 | Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: Encyclopedia II - Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - Provinces and geography
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - Provinces and geography
The lands that once belonged to the Commonwealth are now largely distributed among several Central and East European countries: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, with smaller pieces in Estonia, Slovakia, Romania and Moldova.
While the term "Poland" was also commonly used to denote this whole polity, Poland was in fact only part of a greater whole — the Commonwealth, which comprised primarily two parts:
- the Crown of the Polish Kingdom (Poland proper), colloquially "the Crown"; and
- the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, colloquially "Lithuania."
The Crown in turn comprised two "provinces": Greater Poland and Lesser Poland. These and a third province, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were the only three regions that were properly termed "provinces." The Commonwealth was further divided into smaller administrative units known as voivodships (województwa). Each voivodship was governed by a voivod (governor). Voivodships were further divided into starostwa, each starostwo being governed by a starosta. Cities were governed by castellans. There were frequent exceptions to these rules: for details on the administrative structure of the Commonwealth, see the article on offices in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Other notable regions of the Commonwealth often referred to, without respect to province or voivodship divisions, include:
- Lesser Poland (Polish: Małopolska), southern Poland, with its capital at Kraków;
- Greater Poland (Polish: Wielkopolska), west–central Poland, including much of the area drained by the Warta River and its tributaries;
- Masovia (Polish: Mazowsze), central Poland, with its capital at Warsaw;
- Duchy of Livonia (Polish: Inflanty), a northern fief of the Commonwealth from 1561, lost to Sweden in the 1620s and in 1660;
- Courland (Polish: Kurlandia), a northern fief of the Commonwealth. It established a colony in Tobago in 1637 and on St. Andrews Island at the Gambia River in 1651 (see Courland colonization);
- Prussia (Polish: Prusy), parts of which belonged to the Commonwealth:
- Royal Prussia (Polish: Prusy Królewskie), incorporated into the Crown in 1569, at the time of the Commonwealth's formation;
- Duchy of Prussia, a Polish fief until 1660;
- Kresy, the southeastern "Borderlands" of the Crown;
- Ruthenia (Polish: Ruś), the eastern Commonwealth, adjoining Russia;
- Samogitia (Polish: Żmudź), western Lithuania.
- Silesia (Polish: Śląsk) was not part of the Commonwealth, but small parts belonged to various Commonwealth kings; in particular, the Vasa kings were dukes of Opole from 1645 to 1666.
- Pomerania (Polish: Pomorze) is the term for the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, partially outside the Commonwealth and/or in Prussia.
- Galicia (Polish: Galicja) was a term not widely used until the 18th century.
Commonwealth borders shifted with wars and treaties, sometimes several times in a decade, especially in the eastern and southern regions.
Thought was given at various times to the creation of a Duchy of Ruthenia, particularly during the 1648 Cossack insurrection against Polish rule in Ukraine. Such a Duchy, as proposed in the 1658 Treaty of Hadiach, would have been a full member of the Commonwealth, which would thereupon have become a tripartite Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian Commonwealth, but due to szlachta demands, Muscovite invasion, and division among the Cossacks, the plan was never implemented. For similar reasons, plans for a Polish-Lithuanian-Muscovite Commonwealth also were never realized, although during the Polish-Muscovite War (1605-1618) the Polish Prince (later, King) Władysław IV Waza was briefly elected Tsar of Muscovy.
The Crown had about double the population of Lithuania and five times the income of the latter's treasury. As with other countries, the borders, area and population of the Commonwealth varied over time. After the Peace of Jam Zapolski (1582), the Commonwealth had approximately 815,000 km² area and a population of 6.5 million. After the Truce of Deulino (1618), the Commonwealth had an area of some 1 million km² (990,000 km²) and a population of 10–11 million (including some 4 million Poles). In the 16th century, the Polish bishop and cartographer Martin Kromer published a Latin atlas, entitled Poland: about Its Location, People, Culture, Offices and the Polish Commonwealth, which was regarded as the most comprehensive guide to the country.
Kromer's works and other contemporary maps, such as those of Gerardus Mercator, show the Commonwealth as mostly plains. The Commonwealth's southeastern part, the Kresy, was famous for its steppes. The Carpathian Mountains formed part of the southern border, with the Tatra Mountain chain the highest, and the Baltic Sea formed the Commonwealth's northern border. As with most European countries at the time, the Commonwealth had extensive forest cover, especially in the east. Today, what remains of the Białowieża Forest constitutes the last largely intact primeval forest in Europe.
