headed by the <a href="/facts/Hetmans_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/jDLSy16c">Hetman</a>, a rank equivalent to that of a <a href="/facts/General/0xmYEU4a">general</a> or supreme commander in other countries. <a href="/facts/List_of_Polish_monarchs/UJR2BKPU">Monarchs</a> could not declare war or summon an army without the consent of the <a href="/facts/Sejm/994fTSgW">Sejm</a> parliament or the <a href="/facts/Senate_of_Poland/2YIyaKYd">Senate</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:206" href="#fn:206">206</a> The <a href="/facts/Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth_Navy/xolcPnUY">Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy</a> never played a major role in the military structure from the mid-17th century onwards.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:207" href="#fn:207">207</a>
The most prestigious formation of the two respective armes were their 16th- and 17th-century <a href="/facts/Heavy_cavalry/2zRYzPyT">heavy cavalry</a> in the form of <a href="/facts/Polish_hussars/exqYj0dY">Winged Hussars</a> (husaria), whereas the <a href="/facts/Royal_Guards_(Poland)/dvlMrogD">Polish Royal Guards</a> and Lithuanian Guards [pl] were the elite of the <a href="/facts/Infantry/QAHDDQtk">infantry</a>; the regiments were supervised by the king and his family.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:208" href="#fn:208">208</a> In 1788, the <a href="/facts/Great_Sejm/1zKgv5fK">Great Sejm</a> approved landslide reforms and defined future structures of the military; the Crown Army was to be split into four <a href="/facts/Division_(military)/5T3WumCd">divisions</a>, with seventeen field infantry <a href="/facts/Regiment/cBBUAaKg">regiments</a> and eight cavalry <a href="/facts/Brigade/UEvdyao1">brigades</a> excluding special units; the Lithuanian Army was to be subdivided into two divisions, eight field regiments and two cavalry brigades excluding special units.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:209" href="#fn:209">209</a> If implemented, the reform predicted an army of almost 100,000 men.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:210" href="#fn:210">210</a>
The armies of those states differed from the organization common in other parts of Europe; according to Bardach, the <a href="/facts/Mercenary/uQSfwcDR">mercenary</a> formations (wojsko najemne), common in <a href="/facts/Western_Europe/YmWlV59w">Western Europe</a>, never gained widespread popularity in Poland.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:211" href="#fn:211">211</a> Brzezinski, however, notes that foreign mercenaries did form a significant portion of the more elite infantry units, at least until the early 17th century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:212" href="#fn:212">212</a> In 16th-century Poland, several other formations formed the core of the military.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:213" href="#fn:213">213</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:214" href="#fn:214">214</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:215" href="#fn:215">215</a> It was supplemented by two formations mobilised in case of war – the <a href="/facts/Pospolite_ruszenie/NKD0jSIS">pospolite ruszenie</a> (Polish for <a href="/facts/Lev%25C3%25A9e_en_masse/24aN0jRd">levée en masse</a> – <a href="/facts/Feudal_levy/SstkxdBk">feudal levy</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:216" href="#fn:216">216</a>
Several years before the Union of Lublin, the Polish obrona potoczna was reformed, as the <a href="/facts/Sejm/994fTSgW">Sejm</a> (national parliament of Poland) legislated in 1562–1563 the creation of <a href="/facts/Wojsko_kwarciane/GRTX5ylb">wojsko kwarciane</a>, named after <a href="/facts/Kwarta/6Hh67NQe">kwarta</a> tax levied on the <a href="/facts/Kr%25C3%25B3lewszczyzna/9TtxIbsy">royal lands</a> for the purpose of maintaining this formation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:217" href="#fn:217">217</a> This formation was also paid for by the king, and in the peacetime, numbered about 3,500–4,000 men according to Bardach;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:218" href="#fn:218">218</a> Brzezinski gives the range of 3,000–5,000.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:219" href="#fn:219">219</a> It was composed mostly of the light cavalry units manned by nobility (<a href="/facts/Szlachta/u5dCoYbX">szlachta</a>) and commanded by <a href="/facts/Hetman/fC5RBt58">hetmans</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:220" href="#fn:220">220</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:221" href="#fn:221">221</a> Often, in wartime, the Sejm would legislate a temporary increase in the size of the wojsko kwarciane.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:222" href="#fn:222">222</a>
Following the end of the Commonwealth, the Polish–Lithuanian military tradition would be continued by the <a href="/facts/Polish_Legions_(Napoleonic_period)/MGcxf2FE">Napoleonic Polish Legions</a> and the <a href="/facts/Army_of_the_Duchy_of_Warsaw/hlk1arrK">Army of the Duchy of Warsaw</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:223" href="#fn:223">223</a>

<h2 id="culture">Culture</h2>
Further information: <a href="/facts/Renaissance_in_Poland/R2T7wHLC">Renaissance in Poland</a>, <a href="/facts/Baroque_in_Poland/APTkTpEw">Baroque in Poland</a>, and <a href="/facts/Polish_Enlightenment/XFJjT44j">Polish Enlightenment</a>
<h3>Science and literature</h3>

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 <a href="/facts/Philosophy/zAH5PVD6">philosophers</a>, and during the <a href="/facts/Counter-Reformation/NLk0bSr6">Counter-Reformation</a> was known for near-unparalleled <a href="/facts/Religious_toleration/ho38UdfK">religious tolerance</a>, with peacefully coexisting <a href="/facts/Roman_Catholicism/rJ4F4gqH">Roman Catholic</a>, <a href="/facts/Judaism/tjQ5Tgs6">Jewish</a>, <a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodoxy/5n20Akh5">Orthodox Christian</a>, <a href="/facts/Protestant/NXja4K3g">Protestant</a> and <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Muslim</a> (<a href="/facts/Sufism/NFcCu5gP">Sufi</a>) communities. In the 18th century, the French Catholic <a href="/facts/Claude-Carloman_de_Rulhi%25C3%25A8re/YabFnQ4Y">Rulhiere</a> 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." The Commonwealth gave rise to the famous Christian <a href="/facts/Sect/3q425T4l">sect</a> of the <a href="/facts/Polish_Brethren/tTInD0do">Polish Brethren</a>, antecedents of British and American <a href="/facts/Unitarianism/34Ix8PPh">Unitarianism</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:224" href="#fn:224">224</a>
With its political system, the Commonwealth gave birth to <a href="/facts/Political_philosophy/JuLBNdAX">political philosophers</a> such as <a href="/facts/Andrzej_Frycz_Modrzewski/dtGSvkWI">Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski</a> (1503–1572) (Pic. 9), <a href="/facts/Wawrzyniec_Grzyma%25C5%2582a_Go%25C5%259Blicki/0RMpYtgS">Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki</a> (1530–1607) and <a href="/facts/Piotr_Skarga/X8xwNsuz">Piotr Skarga</a> (1536–1612). Later, works by <a href="/facts/Stanis%25C5%2582aw_Staszic/7k4LP1Bu">Stanisław Staszic</a> (1755–1826) and <a href="/facts/Hugo_Ko%25C5%2582%25C5%2582%25C4%2585taj/6nfk9PN3">Hugo Kołłątaj</a> (1750–1812) helped pave the way for the <a href="/facts/Constitution_of_3_May_1791/VzBqlSTW">Constitution of 3 May 1791</a>, which <a href="/facts/Norman_Davies/t6vAfAWs">Norman Davies</a> calls the first of its kind in Europe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:225" href="#fn:225">225</a>
<a href="/facts/Krak%25C3%25B3w/hubj59IT">Kraków</a>'s <a href="/facts/Jagiellonian_University/m4yGkw85">Jagiellonian University</a> is one of the oldest universities in the world (established in 1364),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:226" href="#fn:226">226</a> together with the <a href="/facts/Vilnius_University/NH277aul">Jesuit Academy of Wilno</a> (established in 1579) they were the major scholarly and scientific centers in the Commonwealth. The <a href="/facts/Commission_of_National_Education/6mxvJo1F">Komisja Edukacji Narodowej</a>, Polish for Commission for National Education, formed in 1773, was the world's first national Ministry of Education.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:227" href="#fn:227">227</a> Commonwealth scientists included: <a href="/facts/Martin_Kromer/Gg56bfDe">Martin Kromer</a> (1512–1589), historian and <a href="/facts/Cartographer/8YdDAAeX">cartographer</a>; <a href="/facts/Michael_Sendivogius/WgCSAq7V">Michael Sendivogius</a> (1566–1636), <a href="/facts/Alchemy/CEx0U1Em">alchemist</a> and chemist; <a href="/facts/Jan_Bro%25C5%25BCek/GhGQRXIy">Jan Brożek</a> (Ioannes Broscius in <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>) (1585–1652), <a href="/facts/Polymath/eqIfjQRu">polymath</a>: a mathematician, physician and <a href="/facts/Astronomer/ronF8j4a">astronomer</a>; <a href="/facts/Krzysztof_Arciszewski/nao6vXbf">Krzysztof Arciszewski</a> (Crestofle d'Artischau Arciszewski in <a href="/facts/Portuguese_language/vr3Fwzw3">Portuguese</a>) (1592–1656), engineer, <a href="/facts/Ethnographer/qxJRLSwJ">ethnographer</a>, general and admiral of the <a href="/facts/Dutch_West_Indies_Company/Gk3E90uM">Dutch West Indies Company</a> army in the war with the <a href="/facts/Spanish_Empire/RaWWgnQS">Spanish Empire</a> for control of <a href="/facts/Brazil/QHkG46GL">Brazil</a>;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:228" href="#fn:228">228</a> <a href="/facts/Kazimierz_Siemienowicz/4UYWEJyP">Kazimierz Siemienowicz</a> (1600–1651), military engineer, <a href="/facts/Artillery/GLpMYG9o">artillery</a> specialist and a founder of <a href="/facts/Rocket/b6j4keIl">rocketry</a>; <a href="/facts/Johannes_Hevelius/JJSooIep">Johannes Hevelius</a> (1611–1687), <a href="/facts/Astronomer/ronF8j4a">astronomer</a>, founder of <a href="/facts/Moon/zKHqEMPb">lunar</a> <a href="/facts/Topography/SS8Bx4t9">topography</a>; <a href="/facts/Micha%25C5%2582_Boym/YYfHj9zV">Michał Boym</a> (1612–1659), <a href="/facts/Oriental_studies/RImUKTqq">orientalist</a>, cartographer, <a href="/facts/Naturalist/pSlAvbTX">naturalist</a> and diplomat in <a href="/facts/Southern_Ming/2U4hWVEE">Ming Dynasty</a>'s service (Pic. 11); <a href="/facts/Adam_Adamandy_Kocha%25C5%2584ski/I0kaagey">Adam Adamandy Kochański</a> (1631–1700), mathematician and engineer; <a href="/facts/Baal_Shem_Tov/2ouAuJBA">Baal Shem Tov</a> (הבעל שם טוב in <a href="/facts/Hebrew_language/hqKCSy9d">Hebrew</a>) (1698–1760), considered to be the founder of <a href="/facts/Hasidic_Judaism/BP765ncB">Hasidic Judaism</a>; <a href="/facts/Marcin_Odlanicki_Poczobutt/kT8R1fB5">Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt</a> (1728–1810), <a href="/facts/Astronomer/ronF8j4a">astronomer</a> and mathematician (Pic. 12); <a href="/facts/Jan_Krzysztof_Kluk/qYhRUz6o">Jan Krzysztof Kluk</a> (1739–1796), <a href="/facts/Natural_history/pSlAvbTX">naturalist</a>, <a href="/facts/Agronomist/9EvBW7jo">agronomist</a> and <a href="/facts/Entomology/zTtUNTWm">entomologist</a>, <a href="/facts/John_Jonston/UrulGNbx">John Jonston</a> (1603–1675) scholar and <a href="/facts/Medicine/2fnp90Je">physician</a>, descended from <a href="/facts/Scottish_nobility/6XtAQNDc">Scottish nobility</a>. In 1628 the <a href="/facts/Czechs/PsqFMBxp">Czech</a> teacher, scientist, educator, and writer <a href="/facts/John_Amos_Comenius/BT7hP4Fe">John Amos Comenius</a> took refuge in the Commonwealth, when the <a href="/facts/Protestants/NXja4K3g">Protestants</a> were persecuted under the Counter Reformation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:229" href="#fn:229">229</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:230" href="#fn:230">230</a>
The works of many Commonwealth authors are considered classics, including those of <a href="/facts/Jan_Kochanowski/EvR02PKV">Jan Kochanowski</a> (Pic. 10), <a href="/facts/Wac%25C5%2582aw_Potocki/QKUX1S0r">Wacław Potocki</a>, <a href="/facts/Ignacy_Krasicki/z2SMf8wm">Ignacy Krasicki</a>, and <a href="/facts/Julian_Ursyn_Niemcewicz/YQchtEgo">Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz</a>. Many <a href="/facts/Szlachta/u5dCoYbX">szlachta</a> members wrote memoirs and <a href="/facts/Diary/x24Y6VWt">diaries</a>. Perhaps the most famous are the Memoirs of Polish History by <a href="/facts/Albrycht_Stanis%25C5%2582aw_Radziwi%25C5%2582%25C5%2582/vfMBjF04">Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł</a> (1595–1656) and the Memoirs of <a href="/facts/Jan_Chryzostom_Pasek/gEYL6Inr">Jan Chryzostom Pasek</a> (ca. 1636–ca. 1701). <a href="/facts/Jakub_Sobieski/RcYM39J0">Jakub Sobieski</a> (1590–1646) (father of <a href="/facts/John_III_Sobieski/03qG12r7">John III Sobieski</a>) wrote notable diaries. During the <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Khotyn_(1621)/YqgsHV7q">Khotyn expedition</a> in 1621 he wrote a diary called Commentariorum chotinensis belli libri tres (Diary of the Chocim War), which was published in 1646 in <a href="/facts/Gda%25C5%2584sk/a6VNPK28">Gdańsk</a>. It was used by <a href="/facts/Wac%25C5%2582aw_Potocki/QKUX1S0r">Wacław Potocki</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:231" href="#fn:231">231</a>

<h3>Art and music</h3>

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 <a href="/facts/Sarmatism/BX36RdfF">Sarmatian</a> period were <a href="/facts/Coffin_portraits/nm0aCKcW">coffin portraits</a> (portrety trumienne) used in funerals and other important ceremonies.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:232" href="#fn:232">232</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:233" href="#fn:233">233</a> These were a unique and distinguishable feature of the Commonwealth's high culture, not found elsewhere in Europe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:234" href="#fn:234">234</a> A similar tradition was only practiced in <a href="/facts/Roman_Egypt/P1wkcTmv">Roman Egypt</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:235" href="#fn:235">235</a> Polish monarchs and nobles frequently invited and sponsored foreign painters and artisans, notably from the <a href="/facts/Low_Countries/umPWQ5hV">Low Countries</a> (the <a href="/facts/Netherlands/y8xn5stT">Netherlands</a>, <a href="/facts/Flanders/JDsTRuR4">Flanders</a> and <a href="/facts/Belgium/YKuMXP5j">Belgium</a>), Germany or Italy.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:236" href="#fn:236">236</a> The interiors of upper-class residences, palaces and manors were adorned by wall <a href="/facts/Tapestry/xv2x9uE7">tapestries</a> (arrasy or tapiseria) imported from Western Europe; the most renowned collection are the <a href="/facts/Jagiellonian_tapestries/5J68jft8">Jagiellonian tapestries</a> exhibited at <a href="/facts/Wawel_Royal_Castle/8WSybyDK">Wawel Royal Castle</a> in Kraków.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:237" href="#fn:237">237</a>
The economic, cultural and political ties between <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_France/Ul6rT7cQ">France</a> and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth gave rise to the term à la polonaise, French for "Polish-styled".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:238" href="#fn:238">238</a> With the marriage of <a href="/facts/Marie_Leszczy%25C5%2584ska/HX6R4d5b">Marie Leszczyńska</a> to <a href="/facts/Louis_XV_of_France/jr0fBhum">Louis XV of France</a> in 1725, Polish culture began to flourish at the <a href="/facts/Palace_of_Versailles/UEBCWwQU">Palace of Versailles</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:239" href="#fn:239">239</a> <a href="/facts/Polish_bed/HqwYHEPK">Polish beds</a> (lit à la polonaise) draped with <a href="/facts/Baldachin/AG9DYFQ6">baldachins</a> became a centrepiece of <a href="/facts/Louis_XV_furniture/enwCb2rI">Louis XV furniture</a> in French <a href="/facts/Ch%25C3%25A2teau/XraYMSaK">chateaus</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:240" href="#fn:240">240</a> Folk flower motifs as well as Polish fashion were popularised in the form of a back-draped <a href="/facts/Polonaise_(clothing)/xyW1khk6">polonaise dress</a> (robe à la polonaise) worn by aristocrats at Versailles.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:241" href="#fn:241">241</a>
The religious cultures of Poland–Lithuania coexisted and penetrated each other for the entirety of the Commonwealth's history – the <a href="/facts/History_of_Jews_in_Poland/kLzWTezb">Jews</a> adopted elements of the national dress,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:242" href="#fn:242">242</a> loanwords and <a href="/facts/Calque/A9M3UtAo">calques</a> became commonplace and Roman Catholic churches in regions with significant <a href="/facts/Protestant/NXja4K3g">Protestant</a> populations were much simpler in décor than those in other parts of Poland–Lithuania.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:243" href="#fn:243">243</a> Mutual influence was further reflected in the great popularity of <a href="/facts/Byzantine_Empire/njEELXWF">Byzantine</a> <a href="/facts/Icon/d5am7oen">icons</a> (Pic. 13) and the icons resembling effigies of <a href="/facts/Mary_(mother_of_Jesus)/cq3fKofl">Mary</a> in the predominantly Latin territories of today's Poland (<a href="/facts/Black_Madonna_of_Cz%25C4%2599stochowa/NGdJFIdX">Black Madonna</a>) and Lithuania (<a href="/facts/Our_Lady_of_the_Gate_of_Dawn/cvoKCT8n">Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:244" href="#fn:244">244</a> Conversely, Latin infiltration into Ruthenian Orthodox and Protestant art was also conventional (Pic. 3).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:245" href="#fn:245">245</a>
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 <a href="/facts/Stanis%25C5%2582aw_Lubomirski_(1583%25E2%2580%25931649)/ac7p9FjM">Stanisław Lubomirski</a> built their own opera houses (in <a href="/facts/Nowy_Wi%25C5%259Bnicz/8A2VwLuY">Nowy Wiśnicz</a>). Others, like <a href="/facts/Janusz_Skumin_Tyszkiewicz/5AfvoY5P">Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz</a> and <a href="/facts/Krzysztof_Radziwi%25C5%2582%25C5%2582/SwaUJ2Jp">Krzysztof Radziwiłł</a> were known for their sponsorship of arts which manifested itself in their permanently retained orchestras, at their courts in <a href="/facts/Wilno/ecy21qeQ">Wilno</a> (Vilnius).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:246" href="#fn:246">246</a> Musical life further flourished under the <a href="/facts/House_of_Vasa/6hGaHExz">House of Vasa</a>. Both foreign and domestic composers were active in the Commonwealth. <a href="/facts/Sigismund_III_Vasa/lBFXL8m8">Sigismund III</a> brought in Italian composers and conductors, such as <a href="/facts/Luca_Marenzio/g3PKsDUU">Luca Marenzio</a>, <a href="/facts/Annibale_Stabile/Qj1At57p">Annibale Stabile</a>, <a href="/facts/Asprilio_Pacelli/YkeMEuxq">Asprilio Pacelli</a>, <a href="/facts/Marco_Scacchi/zgAd9EcX">Marco Scacchi</a> and <a href="/facts/Diomedes_Cato/eEDhCNzf">Diomedes Cato</a> for the royal orchestra. Notable home grown musicians, who also composed and played for the King's court, included <a href="/facts/Bart%25C5%2582omiej_P%25C4%2599kiel/m80PRlCW">Bartłomiej Pękiel</a>, <a href="/facts/Jacek_R%25C3%25B3%25C5%25BCycki/8DdFGBWS">Jacek Różycki</a>, <a href="/facts/Adam_Jarz%25C4%2599bski/nc1Nylmw">Adam Jarzębski</a>, <a href="/facts/Marcin_Mielczewski/rBW0qMA2">Marcin Mielczewski</a>, <a href="/facts/Stanis%25C5%2582aw_Sylwester_Szarzy%25C5%2584ski/Q1Y1KpKp">Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński</a>, Damian Stachowicz, <a href="/facts/Miko%25C5%2582aj_Ziele%25C5%2584ski/pGcUTQLj">Mikołaj Zieleński</a> and <a href="/facts/Grzegorz_Gorczycki/TH1g4uBU">Grzegorz Gorczycki</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:247" href="#fn:247">247</a>

