Deluge (history)
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The Deluge (Polish: Potop, full Polish name is Potop Szwedzki [Swedish Deluge]) is the name commonly assigned in the history of Poland and Lithuania to a series of wars in the mid-to-late seventeenth century which left the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in ruins.
In a stricter sense, "The Deluge" refers to the Swedish invasion and occupation of the country from 1655–1660; in a general sense it applies to the series of misfortunes beginning with the Khmelnytskyi Uprising in 1648 and ending as late as 1667.
The Commonwealth before the deluge was territorially the largest state in Europe discounting the fragmented, fractious, and non-government called the Holy Roman Empire, had a feared army and large industrious population giving it a solid claim to status as regional power— and many would argue as a great power as well, for while it did not possess a strong navy to project power over the oceans, as a geohistoric polity, it was a giant amongst the smaller states in the region— only the territorial span of the Ottoman empire or the combined European dominions of Spanish empire rivaled it in size and population.
Before "The Deluge", the Commonwealth was a Central European power; but during the wars Commonwealth lost an estimated 1/3 of its population (relatively higher losses than during World War II), and its status as a great power.[1]
[edit] History
- Further information: Khmelnytsky Uprising, Northern Wars, and Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)
The misfortunes began in 1648 when the Ruthenian feudal lord Bohdan Khmelnytsky (also known as "Bohdan Chmielnicki") led a popular uprising of Dnieper Cossacks and Ukrainian peasants discontent with the rule of Polish magnates.
Although the rebellion was defeated in the Battle of Berestechko (1651), it was used as a pretext by the Russians to invade the eastern half of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1654. The Swedish Empire, who had a long standing dynastic feud with the Commonwealth and other issues in the Baltic region, also opportunistically invaded and occupied the remaining half in the same year.
Polish-Lithuanian noble Princes and Lithuanian nationists Janusz Radziwiłł and Bogusław Radziwiłł subsequently introduced internal dissaffection and dissention into the Commonwealth's troubles and began negotiations with the Swedish king Charles X Gustav of Sweden aimed at breaking up the Commonwealth and the Polish-Lithuanian union. They signed the Kėdainiai Treaty according to which the Radziwiłłs were to rule over two Duchies carved up from the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, under Swedish vassalage (the Union of Kėdainiai).
Moreover, Polish-Lithuanian King John II Casimir had few friends among the nobility (szlachta), as he sympathized with Austria and was openly contemptuous of the culture of the nobility (see Sarmatism). In addition, Casimir had become a member of the Jesuits in 1643 and received the title of Cardinal. Nevertheless, in December 1646 John Casimir returned to Poland and, in October 1647, resigned his position of Cardinal to stand in elections for the Polish throne. He succeeded to the throne in 1648. However, in the eyes of the nobility, Charles Gustav (Casimir's cousin) was the legitimate heir to the Polish-Lithuanian throne.
Many members of the Polish nobility (szlachta), including Deputy Chancellor of the Crown Hieronim Radziejowski and Grand Treasurer of the Crown Bogusław Leszczyński, thinking that John II Casimir of Poland was a weak king, or a Jesuit-King, or for other reasons, encouraged Charles Gustav to claim the Polish crown.
But Poznań Voivod Krzysztof Opaliński surrendered Great Poland to Charles Gustav, and quickly, other areas surrendered also. Almost the whole country followed suit, but several places still resisted, the most remarkable and symbolic of which was the Jasna Góra resistance. Led by The Grand Prior Augustyn Kordecki, the garrison of the most famous Sanctuary-Fortress of Poland defeated its enemies. Soon, the Tyszowce Confederation supported John Casimir, hidden in Silesia.
Polish military leader: Stefan Czarniecki and Grand Hetman of Lithuania: Jan Paweł Sapieha started the counterattack in order to put away those loyal to Charles Gustav. In the end, John II Casimir was solemnly crowned at Lwów Cathedral in 1656 (Lwów Oath).
The Swedes were driven back in 1657 and the Russians were finally defeated in 1662. The War for Ukraine ended with the treaty of Andrusovo (13 January 1667), with the help of Turkish intervention due to their claims in the Crimea. Forces from Prussia and Transylvania were also defeated, but Prussia gained a formal recognition of independence and ceased to be a Polish vassal.
The Deluge also stopped the era of Polish tolerance, since most of the invaders were non-Catholic, with expulsion of the Polish brethren as a clear sign of it. During the Deluge, many thousands of Polish Jews also fell victim to pogroms initiated by rebelling Cossacks.
With the Treaty of Hadiach on September 16, 1658, the Polish Crown elevated the Cossacks and Ruthenians to a position equal to that of Poland and Lithuania in the Polish-Lithuanian Union, and in fact transformed the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth into a Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Trojga Narodów, "Commonwealth of Three Nations"). Supported by Cossack Ataman Ivan Vyhovsky and the starshyna, this treaty changed East European history. However, Russia refused to recognize the treaty and maintained its claims to Ukraine.
[edit] The Deluge in fiction
The Deluge is described in a novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz under the same title.
The Deluge is also described in the novel Poland by James Michener.
The Deluge was also made into a movie (Potop) in 1974, a classic historical work created by film director Jerzy Hoffman. It starred Daniel Olbrychski as Andrzej Kmicic, a patriot who valiantly fought against the Swedish invasion. The film was nominated for an Oscar in 1974, but lost to the Italian film Amarcord.
[edit] References
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[edit] See also
- Nobles' Democracy
- Northern Wars
- Treaty of Hadiach
- Treaty of Oliva
- Kostka-Napierski Uprising
- The Deluge (novel)
- Tatar invasions
[edit] External links
- Potop at the Internet Movie Database
- Map of area occupied by Transylvania in 1657