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - Voivodships of the Commonwealth
Main article: Voivodships of Poland#Polish voivodships 1386–1795
- Brześć Kujawski Voivodship (województwo brzesko-kujawskie, Brześć Kujawski)
- Gniezno Voivodship (województwo gnieźnieńskie, Gniezno) from 1768
- Inowrocław Voivodship (województwo inowrocławskie, Inowrocław)
- Kalisz Voivodship (województwo kaliskie, Kalisz)
- Łęczyca Voivodship (województwo łęczyckie, Łęczyca)
- Mazovian Voivodship (województwo mazowieckie, of Mazowsze, Warsaw) consisting of
- County of Ciechanów (ziemia ciechanowska, Ciechanów)
- County of Czersk (ziemia czerska, Czersk)
- County of Liw (ziemia liwska, Liw)
- County of Łomża (ziemia łomżyńska, Łomża)
- County of Nur (ziemia nurska, Nur)
- County of Różan (ziemia różańska, Różan)
- County of Warszawa (ziemia warszawska, Warsaw)
- County of Wisk (ziemia wiska, Wizna)
- Poznań Voivodship (województwo poznańskie, Poznań)
- Płock Voivodship (województwo płockie, Płock) consisting of
- County of Wyszogród (ziemia wyszogrodzka, Wyszogród)
- County of Zawkrzeń (ziemia zawkrzeńska, Zawkrzeń)
- Podlasie Voivodship (województwo podlaskie, Drohiczyn) consisting of:
- County of Bielsk (ziemia bielska, Bielsk)
- Country of Drohiczyn (ziemia drohicka, Drohiczyn)
- Country of Mielnik (ziemia mielnicka, Mielnik)
- Rawa Voivodship (województwo rawskie, Rawa) consisting of
- County of Rawa (ziemia rawska, Rawa)
- County of Gostyń (ziemia gostyńska, Gostyń)
- County of Sochaczew (ziema sochaczewska, Sochaczew)
- Sieradz Voivodship (województwo sieradzkie, Sieradz)
- County of Dobrzyń (ziemia dobrzyńska, Dobrzyń)
- County of Michałów (ziemia michałkowicka, Michałów)
- County of Wieluń (ziemia wieluńska, Wieluń)
- County of Wschów (ziema wschowska, Wschów)
- Bełz Voivodship (województwo bełzkie, Bełz)
- Bracław Voivodship (województwo bracławskie, Bracław)
- Czernichów Voivodship (województwo czernichowskie, Czernichów)
- Kijów Voivodship (województwo kijowskie, Kijów)
- Kraków Voivodship (województwo krakowskie, Kraków)
- Lublin Voivodship (województwo lubelskie, Lublin)
- Podole Voivodship (województwo podolskie, Kamieniec Podolski)
- Ruś Voivodship (województwo ruskie, Lwów), divided into
- Sandomierz Voivodship (województwo sandomierskie, Sandomierz)
- Wołyń Voivodship (województwo wołyńskie, Łuck)
- County of Halicz (ziemia halicka, Halicz)
- County of Lwów (ziemia lwowska, Lwów)
- Country of Przemyśl (ziemia przemyslka, Przemyśl)
- County of Sanock (ziemia sanocka, Sanok)
- Duchy od Siewierz (księstwo Siewierskie, Siewierz)
- County of Chełm (ziemia chełmska, Chełm)
- Principality of Oświęcim and Zator (Oświęcim, Zator)
- Duchy of Samogita (principality of Żmudź, księstwo żmudzkie, Miedniki-Wornie)
- Brześć Litewski Voivodship (województwo brzesko-litewskie, Brześć Litewski)
- Mścisław Voivodship (województwo mścisławskie, Mścisław)
- Mińsk Voivodship (województwo mińskie, Mińsk)
- Nowogródek Voivodship (województwo nowogrodzkie, Nowogrodek)
- Połock Voivodship (województwo połockie, Połock)
- Smoleńsk Voivodship (województwo smoleńskie, Smoleńsk)
- Troki Voivodship (województwo trockie, Trakai)
- Wilno Voivodship (województwo wileńskie, Vilnius)
- Witebsk Voivodship (województwo witebskie, Witebsk)
- Duchy of Warmia (Księstwo Warmińskie, episcopal principality of Warmia, Lidzbark Warmiński)
- Chełmno Voivodship (województwo chełmińskie, Chełmno)
- Malbork Voivodship (województwo malborskie, Malbork)
- Pomeranian Voivodship (województwo pomorskie, Gdańsk)
- Duchy of Courland and Semigalia (księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii, Mitawa)
- Dorpat Voivodship (województwo dorpackie, Dorpat) from 1598 to 1920s
- Livonian Voivodship (województwo inflanckie, Dyneburg) from 1620s
- Parnawa Voivodship (województwo parnawskie, Parnawa) from 1598 to 1920s
- Wenden Voivodship (województwo wendeńskie, Wenden) from 1598 to 1920s
Other related archives1 million km², 1386, 1503, 1505, 1512, 1530, 1536, 1560, 1561, 1566, 1569, 1572, 1576, 1582, 1584, 1586, 1589, 1590s, 1595, 1598, 1600, 1606, 1607, 1610, 1611, 1612, 1618, 1620s, 1621, 1630, 1636, 1637, 1645, 1648, 1651, 1656, 1658, 1660, 1666, 1683, 1687, 1696, 1699, 16th, 16th century, 1701, 1735, 1750, 1755, 1758, 1768, 1772, 1773, 1788, 1789, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1795, 17th, 17th century, 1801, 1807, 1812, 1826, 1831, 1841, 1863, 1864, 1867, 18th, 18th century, 1918, 1920s, 27 September, 4 November, 7, 70, 815, 000 km², Poland: about Its Location, People, Culture, Offices and the Polish Commonwealth, Age of Exploration, Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł, Amber Road, American, Amsterdam, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, Antwerp, Austrian Empire, Baltic Sea, Battle of Vienna, Belarus, Belarusian, Belarusians, Bernardo Morando, Bełz, Bełz Voivodship, Białowieża Forest, Bracław, Bracław Voivodship, Brandenburg, British, Brześć Kujawski, Brześć Kujawski Voivodship, Brześć 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