<h3>Architecture</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Baroque_in_Poland/APTkTpEw">Baroque in Poland–Lithuania</a>

The architecture of the cities in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth reflected a combination of Polish, German and Italian trends. <a href="/facts/Architecture_of_Italy/qWDDjHv4">Italian Mannerism</a> or the <a href="/facts/Late_Renaissance/URrtSBov">Late Renaissance</a> had a profound impact on traditional burgher architecture which can be observed to this day – castles and <a href="/facts/Tenements/SLLV7ABo">tenements</a> were fitted with central Italianate courtyards composed of arched <a href="/facts/Loggia/U2ogHPUx">loggias</a>, colonnades, <a href="/facts/Bay_window/D8RAF745">bay windows</a>, balconies, portals and ornamental balustrades.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:248" href="#fn:248">248</a> Ceiling <a href="/facts/Fresco/oj49kcQa">frescos</a>, <a href="/facts/Sgraffito/zS7sTE3I">sgraffito</a>, <a href="/facts/Plafond/D6LEgS1A">plafonds</a> and <a href="/facts/Coffer/Tkw6oHCS">coffering</a> (patterned ceilings; Polish kaseton; from Italian cassettone) were widespread.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:249" href="#fn:249">249</a> Rooftops were generally covered with <a href="/facts/Terracotta/Yze0TnSH">terracotta</a> rooftiles. The most distinguishable feature of Polish Mannerism are decorative "<a href="/facts/Attic_(architecture)/PfvGovoG">attics</a>" above the cornice on the façade.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:250" href="#fn:250">250</a> Cities in northern Poland–Lithuania and in Livonia adopted the <a href="/facts/Hanseatic_League/oA756xvs">Hanseatic</a> (or "Dutch") style as their primary form of architectural expression, comparable to that of the Netherlands, Belgium, northern Germany and <a href="/facts/Scandinavia/KpLQ40kl">Scandinavia</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:251" href="#fn:251">251</a>

The introduction of <a href="/facts/Baroque_architecture/l9QT8K91">Baroque architecture</a> was marked by construction of several <a href="/facts/Jesuit/n0PeYBB8">Jesuit</a> and Roman Catholic churches across Poland and Lithuania, notably the <a href="/facts/Saints_Peter_and_Paul_Church%2c_Krak%25C3%25B3w/AUjSxdy1">Peter and Paul Church</a> in <a href="/facts/Krak%25C3%25B3w/hubj59IT">Kraków</a>, the <a href="/facts/Corpus_Christi_Church%2c_Nesvizh/UQ2rfF1f">Corpus Christi Church</a> in <a href="/facts/Nesvizh/z4Q12DAr">Nesvizh</a>, <a href="/facts/St._John_the_Baptist_Cathedral%2c_Lublin/83onVrge">Lublin Cathedral</a> and UNESCO-enlisted <a href="/facts/Calvary_(sanctuary)/WRh35yd6">sanctuary</a> at <a href="/facts/Kalwaria_Zebrzydowska/XXqgBWPy">Kalwaria Zebrzydowska</a>. Fine examples of decorative Baroque and <a href="/facts/Rococo/eyKstITz">Rococo</a> include <a href="/facts/Church_of_St._Anne%2c_Krak%25C3%25B3w/JXLh94bV">Saint Anne's</a> in Kraków and the <a href="/facts/Pozna%25C5%2584_Fara/XejBgDTH">Fara Church</a> in <a href="/facts/Pozna%25C5%2584/WyM53M58">Poznań</a>. Another characteristic is the common usage of black marble.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:252" href="#fn:252">252</a> Altars, fonts, portals, balustrades, columns, monuments, tombstones, headstones and whole rooms (e.g. Marble Room at the <a href="/facts/Royal_Castle%2c_Warsaw/0as3NIPx">Royal Castle</a> in Warsaw, <a href="/facts/St._Casimir_Chapel/dPAV9l1F">St. Casimir Chapel</a> of the <a href="/facts/Vilnius_Cathedral/z8aFgUL5">Vilnius Cathedral</a> and Vasa Chapel at <a href="/facts/Wawel_Cathedral/E1MqRHEQ">Wawel Cathedral</a>) were extensively decorated with black marble, which became popular after the mid-17th century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:253" href="#fn:253">253</a>
<a href="/facts/Magnate/aMKIqrmB">Magnates</a> often undertook construction projects as monuments to themselves: churches, cathedrals, <a href="/facts/Monastery/t8MRXpsM">monasteries</a> (Pic. 14), and <a href="/facts/Palace/vdve3MUs">palaces</a> like the present-day <a href="/facts/Presidential_Palace%2c_Warsaw/2AXgnLny">Presidential Palace in Warsaw</a> and <a href="/facts/Pidhirtsi_Castle/2ahMB1q0">Pidhirtsi Castle</a> built by Grand Hetman <a href="/facts/Stanis%25C5%2582aw_Koniecpolski/hCt9j3Nl">Stanisław Koniecpolski</a>. 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 <a href="/facts/Zamo%25C5%259B%25C4%2587/MghV3KaA">Zamość</a>, founded by <a href="/facts/Jan_Zamoyski/nUnBFBKc">Jan Zamoyski</a> and designed by the Italian architect <a href="/facts/Bernardo_Morando/yIET8rzl">Bernardo Morando</a> as an <a href="/facts/Ideal_city/92lKjUM8">ideal city</a>. The magnates throughout Poland competed with the kings. The monumental castle <a href="/facts/Krzy%25C5%25BCtop%25C3%25B3r/MdJ94zee">Krzyżtopór</a>, built in the style palazzo in fortezza between 1627 and 1644, had several courtyards surrounded by fortifications. Similar fortified complexes include castles in <a href="/facts/%25C5%2581a%25C5%2584cut_Castle/1J121Mso">Łańcut</a> and <a href="/facts/Krasiczyn_Castle/758JUFaw">Krasiczyn</a>.

The fascination with the culture and art of the <a href="/facts/China/lTjIXY5p">Orient</a> in the late Baroque period is reflected by <a href="/facts/Marie_Casimire_Louise_de_la_Grange_d%2527Arquien/bL5SA6xp">Queen Marie's</a> <a href="/facts/Zolochiv_Castle/n4J1zgk5">Chinese Palace</a> in <a href="/facts/Zolochiv%2c_Lviv_Oblast/FLjFmnD8">Zolochiv</a> (Złoczów).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:254" href="#fn:254">254</a> 18th-century magnate palaces represents the characteristic type of <a href="/facts/Baroque/9hAsnf9X">Baroque</a> suburban residence built <a href="/facts/Cour_d%2527honneur/v15ACmDS">entre cour et jardin</a> (between the entrance court and the garden). Its architecture – a merger of European art with old Commonwealth building traditions are visible in <a href="/facts/Wilan%25C3%25B3w_Palace/UXW9wP5I">Wilanów Palace</a> in <a href="/facts/Warsaw/0cRqN3pw">Warsaw</a> (Pic. 15), <a href="/facts/Branicki_Palace%2c_Bia%25C5%2582ystok/tHMW2VFa">Branicki Palace</a> in <a href="/facts/Bia%25C5%2582ystok/lQD7k12Q">Białystok</a>, Potocki Palace in <a href="/facts/Radzy%25C5%2584_Podlaski/tmF6pFPY">Radzyń Podlaski</a>, Raczyński Palace in <a href="/facts/Rogalin/LfcTJleT">Rogalin</a>, <a href="/facts/Niebor%25C3%25B3w_Palace/ccdSQNCB">Nieborów Palace</a> and <a href="/facts/Koz%25C5%2582%25C3%25B3wka_Palace/AGBs66xc">Kozłówka Palace</a> near <a href="/facts/Lubart%25C3%25B3w/sRPqptlX">Lubartów</a>. Lesser nobility resided in country manor houses known as <a href="/facts/Manor_houses_of_Polish_nobility/QaC906r5">dworek</a>. <a href="/facts/Neoclassical_architecture/tKdIuJwx">Neoclassicism</a> replaced Baroque by the second half of the 18th century – the last ruler of the Poland–Lithuania, <a href="/facts/Stanis%25C5%2582aw_August_Poniatowski/mnFY9pwY">Stanisław August Poniatowski</a>, greatly admired the classical architecture of <a href="/facts/Ancient_Rome/cGqIuxPd">Ancient Rome</a> and promoted it as a symbol of the <a href="/facts/Polish_Enlightenment/XFJjT44j">Polish Enlightenment</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:255" href="#fn:255">255</a> The <a href="/facts/Palace_on_the_Isle/AUUVf88k">Palace on the Isle</a> and the exterior of <a href="/facts/St._Anne%2527s_Church%2c_Warsaw/6hs47eqr">St. Anne's Church</a> in Warsaw are part of the neoclassical legacy of the former Commonwealth.

<h3>Szlachta and Sarmatism</h3>
Main articles: <a href="/facts/Szlachta/u5dCoYbX">Szlachta</a> and <a href="/facts/Sarmatism/BX36RdfF">Sarmatism</a>

The prevalent ideology of the szlachta became "<a href="/facts/Sarmatism/BX36RdfF">Sarmatism</a>", named after the <a href="/facts/Sarmatians/peXYHqbc">Sarmatians</a>, alleged ancestors of the Poles.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:256" href="#fn:256">256</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Manor_houses_of_Polish_nobility/QaC906r5">manor houses</a>, peace and <a href="/facts/Pacifism/zN1mCGPx">pacifism</a>; championed <a href="/facts/Orient/uPK9os02">oriental</a>-inspired souvenirs or attire for men (<a href="/facts/%25C5%25BBupan/9b2g6zS7">żupan</a>, <a href="/facts/Kontusz/mqIrmTB8">kontusz</a>, sukmana, <a href="/facts/Pas_kontuszowy/9Sls7CJm">pas kontuszowy</a>, <a href="/facts/Delia_(clothing)/CcX3KGg3">delia</a>, <a href="/facts/Szabla/UJIMjHHt">szabla</a>); favoured European Baroque architecture; endorsed <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> as a language of thought or expression; and served to integrate the multi-ethnic nobility by creating an almost <a href="/facts/Nationalism/IECpIhm0">nationalistic</a> sense of unity and of pride in <a href="/facts/Golden_Liberty/oxxP6MdR">Golden Liberty</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:257" href="#fn:257">257</a>
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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:258" href="#fn:258">258</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:259" href="#fn:259">259</a>

<h3>Demographics</h3>
Further information: <a href="/facts/Demographic_history_of_Poland/cQPPgCMn">Demographic history of Poland § Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)</a>

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was immensely <a href="/facts/Multiculturalism/jDbm9eo5">multicultural</a> throughout its existence – it comprised countless religious identities and ethnic minorities inhabiting the country's vast territory.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:260" href="#fn:260">260</a> The precise number of minority groups and their populations can only be hypothesised.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:261" href="#fn:261">261</a> Statistically, the most prominent groups were the Poles, Lithuanians, <a href="/facts/Germans/F7mBCrJ4">Germans</a>, <a href="/facts/Ruthenians/auIjyfgV">Ruthenians</a> and <a href="/facts/Jews/T9Y4wE6A">Jews</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:262" href="#fn:262">262</a> There were also considerable numbers of <a href="/facts/Czechs/PsqFMBxp">Czechs</a>, <a href="/facts/Hungarians/Aqot45Va">Hungarians</a>, <a href="/facts/Livonians/5z8R60zG">Livonians</a>, <a href="/facts/Romani_people/HAj6w0kU">Romanis</a>, <a href="/facts/Vlachs/HxIXvqtu">Vlachs</a>, <a href="/facts/Armenians/SxHfJF8N">Armenians</a>, <a href="/facts/Italians/dsdUeJ1n">Italians</a>, <a href="/facts/Scottish_people/0rp2bd12">Scots</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Dutch_people/QhHtJ2WK">Dutch</a> (<a href="/facts/Ol%25C4%2599drzy/X3bU6K07">Olędrzy</a>), who were either categorised as merchants, settlers or refugees fleeing religious persecution.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:263" href="#fn:263">263</a>
Prior to the union with Lithuania, the <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Poland/xwYbgG7x">Kingdom of Poland</a> was much more homogenous; approximately 70% of the population was Polish and <a href="/facts/Catholic_Church/rJ4F4gqH">Roman Catholic</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:264" href="#fn:264">264</a> With the creation of the Commonwealth, the number of Poles in comparison to the total population decreased to 50%.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:265" href="#fn:265">265</a> In 1569, the population stood at 7 million, with roughly 4.5 million Poles, 750,000 Lithuanians, 700,000 Jews and 2 million Ruthenians.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:266" href="#fn:266">266</a> Historians Michał Kopczyński and Wojciech Tygielski suggest that with the territorial expansion after the <a href="/facts/Truce_of_Deulino/hM9NwKIT">Truce of Deulino</a> in 1618, the Commonwealth's population reached 12 million people, of which Poles constituted only 40%.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:267" href="#fn:267">267</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:268" href="#fn:268">268</a> At that time the nobility made up 10% of the entire population and the <a href="/facts/Bourgeoisie/Ho3RUrlA">burghers</a> around 15%.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:269" href="#fn:269">269</a> The average population density per square kilometer was: 24 in <a href="/facts/Mazovia/hf1wkNea">Mazovia</a>, 23 in <a href="/facts/Lesser_Poland/gnbcdaVC">Lesser Poland</a>, 19 in <a href="/facts/Greater_Poland/xLaAtAbW">Greater Poland</a>, 12 in Lublin palatinate, 10 in the <a href="/facts/Lviv/R1U4V6mY">Lwów</a> area, 7 in <a href="/facts/Podolia/RdMWdH5C">Podolia</a> and <a href="/facts/Volhynia/F4T8q4aj">Volhynia</a>, and 3 in the <a href="/facts/Kiev_Voivodeship/bUxrwPmv">Kiev Voivodeship</a>. There was a tendency for the people from the more densely inhabited western territories to migrate eastwards.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:270" href="#fn:270">270</a>

A sudden change in the country's demographics occurred in the mid-17th century.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:271" href="#fn:271">271</a> The <a href="/facts/Second_Northern_War/cNEbljaC">Second Northern War</a> and the <a href="/facts/Swedish_Deluge/V0bm4Ksq">Deluge</a> followed by famine in the period from 1648 to 1657 were accountable for at least 4 million deaths.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:272" href="#fn:272">272</a> Coupled with further territorial losses, by 1717 the population had fallen to 9 million.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:273" href="#fn:273">273</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:274" href="#fn:274">274</a> In 1792, the population of Poland was around 11 million and included 750,000 nobles.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:275" href="#fn:275">275</a>
The most multicultural and robust city in the country was <a href="/facts/Gda%25C5%2584sk/a6VNPK28">Gdańsk</a>, a major <a href="/facts/Hanseatic_League/oA756xvs">Hanseatic</a> seaport on the Baltic and Poland's wealthiest region. Gdańsk at the time was inhabited by a German-speaking majority<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:276" href="#fn:276">276</a> and further hosted large numbers of foreign merchants, particularly of Scottish, Dutch or <a href="/facts/Scandinavia/KpLQ40kl">Scandinavian</a> extraction.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:277" href="#fn:277">277</a> Historically, the <a href="/facts/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania/9czbKcfs">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a> was more diverse than the Kingdom of Poland, and was deemed a melting pot of many cultures and religions.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:278" href="#fn:278">278</a> Hence, the inhabitants of the Grand Duchy were collectively known as <a href="/facts/Litvins/q6sFCxDR">Litvins</a> regardless of their nationality, with the exception of Jews residing in Lithuania who were called <a href="/facts/Lithuanian_Jews/r642x1K3">Litvaks</a>.
Despite guaranteed <a href="/facts/Warsaw_Confederation/M4T6s2Us">religious tolerance</a>, gradual <a href="/facts/Polonization/T6tn3qfm">Polonization</a> and <a href="/facts/Counter-Reformation/NLk0bSr6">Counter-Reformation</a> sought to minimise the Commonwealth's diversity; the aim was to root out some minorities by imposing the <a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish language</a>, <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a>, Polish culture and the Roman Catholic religion where possible.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:279" href="#fn:279">279</a> By the late 18th century, the <a href="/facts/Lithuanian_language/p0bS9M0R">Lithuanian language</a>, culture and identity became vulnerable;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:280" href="#fn:280">280</a> the country's name was changed to "Commonwealth of Poland" in 1791.

<h3>Religion</h3>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Warsaw_Confederation/M4T6s2Us">Warsaw Confederation</a>

The <a href="/facts/Warsaw_Confederation/M4T6s2Us">Warsaw Confederation</a> signed on 28 January 1573 secured the rights of minorities and religions;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:281" href="#fn:281">281</a> it allowed all persons to practice any faith freely, though religious tolerance varied at times. As outlined by <a href="/facts/Norman_Davies/t6vAfAWs">Norman Davies</a>, "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."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:282" href="#fn:282">282</a> Subsequently, the Catholic church initiated a <a href="/facts/Counter-Reformation_in_Poland/tApJAqzb">Counter-Reformation in Poland</a>, 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:283" href="#fn:283">283</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:284" href="#fn:284">284</a>
Poland retained religious freedom laws during an era when religious persecution was an everyday occurrence in the rest of Europe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:285" href="#fn:285">285</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:286" href="#fn:286">286</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Italy/tUf0PDYF">Italy</a>: "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." Others, particularly the leaders of the Roman Catholic church, the <a href="/facts/Society_of_Jesus/n0PeYBB8">Jesuits</a> and <a href="/facts/Papal_legate/pHmzU23a">papal legates</a>, were less optimistic about Poland's religious frivolity.

