The Union of Lublin. Painting by Jan Matejko. Jan Matejko ( (also known as Jan Mateyko; June 24 1838 Free City of Kraków; - November 1 1893 Kraków) was a Polish painter

Rzeczpospolita in 1569

The Union of Lublin (Lithuanian: Liublino unija; Polish: Unia lubelska) replaced the personal union of the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. Lithuanian ( lietuvių kalba) is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognised as one of the official languages of the European Union. Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. A personal union is the combination by which two different States are governed by the same Monarch, while their boundaries their laws and their interests remain distinct Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje Real union is a union of two or more States which share some state Institutions however they are not as unified as states in a Political union An elective monarchy is a Monarchy ruled by someone generally from a Royal house, who is elected by a group For other nobles of the same name please see Sigismund. Sigismund II Augustus I (Zygmunt II August The Jagiellons (Jogailaičiai Jagiellonowie were a royal Dynasty originating from Lithuanian House of Gediminas dynasty that reigned in Central European In addition, autonomy of Royal Prussia was largely abandoned. Royal Prussia ( Prusy Królewskie was a province of the Kingdom of Poland from 1466 and then the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1772

It was signed July 1, 1569, in Lublin, Poland, which united a single State, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. "July 1st" redirects here For the Ayumi Hamasaki song see H (song. Lublin is the largest city in eastern Poland and the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 355954 Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, officially the Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania also known as the Most Serene Republic The Commonwealth was ruled by a single elected monarch who carried on the duties of Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and governed with a common Senate and parliament (the Sejm). An elective monarchy is a Monarchy ruled by someone generally from a Royal house, who is elected by a group Poland, or at least its nucleus was ruled at various times either by książęta (Dukes(ca The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje A senate is a Deliberative body, often the Upper house or chamber of a Legislature or Parliament. In Politics, a diet is a formal Deliberative assembly. The term is derived from Medieval Latin dietas, and ultimately comes from The Union was an evolutionary stage in the Polish-Lithuanian alliance and personal union, necessitated also by Lithuania's dangerous position in wars with Russia. The term Polish–Lithuanian Union sometimes called as United Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania refers to a series of acts and alliances between the Kingdom of Poland The Tsardom of Rus' (Царство Русское was the official name for the Russian state between Ivan IV 's assumption of the title of Tsar (Emperor in 1547 ^[1][2][3]

Constituting a crucial event in the history of several nations, the Union of Lublin has been viewed quite differently by many historians. Polish historians concentrate on its positive aspect, emphasizing its peaceful, voluntary creation and its role in the spreading of advanced Polish culture. The Culture of Poland is closely connected with its intricate 1000 year history. Lithuanian historians are more critical of the union, pointing out that it was dominated by Poland.

History

Coat of arms Rzeczpospolita's

Background

There were long discussions before signing the treaty, as Lithuanian magnates were afraid of losing much of their powers, since the union would make their status equal in the eyes of law with that of the much more numerous lower nobility. The Coat of Arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was the symbol of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, representing the union of the Crown of the Polish Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man itself from Latin magnus 'great' designates a noble or other man in a high social position However Lithuania had been increasingly on the losing side of the Muscovite-Lithuanian Wars and by the second half of the 16th century it faced the threat of total defeat in the Livonian war and incorporation into Russia. The Livonian War of 1558–1582 was a lengthy military conflict between the Tsardom of Russia and variable coalition of Denmark–Norway, Grand Duchy of The Tsardom of Rus' (Царство Русское was the official name for the Russian state between Ivan IV 's assumption of the title of Tsar (Emperor in 1547 The Polish nobility (the szlachta) on the other hand were reluctant to offer help to Lithuania without receiving anything in exchange. Szlachta ( refers to the noble class in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (since 1569 semi-federal semi-confederal Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, seeing the threat to Lithuania and eventually to Poland, nonetheless pressed for the union, gradually gaining more supporters. For other nobles of the same name please see Sigismund. Sigismund II Augustus I (Zygmunt II August Poland, or at least its nucleus was ruled at various times either by książęta (Dukes(ca The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė old literary Lithuanian Didi Kunigiste Letuvos, Ruthenian: Wialikaje Kniastwa Litowskaje

