Free choice (1632)

1587  ← September 27, 1632 - November 8, 1632 →  1648
Elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania
candidate	Władysław IV. Wasa
be right	3,543
Before the election of Sigismund III. Wasa		Elected Władysław IV. Wasa

The free election of 1632 was the fourth of its kind to determine the king and grand duke of the Royal Republic of the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by the nobility as a whole. It took place between September 27 and November 8, 1632, but had to be extended beyond November 13, 1632. The elected ruler Władysław IV. Wasa had no opposing candidate and achieved the majority support of the political groups.

introduction

The previous King Sigismund III. Wasa wanted to secure the succession by his son Władysław IV during his lifetime. However, these plans were unpopular with the nobility, so that repeated attempts failed. The question of succession came up after the heart attack of Sigismund III. and his imminent death on April 30, 1632, took center stage again.

The choice of a king is introduced by a so-called Konvokationssejm (pl. Sejm konwokacyjny ). The meeting was determined by Primate Poloniae and incumbent Interrex Jan Wężyk on June 22, 1632 and lasted until August 17, 1632. The non-Catholics demanded more rights and were represented in their concerns by the elected Sejm Marshal Christoph Radziwiłł and Bogusław Leszczyński . Although the voivode Tomasz Zamoyski and the future bishop Aleksander Trzebiński opposed this, they received sufficient support; the Wahlsejm was therefore shaped, among other things, by this topic.

Candidates

There was little doubt that Władysław IV would succeed his father. Although some magnates and parts of the clergy favored his younger brother, John II Casimir , there was less support for him; On the one hand, he did not announce an official candidacy and was inferior in the line of succession due to his age, especially since Sigismund III. had reiterated his support for Władysław IV on his deathbed .

The foreign courts refused to put up their own opponents. The Habsburgs were benevolent towards the Polish royal house of the Wasas. Fears of an opponent in the form of Gustav II Adolf (Swedish part of the Wasa dynasty ) later turned out to be premature. The Swedish ambassador Sten Bielke had been assigned to cause confusion with the announcement of Gustav II's candidacy, but later moved away from it. The aspirant king received further support from the nuncio Honorat Visconti and the envoy of the Roman-German emperor Julius Neidhart . The Prussian Duke Georg Wilhelm wanted to take part in the election, but was not allowed. The election took place in the course of war preparations on the Russian side .

choice

The election was traditionally held on September 27, 1632 in Wola , near Warsaw, presided over by Sejm Marshal Jakub Sobieski .

The indecision on the part of the Catholic faction gave Władysław IV the opportunity to promise more rights to Protestants and Eastern Orthodox Christians. At the same time there was no danger of losing the support of the Catholics because of his tolerant behavior. Even the break in tradition during the election to Warsaw brought him no noticeable losses. A commission headed by Władysław IV developed measures in favor of the Ruthenians (Slavs of Eastern Christian faith in the Polish-Lithuanian state). After that, Ukrainians of the Greek Catholic Church and Orthodox metropolitans were granted legal jurisdiction. In addition, the Orthodox Church got the right to its own hierarchy and was allowed to confirm government candidates. This earned him the support of Petro Mohyla . Differences between the Church Union of Brest and the Orthodox Church could be adjusted and the expansion of religious freedoms that began with the Confederation of Warsaw was continued. A newly introduced levy taxed 40 percent of the income of Starosts (equivalent to barons), which benefited the royal treasury. It was decided to build a port for the Polish-Lithuanian navy in Puck . However, the proposals from the Cossack delegation for more financial support and the establishment of a Cossack register were rejected. Similar requests from the royal army were also not approved. Some of the Sejm's proposals were subsequently rejected with a veto by the Senate .

Although the decision on the successor was made on November 8, 1632, the official announcement was delayed by five days because of the unfinished Pacta conventa . In it Wladyslaw IV promised:

• Funding for equipment and a military school;
• Possibilities to set up a fleet ;
• Maintaining current alliances;
• no expansion of the army;
• Assignment of offices and military ranks to foreigners;
• Negotiating peace treaties and declarations of war without the consent of the Sejm;
• no marriage without the approval of the Senate ;
• Conviction of his brothers to take an oath on the confederation;
• Profits from the royal mint preferentially transferred to the royal treasury (rather than a private treasury ).

Władysław IV. Wasa received 3543 votes. After the election results were announced by the royal court marshal Łukasz Opaliński , the participating Szlachta began the celebrations in honor of the new king, which lasted over three hours.

Aftermath

On November 14, 1632, Władysław IV signed the Articuli Henriciani in addition to the Pacta conventa .

His coronation took place on February 5, 1633 and lasted until the following day.

The Coronation Sejm (pl.Sejm koronacyjny ), led by Marshal Mikołaj Ostroróg , took place between February 8 and March 17, 1633. Meanwhile, the rights granted to Orthodox were confirmed, but several announcements were also rejected.

The Sejm of 1633 also took over more control of the mint, expanded powers with regard to serfdom and accepted a ban on the printing of anti-Semitic literature, its import from Western Europe and its distribution in the confederation, demanded by the Jews . In addition, the Sejm declared war on Tsarist Russia , which had previously invaded Poland-Lithuania .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Władysław Czapliński: Władysław IV i jego czasy. Universitas, Warszawa 1976, ISBN 83-242-0873-9 , pp. 89-90.
2. ^ Władysław Czapliński: Władysław IV i jego czasy. Universitas, Warszawa 1976, ISBN 83-242-0873-9 , p. 95.
3. ^ Władysław Czapliński: Władysław IV i jego czasy. Universitas, Warszawa 1976, ISBN 83-242-0873-9 , pp. 102-106.
4. ↑ ^{a b c d} Władysław IV Waza. In: poczet.com. Retrieved December 26, 2016 (Polish). 
5. ↑ ^{a b} Kościół prawosławny w XVII wieku. In: КАМУНІКАТУ. Archived from the original on May 21, 2007 ; accessed on December 22, 2016 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Władysław Czapliński: Na dworze króla Władysława IV . Książka i Wiedza, Warsaw, pp. 64–71.
7. ↑ Władysław Czapliński: Na dworze króla Władysława IV . Książka i Wiedza, Warsaw, p. 54.
8. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Jan Chrzciciel Albertrandi: Dzieje krolewstwa polskiego krotko lat porzadkiem opisane przez Jana Albertrandego. Pp. 164-166.
9. ↑ ^{a b} Mirosław Nagielski: Diariusz kampanii smoleńskiej Władysława IV 1633-1634. DiG, 2006, ISBN 83-7181-410-0 , pp. 5-7.
10. ^ Władysław IV Vasa. In: Encyclopedia of Ukraine . Accessed December 27, 2016 . 
11. ↑ Mohyla, Petroa. In: Encyclopedia of Ukraine . Accessed December 27, 2016 . 
12. ↑ The jewel of liberty stolen ?: The Rokosz of Sandomierz and Polish Dissent . Accessed December 27, 2016.
13. ↑ Slownik Geograficzny: Puck. In: polishroots.org. Archived from the original on June 25, 2003 ; accessed on December 27, 2016 (English). 
14. ↑ Władysław Czapliński: Na dworze króla Władysława IV . Książka i Wiedza, Warsaw, p. 84.
15. ↑ Ilustrowana Historia Polski. In: pogonowski.com. Retrieved December 27, 2016 (Polish). 

bibliography

• Władysław Czapliński: Władysław IV i jego czasy. Universitas, Warszawa 1976, ISBN 83-242-0873-9 .
• Władysław Czapliński: Na dworze króla Władysława IV . Książka i Wiedza. Warszawa.
• Jan Chrzciciel Albertrandi: Dzieje krolewstwa polskiego krotko lat porzadkiem opisane przez Jana Albertrandego .
• Mirosław Nagielski: Diariusz kampanii smoleńskiej Władysława IV 1633-1634. DiG, 2006, ISBN 83-7181-410-0 .
• Jerzy Dunin-Borkowski, Mieczysław Dunin-Wąsowicz: Elektorowie królów Władysława IV., Michała Korybuta, Stanisława Leszczyńskiego i spis stronników Augusta III. / zestawili w porządek abecadłowy Jerzy Dunin-Borkowski i Miecz. Dunin-Wąsowicz. Lviv 1910.
• Robert I. Frost: After the Deluge: Poland-Lithuania and the Second Northern War, 1655-1660 . Cambridge University Press , Cambridge 1993, ISBN 0-521-42008-3 .
• Jerzy Lukowski, Hubert Zawadzki: Władysław IV i jego czasy . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2001.
• Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł: Pamiętnik o dziejach w Polsce . Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, around 1980, ISBN 83-06-00092-7 .