<blockquote>"This country became a place of shelter for heretics" – <a href="/facts/Stanislaus_Hosius/4yIF5fsX">Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius</a>, papal legate to Poland.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:287" href="#fn:287">287</a></blockquote>

To be Polish, in remote and multi-ethnic parts of the Commonwealth, was then much less an index of <a href="/facts/Ethnicity/XSp5l24t">ethnicity</a> than of religion and <a href="/facts/Hierarchy/mYJyqFrG">rank</a>; it was a designation largely reserved for the <a href="/facts/Landed_noble_class/LQwBC3SW">landed noble class</a> (szlachta), which included Poles, but also many members of non-Polish origin who <a href="/facts/Religious_conversion/m3QeGpVw">converted to Catholicism</a> in increasing numbers with each following generation. For the non-Polish <a href="/facts/Nobility/WLPIA8GT">noble</a> such conversion meant a final step of <a href="/facts/Polonization/T6tn3qfm">Polonization</a> that followed the adoption of the Polish language and <a href="/facts/Polish_culture/8H2pfLME">culture</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:288" href="#fn:288">288</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Prague/txpRNTUE">Prague</a>), and the more liberal and democratic <a href="/facts/Social_institutions/kGkhGcMN">social institutions</a> had proven an irresistible magnet for the non-Polish nobility in the Commonwealth.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:289" href="#fn:289">289</a> Many referred to themselves as "<a href="/facts/Gente_Ruthenus%2c_natione_Polonus/LJ6nSPBE">gente Ruthenus, natione Polonus</a>" (Ruthenian by blood, Polish by nationality) since the 16th century onwards.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:290" href="#fn:290">290</a>

As a result, in the eastern territories a Polish (or Polonised) aristocracy dominated a peasantry whose great majority was neither Polish nor Catholic. Moreover, the decades of peace brought huge <a href="/facts/Colonization/mp9GRL94">colonization</a> efforts to the eastern territories (nowadays roughly <a href="/facts/Western_Ukraine/8YgAlFj8">western</a> and <a href="/facts/Central_Ukraine/5NEWS6FB">central Ukraine</a>),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:291" href="#fn:291">291</a> heightening the tensions among <a href="/facts/Nobility/WLPIA8GT">nobles</a>, <a href="/facts/Jew/T9Y4wE6A">Jews</a>, <a href="/facts/Cossack/gqGJ4JKe">Cossacks</a> (traditionally Orthodox), Polish and Ruthenian peasants. When the latter, deprived of their native protectors among the Ruthenian nobility, turned for protection to <a href="/facts/Cossack/gqGJ4JKe">cossacks</a> that facilitated violence which in the end broke the Commonwealth. The tensions were aggravated by conflicts between <a href="/facts/Eastern_Orthodoxy/5n20Akh5">Eastern Orthodoxy</a> and the <a href="/facts/Union_of_Brest/NEI7t3KW">Greek Catholic Church</a> following the <a href="/facts/Union_of_Brest/NEI7t3KW">Union of Brest</a>, overall discrimination of Orthodox religions by dominant Catholicism,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:292" href="#fn:292">292</a> and several <a href="/facts/Cossack/gqGJ4JKe">Cossack</a> uprisings. In the west and north, many cities had sizable German minorities, often belonging to <a href="/facts/Lutheran/L4pMlRcS">Lutheran</a> or <a href="/facts/Reformed_churches/l95AzJtn">Reformed churches</a>. The Commonwealth had also one of the largest <a href="/facts/Jewish_diaspora/E2Tc3qxx">Jewish diasporas</a> in the world – by the mid-16th century 80% of the world's Jews lived in Poland (Pic. 16).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:293" href="#fn:293">293</a>
Until the <a href="/facts/Protestant_Reformation/9ClEbhnL">Reformation</a>, the szlachta were mostly Catholics (Pic. 13). However, many noble families quickly adopted the <a href="/facts/Reformed_tradition/l95AzJtn">Reformed</a> religion. After the <a href="/facts/Counter-Reformation/NLk0bSr6">Counter-Reformation</a>, when the <a href="/facts/Catholic_Church/rJ4F4gqH">Catholic Church</a> regained power in Poland, the szlachta became almost exclusively Catholic.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:294" href="#fn:294">294</a>
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 <a href="/facts/Peace_of_Jam_Zapolski/YA6IbcKL">Peace of Jam Zapolski</a> (1582), the Commonwealth had approximately 815,000 km2 area and a population of 7.5 million.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:295" href="#fn:295">295</a> After the <a href="/facts/Truce_of_Deulino/hM9NwKIT">Truce of Deulino</a> (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).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:296" href="#fn:296">296</a>

<h3>Languages</h3>

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a> – officially recognised;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:297" href="#fn:297">297</a> dominant language, used by most of the Commonwealth's nobility<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:298" href="#fn:298">298</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:299" href="#fn:299">299</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:300" href="#fn:300">300</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:301" href="#fn:301">301</a> and by the peasantry in the Crown province;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:302" href="#fn:302">302</a> official language in the Crown chancellery and since 1697 in the Grand Duchy chancellery.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:303" href="#fn:303">303</a> Dominant language in the towns.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:304" href="#fn:304">304</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> – officially recognised;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:305" href="#fn:305">305</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:306" href="#fn:306">306</a> commonly used in foreign relations<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:307" href="#fn:307">307</a> and popular as a second language among some of the nobility.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:308" href="#fn:308">308</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/French_language/qe1DnaQh">French</a> – not officially recognised; replaced Latin at the royal court in Warsaw in the beginning of the 18th century as a language used in foreign relations and as <a href="/facts/World_language/76EkMMr3">genuine spoken language</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:309" href="#fn:309">309</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:310" href="#fn:310">310</a> It was commonly used as a language of science and literature and as a second language among some of the nobility.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:311" href="#fn:311">311</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Ruthenian_language/1rRXt8I1">Ruthenian</a> – also known as Chancellery Slavonic;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:312" href="#fn:312">312</a> officially recognised;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:313" href="#fn:313">313</a> official language in the Grand Duchy chancellery until 1697 (when replaced by Polish) and in <a href="/facts/Brac%25C5%2582aw_Voivodeship/0G3aHCT5">Bratslav</a>, <a href="/facts/Chernihiv_Voivodeship/sMu009ae">Chernihiv</a>, <a href="/facts/Kiev_Voivodeship/bUxrwPmv">Kiev</a> and <a href="/facts/Volhynian_Voivodeship_(1569%25E2%2580%25931795)/1Lhlcayf">Volhynian voivodeships</a> until 1673;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:314" href="#fn:314">314</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:315" href="#fn:315">315</a> used in some foreign relations<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:316" href="#fn:316">316</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:317" href="#fn:317">317</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:318" href="#fn:318">318</a> its dialects (modern <a href="/facts/Belarusian_language/yRuE1cfX">Belarusian</a> and <a href="/facts/Ukrainian_language/2zDw7rpD">Ukrainian</a>) were widely used in the Grand Duchy and eastern parts of the Crown as spoken language.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Lithuanian_language/p0bS9M0R">Lithuanian</a> – not officially recognised;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:319" href="#fn:319">319</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:320" href="#fn:320">320</a> but used in some official documents in the Grand Duchy<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:321" href="#fn:321">321</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:322" href="#fn:322">322</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:323" href="#fn:323">323</a> and, mostly, used as a spoken language in the northernmost part of the country (in <a href="/facts/Lithuania_Proper/GvBgPauC">Lithuania Proper</a>)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:324" href="#fn:324">324</a> and the northern part of <a href="/facts/Ducal_Prussia/Aop3q6Mh">Ducal Prussia</a> (Polish <a href="/facts/Fief/KqK5faJD">fief</a>).</li>
<li><a href="/facts/German_language/oWaQIDA8">German</a> – officially recognised;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:325" href="#fn:325">325</a> used in some foreign relations,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:326" href="#fn:326">326</a> in Ducal Prussia and by German minorities especially in the <a href="/facts/Royal_Prussia/qwFUGmV1">Royal Prussia</a> and <a href="/facts/Greater_Poland/xLaAtAbW">Greater Poland</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:327" href="#fn:327">327</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:328" href="#fn:328">328</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Hebrew_language/hqKCSy9d">Hebrew</a> – officially recognised;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:329" href="#fn:329">329</a> and <a href="/facts/Aramaic/FpvKez1w">Aramaic</a> used by Jews for religious, scholarly, and legal matters.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Yiddish/VfmsR6pW">Yiddish</a> – not officially recognised;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:330" href="#fn:330">330</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:331" href="#fn:331">331</a> used by Jews in their daily life.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:332" href="#fn:332">332</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Italian_language/YXsmvlQG">Italian</a> – not officially recognised; used in some foreign relations and by Italian minorities in cities.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:333" href="#fn:333">333</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Armenian_language/tELuE2wG">Armenian</a> – officially recognised;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:334" href="#fn:334">334</a> used by <a href="/facts/Armenians_in_Poland/3IH2n6pw">the Armenian minority</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:335" href="#fn:335">335</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:336" href="#fn:336">336</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Arabic/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a> – not officially recognized; used in some foreign relations<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:337" href="#fn:337">337</a> and by <a href="/facts/Tatars/hgokK6aw">Tatars</a> in their religious matters, they also wrote <a href="/facts/Belarusian_Arabic_alphabet/TSMV2NYI">Ruthenian in the Arabic script</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:338" href="#fn:338">338</a></li></ul>
<h2 id="legacy">Legacy</h2>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Intermarium/pLNwVEzy">Intermarium</a>
The <a href="/facts/Duchy_of_Warsaw/bL4FweAd">Duchy of Warsaw</a>, established in 1807 by <a href="/facts/Napoleon_Bonaparte/8TKBIjPM">Napoleon Bonaparte</a>, traced its origins to the Commonwealth. Other revival movements appeared during the <a href="/facts/November_Uprising/S8lDvJyw">November Uprising</a> (1830–31), the <a href="/facts/January_Uprising/lDQGqEge">January Uprising</a> (1863–64) and in the 1920s, with <a href="/facts/J%25C3%25B3zef_Pi%25C5%2582sudski/Bewua8mG">Józef Piłsudski</a>'s failed attempt to create a Polish-led <a href="/facts/Intermarium/pLNwVEzy">Intermarium</a> (Międzymorze) federation that, at its largest extent, would span from <a href="/facts/Finland/G5Ak6T91">Finland</a> in the north to the <a href="/facts/Balkans/5Hy8ly0d">Balkans</a> in the south.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:339" href="#fn:339">339</a> The contemporary <a href="/facts/Republic_of_Poland/eXJ7fd0D">Republic of Poland</a> considers itself a successor to the Commonwealth,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:340" href="#fn:340">340</a> whereas the <a href="/facts/Republic_of_Lithuania/dApVjLWW">Republic of Lithuania</a>, re-established at the end of <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a>, 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,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:341" href="#fn:341">341</a> although this attitude has been changing in recent years.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:342" href="#fn:342">342</a>

<h2 id="administrative-divisions">Administrative divisions</h2>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Administrative_division_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/kerWDLzo">Administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>
See also: <a href="/facts/Offices_in_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth/3fT6CKPY">Offices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth</a>

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:

<ul><li>the <a href="/facts/Crown_of_the_Polish_Kingdom/oDvfPXaI">Crown of the Polish Kingdom</a> (Poland proper), colloquially "the Crown"</li>
<li>the <a href="/facts/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania/9czbKcfs">Grand Duchy of Lithuania</a>, colloquially "Lithuania"</li></ul>
The Commonwealth was further divided into smaller administrative units known as <a href="/facts/Voivodeship/XuweA7Wt">voivodeships</a> (województwa). Each voivodeship was governed by a <a href="/facts/Voivode/BJxsygKj">Voivode</a> (wojewoda, governor). Voivodeships were further divided into <a href="/facts/Powiat/9bd1Grmw">powiats</a>, each powiat being governed by a <a href="/facts/Starosta/kQBf7PLR">starosta</a>. Cities were governed by <a href="/facts/Castellan/CtH2Uy1l">castellans</a>. There were frequent exceptions to these rules, often involving the <a href="/facts/Ziemia/b89DX7X9">ziemia</a> subunit of administration.
The lands that once belonged to the Commonwealth are now largely distributed among several <a href="/facts/Central_Europe/VdxzSbJz">Central</a> and <a href="/facts/Eastern_Europe/f5CDGzNA">East European</a> countries: Poland, Ukraine, Moldova (Transnistria), Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:343" href="#fn:343">343</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:344" href="#fn:344">344</a> Also some small towns in <a href="/facts/Upper_Hungary/HkYHQVUD">Upper Hungary</a> (today mostly <a href="/facts/Slovakia/gmJwpwM3">Slovakia</a>), became a part of Poland in the <a href="/facts/Treaty_of_Lubowla/8skoq96E">Treaty of Lubowla</a> (<a href="/facts/Spi%25C5%25A1/AxzhxP9A">Spiš</a> towns).
Other notable parts of the Commonwealth, without respect to region or voivodeship divisions, include:

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Lesser_Poland_Province_of_the_Polish_Crown/CS330CrF">Lesser Poland Province</a> (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Małopolska), southern Poland, with two largest cities, its capital at <a href="/facts/Krak%25C3%25B3w/hubj59IT">Kraków</a> and <a href="/facts/Lublin/MIuLH9pa">Lublin</a> in the north-east;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Greater_Poland_Province_of_the_Polish_Crown/KUmlS4AW">Greater Poland Province</a> (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Wielkopolska), west–central Poland around <a href="/facts/Pozna%25C5%2584/WyM53M58">Poznań</a> and the <a href="/facts/Warta_River/aJGnu4mf">Warta River</a> system;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Mazovia/hf1wkNea">Mazovia</a> (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Mazowsze), central Poland, with its capital at <a href="/facts/Warsaw/0cRqN3pw">Warsaw</a>;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Lithuania_proper/GvBgPauC">Lithuania Proper</a> (<a href="/facts/Lithuanian_language/p0bS9M0R">Lithuanian</a>: Didžioji Lietuva), northwest Grand Duchy, its most Catholic and ethnically <a href="/facts/Lithuanians/XRBBRqXI">Lithuanian</a> part, capital <a href="/facts/Vilnius/ecy21qeQ">Vilnius</a>;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Duchy_of_Samogitia/M61uxbfd">Duchy of Samogitia</a> (<a href="/facts/Lithuanian_language/p0bS9M0R">Lithuanian</a>: Žemaitija; <a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Żmudź), westernmost and most autonomous part of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, also the western part of Lithuania Proper, capital <a href="/facts/Raseiniai/wysjNlh4">Raseiniai</a>;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Royal_Prussia/qwFUGmV1">Royal Prussia</a> (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Prusy Królewskie), at the southern shore of the <a href="/facts/Baltic_Sea/jbQJGLQX">Baltic Sea</a>, was an <a href="/facts/Autonomy/5ne4C7N8">autonomous</a> area since the <a href="/facts/Second_Peace_of_Thorn_(1466)/50xMoWwU">Second Peace of Thorn (1466)</a>, incorporated into the Crown in 1569 with the <a href="/facts/Union_of_Lublin/mvur9WtP">Commonwealth's formation</a>;
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Pomerelia/6ETamaCF">Pomerelia</a> (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Pomorze Gdańskie), <a href="/facts/Pomerania/CrT5dgpD">Pomerania</a> around <a href="/facts/Gda%25C5%2584sk/a6VNPK28">Gdańsk</a>, western part of Royal Prussia;</li></ul></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Ruthenia/MmmqKMjC">Ruthenia</a> (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Ruś), the eastern Commonwealth, adjoining Russia;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Duchy_of_Livonia/b6YSMtQU">Duchy of Livonia</a> (Inflanty), a joint domain of the Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Parts lost to Sweden in the 1620s and in 1660;</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Duchy_of_Courland_and_Semigallia/499Psc1K">Duchy of Courland and Semigallia</a> (<a href="/facts/Lithuanian_language/p0bS9M0R">Lithuanian</a>: Kuršas ir Žiemgala; <a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Kurlandia i Semigalia), a northern <a href="/facts/Fief/KqK5faJD">fief</a> of the Commonwealth. It established a colony in <a href="/facts/Tobago/AceVKHRo">Tobago</a> in 1637 and on <a href="/facts/Kunta_Kinteh_Island/Nmxp84lV">St. Andrews Island</a> at the <a href="/facts/Gambia_River/YSlJqQT2">Gambia River</a> in 1651 (see <a href="/facts/Couronian_colonization/yoAyp3Jk">Couronian colonization</a>);</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Silesia/SHDHG2MD">Silesia</a> (<a href="/facts/Polish_language/lzpvYDvV">Polish</a>: Śląsk) was not within the Commonwealth, but small parts belonged to various Commonwealth kings; in particular, the <a href="/facts/House_of_Vasa/6hGaHExz">Vasa</a> kings were <a href="/facts/Duke_of_Opole/ggJWH7xe">dukes</a> of <a href="/facts/Opole/j1bshumb">Opole</a> (Oppeln), <a href="/facts/Prudnik/Q4ro7zrl">Prudnik</a> (Neustadt) and <a href="/facts/Racib%25C3%25B3rz/0axx0Wqo">Racibórz</a> (Ratibor) from 1645 to 1666.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:345" href="#fn:345">345</a></li></ul>

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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:346" href="#fn:346">346</a> 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:347" href="#fn:347">347</a>

<h2 id="geography">Geography</h2>
In the 16th century, the Polish bishop and <a href="/facts/Cartographer/8YdDAAeX">cartographer</a> <a href="/facts/Martin_Kromer/Gg56bfDe">Martin Kromer</a>, who studied in <a href="/facts/Bologna/glE9rlrW">Bologna</a>, published a Latin <a href="/facts/Atlas_(cartography)/0P16fANt">atlas</a>, entitled <a href="/facts/Polonia_sive_de_situ%2c_populis%2c_moribus%2c_magistratibus_et_Republica_regni_Polonici_libri_duo/lY879Ray">Poland: about Its Location, People, Culture, Offices and the Polish Commonwealth</a>, which was regarded as one of the most comprehensive guides to the country.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:348" href="#fn:348">348</a>
Kromer's works and other contemporary maps, such as those of <a href="/facts/Gerardus_Mercator/PXBcFetG">Gerardus Mercator</a>, show the Commonwealth as mostly <a href="/facts/Plain/yM1ghtmc">plains</a>. The Commonwealth's southeastern part, the <a href="/facts/Kresy/QFwAhT9m">Kresy</a>, was famous for its <a href="/facts/Steppe/IAako607">steppes</a>. The <a href="/facts/Carpathian_Mountains/I3TkYUjj">Carpathian Mountains</a> formed part of the southern border, with the <a href="/facts/Tatra_Mountains/CCzGGj93">Tatra Mountain</a> chain the highest, and the <a href="/facts/Baltic_Sea/jbQJGLQX">Baltic Sea</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Bia%25C5%2582owie%25C5%25BCa_Forest/91UfHBbJ">Białowieża Forest</a> constitutes the last largely intact <a href="/facts/Old-growth_forest/kffLtWkA">primeval forest</a> in Europe.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:349" href="#fn:349">349</a>

