: . 



POLAND. 



POLAND. 



ArrwariU. Bat Utt taott numerable event of hi* reign ii the first 

 diet of PoUnd. which he a**etnbled at Cbenciny a few month) before 

 the battle of Plowoi 



The rrign of hi* 00, Caaimir the Great, was <lerote<l to the con- 

 solidation of the advantages gained by hi* father. He made great 

 territorial miimssfam to Bohemia and the Teutonic order for the 

 maintenance of peace, which wu neoescary to a kingdom that had so 

 long laboured under the evil* of war. Hi* chief care wai directed to 

 the protection of agriculture ; and the noble*, who were no longer 

 permitted to oppres* the peuanta at their will, gave him the nickname 

 of the Peaiant King. The fint code of law* was published in Poland 

 by hi* order* at the aieeml.ly of VisliUa, in 1347. It waa during his 

 rein that the Russian principality of Halich (now Galicia) wa* united 

 with Poland. 



The ancient dynasty of I'iiut, which reigned in Poland from a date 

 anterior to the introduction of Curi*tianity, ended with Cosimir's 

 death, 1370. He wa* mioceeded by hi* nephew LonU, king of Hungary. 

 Thi* monarch entirely neglected Poland, which he visited only twice 

 during hi* reign. Hi* youngest daughter, Hedvige, waa proclaimed 

 after hi* death Queen of Poland, in 1SS2, and wa* crowned at Cracow, 

 being then only 15 yean of ago. The extraordinary beauty of this 

 prince**, which wai united to the noblest qualities and the most 

 exalted virtue*, have rendered Hedvige's memory an object of national 

 veneration. She married Jagellon, grand-duke of Lithuania, a pagan 

 prince, who wa* baptised on that occasion, and converted to the 

 Chrutian religion. This completely united Lithuania with Poland. 

 Hedvi.'e died in 1399, but Jagellon, who on hia baptism had received 

 the name of Vladislav, continued on the throne till hia death, 1434. 

 In his reign the power of the Teutonic knights was crushed in the 

 battle of Qunwald by the united forces of Poland and Lithuania. The 

 Ilanitei offered Jagellon the throne of Bohemia. He refused the 

 offer ; but permitted the princes of his house to assist the Hussites 

 sgainrt the Roman Catholics. Jagellon was succeeded by his eon, 

 Vladislav III., a prince 11 years old. He was scarcely of ago when 

 the Hungarians, threatened by the fast-spreading pow.r of the Otto- 

 mans, invited him to their throne. In prosecuting a hostile attack 

 against the Turks, Vladislav perished at the battle of Varna, in the 

 21st year of his age. The throne of Poland remained vacant till 1445, 

 when it wa* offered to Casimir, brother to Vladislav, and grand-duke of 

 Lithuania. Casimir was reluctant to accept the crown of Poland ; but 

 when the states of Poland threatened to transfer their allegiance to 

 a new sovereign he accepted their offers, and left Lithuania, for which 

 he preserved to the end of his life a strong predilection. The most 

 important event of his reign was the union with Poland of the Prussian 

 provinces, which revolted from the Teutonic knights, and placed 

 themselves under the crown of Poland. A war ensued (1454) termi- 

 nated in 1462 by the peaoe of Thorn, which gave to Poland a rich and 

 fertile country with a large population. The acquisition of Danzig 

 proved particularly advantageous to the commerce of Poland. Under 

 Casimir's reign Poland waa divided into electoral districts, each 

 returning a representative in order to form a deliberative body 

 distinct from the senate or nobles (whose representatives were styled 

 'nuncios'). A measure to become law hod to pass these assemblies, 

 and then be sanctioned by the king. Deputies from the towns were 

 admitted to the senate or chamber of nuncios. Of the subsequent 

 sovereigns of the Jagellon dynasty, one of the most illustrious was 

 HigUmund, who was elected king after the death of his brother Alex- 

 ander in IS 06. Sigismund engaged in a severe and protracted contest 

 with Rurnia, which was concluded by a treaty that left the frontier of 

 the belligerent powers in the same state as it was before the war. In 

 151n, Ilohdan. prince of Moldavia and Wallachia, invaded the southern 

 province* of Poland : he was however soon defeated, and compelled to 

 conclude a treaty, by which he acknowledged himself the vassal of 

 the king* of Poland. Thia acquisition became afterwards the origin 

 of long and bloody wars with the Ottoman Porte, but an immediate 

 collision with that power was avoided by the prudence of Sigismund. 



Sigismund died in 1548, in the 82ud year of his age, witli th 

 character of a wise, just, and magnanimous prince, notwithstanding 

 that in the latter year* of his reign he had become unpopular, owing 

 to the miiconduct of hi* queen Bona, to whom he was dotiugly attached. 

 He wa* tuccecded by his son Sigismund Augustus, who had been 

 elected and crowned during hia lifetime, and was then only ten years 

 old. The rnort remarkable event* of hia reign are the acquisition of 

 Livonia, which voluntarily submitted to Poland in order to save itself 

 from the Muscovite yoke ; and the legislative union between Poland and 

 Lithuania, which was effected at the diet of Lublin, 15G9. By this 

 arrangement it wai agreed that the deputies and senators of both 

 nation* should deliberate in common. The rights of the Polish nobles 

 were extended to those of Lithuania, and the throne of both countries 

 became equally elective ; yet the laws, finances, and army remained 

 distinct Thi* union continued until the final dissolution of Poland. 

 Under the reign of Sigiamund Augustus the doctrines of the Reforma- 

 tion acquired considerable influence in Poland. 



The interregnum produced by the death of Sigismund Augustus 



' wa* dangrroua to the peace of tho country, particularly as the 



election of the new king wa* embarrassed by religious differences. The 



diet of convocation however, which assembled in January 1573, enacted 



that all the religious sects which at that time divided Poland should 



enjoy equal right* and privileges. The extraordinary address of the 

 French ambassador Monluc, bishop of Valence, secured the election 

 of Henry of Valois, brother of Charles IX. of France. Henry wi nt 

 to Poland ; but a few months after his arrival, having learin-d the 

 death of hia brother Charles IX., by which he inherited the throne 

 of France as Henry III., be secretly left Krakow (1574), si 

 from his now kingdom. The throne was declared vacant i 

 Stephen I! itt<u-y was elected. Ho wa* a very remark: 

 who had risen by his great merit from a simple Hungarian noble to the 

 dignity of sovereign prince of Transylvania. Battory defeated in 

 repeated battles the Muscovites, retook many towns and district* 

 of Lithuania which had been seized by them, and invaded their own 

 country. His death took place in 1586, at the moment when he was 

 making great preparations against Muscovy. His successor was 

 Sigismund III. (Vasa), son of the king of Sweden, anil nephew by his 

 mother to Sigiamund Augustus. Sigismund III., strongly attar. 

 the Roman Catholic religion, lost his hereditary dominions, and < 

 a general discontent in Poland by his complete subserviency to the 

 Jesuit* and the house of Austria, as well as by his tendency towards 

 despotism. A civil war ensued; but the insurgents bein 

 the country was restored to peace. Soon after, Sigismund, taking 

 advantage of the distracted state into which Russia fell after the 

 murder of the pretender Demetrius, declared war against that country ; 

 and the Polish general Zolkiewski, having defeated the Muscovite army 

 and an auxiliary Swedish force, entered Moscow ; and concluded a 

 treaty by which Vladislav, eldest son of Sigismund, was clecte 

 of Moscow, 1610, on conditions which limited the absolute power that 

 tho monarchs of that country hitherto possessed. SiL'ismimd d< 

 his confirmation of that treaty under various pretences, and in the 

 meantime endeavoured to possess himself of some towns and provinces 

 of Russia. The Muscovites, justly irritated by Sigisuiuud's conduct, 

 rose in arms, and a war ensued, during which the Polish general 

 maintained himself for a long time against the Muscovites, but was 

 finally obliged to retire. The refusal of the diet to grant the necessary 

 supplies produced insubordination in the army, which was uupaid, 

 and the Russians gained great advantages. Sigismund at last made 

 an effort, and sent his sou Vladislav to recover at the head of an 

 army the throne which was lost through his father's incapacity 

 already occupied by Michael Federovich Romanow, who was elected 

 in 1613. Vladislav penetrated to the walls of the capital; and after 

 an unsuccessful attempt to carry it by storm, occupied a strong 

 position in its vicinity ; but the insubordination of the army ha 

 the conclusion of a truce of fourteen years, by which the Czar Michael 

 Federovich was recognised by Poland, which retained Smolensk, with 

 other provinces. Among the principal events during the remainder of 

 the reign was the war with the Turks (1620-1), who advanced to the 

 Dniester 400,000 strong under the Sultan Osman, and were bravely 

 held in check by 35,000 Poles and 40,000 Zaporoguo Cossaks. Peace 

 was concluded October 7, 1621, which restored the statu-quo of the 

 two countries. In a war with Sweden, 1625, Poland lost Riga and 

 other towns in Livonia. 



Sigismund III. died in 1632, in the 6flth year of his age. His son 

 Vladislav IV. was elected without opposition. He was a virtuous and 

 enlightened prince. Immediately after hia coronation he m 

 against the Muscovites, who had invaded tho Polish frontiers, and 

 having defeated them, he entered the frontiers of Muscovy, where he 

 occupied several towns. Peace was concluded in 1634, on terms 

 advantageous to Poland. Poland enjoyed a long peace during the 

 reij;n of Vladislav, who died in 1648, at the very moment when n 

 most dangerous rebellion was breaking out among the Cossaks ot 

 the Ukraine. The rebellion raged for many years under John Casimir, 

 the brother and successor of Vladislav, until Chmielnitzki, tho chief 

 of the Cossaks, in 1654, applied for aid to the czar of Muscovy, 

 Alexius, who sent a numerous army to his assistance and another 

 force to attack Lithuania. The situation of Poland was already very 

 critical, but the imprudence of the king made it desperate. Charles 

 Gustavus having ascended the throne of Sweden in consequence of 

 Christina's abdication, John Casimir's ambassador at Stockholm made 

 a protest against his accession to the throne of Sweden, of which his 

 master was the legitimate heir. Charles Oustavus declared war 

 against Poland, which he entered from Pomerauia, and soon ov. nan 

 the whole country, seizing both Warsaw and Krakow. John ( 

 had fled before the Swedes, and was now in Silesia, and the : 

 captivated with the vigour of Charles Gustavus, sent him a deputation 

 to request him to convoke a diet for the purpose of electing him 

 King of Poland. The reply of the Swede, "that he required no 

 election, as ho was already master of the country by conquest," 

 wounded the pride of the nation, which rose en masse, and under the 

 brave Stephen Czavniecki, expelled the Swedes, and restored John 

 Casimir to the throne. 



This war, which terminated by the peaco of Oliva in 16GO, was 

 followed by hostilities against Muscovy, which lasted till liiiu. l',y 

 tho peace of Andrashov in that year, Poland ceiled Smolensk and a 

 great part of the Ukraine to the Czar. John Casimir :i! 

 throne in 1668, and retired to Franco, where he died in li',72. H 

 was personally brave, and not without military talent. II 

 with distinction in the Imperial armies during the Thirty Y< ai-.V War. 

 Besides tho losses before enumerated, some important districts were. 