Sejm of 1567

The Sejm met in January, 1567, near the Polish town of Lublin, but did not reach an agreement. Lublin is the largest city in eastern Poland and the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 355954 In protest against heavy pressure by the Poles to sign the Act, the Lithuanians under the leadership of Vilnius voivod Mikołaj "Rudy" Radziwiłł left Lublin on March 1, fearing that Sigismund would make a decision on his own. Lithuanians are the Baltic Ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number a little over 3 million This is an article about a voivodeship in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Events 86 BC - Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army enters in Athens, removing the Tyrant

After that, on March 26, the king was forced by the szlachta to incorporate [3] [4] the southern Lithuanian-controlled lands of Podlachia, Volhynia, Podolia and the Kiev regions into the Crown of Poland. Events 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. Podlachia, Podlesia, or Podlasie is a historical region in the eastern part of Poland and western Belarus. The region of Podolia (also spelled Podilia or Podillya) is a historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the These historic lands of Rus' make up more than half of modern day Ukraine, and were at that time a significant part of Lithuanian territory. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. The higher class in these lands was largely Ruthenian at that time and was loyal to Lithuania. All loyal nobles were forced to swear loyalty to the King of Poland. Those who refused had their lands confiscated.

The Lithuanians were forced to come back under the leadership of Jan Chodkiewicz, (father of Jan Karol Chodkiewicz) and continue negotiations using slightly different tactics than Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł. Biography At 6 June 1459 r received from Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania Casimir IV Jagiellon office of Minsk governor Biography He was the son of Jan Hieronim (Hieronymus Chodkiewicz Ruthenian (or Lithuanian Ruthenian rooted Castellan of Vilnius (Vilna Although the Polish szlachta wanted full incorporation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into the Crown, the Lithuanians continued to oppose, and agreed only on the status of a federal state. On 28 June 1569, the last objections were overcome, and the act was signed by the king in Lublin Castle on 4 July [5]. Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Lublin Castle (Zamek Lubelski is situated in Lublin, Poland, adjacent to the Old Town district and close to the city center Events 836 - Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples

The end

The Union of Lublin was superseded by the Constitution of the Third May from 1791, when the federal Commonwealth was to be transformed into a unitary state by King Stanisław August Poniatowski. The Constitution of May 3 1791 (Konstytucja Trzeciego Maja Gegužės trečiosios konstitucija Канстытуцыя трэцьега траўня is generally recognized as A federation ( Latin: foedus, covenant is a union comprising a number of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central ("federal" A unitary state is a State whose three Organs of state are governed Constitutionally as one single unit with one Constitutionally created Stanisław II August Poniatowski (born Count Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; January 17 1732 – February 12 1798 was the last King However, the constitution was not fully implemented. The Commonwealth was ended by the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century, with the last one in 1795. The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the

Aftermath

Cultural

After the Union, the Lithuanian nobles had the same formal rights as the Polish to rule the lands and subjects under their control. However, political advancement in the Catholic dominated Commonwealth was a different matter.

In culture and social life, however, both the Polish language and Catholicism became dominant for the Ruthenian nobility, most of which were initially Ruthenian speaking and Eastern Orthodox by religion (see Polonization). Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Polonization (polonizacja is the acquisition or imposition However the commoners, especially the peasants, continued to speak their own languages and to practise the Orthodox religion, which eventually created a significant rift between the lower social classes of people and the nobility in the Lithuanian and Ruthenian areas of the Commonwealth. Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in Societies or Cultures. Some Ruthenian magnates resisted the attempted Polonization (see, e. g. , Ostrogski) by adamantly adhering to Orthodox Christianity, giving generously to the Ruthenian Orthodox Churches and to the Ruthenian schools. Ostrogski (Ostrogiškiai Острозькі- Ostrozki) was one of the greatest Ruthenian Princely families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, the pressure of Polonization was harder to resist with each subsequent generation and eventually almost all of the Ruthenian nobility was Polonized.