<h2 id="image-gallery">Image gallery</h2>

<ul><li><a href="/facts/History_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1569%25E2%2580%25931648)/ahSIdNvn">History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1648)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/History_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1648%25E2%2580%25931764)/qbBeLtMx">History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1648–1764)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/History_of_the_Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian_Commonwealth_(1764%25E2%2580%25931795)/4UFCSnpS">History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1764–1795)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/List_of_medieval_great_powers/jbCJLEM3">List of medieval great powers</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Armorial_of_Polish_nobility/Xv3Dw82d">Armorial of Polish nobility</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/List_of_szlachta/BcMvXms8">List of szlachta</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Polish_heraldry/lN2WzXfo">Polish heraldry</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Lithuanian_nobility/WeW9eKqM">Lithuanian nobility</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Armenians_in_Poland/3IH2n6pw">Armenians in Poland</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/History_of_the_Germans_in_Poland/hJXVa0sS">History of the Germans in Poland</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/History_of_the_Jews_in_Poland/kLzWTezb">History of the Jews in Poland</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/History_of_Poland/EBcnbP5r">History of Poland</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/History_of_Lithuania/lDd0bpsP">History of Lithuania</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian%25E2%2580%2593Ruthenian_Commonwealth/cQGlrSxY">Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Polish%25E2%2580%2593Lithuanian%25E2%2580%2593Muscovite_Commonwealth/bC4qbgjN">Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth</a></li></ul>
<h2 id="notes">Notes</h2>

<h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2>
Main article: <a href="/facts/Bibliography_of_the_history_of_Poland/Xc8JfJS4">Bibliography of the history of Poland</a>

