The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385-1569

The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385-1569 PDF Author: Robert I. Frost
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192568140
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 591

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Book Description
The history of eastern European is dominated by the story of the rise of the Russian empire, yet Russia only emerged as a major power after 1700. For 300 years the greatest power in Eastern Europe was the union between the kingdom of Poland and the grand duchy of Lithuania, one of the longest-lasting political unions in European history. Yet because it ended in the late-eighteenth century in what are misleadingly termed the Partitions of Poland, it barely features in standard accounts of European history. The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385-1569 tells the story of the formation of a consensual, decentralised, multinational, and religiously plural state built from below as much as above, that was founded by peaceful negotiation, not war and conquest. From its inception in 1385-6, a vision of political union was developed that proved attractive to Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians, and Germans, a union which was extended to include Prussia in the 1450s and Livonia in the 1560s. Despite the often bitter disagreements over the nature of the union, these were nevertheless overcome by a republican vision of a union of peoples in one political community of citizens under an elected monarch. Robert Frost challenges interpretations of the union informed by the idea that the emergence of the sovereign nation state represents the essence of political modernity, and presents the Polish-Lithuanian union as a case study of a composite state. The modern history of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus cannot be understood without an understanding of the legacy of the Polish-Lithuanian union. This volume is the first detailed study of the making of that union ever published in English.

The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386-1795

The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386-1795 PDF Author: Daniel Z. Stone
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295803622
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
For four centuries, the Polish�Lithuanian state encompassed a major geographic region comparable to present-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, Estonia, and Romania. Governed by a constitutional monarchy that offered the numerous nobility extensive civil and political rights, it enjoyed unusual domestic tranquility, for its military strength kept most enemies at bay until the mid-seventeenth century and the country generally avoided civil wars. Selling grain and timber to western Europe helped make it exceptionally wealthy for much of the period. The Polish�Lithuanian State, 1386�1795 is the first account in English devoted specifically to this important era. It takes a regional rather than a national approach, considering the internal development of the Ukrainian, Jewish, Lithuanian, and Prussian German nations that coexisted with the Poles in this multinational state. Presenting Jewish history also clarifies urban history, because Jews lived in the unincorporated "private cities" and suburbs, which historians have overlooked in favor of incorporated "royal cities." In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the private cities and suburbs often thrived while the inner cities decayed. The book also traces the institutional development of the Roman Catholic Church in Poland�Lithuania, one of the few European states to escape bloody religious conflict during the Reformation and Counter Reformation. Both seasoned historians and general readers will appreciate the many excellent brief biographies that advance the narrative and illuminate the subject matter of this comprehensive and absorbing volume.

The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385-1569

The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385-1569 PDF Author: Robert I. Frost
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192568140
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 591

Get Book

Book Description
The history of eastern European is dominated by the story of the rise of the Russian empire, yet Russia only emerged as a major power after 1700. For 300 years the greatest power in Eastern Europe was the union between the kingdom of Poland and the grand duchy of Lithuania, one of the longest-lasting political unions in European history. Yet because it ended in the late-eighteenth century in what are misleadingly termed the Partitions of Poland, it barely features in standard accounts of European history. The Making of the Polish-Lithuanian Union 1385-1569 tells the story of the formation of a consensual, decentralised, multinational, and religiously plural state built from below as much as above, that was founded by peaceful negotiation, not war and conquest. From its inception in 1385-6, a vision of political union was developed that proved attractive to Poles, Lithuanians, Ruthenians, and Germans, a union which was extended to include Prussia in the 1450s and Livonia in the 1560s. Despite the often bitter disagreements over the nature of the union, these were nevertheless overcome by a republican vision of a union of peoples in one political community of citizens under an elected monarch. Robert Frost challenges interpretations of the union informed by the idea that the emergence of the sovereign nation state represents the essence of political modernity, and presents the Polish-Lithuanian union as a case study of a composite state. The modern history of Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus cannot be understood without an understanding of the legacy of the Polish-Lithuanian union. This volume is the first detailed study of the making of that union ever published in English.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733-1795

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 1733-1795 PDF Author: Richard Butterwick
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 030025220X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 506

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Book Description
A major new assessment of the "vanished kingdom" of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth--one which recognizes its achievements before its destruction Richard Butterwick tells the compelling story of the last decades of one of Europe's largest and least understood polities: the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Drawing on the latest research, Butterwick vividly portrays the turbulence the Commonwealth experienced. Far from seeing it as a failed state, he shows the ways in which it overcame the stranglehold of Russia and briefly regained its sovereignty, the crowning success of which took place on 3 May 1791--the passing of the first Constitution of modern Europe.

Lithuania

Lithuania PDF Author: V. Stanley Vardys
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429978790
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
This book explores Lithuania's pagan ancestry and epochal struggles with Germanic and Russian states and examines Lithuania's struggle with the legacy of Soviet rule as it strives to establish democracy and economic prosperity.

Elective Monarchy in Transylvania and Poland-Lithuania, 1569-1587

Elective Monarchy in Transylvania and Poland-Lithuania, 1569-1587 PDF Author: Felicia Roşu
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198789378
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
This book is an examination of why and how the elective principle, already established in Transylvanian and Polish political culture in the late medieval period, was transformed in the early elections of the 1570s. In this period, the two polities adopted constitutional arrangements different in depth and scope but based on the same fundamental principles: elective thrones, state-sanctioned religious pluralism, and constitutional guarantees for the right of disobedience. There were important variations in their regulation and application, but Transylvania and the newly created Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had one essential thing in common: they were the only two polities in early modern Europe whose political systems secured the succession of their rulers through large-scale elections in which the dynastic principle, although still important, was not binding.

Calvinism in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 1548–1648

Calvinism in the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth 1548–1648 PDF Author: Kazimierz Bem
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004424822
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
This book offers an in-depth history of Calvinism in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1548-1648. It traces the development of polity, liturgy, piety and church discipline. Bem questions the prevailing narrative of decline post 1570 and argues that the three Reformed Churches in fact continued to develop and flourish until the 1630s.

Blood Royal

Blood Royal PDF Author: Robert Bartlett
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108490670
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 675

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Book Description
An engaging history of royal and imperial families and dynastic power, enriched by a body of surprising and memorable source material.

The Routledge History of East Central Europe since 1700

The Routledge History of East Central Europe since 1700 PDF Author: Irina Livezeanu
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351863428
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 522

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Book Description
Covering territory from Russia in the east to Germany and Austria in the west, The Routledge History of East Central Europe since 1700 explores the origins and evolution of modernity in this turbulent region. This book applies fresh critical approaches to major historical controversies and debates, expanding the study of a region that has experienced persistent and profound change and yet has long been dominated by narrowly nationalist interpretations. Written by an international team of contributors that reflects the increasing globalization and pluralism of East Central European studies, chapters discuss key themes such as economic development, the relationship between religion and ethnicity, the intersection between culture and imperial, national, wartime, and revolutionary political agendas, migration, women’s and gender history, ideologies and political movements, the legacy of communism, and the ways in which various states in East Central Europe deployed and were formed by the politics of memory and commemoration. This book uses new methodologies in order to fundamentally reshape perspectives on the development of East Central Europe over the past three centuries. Transnational and comparative in approach, this volume presents the latest research on the social, cultural, political and economic history of modern East Central Europe, providing an analytical and comprehensive overview for all students of this region.

A Theory of World Politics

A Theory of World Politics PDF Author: Mathias Albert
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107146534
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
This analysis of the historical evolution and contemporary form of the system of world politics utilizes contemporary theories and debates in sociology and global history. Critically reflecting also on world politics in the field of international relations, this book will appeal to a wide readership in a range of fields.

Res Publica Redefined?

Res Publica Redefined? PDF Author: Miia Ijäs
Publisher: Peter Lang Gmbh, Internationaler Verlag Der Wissenschaften
ISBN: 9783631667125
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The book studies political transition from dynastic reign to elective monarchy in sixteenth-century Poland-Lithuania. The political transition is viewed in the context of the great phenomena of early modern Europe, e.g. Reformation and state formation process.