The Cossack uprisings and foreign interventions led to the partition of the Commonwealth by Russia, Prussia and Austria-Hungary in 1795. The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state The Union of Lublin was also temporarily not active while the Union of Kėdainiai was in effect. Union of Kėdainiai (or Agreement of Kėdainiai, Lithuanian Kėdainių unija or Kėdainių sutartis; Polish Umowa Kiejdańska

Many historians also consider the Union of Lublin to have created a state similar to the present-day European Union, thus considering the Union (along with the Kalmar Union, the several Acts of Union in the British Isles and other similar treaties) to be kind of a predecessor of the Maastricht treaty. The Kalmar Union ( Danish, Norwegian and Swedish: Kalmarunionen) is a historiographical term meaning a series of Personal The Maastricht Treaty (formally the Treaty on European Union, TEU) was signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht, the Netherlands after final The former, however, created a state of countries more deeply linked than the present-day EU. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in

Economic

The union brought about the Polish colonization of Ruthenian lands and enserfment of Ruthenian peasantry by the szlachta. Szlachta ( refers to the noble class in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (since 1569 semi-federal semi-confederal ^[4][5][6][7] Despite the situation of peasants in the Commonwealth being pretty dire compared to the West (see second serfdom), the peasants in the Commonwealth had more freedom than those in Russia; hence peasants (as well as to a lesser extent nobility and merchants) escaping from Russia to the Commonwealth became a major concern for Russian government, and one was of the factors leading to the partitions of Poland. The Tsardom of Rus' (Царство Русское was the official name for the Russian state between Ivan IV 's assumption of the title of Tsar (Emperor in 1547 The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the ^[8]

A common coin (złoty) was introduced. The złoty (/ˈzwɔtɨ/, plural for numbers ending in 2 3 and 4 (except 12 13 and 14 złote /ˈzwɔtɛ/ plural for all other numbers złotych /ˈzwɔtɨx/

Execution of crown lands was not expanded to Grand Duchy. The Execution(ist Movement ( Polish language: " Ruch egzekucyjny " also " egzekucja praw," "execution of the laws" " Crown land is a designated area belonging to The Crown, the equivalent of an entailed estate that passed with the Monarchy and could not be

Geographical

The Union created one of the largest and most populous states in 17th century Europe (excluding the states not completely in Europe, i. e. the Russian or Ottoman Empires). The Russian Empire ( Pre-reform Russian: Pоссійская Имперія Modern Russian: Российская Империя translit: Rossiyskaya The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish ^[9]

Within the Union Lithuania had to accept the loss of Podlachia, Volhynia, Podolia and the Kiev regions, formerly the territories of GDL annexed by the Polish Crown. Podlachia, Podlesia, or Podlasie is a historical region in the eastern part of Poland and western Belarus. The region of Podolia (also spelled Podilia or Podillya) is a historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, The Kiev Voivodeship (Київське воєводство Województwo kijowskie was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Legal

Legal systems of Crown of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania according to the Union were to be unified, although it never happened.

The drafters of the Union of Lublin expected that the countries of Lithuania and Poland would be linked together more closely than they actually were, because the 1566 Second Statute of Lithuania had not lost its power, and some of its provisions substantially differed from the acts of the Union of Lublin. Eventually the Third Statute of Lithuania was adopted in 1588, which however still contradicted the Union of Lublin on many points. The Statutes of Lithuania originally known as the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Lithuanian: Lietuvos statutai, Belarusian: Статуты

The Polish nobility therefore viewed the Statutes of Lithuania as unconstitutional, because at the signing of the Union of Lublin it was said that no law could conflict with the law of Union. The Statutes of Lithuania originally known as the Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ( Lithuanian: Lietuvos statutai, Belarusian: Статуты The Statutes, however, declared the laws of the Union that conflicted with them to be unconstitutional. The First Statutes of Lithuania was also used in the territories of Lithuania annexed by Poland shortly before the Union of Lublin. These conflicts between statutory schemes in Lithuania and Poland persisted for many years, and the Third Statute of Lithuania remained main law in territories of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania even after partitions until 1840.

