Warsaw Peace

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Treaties during the Great Northern War (1699–1721).

The Warsaw Peace of 1705 was signed on November 18th during the Great Northern War in the Swedish-controlled capital of Poland-Lithuania .

prehistory

At the beginning of 1700, August II. , King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Elector of Saxony , started the Great Northern War by attacking Swedish Livonia . Despite Russian support, the Saxon army lost several battles, so that soon afterwards the confederation of Poland and Lithuania was largely controlled by the Swedish Empire .

On July 12, 1704, a small group of aristocrats gathered in a Swedish army camp near Warsaw and declared Leszczyński, the Swedish favorite, to be the new Polish king. Leszczyński was crowned on October 4, 1704. After the Battle of Rakowitz , which ended to the detriment of the Allies from Saxony and Poland, Sweden and Poland-Lithuania agreed an unlimited peace, after which Poland basically withdrew from the war.

Content of the contract

The contract contains 30 articles on 57 pages. Sweden was allowed its troops to stay on the territory of Poland-Lithuania, to occupy cities and fortresses and to recruit soldiers on Polish territory. Contracts between Poland and other powers could only be made with the consent of Sweden. In future, overseas trade in goods in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , Ruthenia , Royal Prussia and Courland should only take place via the port of Riga . The previous foreign trade port of Palanga should go out of operation. Swedish traders were given extensive tax breaks in the territory and they were granted rights to set up branches.

After a final victory over Russia, the area around Smolensk and Kiev, lost in the Russo-Polish War 1654–1667 , was to be regained. In return, Courland and Polish Livonia were to be ceded to Sweden. Future candidates for the throne for the Polish crown had to agree to the terms of the contract in advance in order to be eligible for election.

Contracting partner on the Polish side is Stanisław Leszczyński , 1704–1709 Polish rival king and allied with Sweden against King August II of Saxony Poland. On the Swedish side, among others, Arvid Horn signed .

consequences

With the Warsaw Peace, Poland-Lithuania became a quasi Swedish satellite state without sovereignty. But August II, the pre-elected King of the country and Elector of Saxony, did not accept this peace and declared that only between Sweden and the Rzeczpospolita there was no war, but not between Sweden and the Electorate of Saxony . The peace did not ultimately lead to a real peace, because most of the country did not recognize the Polish rival king Leszczyński. Leszczyński only recognized Greater Poland voluntarily, Lesser Poland and Royal Prussia only under duress.

The Swedish army camped north of Warsaw inactive in the last months of 1705. In the following year, Charles's army forced a preliminary recognition of the new king through a campaign in Grodno in the breakaway territories. August, for his part, let a new Saxon army advance into Warsaw. On their advance, however, the army was defeated in the battle of Fraustadt by a smaller Swedish army under Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld . The attempt of August II to restitute his power failed.

literature

  • Ulf Sundberg: Svenska freder och stillestånd 1249–1814. 2. upplaga. Hjalmarson & Högberg Bokförlag, Stockholm 2002, ISBN 91-89080-98-X .

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