Treaty of Hadiach: Encyclopedia II - Treaty of Hadiach - History and importance

Treaty of Hadiach - History and importance

Historian Andrew Wilson has called this "one of the great 'What-ifs?' of Ukrainian and East European history", noting that "If it had been successfully implemented, the Commonwealth would finally have become a loose confederation of Poles, Lithuanians and Ruthenians. The missing Ukrainian buffer state would have come into being as the Commonwealth's eastern pillar. Russian expansion might have been checked and Poland spared the agonies of the Partitions or, perhaps just as likely, it might have struggled on longer as the 'Sick Man of Europe.'" (p. 65)

In spite of considerable Roman Catholic opposition, the Treaty of Hadiach was approved by Polish king and parliament (Sejm) on 22 May 1659. It was a Commonwealth attempt to regain influence over the Ukrainian territories, lost after the series of Cossack uprisings (like the Chmielnicki Uprising) and growing influence of Muscovy over the Cossacks (like the 1654 Treaty of Pereyaslav).

Ataman Vyhovsky supported the negotiations with the Commonwealth, especially after he suppressed a revolt led by the colonel of Poltava, Martyn Pushkar, and severed relations with Muscovy for its violations of the Treaty of Pereyaslav of 1654. The Treaty of Hadiach was, however, viewed by many Cossacks as 'too little, too late', and they especially opposed the agreement to return land property to the szlachta. After the 1648 revolt, the Commonwealth was very unpopular with ordinary Cossacks. Rank-and-file Cossacks saw Orthodox Moscow as their natural ally and did not care for alliance with the Commonwealth. Furthermore, Hadiach was too much a deal that merely benefited the elite of the Cossacks—the "starshyna"—who wanted to be recognized as equal to the Polish nobility. Thus, while some Cossacks, among them the ataman Ivan Vyhovsky supported the Commonwealth, many did not, and Cossack unrest continued in Ukraine.

The Commonwealth position was further weakened by the offensive undertaken by Muscovy. Muscovy felt threatened by the Treaty of Hadiach, which weakend their hold on Cossacks. The Muscovites saw the treaty as an act of war, and even before it was ratified sent an army into Ukraine. Although Polish forces under hetman Stefan Czarniecki dealt defeat to Muscovy forces at the battle of Polonka, and recaptured Wilno in 1660, lack of other Commonwealth military successes, especially in Ukraine, further undermined Cossack support of the Commonwealth. Vyhovsky's early success at the battle of Konotop in June 1659 was not descisive enough, and was followed by a series of defeats. The Muscovite garrisons in Ukraine continued to hold out; a Zaporozhian attack on the Crimea forced Vyhovsky's Tatar allies to return home, and unrest broke out in the Poltava region. Finally, several pro-Moscow colonels rebelled and accused Vyhovsky of "selling Ukraine out to the Poles."

Unable to continue the war, Vyhovsky resigned in October 1659 and retired to Poland. The situation was further complicated by the Ottoman Empire, which tried to gain control of the disputed region and played all factions against each other. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth was weakened by the rokosz of Jerzy Lubomirski.

In the end, Muscovy was victorious, as seen in the 1667 Treaty of Andrusovo and the 1686 Eternal Peace. Cossacks fell under the Muscovite sphere of influence, with much fewer priviliges under the Hetmanate than would have been granted under the treaty of Hadiach. By the end of the 18th century, Cossack political influence has been almost completely destroyed by the Russian Empire.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History and importance", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki