Search results
Polish Republic (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska) is the official name of Poland. It may also refer to: The First Polish Republic, applied retrospectively to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) Second Polish Republic (1918–1939) Polish People's Republic (1947–1989) Third Polish Republic (since 1989) Fourth Polish Republic.
- Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, or the First Polish...
- History of Poland
Ignacy Daszyński headed the first short-lived independent...
- Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
- State Organization and Politics
- Economy
- Culture
- Provinces and Geography
- Referencesisbn Links Support Nwe Through Referral Fees
- External Links
Golden Liberty
The political doctrine of the Commonwealth of Both Nations was our state is a republic under the presidency of the King. Chancellor Jan Zamoyski summed up this doctrine when he said that "Rex regnat et non gubernat" ("The King reigns but does not govern"). The Commonwealth had a parliament, the Sejm, as well as a Senat and an elected king. The king was obliged to respect citizens' rights specified in King Henry's Articles as well as in pacta conventanegotiated at the time of his election. The...
The political players
The major players in the politics of the Commonwealth were: 1. monarchs, who struggled to expand their power and create an absolute monarchy. 2. magnates, the wealthiest of the szlachta, who wanted to rule the country as a privileged oligarchy, and to dominate both the monarch and the poorer nobles. 3. szlachta, who desired a strengthening of the Sejm and rule of the country as a democracy of the szlachta. The magnates and the szlachtawere far from united, with many factions supporting either...
Shortcomings of the Commonwealth
Once the Jagiellonshad disappeared from the scene in 1572, the fragile equilibrium of the Commonwealth's government began to shake. Power increasingly slipped away from the central government to the nobility. In their periodic opportunities to fill the throne, the szlachta exhibited a preference for foreign candidates who would not found another strong dynasty. This policy often produced monarchs who were either totally ineffective or in constant debilitating conflict with the nobility. Furth...
The economy of the Commonwealth was dominated by feudal agriculture based on exploitation of agricultural workforce (serfs). Slavery in Poland was forbidden in the fifteenth century; in Lithuania, slavery was formally abolished in 1588, but replaced by the second enserfment. Typically a nobleman's landholding comprised a folwark, a large farm worke...
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 philosophers such as Erasmus; and, during the Counter-Reformation, was known for near-unparalleled religious tolerance, with peacefully coexisting Catholic, Jewish, East...
The lands that once belonged to the Commonwealth are now largely distributed among several Central and East European countries: Poland, Ukraine, Moldova (Transnistria), Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Also some small towns in Slovakia, then within the Kingdom of Hungary, became a part of Poland in the Treaty of Lubowla. While the t...
Adams, John. The Political Writings of John Adams. Washington, DC: Regnery Gateway, 2001. ISBN 0895262924.Ališauskas, V., and L. Jovaiša, M. Paknys, R. Petrauskas, E. Raila, and others. Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštijos kultūra. Tyrinėjimai ir vaizdai, 2001. ISBN 9955445262.Anderson, Perry. Lineages of the Absolutist State. Verso, 1985, ISBN 086091710X.Barbour, Stephen, and Cathie Carmichael. Language and Nationalism in Europe. Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0199250855.All links retrieved November 24, 2022. 1. (Belarusian) History of Belarus 9–18 centuries through original documents(Original documents are in various languages, mostly Ruthenian)
Nov 17, 2021 · The 1st Rzeczpospolita, or “First Polish Republic” (hereafter called “Rzeczpospolita”) was brought into existence in 1569 following the signing of the Union of Lublin. It replaced the existing states of Poland and Lithuania with a new country ruled by the Jagellion King Sigismund II, the principal architect of the treaty.
- Bipin Dimri
Apr 19, 2024 · In the mid-1500s united Poland was Europe’s largest and perhaps most powerful state, yet during the Partitions of Poland (1772–1918), it disappeared, parceled out to the empires of Russia, Prussia, and Austria. Restored as a nation in 1918 but ravaged by two world wars, Poland suffered tremendously throughout the 20th century.
The westward advances of the Soviet Red Army in 1944 and 1945 compelled Nazi Germany's forces to retreat from Poland, which led to the establishment of a satellite communist country, known from 1952 as the Polish People's Republic.
