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Poland THE NOBLE REPUBLIC, 1572-1795
Although most accounts of Polish history show the two
centuries after the end of the Jagiellon Dynasty as a time
of
decline leading to foreign domination, Poland-Lithuania
remained
an influential player in European politics and a vital
cultural
entity through most of the period.
The Elective Monarchy
The death of Sigismund II Augustus in 1572 was followed
by a
three-year Interregnum during which adjustments were made
in the
constitutional system. The lower nobility was now included
in the
selection process, and the power of the monarch was
further
circumscribed in favor of the expanded noble class. From
that
point, the king was effectively a partner with the noble
class
and constantly supervised by a group of senators. Once the
Jagiellons passed from the scene, the fragile equilibrium
of the
commonwealth government began to go awry. The
constitutional
reforms made the monarchy electoral in fact as well as
name. As
more and more power went to the noble electors, it also
eroded
from the government's center.
In its periodic opportunities to fill the throne, the
szlachta exhibited a preference for foreign
candidates who
would not found another strong dynasty. This policy
produced
monarchs who were either totally ineffective or in
constant
debilitating conflict with the nobility. Furthermore,
aside from
notable exceptions such as the able Transylvanian Stefan
Batory
(1576-86), the kings of alien origin were inclined to
subordinate
the interests of the commonwealth to those of their own
country
and ruling house. This tendency was most obvious in the
prolonged
military adventures waged by Sigismund III Vasa
(1587-1632)
against Russia and his native Sweden. On occasion, these
campaigns brought Poland near to conquest of Muscovy and
the
Baltic coast, but they compounded the military burden
imposed by
the ongoing rivalry with the Turks, and the Swedes and
Russians
extracted heavy repayment a few decades later.
Data as of October 1992
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