Attempts to limit the power of Lithuanian magnates (especially the Sapiehas' family) and unify the laws of the Commonwealth led to the koekwacja praw movement, culminating in the koekwacja reforms of the election sejm of 1697 (May-June), confirmed in the general sejm of 1698 (April) in the document Porządek sądzenia spraw w Trybunale Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskego. The Sapieha ( Belarusian: Сапега; Lithuanian Sapiega) is a Polish - Lithuanian princely family descending from the medieval Election sejm (Polish sejm elekcyjny was one of three kinds of special sejm in pre-partition Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The General Sejm (Sejm walny was the Parliament of Poland for four centuries from the late 15th through the late 18th century ^[10]

Military

Poland provided military aid in the war after the union of the two entities, which was crucial for the survival of the Grand Duchy. ^[2]

Both the Crown and the Grand Duchy were to have common military and defense policy.

Political

The Union of Lublin provided for a merger of the two states, although they retained significant degrees of autonomy, each having its own army, treasury, laws and administrations[6]. Although the countries were equal in theory, the larger and more culturally attractive Poland would became the dominant partner. Due to population differences, Polish deputies outnumbered Lithuanians in the Sejm by 3:1 ratio[7].

Both Poland and Grand Duchy were to had a single ruler, freely elected by the nobility of both nations and crowned as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Luthuania in Wawel Cathedral, Kraków. Free election (Polish wolna elekcja) was the Election of individual kings rather than of Dynasties, to the Polish throne between Wawel Cathedral &ndash the Cathedral Basilica of Sts Stanisław and Vaclav &ndash is Poland 's national sanctuary located on Wawel Hill in Kraków Kraków, in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow (ˈkrækaʊ M-W: krăk'ou krāk'ō is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland

A common parliament - Sejm - was to held sessions in Warsaw; it would contain 114 deputies from Crown and 48 from Lithuania. Warsaw (Warszawa; also known by other names) is the Capital and Largest city of Poland. Senate had 113 Crown senators and 27 Lithuanian ones.

Both the Crown and the Grand Duchy were to have common foreign policy.

Legacy

Memory of the union lasted long. Painting commemorating Polish-Lithuanian union; circa 1861. The motto reads "Eternal union. A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group "

The Union of Lublin was Sigismund's greatest achievement and greatest failure. Although it created one of the largest state in contemporary Europe that would endure for over 200 years[8], Sigismund failed to push through the reforms that would create a workable political system. A political system is a System of Politics and Government. It is usually compared to the Law system, Economic system, Cultural He hoped to strengthen the monarchy with the support of the lesser nobility, and balance the power of lesser nobility and magnates. However although all the nobility in the Commonwealth was in theory equal in terms of law, the magnates' political power was not weakened significantly and in the end they could too often bribe or coerce their lesser brethren[9]. Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man itself from Latin magnus 'great' designates a noble or other man in a high social position In addition, the royal power would continue to wane, and while the neighbouring states continued to evolve into strong, centralized absolute monarchies, the Commonwealth would slide with its Golden Liberty into a political anarchy that would eventually cost it its very existence[10]. Golden Liberty ( Latin: Aurea Libertas; Polish: Złota Wolność) sometimes referred to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles' Democracy

Today's Republic of Poland considers itself a successor to the Commonwealth,^[11] whereas the pre-World War II Republic of Lithuania saw the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth mostly in a negative light. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania (Lietuvos Respublika is a Country in Eastern often referred to as Northern Europe or in the ^[12]

See also

• Union of Kėdainiai
• Union of Lublin Mound

References

External links

• Full text of the Union (Polish)
• Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage