Golden freedom
The Golden Freedom ( Polish Złota Wolność , Latin Aurea Libertas ) was a term from the time of the Polish-Lithuanian aristocratic republic , which referred to an aristocratic- political system unique in Europe in the Kingdom of Poland and later, after the Union of Lublin in 1569, in Poland -Lithuania ( Rzeczpospolita Korony Polskiej i Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego ).
This system guaranteed every nobleman ( called Szlachcic in Poland ) extraordinary rights and privileges . Every nobleman was legally equal to another, including the magnate (principle of equality). The Polish-Lithuanian nobility controlled the legislature in the Sejm , the Polish parliament, and had a vote in the election of the Polish-Lithuanian electoral kings .
Rights and privileges included, among other things:
- Equality of nobility
- personal immunity
- Tax exemption
- The Sejm has a say in enacting new laws
- Liberum veto
- Freedom of choice when choosing a king
- Right to resist the king
The negative consequences of the Golden Freedom included:
The Golden Freedom distinguished Poland from other countries in Europe and was a unique exception in a European continent that had been shaped by absolutism especially since the 17th century , but which in Poland-Lithuania was limited to the Szlachta. The successive expansion of the golden freedom by the nobility resulted in the weakening of the royal power (the Polish nobility undermined his authority through their frequent opposition to the king ), a weakness that gave the increasingly powerful neighbors the opportunity to integrate themselves into the political system of Poland. Lithuania interfere, to the state means Liberum veto paralyze , finally, by preventing it from reforms , to destroy the very end .