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The Union of Lublin (, 1569 , in Lublin , Poland , which united the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy Of Lithuania into a single state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . The Commonwealth was ruled by a single Elected Monarch who carried on the duties of Polish King and Grand Duke Of Lithuania , and governed with a common Senate and Parliament (the '' Sejm ''). The Union was an evolutionary stage in the Polish-Lithuanian Alliance And Personal Union , necessitated by Lithuania's dangerous position in wars with Russia . Constituting a crucial event in the history of several nations, the Union of Lublin has been viewed quite differently by many historians. Polish historians concentrate on its positive aspect, emphasizing its peaceful, voluntary creation and its role in the spreading of advanced Jerzy Czajewski , ''"Zbiegostwo ludności Rosji w granice Rzeczypospolitej"'' (Russian population exodus into the Rzeczpospolita), Promemoria journal, October 2004 nr. (5/15), ISSN 15099091, Table of Content online , Polish language). HISTORY Background There were long discussions before signing the treaty, as Lithuanian Magnate s were afraid of losing much of their powers, since the union would make their status equal in the eyes of law with that of the much more numerous lower nobility. However Lithuania faced the threat of total defeat in the Livonian War against Russia and incorporation into Muscovite Russia , and Polish nobility was reluctant to offer help to Lithuania without receiving anything in exchange. In addition to the Polish nobility (the Szlachta ), Zygmunt II August , King Of Poland and Grand Duke Of Lithuania also pressed for the union. Sejm of 1567 When at , Volhynia , Podolia and the Kiev regions into Poland. These historic lands of Rus' make up more than half of modern day Ukraine , and were at that time a significant part of Lithuanian territory whose upper class was largely Ruthenized at that time. On 28 June the last objections were overcome, and the act was signed by the king on 4 July {Link without Title} . AFTERMATH Military Poland provided military aid in that war after the union of the two entities, but did not return the previously annexed territories. Lithuania had to recognise its incorporation into Poland. {Link without Title} Political The Union of Lublin was Zygmunt's greatest achievement and greatest failure. Although it created the largest state in contemporary Europe that would endure for over 200 years[http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0313318786&id=wRbdAwtxVIAC&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=Union+of+Lublin&vq=autonomy&sig=gX3YrDKVd16OrwDC8RHYcz8UyVE , Zygmunt failed to push through the reforms that would create a workable into a political anarchy that would eventually cost it it's very existence[http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0521431131&id=09FupLaC-YMC&pg=PA24&lpg=PA24&dq=Union+of+Lublin&sig=p-JQ56Ur45jitnbzpjvqUpm_q6A]. The Union of Lublin provided for merger of the two states, although they retained significant degrees of autonomy, each having their own army, treasury, laws and administrations Although the countries were equal in theory, the larger and more culturally attactive Poland would became the dominant partner. Due to population differences, Polish deputies outnumbered Lithuanians in the Sejm by 3:1 ratio[http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0195121791&id=KRjcXHliMpcC&pg=PA137&lpg=PA137&dq=Union+of+Lublin&sig=uqrEC1Ob3PQ0rGtMpffsV7XA9lo . The drafters of the Union of Lublin expected that the countries of Lithuania and Poland should be linked together more closely than they actually were, because the 1566 Second Statute Of Lithuania had not lost its power, and some of its provisions substantially differed from the acts of Union of Lublin. Eventually the Third Statute Of Lithuania was adopted in 1588 , which however still contradicted the Union of Lublin on many points. The Polish nobility therefore viewed the Statutes Of Lithuania as unconstitutional, because at the signing of Union of Lublin it was said that no law could conflict with the law of Union. The Statutes, however, declared the laws of the Union that conflicted with them to be unconstitutional. Statutes of Lithuania were also used in territories of Lithuania annexed by Poland shortly before Union of Lublin. These conflicts between statutory schemes in Lithuania and Poland persisted for many years. Attempts to limit the power of Lithuanian magnates (especially the Sapieha s' family) and unify the laws of the Commonwealth led to the Koekwacja Praw movement, culminating in the Koekwacja Reforms of the Election Sejm of 1697 (May-June), confirmed in the General Sejm of 1698 (April) in the document ''Porządek sądzenia spraw w Trybunale Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskego''. Jerzy Malec , ''Szkice z dziejów federalizmu i myśli federalistycznych w czasach nowożytnych'', "Unia Troista", Wydawnictwo UJ, 1999, Kraków, ISBN 8323312788- Part II, Chapter I ''Koewkwacja praw''. Cultural After the Union, Lithuanian nobles had the same formal rights as Polish to rule the lands and subjects under their control. However, political advancement in the Catholic dominated Commonwealth, was a different matter. In culture and social life, however, both the Polish Language and Catholicism became dominant for the Ruthenian nobility, most of which were initially Ruthenian speaking and Eastern Orthodox by religion (see Polonization ). However the commoners, especially peasants, who aggravated by a rapid inserfement as the Ruthenian territory was colonized by Szlachta, continued to speak in their own languages and the Orthodox religion, which eventually created a significant rift between the lower Social Class es of people and the nobility in the Lithuanian and Ruthenian areas of the Commonwealth. Some Ruthenian magnates resisted the attempted to resist Polonization (see e. g. Ostrogski ) by adamantly adhering to the Orthodox Christianity, giving generously to the Ruthenian Orthodox Churches and to the Ruthenian schools. However, the pressure of Polonization was harder to resist with each subsequent generation and eventually almost all Ruthenian nobility was Polonized. The Union of Lublin was superseded by the Constitution Of The Third May from 1791 , when the Federative Commonwealth was to be transformed into a Unitary State by King Stanisław August Poniatowski . However the constitution was not fully implemented. The and foreign interventions lead to the Partition Of The Commonwealth by Russia , Prussia and Austria-Hungary in 1795 . The Union of Lublin was also temporary not active while Union Of Kėdainiai was working. The Union of Lublin created the largest state in Europe 's history (if counting only states which are fully in Europe, i.e. not counting the Russian or Roman empires), before the arrival of the European Union in the 20th Century . Many historians also consider the Union of Lublin to have created a similar state to the present-day European Union, thus considering the Union (along with the Kalmar Union , the several Acts Of Union in the British Isles and other similar treaties) to be kind of a predecessor of the Maastricht Treaty . The former, however, created a state of countries more deeply linked than the present-day EU . SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINK |
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