Poland, Union of Poland and Lithuania, 6 Groszy – 1666

Description

In 1569 with the Union of Lublin, which was a personal union of the kingdom of Poland and the great ducat of Lithuania, it becomes a joint, as a federation in which each of the two entities maintains its own identity, laws, laws, Army and Treasury. At the time of its formation, it was one of the biggest kingdoms on the planet, both in population and territory, arriving from the Baltic to the Black Sea, and with about 8 million inhabitants in 1600 (France would have about 18 million in that moment). In this Commonwealth, the nobles had great control of power through the SEJM or Parliament, which at certain times weakened the position of the king, especially in front of the absolute monarchies of the time. It is considered a democracy of nobles. Initially, the Commonwealth grows economically, military and politically. In 1572, King Enrique de Valois is elected, which facilitates trade with France and serves as a counterweight to Habsburg power. But soon he will go to claim the French throne, and is chosen Estefan Bathory, who will get important conquests in Livonia, despite the opposition of much of the nobility to a Transilvano king. With Segismundo III, we are going to apogee and fall from the Commonwealth. Its fervent Catholicism will end the rupture of the union between Poland and Sweden. He will get conquests in Russia that crossed his difficult times, placing the false Dimitry as Tsar, and will also pacify the tensions with the Ottoman Empire, but in the war with Sweden, he will have to give up a large part of Livonia. By pressures of the nobility, he remained out of the thirty -year war. In the following years of the 19th century, more regions will be lost, especially for religious tensions. Orthodox Cossacks will ask Russia for help, and will separate from the Commonwealth in 1651. In 1655 a new invasion of Sweden is suffered. In 1683, Jan Sobiesky, allied with Emperor Leopoldo will inflict a great defeat to the Turks in the Battle of Vienna, marking a turning point in conflicts with the Ottoman Empire. In the 18th century, the weakness of the Commonwealth, on the edge of the Civil War, will cause foreign powers to have more and more weight in politics, happening what has come to be called the distributions of Poland, between Russia, Austria and Prussia, which will lead the country to disappear in 1795. In 1791 the first modern constitution of Europe was established, but it was too late to be able to deal with its powerful neighbors. Poland and Lithuania would not appear on the political map until 1918, although with Napoleon the Warsaw Ducado would be established.