kidzsearch.com > wiki Explore:
web
images 
videos 
games
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
- REDIRECT Template:Infobox country
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (or Union, after 1791 the Commonwealth of Poland) was a state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. The Commonwealth was an extension of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, a personal union between those two states that had existed from 1386. It was the largest[1] and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th-century Europe. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth covered more lands than the present lands of Poland and Lithuania. The lands of the Commonwealth also covered all the lands of present-day Belarus; a large part of Ukraine and Latvia; and western part of present-day Russia.
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had high levels of ethnic diversity and by religious tolerance.[2] The amount of religious freedom varied over time.[3]
After several decades of prosperity,[4] it entered a period of political,[5] military and economic[6] decline. It ended with the final Partitions of Poland in 1795. Its growing weakness led to it being divided by its more powerful neighbors, Austria, Prussia and the Russian Empire.
Some information
- In Poland, the official languages were Polish language and Latin language. In Lithuania, the official languages were Old Belarusian, Latin Language, and Lithuanian language.
- Commonwealth was one of largest countries of its time. It had a large population. At one time, Commonwealth covered about 400,000 square miles. Population was around 11 million. People of different ethnicity lived in Commonwealth.
- For about 200 years, Commonwealth withstood wars with other powers of Europe of that time: these powers were Muscovy Russians, Ottoman Empire, and the Swedes.
- The Commonwealth developed a system of laws and legislature. This reduced the power of the monarch. Some concepts of democracy also developed in the Commonwealth and concept like the constitutional monarchy.
- In theory, the two countries of the Commonwealth were equal. But, Poland had a leading role.
- The Commonwealth had a leading influence of the Catholic Church. But, the government allowed peoples of different religions to follow their religions. Thus, peoples of many religions lived in the Commonwealth.
- The Commonwealth also produced a national constitution, the first in Europe.
- Agriculture was the main economic activity of the persons living in the Commonwealth.
References
- ↑ Norman Davies, Europe: A History, Pimlico 1997, p. 554: Poland-Lithuania was another country which experienced its 'Golden Age' during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The realm of the last Jagiellons was absolutely the largest state in Europe
- ↑ Halina Stephan, Living in Translation: Polish Writers in America, Rodopi, 2003, ISBN 90-420-1016-9, Google Print p373
Template-specific style sheet:
- ↑ Feliks Gross, Citizenship and Ethnicity: The Growth and Development of a Democratic Multiethnic Institution, Greenwood Press, 1999, ISBN 0-313-30932-9, Google Print, p122 (notes)
Template-specific style sheet:
- ↑ "In the mid-1500s, united Poland was the largest state in Europe and perhaps the continent’s most powerful nation". "Poland". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 26 June 2009
- ↑ Martin Van Gelderen, Quentin Skinner, Republicanism: A Shared European Heritage, Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-521-80756-5 Google Print: p54
Template-specific style sheet:
- ↑ The Causes of Slavery or Serfdom: A Hypothesis, discussion and full online text of Evsey Domar (1970) "The Causes of Slavery or Serfdom: A Hypothesis", Economic History Review 30:1 (March), pp18–32