<ul><li>Bardach, Juliusz; Lesnodorski, Boguslaw; Pietrzak, Michal (1987). Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego. Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-83-01-07919-2.</li>
<li>Brzezinski, Richard (1987). Polish Armies (1): 1569–1696. Men-At-Arms Series. Vol. 184. Osprey Publishing. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-85045-736-X.</li>
<li>Brzezinski, Richard (1988). Polish Armies (2): 1569–1696. Men-At-Arms Series. Vol. 188. Osprey Publishing. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-85045-744-0.</li>
<li>Frost, Robert (2015). The Oxford History of Poland–Lithuania. Vol. I: The Making of the Polish–Lithuanian Union, 1385–1569. Oxford University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-19-820869-3.</li>
<li>Litwin, Henryk (October 2016). <a href="https://www.msz.gov.pl/resource/49da65c5-9917-40de-b542-5c89751cacf6:JCR">"Central European Superpower"</a>. BUM Magazine.</li>
<li>Norkus, Zenonas (2017). An Unproclaimed Empire: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania: From the Viewpoint of Comparative Historical Sociology of Empires. <a href="/facts/Routledge/aSwcES11">Routledge</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-138-28154-7.</li>
<li>Rowell, S. C. (2014). Lithuania Ascending: A Pagan Empire within East-Central Europe, 1295–1345. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series. Cambridge University Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1-107-65876-9.</li>
<li>Rowell, S. C.; Baronas, Darius (2015). The Conversion of Lithuania. From Pagan Barbarians to Late Medieval Christians. Vilnius: Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-609-425-152-8.</li>
<li>Stone, Daniel Z. (2014). The Polish–Lithuanian State, 1386–1795. <a href="/facts/University_of_Washington_Press/2H7KMe02">University of Washington Press</a>. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-295-80362-3.</li>
<li>Sužiedėlis, Saulius A. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Lithuania (2 ed.). Scarecrow Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-8108-7536-4.</li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li> Media related to Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at Wikimedia Commons</li>
<li><a href="http://www.commonwealth.pl">Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110624022527/http://www.commonwealth.pl/">Archived</a> 24 June 2011 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a> (in Polish and English)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.wilanow-palac.pl/pasaz">Knowledge passage</a> (in Polish)</li>
<li><a href="http://rzecz-pospolita.com/">The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth – Maps, history of cities in Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210417044200/http://rzecz-pospolita.com/">Archived</a> 17 April 2021 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a> (in Polish)</li>
<li><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010f8z">The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on BBC Radio 4 "In Our Time"</a> 14 Oct. 2021, <a href="/facts/Melvyn_Bragg/sIHUlydt">Melvyn Bragg</a> with <a href="/facts/Robert_I._Frost/ztWUmnVP">Robert I. Frost</a>, <a href="/facts/University_of_Aberdeen/F6X2yVXk">University of Aberdeen</a>, Katarzyna Kosior, <a href="/facts/Northumbria_University/TPSUCYtN">Northumbria University</a> and <a href="/facts/Norman_Davies/t6vAfAWs">Norman Davies</a>, <a href="/facts/University_of_Oxford/ExVVQL6V">University of Oxford</a></li></ul>
<a href="https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth¶ms=50_03_14_N_19_56_05_E_type:country">50°03′14″N 19°56′05″E / 50.05389°N 19.93472°E / 50.05389; 19.93472</a>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">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, romanized: Rich Pospolyta
Belarusian: Рэч Паспалітая, romanized: Rech Paspalitaya
Ruthenian: Рѣчъ Посполита
 <a href="/wiki/Polish_language" target="_blank">/wiki/Polish_language</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">then formally titled the "Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania"
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
 <a href="/wiki/Polish_language" target="_blank">/wiki/Polish_language</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">a historiographic term, with the full form in Polish: I Rzeczpospolita Polska
 <a href="/wiki/Polish_language" target="_blank">/wiki/Polish_language</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Howard, Peter (2016). The Routledge Research Companion to Heritage and Identity. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-04323-2. <a href="978-1-317-04323-2" target="_blank">978-1-317-04323-2</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">Bardach, Juliusz (2003). Historia ustroju i prawa polskiego (in Polish). Wydawn. Prawnicze LexisNexis. p. 13. ISBN 978-83-88296-02-4. <a href="978-83-88296-02-4" target="_blank">978-83-88296-02-4</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Zbigniew Pucek: Państwo i społeczeństwo 2012/1, Krakow, 2012, p. 17. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">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" <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Piotr Wandycz (2001). The price of freedom. Psychology Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-415-25491-5. Retrieved 13 August 2011. <a href="978-0-415-25491-5" target="_blank">978-0-415-25491-5</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Bertram Benedict (1919). A history of the great war. Bureau of national literature, inc. p. 21. Retrieved 13 August 2011. <a href="https://archive.org/details/ahistorygreatwa02benegoog" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/ahistorygreatwa02benegoog</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">According to Panstwowe Przedsiebiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych: Atlas Historyczny Polski, wydanie X, 1990, p. 16, 990.000 km2 <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">Based on 1618 population map Archived 17 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine (p. 115), 1618 languages map (p. 119), 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 0880293942 <a href="http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg" target="_blank">http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">According to Panstwowe Przedsiebiorstwo Wydawnictw Kartograficznych: Atlas Historyczny Polski, wydanie X, 1990, p. 16, just over 9 million in 1618. <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">Gudavičius, Edvardas. "Lietuvos feodalinės visuomenės ir jos valdymo sistemos genezė: 2 dalis" (PDF). Ministry of the Interior (Lithuania) (in Lithuanian). p. 8. Retrieved 18 November 2023. <a href="https://vrm.lrv.lt/uploads/vrm/documents/files/LT_versija/Veikla/Vidaus%20reikal%C5%B3%20istorija/2dalis.pdf" target="_blank">https://vrm.lrv.lt/uploads/vrm/documents/files/LT_versija/Veikla/Vidaus%20reikal%C5%B3%20istorija/2dalis.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Spečiūnas, Vytautas. "Jonas Albrechtas". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 18 November 2023. <a href="https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/jonas-albrechtas/" target="_blank">https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/jonas-albrechtas/</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">Stone, Daniel, The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386–1795, Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2001. <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Richters, Katja (2012). The Post-Soviet Russian Orthodox Church: Politics, Culture and Greater Russia. Routledge. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-136-29636-9. formed part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth which was ruled by Catholic monarchs who made Roman Catholicism the state religion <a href="978-1-136-29636-9" target="_blank">978-1-136-29636-9</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">George Sanford, Democratic Government in Poland: Constitutional Politics Since 1989, Palgrave, 2002, ISBN 0-333-77475-2, Google print p. 11 – constitutional monarchy, p. 3 – anarchy <a href="/wiki/George_Sanford_(scholar)" target="_blank">/wiki/George_Sanford_(scholar)</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">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. ISBN 0-19-925339-0, 0-19-925340-4 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">Halina Stephan, Living in Translation: Polish Writers in America, Rodopi, 2003, ISBN 90-420-1016-9, Google Print p. 373. Quoting from Sarmatian Review academic journal mission statement: "Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was ... characterized by religious tolerance unusual in premodern Europe" <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">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]". <a href="/wiki/Robert_Burton_(scholar)" target="_blank">/wiki/Robert_Burton_(scholar)</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">Gross, Feliks (1999). Citizenship and Ethnicity: The Growth and Development of a Democratic Multiethnic Institution (notes). Greenwood Press. p. 122. ISBN 0-313-30932-9. <a href="0-313-30932-9" target="_blank">0-313-30932-9</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">J. Smith, David; Pabriks, Artis; Purs, Aldirs; Lane, Thomas (2002). The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Routledge. pp. xxiii–xxiv. ISBN 0415285801. <a href="0415285801" target="_blank">0415285801</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:23">Fiszman, Samuel (1988). The Polish Renaissance in Its European Context. Indiana University Press. p. 40. ISBN 0253346274. <a href="0253346274" target="_blank">0253346274</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:24">J. Smith, David; Pabriks, Artis; Purs, Aldirs; Lane, Thomas (2002). The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Routledge. pp. xxiii–xxiv. ISBN 0415285801. <a href="0415285801" target="_blank">0415285801</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:25">Rieber, Alfred J. (2014). The Struggle for the Eurasian Borderlands. From the Rise of Early Modern Empires to the End of the First World War. Cambridge: University Press. pp. 158–161. ISBN 9781107043091. <a href="9781107043091" target="_blank">9781107043091</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:26">"In the mid-1500s, united Poland was the largest state in Europe and perhaps the continent's most powerful state politically and militarily". "Poland". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 26 June 2009. <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/466681/Poland" target="_blank">http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/466681/Poland</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:27">Francis Dvornik (1992). The Slavs in European History and Civilization. Rutgers University Press. p. 300. ISBN 0-8135-0799-5. <a href="0-8135-0799-5" target="_blank">0-8135-0799-5</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:28">Salo Wittmayer Baron (1976). A social and religious history of the Jews. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-08853-1. <a href="0-231-08853-1" target="_blank">0-231-08853-1</a> <a href="#fnref:28" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:29">George Sanford, Democratic Government in Poland: Constitutional Politics Since 1989, Palgrave, 2002, ISBN 0-333-77475-2, Google print p. 11 – constitutional monarchy, p. 3 – anarchy <a href="/wiki/George_Sanford_(scholar)" target="_blank">/wiki/George_Sanford_(scholar)</a> <a href="#fnref:29" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:30">Martin Van Gelderen, Quentin Skinner, Republicanism: A Shared European Heritage, Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-521-80756-5 p. 54. <a href="/wiki/Quentin_Skinner" target="_blank">/wiki/Quentin_Skinner</a> <a href="#fnref:30" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:31">Blaustein, Albert (1993). Constitutions of the World. Fred B. Rothman & Co. ISBN 978-0-8377-0362-6. <a href="978-0-8377-0362-6" target="_blank">978-0-8377-0362-6</a> <a href="#fnref:31" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:32">Isaac Kramnick, Introduction, Madison, James (1987). The Federalist Papers. Penguin Classics. p. 13. ISBN 0-14-044495-5. May second oldest constitution. <a href="0-14-044495-5" target="_blank">0-14-044495-5</a> <a href="#fnref:32" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:33">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 href="/wiki/John_Markoff_(professor)" target="_blank">/wiki/John_Markoff_(professor)</a> <a href="#fnref:33" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:34">Davies, Norman (1996). Europe: A History. Oxford University Press. p. 699. ISBN 0-19-820171-0. <a href="0-19-820171-0" target="_blank">0-19-820171-0</a> <a href="#fnref:34" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:35">"Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae – definicja, synonimy, przykłady użycia". sjp.pwn.pl. Retrieved 27 October 2016. <a href="http://sjp.pwn.pl/slowniki/Regnum%20Poloniae%20Magnusque%20Ducatus%20Lithuaniae.html" target="_blank">http://sjp.pwn.pl/slowniki/Regnum%20Poloniae%20Magnusque%20Ducatus%20Lithuaniae.html</a> <a href="#fnref:35" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:36">Jasas, Rimantas. "Liublino unija". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 18 November 2024. LDK liko atskira valstybė, turinti pavadinimą, herbą, teritoriją, valdymo aparatą, iždą, įstatymus, teismus, kariuomenę, antspaudą. <a href="https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/liublino-unija/" target="_blank">https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/liublino-unija/</a> <a href="#fnref:36" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:37">Petrauskas, Rimvydas. "Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 18 November 2024. Po unijos LDK išsaugojo savo teritoriją, įstatymus <a href="/wiki/Rimvydas_Petrauskas" target="_blank">/wiki/Rimvydas_Petrauskas</a> <a href="#fnref:37" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:38">"Abiejų Tautų Respublika". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 18 November 2024. <a href="https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/abieju-tautu-respublika/" target="_blank">https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/abieju-tautu-respublika/</a> <a href="#fnref:38" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:39">Andriulis, Vytautas. "Trečiasis Lietuvos Statutas". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 21 October 2024. Trečiajame Lietuvos Statute buvo įrašyta lietuviškoji Liublino unijos samprata: kaip 2 lygiateisių valstybių – Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštystės ir Lenkijos – federacija. <a href="https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/treciasis-lietuvos-statutas/" target="_blank">https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/treciasis-lietuvos-statutas/</a> <a href="#fnref:39" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:40">Ex quo serenissima respublica Poloniae in corpore ad exempluin omnium aliarnm potentiarum, lilulum regiuin Borussiae recognoscere decrevit (...) Antoine-François-Claude Ferrand (1820). "Volume 1". Histoire des trois démembremens de la Pologne: pour faire suite à l'histoire de l'Anarchie de Pologne par Rulhière (in French). Deterville. p. 182. <a href="https://archive.org/details/histoiredestroi00ferrgoog" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/histoiredestroi00ferrgoog</a> <a href="#fnref:40" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:41">the name given by Marcin Kromer in his work Polonia sive de situ, populis, moribus, magistratibus et re publica regni Polonici libri duo, 1577. <a href="/wiki/Marcin_Kromer" target="_blank">/wiki/Marcin_Kromer</a> <a href="#fnref:41" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:42">the therm used for instance in Zbior Deklaracyi, Not I Czynnosci Głownieyszych, Ktore Poprzedziły I Zaszły Pod Czas Seymu Pod Węzłem Konfederacyi Odprawuiącego Się Od Dnia 18. Wrzesnia 1772. Do 14 Maia 1773 <a href="#fnref:42" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:43">"Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae – definicja, synonimy, przykłady użycia". sjp.pwn.pl. Retrieved 27 October 2016. <a href="http://sjp.pwn.pl/slowniki/Regnum%20Poloniae%20Magnusque%20Ducatus%20Lithuaniae.html" target="_blank">http://sjp.pwn.pl/slowniki/Regnum%20Poloniae%20Magnusque%20Ducatus%20Lithuaniae.html</a> <a href="#fnref:43" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:44">Name used for the common state, Henryk Rutkowski, Terytorium, w: Encyklopedia historii gospodarczej Polski do 1945 roku, t. II, Warszawa 1981, s. 398. <a href="#fnref:44" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:45">Richard Buterwick. The Polish Revolution and the Catholic Church, 1788–1792: A Political History. Oxford University Press. 2012. pp. 5, xvii. <a href="/wiki/Oxford_University_Press" target="_blank">/wiki/Oxford_University_Press</a> <a href="#fnref:45" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:46">1791 document signed by the King Stanislaw August "Zareczenie wzaiemne Oboyga Narodow" pp. 1, 5 [1] <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20151223050234/http://rcin.org.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=18498" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20151223050234/http://rcin.org.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=18498</a> <a href="#fnref:46" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:47">Tumelis, Juozas. "Abiejų Tautų tarpusavio įžadas". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 18 November 2024. Preambulėje patvirtintas dualistinis valstybės pobūdis <a href="https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/abieju-tautu-tarpusavio-izadas/" target="_blank">https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/abieju-tautu-tarpusavio-izadas/</a> <a href="#fnref:47" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:48">"Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae – definicja, synonimy, przykłady użycia". sjp.pwn.pl. Retrieved 27 October 2016. <a href="http://sjp.pwn.pl/slowniki/Regnum%20Poloniae%20Magnusque%20Ducatus%20Lithuaniae.html" target="_blank">http://sjp.pwn.pl/slowniki/Regnum%20Poloniae%20Magnusque%20Ducatus%20Lithuaniae.html</a> <a href="#fnref:48" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:49">Petrauskas, Rimvydas. "Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 18 November 2024. Po unijos LDK išsaugojo savo teritoriją, įstatymus <a href="/wiki/Rimvydas_Petrauskas" target="_blank">/wiki/Rimvydas_Petrauskas</a> <a href="#fnref:49" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:50">"Abiejų Tautų Respublika". Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 18 November 2024. <a href="https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/abieju-tautu-respublika/" target="_blank">https://www.vle.lt/straipsnis/abieju-tautu-respublika/</a> <a href="#fnref:50" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:51">Jasienica, Paweł (1997). Polska Jagiellonów. Polska: Prószyński i Spółka. pp. 30–32. ISBN 978-83-8123-881-6. <a href="978-83-8123-881-6" target="_blank">978-83-8123-881-6</a> <a href="#fnref:51" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:52">Jasienica 1997, pp. 30–32 - Jasienica, Paweł (1997). Polska Jagiellonów. Polska: Prószyński i Spółka. pp. 30–32. ISBN 978-83-8123-881-6. <a href="#fnref:52" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:53">Halecki 1991, p. 52 - Halecki, Oscar (1991). Jadwiga of Anjou and the Rise of East Central Europe. Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. pp. 116–117. ISBN 0-88033-206-9. <a href="#fnref:53" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:54">Halecki 1991, p. 52 - Halecki, Oscar (1991). Jadwiga of Anjou and the Rise of East Central Europe. Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. pp. 116–117. ISBN 0-88033-206-9. <a href="#fnref:54" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:55">Halecki 1991, p. 71 - Halecki, Oscar (1991). Jadwiga of Anjou and the Rise of East Central Europe. Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. pp. 116–117. ISBN 0-88033-206-9. <a href="#fnref:55" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:56">Halecki 1991, p. 52 - Halecki, Oscar (1991). Jadwiga of Anjou and the Rise of East Central Europe. Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. pp. 116–117. ISBN 0-88033-206-9. <a href="#fnref:56" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:57">Engel, Pál (2001). The Realm of St Stephen: A History of Medieval Hungary, 895–1526. I.B. Tauris. p. 170. ISBN 1-86064-061-3. <a href="1-86064-061-3" target="_blank">1-86064-061-3</a> <a href="#fnref:57" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:58">Halecki, Oscar (1991). Jadwiga of Anjou and the Rise of East Central Europe. Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. pp. 116–117. ISBN 0-88033-206-9. <a href="0-88033-206-9" target="_blank">0-88033-206-9</a> <a href="#fnref:58" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:59">Jasienica 1997, p. 63 - Jasienica, Paweł (1997). Polska Jagiellonów. Polska: Prószyński i Spółka. pp. 30–32. ISBN 978-83-8123-881-6. <a href="#fnref:59" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:60">Halecki 1991, p. 155 - Halecki, Oscar (1991). Jadwiga of Anjou and the Rise of East Central Europe. Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. pp. 116–117. ISBN 0-88033-206-9. <a href="#fnref:60" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:61">Manikowska, Halina (2005). Historia dla Maturzysty. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Szkolne PWN. p. 141. ISBN 83-7195-853-6. <a href="83-7195-853-6" target="_blank">83-7195-853-6</a> <a href="#fnref:61" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:62">Bojtár, Endre (1999), Foreword to the Past: A Cultural History of the Baltic People, translated by Walter J. Renfroe, Budapest: Central European University Press, p. 182, ISBN 978-963-9116-42-9 <a href="978-963-9116-42-9" target="_blank">978-963-9116-42-9</a> <a href="#fnref:62" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:63">Butterwick 2021, pp. 12–14 - Butterwick, Richard (2021). The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733–1795. Yale University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-300-25220-0. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:63" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:64">Butterwick 2021 - Butterwick, Richard (2021). The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733–1795. Yale University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-300-25220-0. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:64" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:65">Butterwick, Richard (2021). The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733–1795. Yale University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-300-25220-0. <a href="978-0-300-25220-0" target="_blank">978-0-300-25220-0</a> <a href="#fnref:65" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:66">Borucki, Marek (2009). Historia Polski do 2009 roku. Polska: Mada. p. 57. ISBN 978-83-89624-59-8. <a href="978-83-89624-59-8" target="_blank">978-83-89624-59-8</a> <a href="#fnref:66" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:67">Gierowski, Józef (1986a). Historia Polski 1505–1764. Warsaw: PWN. pp. 92–109. ISBN 83-01-03732-6. <a href="83-01-03732-6" target="_blank">83-01-03732-6</a> <a href="#fnref:67" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:68">Butterwick 2021, p. 21 - Butterwick, Richard (2021). The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733–1795. Yale University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-300-25220-0. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:68" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:69">Butterwick 2021, p. 21 - Butterwick, Richard (2021). The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733–1795. Yale University Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-300-25220-0. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=g2cOEAAAQBAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:69" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:70">Pernal, Andrew Boleslaw (2010). Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów a Ukraina. Polska: Księgarnia Akademicka. p. 10. ISBN 978-83-7188-973-8. <a href="978-83-7188-973-8" target="_blank">978-83-7188-973-8</a> <a href="#fnref:70" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:71">Pernal 2010, p. 10 - Pernal, Andrew Boleslaw (2010). Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów a Ukraina. Polska: Księgarnia Akademicka. p. 10. ISBN 978-83-7188-973-8. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=dG1PAQAAIAAJ&q=unia%20lubelska%20waluta%201569" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=dG1PAQAAIAAJ&q=unia%20lubelska%20waluta%201569</a> <a href="#fnref:71" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:72">Maniecky & Szajnocha 1869, p. 504 - Maniecky, Wojciech; Szajnocha, Karol (1869). Dziennik Literacki (in Polish). Ossoliński. p. 504. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=NZX8WU5PDyQC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=NZX8WU5PDyQC</a> <a href="#fnref:72" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:73">Maniecky, Wojciech; Szajnocha, Karol (1869). Dziennik Literacki (in Polish). Ossoliński. p. 504. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=NZX8WU5PDyQC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=NZX8WU5PDyQC</a> <a href="#fnref:73" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:74">Maniecky & Szajnocha 1869, p. 504 - Maniecky, Wojciech; Szajnocha, Karol (1869). Dziennik Literacki (in Polish). Ossoliński. p. 504. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=NZX8WU5PDyQC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=NZX8WU5PDyQC</a> <a href="#fnref:74" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:75">The death of Sigismund II Augustus in 1572 was followed by a three-year Interregnum during which adjustments were made in the constitutional system. The lower nobility was now included in the selection process, and the power of the monarch was further circumscribed in favor of the expanded noble class. From that point, the king was effectively a partner with the noble class and constantly supervised by a group of senators. "The Elective Monarchy". Poland – The Historical Setting. Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. 1992. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110604230420/http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/longhist3.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110604230420/http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/longhist3.html</a> <a href="#fnref:75" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:76">Roşu, Felicia (2017). Elective Monarchy in Transylvania and Poland–Lithuania, 1569–1587. Oxford (GB): Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-878937-6. <a href="978-0-19-878937-6" target="_blank">978-0-19-878937-6</a> <a href="#fnref:76" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:77">Bardach, Juliusz (1987). Historia państwa i prawa polskiego (in Polish). Warszawa: PWN. pp. 216–217. <a href="#fnref:77" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:78">Bardach 1987, pp. 216–217 - Bardach, Juliusz (1987). Historia państwa i prawa polskiego (in Polish). Warszawa: PWN. pp. 216–217. <a href="#fnref:78" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:79">Stone, Daniel (2001). The Polish–Lithuanian state, 1386–1795 [A History of East Central Europe, Volume IV.] Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 118. ISBN 0-295-98093-1. <a href="0-295-98093-1" target="_blank">0-295-98093-1</a> <a href="#fnref:79" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:80">Besala, Jerzy; Biedrzycka, Agnieszka (2005). Stefan Batory: Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XLIII. p. 116. <a href="#fnref:80" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:81">Roşu, Felicia (2017). Elective Monarchy in Transylvania and Poland–Lithuania, 1569–1587. Oxford (GB): Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-878937-6. <a href="978-0-19-878937-6" target="_blank">978-0-19-878937-6</a> <a href="#fnref:81" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:82">Besala & Biedrzycka 2005, p. 116 - Besala, Jerzy; Biedrzycka, Agnieszka (2005). Stefan Batory: Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XLIII. p. 116. <a href="#fnref:82" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:83">Besala & Biedrzycka 2005, p. 117 - Besala, Jerzy; Biedrzycka, Agnieszka (2005). Stefan Batory: Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XLIII. p. 116. <a href="#fnref:83" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:84">Besala & Biedrzycka 2005, p. 116 - Besala, Jerzy; Biedrzycka, Agnieszka (2005). Stefan Batory: Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XLIII. p. 116. <a href="#fnref:84" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:85">Besala & Biedrzycka 2005, pp. 116–117 - Besala, Jerzy; Biedrzycka, Agnieszka (2005). Stefan Batory: Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XLIII. p. 116. <a href="#fnref:85" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:86">Roşu, Felicia (2017). Elective Monarchy in Transylvania and Poland–Lithuania, 1569–1587. Oxford (GB): Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-878937-6. <a href="978-0-19-878937-6" target="_blank">978-0-19-878937-6</a> <a href="#fnref:86" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:87">Besala & Biedrzycka 2005, pp. 118–119 - Besala, Jerzy; Biedrzycka, Agnieszka (2005). Stefan Batory: Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XLIII. p. 116. <a href="#fnref:87" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:88">Besala & Biedrzycka 2005, pp. 118–119 - Besala, Jerzy; Biedrzycka, Agnieszka (2005). Stefan Batory: Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XLIII. p. 116. <a href="#fnref:88" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:89">Besala & Biedrzycka 2005, p. 121 - Besala, Jerzy; Biedrzycka, Agnieszka (2005). Stefan Batory: Polski Słownik Biograficzny (in Polish). Vol. XLIII. p. 116. <a href="#fnref:89" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:90">Szujski, Józef (1894). Dzieła Józefa Szujskiego. Dzieje Polski (in Polish). Vol. 3. Kraków: Szujski-Kluczycki. p. 139. Retrieved 9 January 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=JlAFSS-12xwC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=JlAFSS-12xwC</a> <a href="#fnref:90" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:91">pisze, Przemek (3 July 2013). "Bitwa pod Byczyną. Zamoyski upokarza Habsburgów i gwarantuje tron Zygmuntowi III – HISTORIA.org.pl – historia, kultura, muzea, matura, rekonstrukcje i recenzje historyczne". Retrieved 16 November 2016. <a href="http://historia.org.pl/2013/07/03/bitwa-pod-byczyna-zamoyski-upokarza-habsburgow-i-gwarantuje-tron-zygmuntowi-iii/" target="_blank">http://historia.org.pl/2013/07/03/bitwa-pod-byczyna-zamoyski-upokarza-habsburgow-i-gwarantuje-tron-zygmuntowi-iii/</a> <a href="#fnref:91" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:92">Kizwalter, Tomasz (1987). Kryzys Oświecenia a początki konserwatyzmu polskiego (in Polish). Warszawa (Warsaw): Uniwersytet Warszawski. p. 21. Retrieved 3 May 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=p7JFAAAAIAAJ&q=srebrn%20wiek%20%20z%C5%82oty%20waz%C3%B3w" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=p7JFAAAAIAAJ&q=srebrn%20wiek%20%20z%C5%82oty%20waz%C3%B3w</a> <a href="#fnref:92" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:93">Szujski 1894, p. 161 - Szujski, Józef (1894). Dzieła Józefa Szujskiego. Dzieje Polski (in Polish). Vol. 3. Kraków: Szujski-Kluczycki. p. 139. Retrieved 9 January 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=JlAFSS-12xwC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=JlAFSS-12xwC</a> <a href="#fnref:93" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:94">Peterson, Gary Dean (2014). Warrior Kings of Sweden. The Rise of an Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4766-0411-4. Retrieved 14 January 2021. <a href="978-1-4766-0411-4" target="_blank">978-1-4766-0411-4</a> <a href="#fnref:94" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:95">Peterson 2014, p. 107 - Peterson, Gary Dean (2014). Warrior Kings of Sweden. The Rise of an Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 978-1-4766-0411-4. Retrieved 14 January 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=FtFDthqmB2wC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=FtFDthqmB2wC</a> <a href="#fnref:95" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:96">Jędruch, Jacek (1982). Constitutions, Elections, and Legislatures of Poland, 1493–1977. University Press of America. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-8191-2509-5. Retrieved 1 February 2021. <a href="978-0-8191-2509-5" target="_blank">978-0-8191-2509-5</a> <a href="#fnref:96" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:97">Dabrowski, Patrice M. (2014). Poland. The First Thousand Years. US: Cornell University Press. p. 168. ISBN 978-1-5017-5740-2. Retrieved 18 February 2021. <a href="978-1-5017-5740-2" target="_blank">978-1-5017-5740-2</a> <a href="#fnref:97" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:98">Shubin, Daniel H. (2009). Tsars and Imposters. Russia's Time of Troubles. New York: Algora. p. 201. ISBN 978-0-87586-687-1. Retrieved 1 February 2021. <a href="978-0-87586-687-1" target="_blank">978-0-87586-687-1</a> <a href="#fnref:98" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:99">Cooper, J. P. (1979). The New Cambridge Modern History: Volume 4, The Decline of Spain and the Thirty Years War, 1609–48/49. CUP Archive. ISBN 978-0-521-29713-4. Retrieved 11 April 2019. <a href="978-0-521-29713-4" target="_blank">978-0-521-29713-4</a> <a href="#fnref:99" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:100">Gillespie, Alexander (2017). The Causes of War. Vol. III: 1400 CE to 1650 CE. Portland: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-5099-1766-2. Retrieved 18 February 2021. <a href="978-1-5099-1766-2" target="_blank">978-1-5099-1766-2</a> <a href="#fnref:100" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:101">Dyer, Thomas Henry (1861). The History of Modern Europe. Vol. From the Fall of Constantinople, in 1453, to the War in the Crimea, in 1857. Volume 2. London: J. Murray. p. 504. Retrieved 20 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=kQZOAAAAcAAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=kQZOAAAAcAAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:101" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:102">Podhorodecki, Leszek (1985). Rapier i koncerz: z dziejów wojen polsko-szwedzkich. Warsaw: Książka i Wiedza. pp. 191–200. ISBN 83-05-11452-X. <a href="83-05-11452-X" target="_blank">83-05-11452-X</a> <a href="#fnref:102" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:103">Gillespie 2017, p. 141 - Gillespie, Alexander (2017). The Causes of War. Vol. III: 1400 CE to 1650 CE. Portland: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-5099-1766-2. Retrieved 18 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=i3UpDwAAQBAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=i3UpDwAAQBAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:103" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:104">Miłobędzki, Adam (1980). Dzieje sztuki polskiej: Architektura polska XVII wieku (in Polish). Polska: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe. p. 115. ISBN 978-83-01-01363-9. Retrieved 8 January 2021. <a href="978-83-01-01363-9" target="_blank">978-83-01-01363-9</a> <a href="#fnref:104" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:105">Czapliński, Władysław (1976). Władysław IV i jego czasy [Władysław IV and His Times] (in Polish). Warsaw: PW "Wiedza Poweszechna". pp. 102–118. <a href="/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Czapli%C5%84ski" target="_blank">/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_Czapli%C5%84ski</a> <a href="#fnref:105" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:106">Czapliński 1976, p. 170 - Czapliński, Władysław (1976). Władysław IV i jego czasy [Władysław IV and His Times] (in Polish). Warsaw: PW "Wiedza Poweszechna". pp. 102–118. <a href="#fnref:106" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:107">Czapliński 1976, p. 202 - Czapliński, Władysław (1976). Władysław IV i jego czasy [Władysław IV and His Times] (in Polish). Warsaw: PW "Wiedza Poweszechna". pp. 102–118. <a href="#fnref:107" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:108">Czapliński 1976, pp. 353–356 - Czapliński, Władysław (1976). Władysław IV i jego czasy [Władysław IV and His Times] (in Polish). Warsaw: PW "Wiedza Poweszechna". pp. 102–118. <a href="#fnref:108" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:109">Aleksander Gella, Development of Class Structure in Eastern Europe: Poland and Her Southern Neighbors, SUNY Press, 1998, ISBN 0-88706-833-2, Google Print, p. 13 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:109" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:110">Poland, the knight among nations, Louis Edwin Van Norman, New York: 1907, p. 18. <a href="https://archive.org/stream/polandknightamon00vannuoft/polandknightamon00vannuoft_djvu.txt" target="_blank">https://archive.org/stream/polandknightamon00vannuoft/polandknightamon00vannuoft_djvu.txt</a> <a href="#fnref:110" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:111">William J. Duiker, Jackson J. Spielvogel (2006). The Essential World History: Volume II: Since 1500. Cengage Learning. p. 336. ISBN 0-495-09766-7. <a href="0-495-09766-7" target="_blank">0-495-09766-7</a> <a href="#fnref:111" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:112">Gintel, Jan (1971). Wiek XVIII–XIX. Polska: Wydawnictwo Literackie. p. 143. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=6DTUAAAAMAAJ&q=XVIII%20wiek%20obce%20mocarstw%20wp%C5%82ywy%20szlachta%20elekcja" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=6DTUAAAAMAAJ&q=XVIII%20wiek%20obce%20mocarstw%20wp%C5%82ywy%20szlachta%20elekcja</a> <a href="#fnref:112" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:113">Gintel 1971, p. 143 - Gintel, Jan (1971). Wiek XVIII–XIX. Polska: Wydawnictwo Literackie. p. 143. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=6DTUAAAAMAAJ&q=XVIII%20wiek%20obce%20mocarstw%20wp%C5%82ywy%20szlachta%20elekcja" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=6DTUAAAAMAAJ&q=XVIII%20wiek%20obce%20mocarstw%20wp%C5%82ywy%20szlachta%20elekcja</a> <a href="#fnref:113" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:114">Instytut Badań Literackich (1969). Studia staropolskie. Vol. 24, 25. Polska: Zakład Ossolińskich. p. 172. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=z3niAAAAMAAJ&q=obce%20mocarstwa%20wyb%C3%B3r%20kr%C3%B3la%20elekcja%20kandydat" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=z3niAAAAMAAJ&q=obce%20mocarstwa%20wyb%C3%B3r%20kr%C3%B3la%20elekcja%20kandydat</a> <a href="#fnref:114" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:115">Instytut Badań Literackich 1969, p. 172 - Instytut Badań Literackich (1969). Studia staropolskie. Vol. 24, 25. Polska: Zakład Ossolińskich. p. 172. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=z3niAAAAMAAJ&q=obce%20mocarstwa%20wyb%C3%B3r%20kr%C3%B3la%20elekcja%20kandydat" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=z3niAAAAMAAJ&q=obce%20mocarstwa%20wyb%C3%B3r%20kr%C3%B3la%20elekcja%20kandydat</a> <a href="#fnref:115" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:116">Borucki, Marek (1976). Jak w dawnej Polsce królów obierano. Polska: Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza. pp. 138–143. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=TMMmAAAAMAAJ&q=conti+august+kr%C3%B3l" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=TMMmAAAAMAAJ&q=conti+august+kr%C3%B3l</a> <a href="#fnref:116" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:117">Spórna (2003). Słownik władców Polski i pretendentów do tronu polskiego. Polska: Zielona Sowa. p. 30. ISBN 978-83-7220-560-5. <a href="978-83-7220-560-5" target="_blank">978-83-7220-560-5</a> <a href="#fnref:117" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:118">Borucki 1976, pp. 138–143 - Borucki, Marek (1976). Jak w dawnej Polsce królów obierano. Polska: Ludowa Spółdzielnia Wydawnicza. pp. 138–143. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=TMMmAAAAMAAJ&q=conti+august+kr%C3%B3l" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=TMMmAAAAMAAJ&q=conti+august+kr%C3%B3l</a> <a href="#fnref:118" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:119">Dobrowolski (1962). Historia sztuki polskiej w zarysie: Sztuka nowożytna. Polska: Wydawnictwo Literackie. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=uKUjAAAAMAAJ&q=August%20wilanow%20pa%C5%82ac%20saski" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=uKUjAAAAMAAJ&q=August%20wilanow%20pa%C5%82ac%20saski</a> <a href="#fnref:119" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:120">Davies, Norman (1992). Boże igrzysko. Historia Polski. Od początków do roku 1795. Polska: Znak. p. 412. ISBN 978-83-7006-384-9. <a href="978-83-7006-384-9" target="_blank">978-83-7006-384-9</a> <a href="#fnref:120" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:121">Brückner, Aleksander (1931). Dzieje kultury polskiej. Czasy nowsze do roku 1831. Polska: Wiedza Powszechna. p. 27. ISBN 978-83-214-0861-3. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) <a href="978-83-214-0861-3" target="_blank">978-83-214-0861-3</a> <a href="#fnref:121" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:122">Frost, Robert I (2000). The Northern Wars. War, State and Society in Northeastern Europe 1558–1721. Harlow: Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-06429-4. <a href="978-0-582-06429-4" target="_blank">978-0-582-06429-4</a> <a href="#fnref:122" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:123">Tucker, S.C. (2010). A Global Chronology of Conflict, Vol. Two. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC. p. 694. ISBN 978-1-85109-667-1. <a href="978-1-85109-667-1" target="_blank">978-1-85109-667-1</a> <a href="#fnref:123" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:124">Tucker 2010, p. 710 - Tucker, S.C. (2010). A Global Chronology of Conflict, Vol. Two. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC. p. 694. ISBN 978-1-85109-667-1. <a href="#fnref:124" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:125">Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Polish Succession War" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 981–982. <a href="/wiki/Hugh_Chisholm" target="_blank">/wiki/Hugh_Chisholm</a> <a href="#fnref:125" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:126">Lindsey, J. O. (ed). The Cambridge New Modern History, Volume 7. <a href="#fnref:126" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:127">Brückner 1931, p. 157 - Brückner, Aleksander (1931). Dzieje kultury polskiej. Czasy nowsze do roku 1831. Polska: Wiedza Powszechna. p. 27. ISBN 978-83-214-0861-3. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=f0ZFAAAAIAAJ&q=sas%C3%B3w%20fabryki" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=f0ZFAAAAIAAJ&q=sas%C3%B3w%20fabryki</a> <a href="#fnref:127" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:128">Brückner 1931, p. 157 - Brückner, Aleksander (1931). Dzieje kultury polskiej. Czasy nowsze do roku 1831. Polska: Wiedza Powszechna. p. 27. ISBN 978-83-214-0861-3. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=f0ZFAAAAIAAJ&q=sas%C3%B3w%20fabryki" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=f0ZFAAAAIAAJ&q=sas%C3%B3w%20fabryki</a> <a href="#fnref:128" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:129">Rey Koslowski (2000). Migrants and citizens: demographic change in the European state system. Cornell University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-8014-3714-4. polish lithuanian commonwealth americas western europe. <a href="978-0-8014-3714-4" target="_blank">978-0-8014-3714-4</a> <a href="#fnref:129" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:130">Spórna 2003 - Spórna (2003). Słownik władców Polski i pretendentów do tronu polskiego. Polska: Zielona Sowa. p. 30. ISBN 978-83-7220-560-5. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=P70jAQAAIAAJ&q=august%20conti%20papie%C5%BC%20innocenty%20xii" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=P70jAQAAIAAJ&q=august%20conti%20papie%C5%BC%20innocenty%20xii</a> <a href="#fnref:130" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:131">Bartłomiej Szyndler (2009). Racławice 1794. Bellona Publishing. pp. 64–65. ISBN 978-83-11-11606-1. Retrieved 26 September 2014. <a href="978-83-11-11606-1" target="_blank">978-83-11-11606-1</a> <a href="#fnref:131" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:132">Bartłomiej Kaczorowski (2004). Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN: Sud-żyz. Polska: PWN. p. 75. ISBN 978-83-01-14187-5. <a href="978-83-01-14187-5" target="_blank">978-83-01-14187-5</a> <a href="#fnref:132" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:133">Norman Davies (2005). God's Playground: 1795 to the present. Columbia University Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-231-12819-3. <a href="978-0-231-12819-3" target="_blank">978-0-231-12819-3</a> <a href="#fnref:133" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:134">Ted Tapper; David Palfreyman (2005). Understanding Mass Higher Education: Comparative Perspectives On Access. Routledge Falmer. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-415-35491-2. <a href="978-0-415-35491-2" target="_blank">978-0-415-35491-2</a> <a href="#fnref:134" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:135">Kitowicz, Jędrzej (2019). Customs and Culture in Poland Under the Last Saxon King. Central European University Press. p. 262. ISBN 978-963-386-276-6. <a href="978-963-386-276-6" target="_blank">978-963-386-276-6</a> <a href="#fnref:135" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:136">Sužiedėlis 2011, p. xxv. - Sužiedėlis, Saulius A. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Lithuania (2 ed.). Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7536-4. <a href="#fnref:136" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:137">Andrzej Jezierski, Cecylia Leszczyńska, Historia gospodarcza Polski, 2003, s. 68. <a href="#fnref:137" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:138">Russia's Rise as a European Power, 1650–1750 Archived 5 April 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Jeremy Black, History Today, Vol. 36 Issue: 8, August 1986. <a href="http://www.historytoday.com/MainArticle.aspx?m=13698&amid=13698" target="_blank">http://www.historytoday.com/MainArticle.aspx?m=13698&amid=13698</a> <a href="#fnref:138" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:139">Roman, Wanda Krystyna (2003). Działalność niepodległościowa żołnierzy polskich na Litwie i Wileńszczyźnie. Polska: Naukowe Wydawn. Piotrkowskie. p. 23. ISBN 978-83-88865-08-4. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="978-83-88865-08-4" target="_blank">978-83-88865-08-4</a> <a href="#fnref:139" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:140">Jan Zamoyski's speech in the Parliament, 1605 Harbottle Thomas Benfield (2009). Dictionary of Quotations (Classical). BiblioBazaar, LLC. p. 254. ISBN 978-1-113-14791-2. <a href="978-1-113-14791-2" target="_blank">978-1-113-14791-2</a> <a href="#fnref:140" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:141">Bardach 1987, pp. 216–217 - Bardach, Juliusz (1987). Historia państwa i prawa polskiego (in Polish). Warszawa: PWN. pp. 216–217. <a href="#fnref:141" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:142">Bardach 1987, pp. 216–217 - Bardach, Juliusz (1987). Historia państwa i prawa polskiego (in Polish). Warszawa: PWN. pp. 216–217. <a href="#fnref:142" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:143">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. ISBN 0-19-925339-0, 0-19-925340-4 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:143" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:144">Pacy, James S.; James T. McHugh (2001). Diplomats without a Country: Baltic Diplomacy, International Law, and the Cold War. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31878-6. Retrieved 3 September 2006. <a href="0-313-31878-6" target="_blank">0-313-31878-6</a> <a href="#fnref:144" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:145">Josef Macha (1974). Ecclesiastical Unification. Pont. Institutum Orientalium Studiorum. p. 154. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=KxFiAAAAMAAJ&q=They+continued+a+separate+treasury+and+army+.+Lithuania+%27+s+legal+code+%2C+the+Statut+Litovski+%2C+remained+in+force+.+Only+the+Constitution+of+1791+established+a+unitary+state" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=KxFiAAAAMAAJ&q=They+continued+a+separate+treasury+and+army+.+Lithuania+%27+s+legal+code+%2C+the+Statut+Litovski+%2C+remained+in+force+.+Only+the+Constitution+of+1791+established+a+unitary+state</a> <a href="#fnref:145" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:146">Andrej Kotljarchuk (2006). In the Shadows of Poland and Russia: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Sweden in the European Crisis of the Mid-17th Century. Stockholm University. pp. 37, 87. ISBN 978-91-89-31563-1. <a href="978-91-89-31563-1" target="_blank">978-91-89-31563-1</a> <a href="#fnref:146" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:147">Joanna Olkiewicz, Najaśniejsza Republika Wenecka (Most Serene Republic of Venice), Książka i Wiedza, 1972, Warszawa <a href="#fnref:147" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:148">Joseph Conrad, Notes on Life and Letters: Notes on Life and Letters, Cambridge University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-521-56163-9, Google Print, p. 422 (notes)[permanent dead link] <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Conrad" target="_blank">/wiki/Joseph_Conrad</a> <a href="#fnref:148" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:149">Aleksander Gella, Development of Class Structure in Eastern Europe: Poland and Her Southern Neighbors, SUNY Press, 1998, ISBN 0-88706-833-2, Google Print, p. 13 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:149" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:150">Frost, Robert I. The Northern Wars: War, State and Society in northeastern Europe, 1558–1721. Harlow, England; New York: Longman's. 2000. Especially pp. 9–11, 114, 181, 323. <a href="#fnref:150" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:151">Aleksander Gella, Development of Class Structure in Eastern Europe: Poland and Her Southern Neighbors, SUNY Press, 1998, ISBN 0-88706-833-2, Google Print, p. 13 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:151" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:152">David Sneath (2007). The headless state: aristocratic orders, kinship society, & misrepresentations of nomadic inner Asia. Columbia University Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-231-14054-6. <a href="978-0-231-14054-6" target="_blank">978-0-231-14054-6</a> <a href="#fnref:152" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:153">M. L. Bush (1988). Rich noble, poor noble. Manchester University Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-7190-2381-5. <a href="0-7190-2381-5" target="_blank">0-7190-2381-5</a> <a href="#fnref:153" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:154">David Sneath (2007). The headless state: aristocratic orders, kinship society, & misrepresentations of nomadic inner Asia. Columbia University Press. p. 188. ISBN 978-0-231-14054-6. <a href="978-0-231-14054-6" target="_blank">978-0-231-14054-6</a> <a href="#fnref:154" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:155">M. L. Bush (1988). Rich noble, poor noble. Manchester University Press. pp. 8–9. ISBN 0-7190-2381-5. <a href="0-7190-2381-5" target="_blank">0-7190-2381-5</a> <a href="#fnref:155" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:156">Bardach 1987, pp. 216–217 - Bardach, Juliusz (1987). Historia państwa i prawa polskiego (in Polish). Warszawa: PWN. pp. 216–217. <a href="#fnref:156" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:157">Frost, Robert I. (2004). After the Deluge; Poland–Lithuania and the Second Northern War, 1655–1660. Cambridge: University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-54402-3. <a href="978-0-521-54402-3" target="_blank">978-0-521-54402-3</a> <a href="#fnref:157" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:158">William Christian Bullitt, Jr., The Great Globe Itself: A Preface to World Affairs, Transaction Publishers, 2005, ISBN 1-4128-0490-6, Google Print, pp. 42–43 <a href="/wiki/William_Christian_Bullitt,_Jr." target="_blank">/wiki/William_Christian_Bullitt,_Jr.</a> <a href="#fnref:158" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:159">John Adams, The Political Writings of John Adams, Regnery Gateway, 2001, ISBN 0-89526-292-4, Google Print, p. 242 <a href="/wiki/John_Adams" target="_blank">/wiki/John_Adams</a> <a href="#fnref:159" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:160">Davies, Norman (1996). Europe: A History. Oxford University Press. p. 699. ISBN 0-19-820171-0. <a href="0-19-820171-0" target="_blank">0-19-820171-0</a> <a href="#fnref:160" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:161">Pacy, James S.; James T. McHugh (2001). Diplomats without a Country: Baltic Diplomacy, International Law, and the Cold War. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-31878-6. Retrieved 3 September 2006. <a href="0-313-31878-6" target="_blank">0-313-31878-6</a> <a href="#fnref:161" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:162">Henry Eldridge Bourne, The Revolutionary Period in Europe 1763 to 1815, Kessinger Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-4179-3418-2, Google Print p. 161[permanent dead link] <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:162" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:163">Wolfgang Menzel, Germany from the Earliest Period Vol. 4, Kessinger Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-4191-2171-5, Google Print, p. 33[permanent dead link] <a href="/wiki/Wolfgang_Menzel" target="_blank">/wiki/Wolfgang_Menzel</a> <a href="#fnref:163" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:164">Isabel de Madariaga, Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2002, ISBN 1-84212-511-7, Google Print p. 431[permanent dead link] <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:164" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:165">Wolfgang Menzel, Germany from the Earliest Period Vol. 4, Kessinger Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-4191-2171-5, Google Print, p. 33[permanent dead link] <a href="/wiki/Wolfgang_Menzel" target="_blank">/wiki/Wolfgang_Menzel</a> <a href="#fnref:165" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:166">Carl L. Bucki, The Constitution of May 3, 1791 Archived 5 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Text of a presentation made at the Polish Arts Club of Buffalo on the occasion of the celebrations of Poland's Constitution Day on 3 May 1996. Retrieved 20 March 2006. <a href="http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/constitution.html" target="_blank">http://info-poland.buffalo.edu/classroom/constitution.html</a> <a href="#fnref:166" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:167">Henry Eldridge Bourne, The Revolutionary Period in Europe 1763 to 1815, Kessinger Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-4179-3418-2, Google Print p. 161[permanent dead link] <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:167" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:168">Piotr Stefan Wandycz. The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present, Routledge (UK), 2001, ISBN 0-415-25491-4, Google Print p. 131[permanent dead link]. <a href="/wiki/Piotr_Stefan_Wandycz" target="_blank">/wiki/Piotr_Stefan_Wandycz</a> <a href="#fnref:168" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:169">Niepodległość. Vol. 6. Polska: Fundacja "Polonia Restituta,". 1991. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=HhBpAAAAMAAJ&q=konstytucja%203%20maja%20nie%20zosta%C5%82a%20w%20pe%C5%82ni%20wprowadzona" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=HhBpAAAAMAAJ&q=konstytucja%203%20maja%20nie%20zosta%C5%82a%20w%20pe%C5%82ni%20wprowadzona</a> <a href="#fnref:169" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:170">Sobiech, Marcin (2018). "Jak powstawała i co zawiera mapa Rzeczpospolitej Obojga Narodów". Exgeo (in Polish). Marcin Sobiech. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="http://www.exgeo.pl/blog/jak-powstawala-i-co-zawiera-mapa-rzeczpospolitej-obojga-narodow-ron" target="_blank">http://www.exgeo.pl/blog/jak-powstawala-i-co-zawiera-mapa-rzeczpospolitej-obojga-narodow-ron</a> <a href="#fnref:170" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:171">Sobiech, Marcin (2018). "Jak powstawała i co zawiera mapa Rzeczpospolitej Obojga Narodów". Exgeo (in Polish). Marcin Sobiech. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="http://www.exgeo.pl/blog/jak-powstawala-i-co-zawiera-mapa-rzeczpospolitej-obojga-narodow-ron" target="_blank">http://www.exgeo.pl/blog/jak-powstawala-i-co-zawiera-mapa-rzeczpospolitej-obojga-narodow-ron</a> <a href="#fnref:171" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:172">Sobiech, Marcin (2018). "Jak powstawała i co zawiera mapa Rzeczpospolitej Obojga Narodów". Exgeo (in Polish). Marcin Sobiech. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="http://www.exgeo.pl/blog/jak-powstawala-i-co-zawiera-mapa-rzeczpospolitej-obojga-narodow-ron" target="_blank">http://www.exgeo.pl/blog/jak-powstawala-i-co-zawiera-mapa-rzeczpospolitej-obojga-narodow-ron</a> <a href="#fnref:172" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:173">Kucharczuk 2011, p. 64 - Kucharczuk, Katarzyna (2011). Polska samorządna; ilustrowane dzieje administracji i samorządu terytorialnego na tle historii Polski. Carta Blanca. p. 66. ISBN 978-83-7705-120-7. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=ZelNAQAAIAAJ&q=konopii%20rzeczpospolita%20obojga%20narodow" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=ZelNAQAAIAAJ&q=konopii%20rzeczpospolita%20obojga%20narodow</a> <a href="#fnref:173" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:174">"shillings – Polish translation – Linguee". Linguee.com. Retrieved 27 April 2018. <a href="https://www.linguee.com/english-polish/translation/shillings.html" target="_blank">https://www.linguee.com/english-polish/translation/shillings.html</a> <a href="#fnref:174" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:175">Flisowski, Zbigniew (1985). Bastion u wrót Gdańska. Polska: Nasza Księgarnia. p. 11. ISBN 978-83-10-08779-9. <a href="978-83-10-08779-9" target="_blank">978-83-10-08779-9</a> <a href="#fnref:175" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:176">"Pierwsze polskie banknoty". Skarbnica Narodowa (in Polish). Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="https://www.skarbnicanarodowa.pl/kroniki-numizmatyczne/292-pierwsze-polskie-banknoty#:~:text=Zupe%C5%82n%C4%85%20nowo%C5%9Bci%C4%85%20w%20polskim%20systemie,kt%C3%B3re%20r%C3%B3%C5%BCni%C5%82y%20si%C4%99%20odcieniem%20papieru." target="_blank">https://www.skarbnicanarodowa.pl/kroniki-numizmatyczne/292-pierwsze-polskie-banknoty#:~:text=Zupe%C5%82n%C4%85%20nowo%C5%9Bci%C4%85%20w%20polskim%20systemie,kt%C3%B3re%20r%C3%B3%C5%BCni%C5%82y%20si%C4%99%20odcieniem%20papieru.</a> <a href="#fnref:176" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:177">Gdańskie Towarzystwo Naukowe (1991). Seria popularno-naukowa "Pomorze Gdańskie" (in Polish). Vol. 19. Gdańsk: Towarzystwo Naukowe. p. 149. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=6TloAAAAMAAJ&q=Seria%20popularno-naukowa%20%22Pomorze%20Gda%C5%84skie%22" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=6TloAAAAMAAJ&q=Seria%20popularno-naukowa%20%22Pomorze%20Gda%C5%84skie%22</a> <a href="#fnref:177" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:178">Kucharczuk, Katarzyna (2011). Polska samorządna; ilustrowane dzieje administracji i samorządu terytorialnego na tle historii Polski. Carta Blanca. p. 66. ISBN 978-83-7705-120-7. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="978-83-7705-120-7" target="_blank">978-83-7705-120-7</a> <a href="#fnref:178" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:179">Zsigmond Pál Pach, Zs. P. Pach (1970). The role of East-Central Europe in international trade, 16th and 17th centuries. Akadémiai Kiadó. p. 220. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=xFZ9AAAAMAAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=xFZ9AAAAMAAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:179" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:180">Institute of History (Polish Academy of Sciences) (1991). "Volumes 63–66". Acta Poloniae historica. National Ossoliński Institute. p. 42. ISBN 0-88033-186-0. <a href="0-88033-186-0" target="_blank">0-88033-186-0</a> <a href="#fnref:180" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:181">Zsigmond Pál Pach, Zs. P. Pach (1970). The role of East-Central Europe in international trade, 16th and 17th centuries. Akadémiai Kiadó. p. 220. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=xFZ9AAAAMAAJ" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=xFZ9AAAAMAAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:181" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:182">Krzysztof Olszewski (2007). The Rise and Decline of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth due to Grain Trade. pp. 6–7. <a href="#fnref:182" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:183">Maciej Kobyliński. "Rzeczpospolita spichlerzem Europy". www.polinow.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 28 December 2009. <a href="http://www.polinow.pl/przelom_bugu-bugiem_do_gdanska" target="_blank">http://www.polinow.pl/przelom_bugu-bugiem_do_gdanska</a> <a href="#fnref:183" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:184">Nicholas L. Chirovsky (1984). The Lithuanian-Rus'commonwealth, the Polish domination, and the Cossack-Hetman state. Philosophical Library. p. 367. ISBN 0-8022-2407-5. <a href="0-8022-2407-5" target="_blank">0-8022-2407-5</a> <a href="#fnref:184" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:185">Sven-Olof Lindquist, Birgitta Radhe (1989). Economy and culture in the Baltic, 1650–1700: papers of the VIIIth Visby Symposium held at Gotland's Historical Museum, Visby, August 18th–22th [sic], 1986. Gotlands Fornsal. p. 367. ISBN 91-971048-8-4. <a href="91-971048-8-4" target="_blank">91-971048-8-4</a> <a href="#fnref:185" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:186">Sowa, Jan (2015). Inna Rzeczpospolita jest możliwa! Widma przeszłości, wizje przyszłości (in Polish). Polska: WAB. ISBN 978-83-280-2203-4. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="978-83-280-2203-4" target="_blank">978-83-280-2203-4</a> <a href="#fnref:186" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:187">"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 href="http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/2003_archives/001447.html" target="_blank">http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/2003_archives/001447.html</a> <a href="#fnref:187" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:188">"Welcome to Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to History". Britannica.com. 31 January 1910. Retrieved 1 February 2009. <a href="http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24160" target="_blank">http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24160</a> <a href="#fnref:188" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:189">PPerry Anderson (1979). Lineages of the absolutist state. Verso. p. 285. ISBN 0-86091-710-X. <a href="0-86091-710-X" target="_blank">0-86091-710-X</a> <a href="#fnref:189" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:190">Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries (2007). A history of Eastern Europe: crisis and change. Taylor & Francis. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-415-36627-4. <a href="978-0-415-36627-4" target="_blank">978-0-415-36627-4</a> <a href="#fnref:190" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:191">Yves-Marie Bercé (1987). Revolt and revolution in early modern Europe: an essay on the history of political violence. Manchester University Press. p. 151. <a href="/wiki/Yves-Marie_Berc%C3%A9" target="_blank">/wiki/Yves-Marie_Berc%C3%A9</a> <a href="#fnref:191" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:192">Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries (2007). A history of Eastern Europe: crisis and change. Taylor & Francis. p. 189. ISBN 978-0-415-36627-4. <a href="978-0-415-36627-4" target="_blank">978-0-415-36627-4</a> <a href="#fnref:192" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:193">Yves-Marie Bercé (1987). Revolt and revolution in early modern Europe: an essay on the history of political violence. Manchester University Press. p. 151. <a href="/wiki/Yves-Marie_Berc%C3%A9" target="_blank">/wiki/Yves-Marie_Berc%C3%A9</a> <a href="#fnref:193" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:194">Krzysztof Olszewski (2007). The Rise and Decline of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth due to Grain Trade (PDF). p. 7. Retrieved 22 April 2009.[permanent dead link] <a href="http://venus.unive.it/olszewski/Polish%20Grain%20Trade%20-%20Krzysztof%20Olszewski.pdf" target="_blank">http://venus.unive.it/olszewski/Polish%20Grain%20Trade%20-%20Krzysztof%20Olszewski.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:194" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:195">Jarmo Kotilaine (2005). Russia's foreign trade and economic expansion in the seventeenth century: windows on the world. Brill. p. 47. ISBN 90-04-13896-X. <a href="90-04-13896-X" target="_blank">90-04-13896-X</a> <a href="#fnref:195" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:196">Institute of History (Polish Academy of Sciences) (1991). "Volumes 63–66". Acta Poloniae historica. National Ossoliński Institute. p. 42. ISBN 0-88033-186-0. <a href="0-88033-186-0" target="_blank">0-88033-186-0</a> <a href="#fnref:196" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:197">Allen, Robert. "Economic Structure and agricultural productivity in Europe, 1300–1800" (PDF). Retrieved 5 May 2015. <a href="http://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/users/allen/ecstrucagprod.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.nuffield.ox.ac.uk/users/allen/ecstrucagprod.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:197" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:198">Institute of History (Polish Academy of Sciences) (1991). "Volumes 63–66". Acta Poloniae historica. National Ossoliński Institute. p. 42. ISBN 0-88033-186-0. <a href="0-88033-186-0" target="_blank">0-88033-186-0</a> <a href="#fnref:198" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:199">kurkowski, Jan (2010). "Jarmarki w województwie lubelskim w XVI w." Pasaż Wiedzy. Muzeum Pałacu Króla Jana III w Wilanowie. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="https://www.wilanow-palac.pl/jarmarki_w_wojewodztwie_lubelskim_w_xvi_w.html" target="_blank">https://www.wilanow-palac.pl/jarmarki_w_wojewodztwie_lubelskim_w_xvi_w.html</a> <a href="#fnref:199" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:200">Billock, Jennifer (2019). "Follow the Ancient Amber Road". Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/follow-ancient-amber-road-180970609/" target="_blank">https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/follow-ancient-amber-road-180970609/</a> <a href="#fnref:200" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:201">"Drogi handlowe w dawnej Polsce". PWN. Encyklopedia PWN. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/drogi-handlowe-w-dawnej-Polsce;3894324.html#:~:text=drogi%20handlowe%20w%20dawnej%20Polsce%2C,%2C%20przeprawy%20i%20brody%2C%20groble." target="_blank">https://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo/drogi-handlowe-w-dawnej-Polsce;3894324.html#:~:text=drogi%20handlowe%20w%20dawnej%20Polsce%2C,%2C%20przeprawy%20i%20brody%2C%20groble.</a> <a href="#fnref:201" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:202">Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne (1989). Kwartalnik historyczny. Vol. 3–4. Polskie Towarzystwo Historyczne. p. 214. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=cN5BAAAAYAAJ&q=szlaki%20handlowe%20imperium%20osma%C5%84skie%20polska" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=cN5BAAAAYAAJ&q=szlaki%20handlowe%20imperium%20osma%C5%84skie%20polska</a> <a href="#fnref:202" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:203">""Polonaise" carpet". museu.gulbenkian.pt. Archived from the original on February 28, 2003. Retrieved May 18, 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030228150012/http://www.museu.gulbenkian.pt/obra.asp?num=t71&nuc=a4&lang=en" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20030228150012/http://www.museu.gulbenkian.pt/obra.asp?num=t71&nuc=a4&lang=en</a> <a href="#fnref:203" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:204">Stachowicz 1894, p. 279 - Stachowicz, Michał (1894). Wojsko polskie Kościuszki w roku 1794 (in Polish). Poznań: Księgarnia Katolicka. pp. 23–25. Retrieved 14 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=42QPIMh8s8wC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=42QPIMh8s8wC</a> <a href="#fnref:204" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:205">Stachowicz 1894, p. 279 - Stachowicz, Michał (1894). Wojsko polskie Kościuszki w roku 1794 (in Polish). Poznań: Księgarnia Katolicka. pp. 23–25. Retrieved 14 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=42QPIMh8s8wC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=42QPIMh8s8wC</a> <a href="#fnref:205" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:206">Tomaszewska, A. "Wolna elekcja i zasady jej funkcjonowania" (PDF). Tomaszewska. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="http://www.tomaszewska.com.pl/elekcja.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.tomaszewska.com.pl/elekcja.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:206" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:207">Juliusz Bardach; Zdzisław Kaczmarczyk; Bogusław Leśnodorski (1957). Historia państwa i prawa Polski do roku 1795 (in Polish). Vol. 2. Polska: Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. pp. 306–308. Retrieved 16 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Aj2uk1wJJD4C&q=polska%20flota%20w%2017%20wieku%20przesta%C5%82a%20istnie%C4%87%20ju%C5%BC%20w%20r%2016" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=Aj2uk1wJJD4C&q=polska%20flota%20w%2017%20wieku%20przesta%C5%82a%20istnie%C4%87%20ju%C5%BC%20w%20r%2016</a> <a href="#fnref:207" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:208">Richard Brzezinski (1988). Polish Armies 1569–1696 (2). Osprey Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-85045-744-5.[permanent dead link] <a href="978-0-85045-744-5" target="_blank">978-0-85045-744-5</a> <a href="#fnref:208" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:209">Stachowicz, Michał (1894). Wojsko polskie Kościuszki w roku 1794 (in Polish). Poznań: Księgarnia Katolicka. pp. 23–25. Retrieved 14 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=42QPIMh8s8wC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=42QPIMh8s8wC</a> <a href="#fnref:209" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:210">Stachowicz 1894, pp. 23–25 - Stachowicz, Michał (1894). Wojsko polskie Kościuszki w roku 1794 (in Polish). Poznań: Księgarnia Katolicka. pp. 23–25. Retrieved 14 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=42QPIMh8s8wC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=42QPIMh8s8wC</a> <a href="#fnref:210" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:211">Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe), 1987, p. 229. <a href="#fnref:211" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:212">Brzezinski (1988), p. 6. <a href="#fnref:212" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:213">Bardach et al. (1987), pp. 229–230. <a href="#fnref:213" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:214">Bardach et al. (1987), pp. 229–230. <a href="#fnref:214" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:215">Brzezinski (1987), p. 10. <a href="#fnref:215" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:216">Bardach et al. (1987), pp. 229–230. <a href="#fnref:216" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:217">Bardach et al. (1987), pp. 229–230. <a href="#fnref:217" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:218">Bardach et al. (1987), pp. 229–230. <a href="#fnref:218" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:219">Brzezinski (1987), p. 10. <a href="#fnref:219" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:220">Bardach et al. (1987), pp. 229–230. <a href="#fnref:220" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:221">Bardach et al. (1987), pp. 227–228. <a href="#fnref:221" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:222">Bardach et al. (1987), pp. 229–230. <a href="#fnref:222" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:223">Zwoliński, Stefan (1995). Naczelni wodzowie i wyżsi dowódcy Polskich Sił Zbrojnych na Zachodzie (in Polish). Polska: Wojskowy Instytut Historyczny. p. 12. ISBN 978-83-86268-27-6. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="978-83-86268-27-6" target="_blank">978-83-86268-27-6</a> <a href="#fnref:223" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:224">J. K. Fedorowicz; Maria Bogucka; Henryk Samsonowicz (1982). A Republic of nobles: studies in Polish history to 1864. CUP Archive. p. 209. ISBN 0-521-24093-X. <a href="0-521-24093-X" target="_blank">0-521-24093-X</a> <a href="#fnref:224" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:225">Davies, Norman (1996). Europe: A History. Oxford University Press. p. 699. ISBN 0-19-820171-0. <a href="0-19-820171-0" target="_blank">0-19-820171-0</a> <a href="#fnref:225" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:226">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. <a href="0-19-859381-3" target="_blank">0-19-859381-3</a> <a href="#fnref:226" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:227">Norman Davies (2005). God's Playground: A History of Poland. Columbia University Press. p. 167. ISBN 0-231-12819-3. <a href="0-231-12819-3" target="_blank">0-231-12819-3</a> <a href="#fnref:227" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:228">"Setting Sail". www.warsawvoice.pl. 29 May 2003. Archived from the original on 26 January 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080126150531/http://www.warsawvoice.pl/view/2437/" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20080126150531/http://www.warsawvoice.pl/view/2437/</a> <a href="#fnref:228" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:229">J. K. Fedorowicz; Maria Bogucka; Henryk Samsonowicz (1982). A Republic of nobles: studies in Polish history to 1864. CUP Archive. p. 209. ISBN 0-521-24093-X. <a href="0-521-24093-X" target="_blank">0-521-24093-X</a> <a href="#fnref:229" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:230">Paul Peucker. "Jan Amos Comenius (1592–1670)" (PDF). www.moravian.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 2, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090902190417/http://www.moravian.org/news/2007/550_resources/Jan_Amos_Comenius_Bulletin_Insert.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090902190417/http://www.moravian.org/news/2007/550_resources/Jan_Amos_Comenius_Bulletin_Insert.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:230" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:231">Jacek Jędruch (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. <a href="978-08-19-12509-5" target="_blank">978-08-19-12509-5</a> <a href="#fnref:231" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:232">"Portraits collection". muzeum.leszno.pl. Retrieved 18 May 2009. <a href="http://www.muzeum.leszno.pl/new/_index.php?wer=en&op=zbiory" target="_blank">http://www.muzeum.leszno.pl/new/_index.php?wer=en&op=zbiory</a> <a href="#fnref:232" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:233">Mariusz Karpowicz (1991). Baroque in Poland. Arkady. p. 68. ISBN 83-213-3412-1. <a href="83-213-3412-1" target="_blank">83-213-3412-1</a> <a href="#fnref:233" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:234">Łyczak, Bartłomiej (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. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:234" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:235">Łyczak, Bartłomiej (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. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:235" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:236">Szablowski, Jerzy (1975). Arrasy flamandzkie w zamku królewskim na Wawelu (in Polish). Polska: Arkady. p. 15. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=JDswAQAAIAAJ&q=sztuka%20flamandzka%20w%20polsce" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=JDswAQAAIAAJ&q=sztuka%20flamandzka%20w%20polsce</a> <a href="#fnref:236" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:237">Szablowski, Jerzy (1975). Arrasy flamandzkie w zamku królewskim na Wawelu (in Polish). Polska: Arkady. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=JDswAQAAIAAJ&q=sztuka%20flamandzka%20w%20polsce" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=JDswAQAAIAAJ&q=sztuka%20flamandzka%20w%20polsce</a> <a href="#fnref:237" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:238">Orlińska-Mianowska, Ewa (2008). Fashion world of the 18th and early 19th century. Polska: Bosz. ISBN 978-83-87730-72-7. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="978-83-87730-72-7" target="_blank">978-83-87730-72-7</a> <a href="#fnref:238" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:239">Singleton, Esther (12 December 2019). "French and English furniture distinctive styles and periods described and illustrated". Good Press – via Google Books. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=-SDEDwAAQBAJ&q=lit+a+la+polonaise+marie+leszczynska&pg=PT117" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=-SDEDwAAQBAJ&q=lit+a+la+polonaise+marie+leszczynska&pg=PT117</a> <a href="#fnref:239" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:240">Dialog. Miesiȩcznik poświȩcony dramaturgii współczesnej, teatralnej, filmowej, radiowej, telewizyjnej. Vol. 11. Polska: RSW "Prasa". 1966. p. 6. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=dl43AAAAMAAJ&q=lit%20a%20la%20polonaise%20%C5%82o%C5%BCe" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=dl43AAAAMAAJ&q=lit%20a%20la%20polonaise%20%C5%82o%C5%BCe</a> <a href="#fnref:240" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:241">Waugh, Norah (1968). The Cut of Women's Clothes. London: Routledge. pp. 72–73. ISBN 0-87830-026-0. <a href="0-87830-026-0" target="_blank">0-87830-026-0</a> <a href="#fnref:241" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:242">Lubliner, Ludwig (1858). Obrona Żydów zamieszkałych w krajach polskich od niesłusznych zarzutów i fałszywych oskarzeń. Brussels: C. Vanderauwer. p. 7. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qeoMxoe84RYC" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=qeoMxoe84RYC</a> <a href="#fnref:242" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:243">Muthesius, Stefan (1994). Polska; art, architecture, design 966–1990. Langewiesche Köster. p. 34. ISBN 978-3-7845-7612-1. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="978-3-7845-7612-1" target="_blank">978-3-7845-7612-1</a> <a href="#fnref:243" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:244">Państwowy Instytut Badania Sztuki Ludowej (1974). "Volumes 28–29". Polska sztuka ludowa (Polish Folk Art). Państwowy Instytut Sztuki. p. 259. <a href="#fnref:244" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:245">Paul Robert Magocsi (1996). A history of Ukraine. University of Toronto Press. pp. 286–287. ISBN 0-8020-7820-6. <a href="0-8020-7820-6" target="_blank">0-8020-7820-6</a> <a href="#fnref:245" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:246">Michael J. Mikoś. "Baroque". www.staropolska.pl. Retrieved 13 May 2009. <a href="http://www.staropolska.pl/ang/baroque/Mikos_baroque/Cultural_b.html" target="_blank">http://www.staropolska.pl/ang/baroque/Mikos_baroque/Cultural_b.html</a> <a href="#fnref:246" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:247">Michael J. Mikoś. "Baroque". www.staropolska.pl. Retrieved 13 May 2009. <a href="http://www.staropolska.pl/ang/baroque/Mikos_baroque/Cultural_b.html" target="_blank">http://www.staropolska.pl/ang/baroque/Mikos_baroque/Cultural_b.html</a> <a href="#fnref:247" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:248">Rolska-Boruch, Irena (2003). "Domy pańskie" na Lubelszczyźnie od późnego gotyku do wczesnego baroku. Polska: Wydawnictwo KUL. ISBN 978-83-7363-029-1. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="978-83-7363-029-1" target="_blank">978-83-7363-029-1</a> <a href="#fnref:248" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:249">Kowalczyk, Jerzy (1973). Sebastiano Serlio a sztuka polska. Polska: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. p. 119. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0aefAAAAMAAJ&q=kasetony%20w%C5%82oska%20polska" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=0aefAAAAMAAJ&q=kasetony%20w%C5%82oska%20polska</a> <a href="#fnref:249" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:250">Miłobędzki, Adam (1994). The architecture of Poland: a chapter of the European heritage. Kraków: International Cultural Centre. p. 110. ISBN 978-83-85739-14-2. <a href="978-83-85739-14-2" target="_blank">978-83-85739-14-2</a> <a href="#fnref:250" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:251">Zdzisław Klimczuk; Józef Garliński (1996). Most Holandia – Polska (in Polish). Polska: Bis Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-83-901494-2-4. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="978-83-901494-2-4" target="_blank">978-83-901494-2-4</a> <a href="#fnref:251" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:252">Karpowicz, Mariusz (1994). Sztuki polskiej drogi dziwne (in Polish). Excalibur. p. 47. ISBN 978-83-900152-8-6. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="978-83-900152-8-6" target="_blank">978-83-900152-8-6</a> <a href="#fnref:252" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:253">Feliks Gryglewicz; Romuald Łukaszyk; Wincenty Granat; Zygmunt Sułowski (1973). Encyklopedia katolicka: Kinszasa-Krzymuska. Lublin: Tow. Nauk. Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego. p. 1189. ISBN 978-83-7306-068-5. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="978-83-7306-068-5" target="_blank">978-83-7306-068-5</a> <a href="#fnref:253" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:254">"Palaces and Castles in a Lion Country". www.lvivtoday.com.ua. 2 June 2008. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200425073036/http://www.lvivtoday.com.ua/exploring-lviv/336" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20200425073036/http://www.lvivtoday.com.ua/exploring-lviv/336</a> <a href="#fnref:254" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:255">Snopek, Jerzy (1999). Oświecenie. Polska: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN. p. 134. ISBN 978-83-01-12917-0. Retrieved 13 February 2021. <a href="978-83-01-12917-0" target="_blank">978-83-01-12917-0</a> <a href="#fnref:255" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:256">Piotr Stefan Wandycz. The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present, Routledge (UK), 2001, ISBN 0-415-25491-4, Google Print p. 131[permanent dead link]. <a href="/wiki/Piotr_Stefan_Wandycz" target="_blank">/wiki/Piotr_Stefan_Wandycz</a> <a href="#fnref:256" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:257">Piotr Stefan Wandycz. The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present, Routledge (UK), 2001, ISBN 0-415-25491-4, Google Print p. 131[permanent dead link]. <a href="/wiki/Piotr_Stefan_Wandycz" target="_blank">/wiki/Piotr_Stefan_Wandycz</a> <a href="#fnref:257" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:258">Andrzej Wasko, Sarmatism or the Enlightenment: <space>The Dilemma of Polish Culture, Sarmatian Review XVII:2, online <a href="/wiki/Sarmatian_Review" target="_blank">/wiki/Sarmatian_Review</a> <a href="#fnref:258" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:259">Dziejochciejstwo, dziejokrętactwo, Janusz Tazbir, Polityka 6 (2591) 10 February 2007 (in Polish) <a href="http://www.polityka.pl/archive/do/registry/secure/showArticle?id=3353925" target="_blank">http://www.polityka.pl/archive/do/registry/secure/showArticle?id=3353925</a> <a href="#fnref:259" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:260">Paradowski, Ryszard (2005). Unia Europejska a społeczeństwo obywatelskie (in Polish). Poznań: Wydawn. Nauk. Instytutu Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza. p. 168. ISBN 978-83-87704-94-0. <a href="978-83-87704-94-0" target="_blank">978-83-87704-94-0</a> <a href="#fnref:260" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:261">Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (2010). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2. <a href="978-83-11-11724-2" target="_blank">978-83-11-11724-2</a> <a href="#fnref:261" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:262">Kopczyński & Tygielski 2010 - Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (2010). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2. <a href="#fnref:262" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:263">Kopczyński & Tygielski 2010 - Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (2010). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2. <a href="#fnref:263" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:264">Kopczyński & Tygielski 2010, p. 236 - Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (2010). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2. <a href="#fnref:264" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:265">Kopczyński & Tygielski 2010, p. 237 - Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (2010). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2. <a href="#fnref:265" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:266">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:266" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:267">Kopczyński & Tygielski 2010, p. 237 - Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (2010). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2. <a href="#fnref:267" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:268">Based on 1618 population map Archived 17 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine (p. 115), 1618 languages map (p. 119), 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 0880293942 <a href="http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg" target="_blank">http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg</a> <a href="#fnref:268" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:269">Based on 1618 population map Archived 17 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine (p. 115), 1618 languages map (p. 119), 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 0880293942 <a href="http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg" target="_blank">http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg</a> <a href="#fnref:269" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:270">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 href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Z-48AAAAIAAJ&dq=Cambridge+Mazovia+density&pg=PA377" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=Z-48AAAAIAAJ&dq=Cambridge+Mazovia+density&pg=PA377</a> <a href="#fnref:270" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:271">Based on 1618 population map Archived 17 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine (p. 115), 1618 languages map (p. 119), 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 0880293942 <a href="http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg" target="_blank">http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg</a> <a href="#fnref:271" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:272">Based on 1618 population map Archived 17 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine (p. 115), 1618 languages map (p. 119), 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 0880293942 <a href="http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg" target="_blank">http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg</a> <a href="#fnref:272" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:273">Based on 1618 population map Archived 17 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine (p. 115), 1618 languages map (p. 119), 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 0880293942 <a href="http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg" target="_blank">http://homepage.interaccess.com/%7Enetpol/POLISH/historia/MAPY/1618.jpg</a> <a href="#fnref:273" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:274">Matthew P. Romaniello, Charles Lipp. Contested Spaces of Nobility in Early Modern Europe. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2011. p. 233. <a href="#fnref:274" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:275">Matthew P. Romaniello, Charles Lipp. Contested Spaces of Nobility in Early Modern Europe. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. 2011. p. 233. <a href="#fnref:275" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:276">Polish Sociological Review (in Polish). Polish Sociological Association. 2007. p. 96. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=iJYhAQAAIAAJ&q=german%20speaking%20majority%20gdansk%2017th%20century" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=iJYhAQAAIAAJ&q=german%20speaking%20majority%20gdansk%2017th%20century</a> <a href="#fnref:276" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:277">Kopczyński & Tygielski 2010, p. 201 - Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (2010). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2. <a href="#fnref:277" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:278">Kopczyński & Tygielski 2010, pp. 25–83 - Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (2010). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2. <a href="#fnref:278" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:279">Kopczyński & Tygielski 2010, pp. 29–38 - Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (2010). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2. <a href="#fnref:279" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:280">Kopczyński & Tygielski 2010, pp. 29–38 - Kopczyński, Michał; Tygielski, Wojciech (2010). Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej (in Polish). Warszawa: Bellona. ISBN 978-83-11-11724-2. <a href="#fnref:280" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:281">Stone, Daniel, The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386–1795, Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 2001. <a href="#fnref:281" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:282">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. p. 126. ISBN 0199253390, 0199253404 <a href="/wiki/Norman_Davies" target="_blank">/wiki/Norman_Davies</a> <a href="#fnref:282" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:283">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. <a href="978-1-4426-1021-7" target="_blank">978-1-4426-1021-7</a> <a href="#fnref:283" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:284">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. <a href="978-0-7546-6825-1" target="_blank">978-0-7546-6825-1</a> <a href="#fnref:284" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:285">Piekarski, Adam (1979). Freedom of Conscience and Religion in Poland. Interpress Publishers. p. 31. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Dp1JAAAAIAAJ&q=persecution%20religious%20in%20Europe%20poland%20freedom" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=Dp1JAAAAIAAJ&q=persecution%20religious%20in%20Europe%20poland%20freedom</a> <a href="#fnref:285" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:286">"Memory of the World Register Nomination Form". portal.unesco.org. Retrieved 2 August 2011. <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23126&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html" target="_blank">http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23126&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html</a> <a href="#fnref:286" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:287">"Memory of the World Register Nomination Form". portal.unesco.org. Retrieved 2 August 2011. <a href="http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23126&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html" target="_blank">http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=23126&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html</a> <a href="#fnref:287" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:288">Linda Gordon, Cossack Rebellions: Social Turmoil in the Sixteenth Century Ukraine, SUNY Press, 1983, ISBN 0-87395-654-0, Google Print, p. 51 <a href="/wiki/Linda_Gordon" target="_blank">/wiki/Linda_Gordon</a> <a href="#fnref:288" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:289">Aleksander Gella, Development of Class Structure in Eastern Europe: Poland and Her Southern Neighbors, SUNY Press, 1998, ISBN 0-88706-833-2, Google Print, p. 13 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:289" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:290">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. <a href="0-521-86403-8" target="_blank">0-521-86403-8</a> <a href="#fnref:290" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:291">Magocsi, Paul R. (2010). A History of Ukraine: The Land and Its Peoples. University of Toronto Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-1-4426-1021-7. <a href="978-1-4426-1021-7" target="_blank">978-1-4426-1021-7</a> <a href="#fnref:291" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:292">"Poland, history of", Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [2]. Retrieved 10 February 2006 Archived 1 November 2004 at the Wayback Machine and "Ukraine", Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [3]. Retrieved 14 February 2006. Archived 24 January 2005 at the Wayback Machine <a href="/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica" target="_blank">/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica</a> <a href="#fnref:292" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:293">"European Jewish Congress – Poland". Eurojewcong.org. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 1 February 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081211201802/http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=107" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20081211201802/http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=107</a> <a href="#fnref:293" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:294">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 href="0-415-29667-6" target="_blank">0-415-29667-6</a> <a href="#fnref:294" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:295">Artūras Tereškinas (2005). Imperfect communities: identity, discourse and nation in the seventeenth-century Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas. p. 31. ISBN 9955-475-94-3. <a href="9955-475-94-3" target="_blank">9955-475-94-3</a> <a href="#fnref:295" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:296">Aleksander Gieysztor, ed. (1988). Rzeczpospolita w dobie Jana III (Commonwealth during the reign of John III). Royal Castle in Warsaw. p. 45. <a href="/wiki/Aleksander_Gieysztor" target="_blank">/wiki/Aleksander_Gieysztor</a> <a href="#fnref:296" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:297">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:297" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:298">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:298" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:299">Stephen Barbour, Cathie Carmichael, Language and Nationalism in Europe, Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-19-925085-5, Google Print p. 184 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:299" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:300">Östen 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 <a href="/wiki/Maria_Koptjevskaja-Tamm" target="_blank">/wiki/Maria_Koptjevskaja-Tamm</a> <a href="#fnref:300" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:301">Glanville Price, Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe, Blackwell Publishing, 1998, ISBN 0-631-22039-9, Google Print, p. 30 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:301" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:302">Mikulas Teich & Roy Porter, The National Question in Europe in Historical Context, Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-36713-1, Google Print, p. 295 <a href="/wiki/Mikulas_Teich" target="_blank">/wiki/Mikulas_Teich</a> <a href="#fnref:302" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:303">Kevin O'Connor, Culture And Customs of the Baltic States, Greenwood Press, 2006, ISBN 0-313-33125-1, Google Print, p. 115 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:303" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:304">Mikulas Teich & Roy Porter, The National Question in Europe in Historical Context, Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-36713-1, Google Print, p. 295 <a href="/wiki/Mikulas_Teich" target="_blank">/wiki/Mikulas_Teich</a> <a href="#fnref:304" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:305">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:305" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:306">Daniel. Z Stone, A History of East Central Europe, p. 46. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&dq=%22official+language%22+Poland+Lithuania&pg=PA46" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&dq=%22official+language%22+Poland+Lithuania&pg=PA46</a> <a href="#fnref:306" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:307">Kevin O'Connor, Culture And Customs of the Baltic States, Greenwood Press, 2006, ISBN 0-313-33125-1, Google Print, p. 115 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:307" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:308">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:308" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:309">Tomasz Kamusella (2008). The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-230-55070-4. <a href="978-0-230-55070-4" target="_blank">978-0-230-55070-4</a> <a href="#fnref:309" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:310">L'union personnelle polono-saxonne contribua davantage à faire connaître en Pologne le français que l'allemand. Cette fonction de la langue française, 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 Ossoliński Institute. p. 79. <a href="/wiki/Polish_Academy_of_Sciences" target="_blank">/wiki/Polish_Academy_of_Sciences</a> <a href="#fnref:310" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:311">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: Stanisław August Poniatowski, 1732–1798. Oxford University Press. p. 70. ISBN 0-19-820701-8. <a href="0-19-820701-8" target="_blank">0-19-820701-8</a> <a href="#fnref:311" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:312">Kevin O'Connor, Culture And Customs of the Baltic States, Greenwood Press, 2006, ISBN 0-313-33125-1, Google Print, p. 115 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:312" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:313">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:313" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:314">України, ЦДЕА. "Державна архівна служба України". archives.gov.ua. <a href="https://archives.gov.ua/ua" target="_blank">https://archives.gov.ua/ua</a> <a href="#fnref:314" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:315">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. <a href="#fnref:315" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:316">Kevin O'Connor, Culture And Customs of the Baltic States, Greenwood Press, 2006, ISBN 0-313-33125-1, Google Print, p. 115 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:316" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:317">Daniel. Z Stone, A History of East Central Europe, p. 46. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&dq=%22official+language%22+Poland+Lithuania&pg=PA46" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&dq=%22official+language%22+Poland+Lithuania&pg=PA46</a> <a href="#fnref:317" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:318">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:318" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:319">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:319" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:320">Östen 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 <a href="/wiki/%C3%96sten_Dahl" target="_blank">/wiki/%C3%96sten_Dahl</a> <a href="#fnref:320" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:321">Zinkevičius, Z. (1993). Rytų Lietuva praeityje ir dabar. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų 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 Vilnius city, which was sealed by Žygimantas Augustas' in 1552...//Courts juratory were written in Lithuanian language. In fact, such [courts juratory written in Lithuanian] survived from the 17th century...{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link) <a href="5-420-01085-2" target="_blank">5-420-01085-2</a> <a href="#fnref:321" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:322">""Mes Wladislaus..." a letter from Wladyslaw Vasa issued in 1639 written in Lithuanian language". Retrieved 3 September 2006. <a href="http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d101/no_name_2/Edt1458.jpg" target="_blank">http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d101/no_name_2/Edt1458.jpg</a> <a href="#fnref:322" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:323">Ališauskas, V.; L. Jovaiša; M. Paknys; R. Petrauskas; E. Raila; et al. (2001). Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštijos kultūra. Tyrinėjimai ir vaizdai. Vilnius. p. 500. ISBN 9955-445-26-2. In 1794 Government's declarations were carried out and in Lithuanian.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) <a href="9955-445-26-2" target="_blank">9955-445-26-2</a> <a href="#fnref:323" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:324">Daniel. Z Stone, A History of East Central Europe, p. 4. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&q=Lithuanian&pg=PA4" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&q=Lithuanian&pg=PA4</a> <a href="#fnref:324" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:325">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:325" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:326">Kevin O'Connor, Culture And Customs of the Baltic States, Greenwood Press, 2006, ISBN 0-313-33125-1, Google Print, p. 115 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:326" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:327">Mikulas Teich & Roy Porter, The National Question in Europe in Historical Context, Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-36713-1, Google Print, p. 295 <a href="/wiki/Mikulas_Teich" target="_blank">/wiki/Mikulas_Teich</a> <a href="#fnref:327" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:328">Czesław Miłosz, The History of Polish Literature, University of California Press, 1983, ISBN 0-520-04477-0, Google Print, p. 108 <a href="/wiki/Czes%C5%82aw_Mi%C5%82osz" target="_blank">/wiki/Czes%C5%82aw_Mi%C5%82osz</a> <a href="#fnref:328" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:329">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:329" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:330">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 href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:330" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:331">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. <a href="0-8032-3240-3" target="_blank">0-8032-3240-3</a> <a href="#fnref:331" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:332">Mikulas Teich & Roy Porter, The National Question in Europe in Historical Context, Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-521-36713-1, Google Print, p. 295 <a href="/wiki/Mikulas_Teich" target="_blank">/wiki/Mikulas_Teich</a> <a href="#fnref:332" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:333">Karol Zierhoffer, Zofia Zierhoffer (2000). Nazwy zachodnioeuropejskie w języku polskim a związki Polski z kulturą Europy (in Polish). Wydawnictwo Poznańskiego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Nauk. p. 79. ISBN 83-7063-286-6. Podobną opinię przekazał nieco późnej, w 1577 r. Marcin Kromer "Za naszej pamięci weszli [...] do głównych miast Polski kupcy i rzemieślnicy włoscy, a język ich jest także częściowo w użyciu, mianowicie wśród wytworniejszych Polaków, którzy chętnie podróżują do Włoch". <a href="83-7063-286-6" target="_blank">83-7063-286-6</a> <a href="#fnref:333" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:334">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 <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:334" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:335">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. <a href="0-8032-3240-3" target="_blank">0-8032-3240-3</a> <a href="#fnref:335" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:336">Rosemary A. Chorzempa (1993). Polish roots. Genealogical Pub. ISBN 0-8063-1378-1. <a href="0-8063-1378-1" target="_blank">0-8063-1378-1</a> <a href="#fnref:336" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:337">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. <a href="0-88397-131-3" target="_blank">0-88397-131-3</a> <a href="#fnref:337" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:338">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. <a href="0-7591-0973-7" target="_blank">0-7591-0973-7</a> <a href="#fnref:338" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:339">Barile, Davide (2019). Historic Power Europe; A Post-Hegelian Interpretation of European Integration. New York: Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-73113-2. <a href="978-1-000-73113-2" target="_blank">978-1-000-73113-2</a> <a href="#fnref:339" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:340">A. stated, for instance by the preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997. <a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Republic_of_Poland" target="_blank">/wiki/Constitution_of_the_Republic_of_Poland</a> <a href="#fnref:340" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:341">Alfonsas Eidintas, Vytautas Zalys, Lithuania in European Politics: The Years of the First Republic, 1918–1940, Palgrave, 1999, ISBN 0312224583. Print, p. 78 <a href="/wiki/Alfonsas_Eidintas" target="_blank">/wiki/Alfonsas_Eidintas</a> <a href="#fnref:341" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:342">Grzegorz Górny (23 August 2008). "Zobaczyć Kresy" (in Polish). Rzeczpospolita. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150710071513/http://www.rp.pl/artykul/180354.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20150710071513/http://www.rp.pl/artykul/180354.html</a> <a href="#fnref:342" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:343">Sarah Johnstone (2008). Ukraine. Lonely Planet. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-74104-481-2. <a href="978-1-74104-481-2" target="_blank">978-1-74104-481-2</a> <a href="#fnref:343" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:344">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. <a href="0-89774-940-5" target="_blank">0-89774-940-5</a> <a href="#fnref:344" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:345">Richard M. Golden (2006). "Volume 4". Encyclopedia of witchcraft: the Western tradition. ABC-CLIO. p. 1039. ISBN 1-57607-243-6. <a href="1-57607-243-6" target="_blank">1-57607-243-6</a> <a href="#fnref:345" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:346">Artūras Tereškinas (2005). Imperfect communities: identity, discourse and nation in the seventeenth-century Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas. p. 31. ISBN 9955-475-94-3. <a href="9955-475-94-3" target="_blank">9955-475-94-3</a> <a href="#fnref:346" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:347">Aleksander Gieysztor, ed. (1988). Rzeczpospolita w dobie Jana III (Commonwealth during the reign of John III). Royal Castle in Warsaw. p. 45. <a href="/wiki/Aleksander_Gieysztor" target="_blank">/wiki/Aleksander_Gieysztor</a> <a href="#fnref:347" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:348">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. <a href="978-88-70-88537-8" target="_blank">978-88-70-88537-8</a> <a href="#fnref:348" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:349">Daniel H. Cole (2002). Pollution and property: comparing ownership institutions for environmental protection. Cambridge University Press. p. 106. ISBN 0-521-00109-9. <a href="0-521-00109-9" target="_blank">0-521-00109-9</a> <a href="#fnref:349" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth open-in-new

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth