Description
Book SynopsisFor four centuries, the PolishLithuanian 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 PolishLithuanian State, 13861795 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 th
Trade Review
"A masterful accomplishment. . . . This very important contribution to the English language literature on this region and these centuries is also, by its balance and perspective, a contribution unmatched in any language."
* Choice *
"Well-planned, well-written, and well-balanced, this work is a major contribution in English-language historiography relating the the history of Poland-Lithuania from the late Middle Ages to the third partition."
* Canadian Journal of History *
Table of ContentsForeword
Preface
Maps
Part One: The Jagiellonian Period, 1386-1572
1. Jogaila/Jagiello
2. Jagiello’s Successors: Wladyslaw III, Kazimierz IV, Jan Olbracht, and Aleksander
3. Zygmunt I the Old
4. Zygmunt II August
5. Ecomonics & Society in the Jagiellonian Period
6. Artistic Culture & Education in the Jagiellonian Period
7. First Interlude: Henri Valois & Stefan Batory
Part Two: The Vasa Period
8. Zygmunt II Vasa (Waza)
9. Wladyslaw IV
10. Jan Kazimierz
11. Noble Democracy as a Political System
12. Economics & Society in the Vasa Period
13. Culture in the Vasa Period
14. Second Interlude: Michal Wisniowiecki & Jan III Sobieski
Part Three: The Eighteenth Century
15. August II
16. August III
17. Stanislaw August Poniatowski
18. Economics &Society in the Eighteenth Century
19. Culture in the Eighteenth Century
Epilogue
Bibliographical Essay
Index
