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Poland Poland-Lithuania as a European Power
The Teutonic Knights had been reduced to vassalage, and
despite the now persistent threats posed by the Turks and
an
emerging Russian colossus, Poland-Lithuania managed to
defend its
status as one of the largest and most prominent states of
Europe.
The wars and diplomacy of the century yielded no dramatic
expansion but shielded the country from significant
disturbance
and permitted significant internal development. An
"Eternal
Peace" concluded with the Ottoman Turks in 1533 lessened
but did
not remove the threat of invasion from that quarter.
A lucrative agricultural export market was the
foundation for
the kingdom's wealth. A population boom in Western Europe
prompted an increased demand for foodstuffs;
Poland-Lithuania
became Europe's foremost supplier of grain, which was
shipped
abroad from the Baltic seaport of Gdansk. Aside from
swelling
Polish coffers, the prosperous grain trade supported other
notable aspects of national development. It reinforced the
preeminence of the landowning nobility that received its
profits,
and it helped to preserve a traditionally rural society
and
economy at a time when Western Europe had begun moving
toward
urbanization and capitalism.
Data as of October 1992
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