Editing History of Poland (section)

===Decline (1648–1764)===

{{further|History of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1648–1764)}}

====Deluge of wars====

During the reign of [[John II Casimir Vasa]] (r. 1648–1668), the third and last king of his dynasty, the nobles' democracy fell into decline as a result of foreign invasions and domestic disorder.<ref name="playground I xxix"/><ref name="Gierowski(a) 190-219">{{Harvnb|Gierowski|1986a|pp=190–219}}.</ref> These calamities multiplied rather suddenly and marked the end of the [[Polish Golden Age]].  Their effect was to render the once powerful Commonwealth increasingly vulnerable to foreign intervention.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}{{original research inline|date=January 2023}}

[[File:John II Casimir Vasa 1.PNG|thumb|right|upright|[[John II Casimir Vasa]] reigned during the Commonwealth's most difficult period. Frustrated with his inability to reform the state, he abdicated in 1668.<ref name="Polska urojona">{{Harvnb|Wodecka|2013}}.</ref>]]

The [[Zaporozhian Cossacks|Cossack]] [[Khmelnytsky Uprising]] of 1648–1657 engulfed the south-eastern regions of the Polish crown;<ref name="playground I xxix"/> its long-term effects were disastrous for the Commonwealth. The first ''[[liberum veto]]'' (a parliamentary device that allowed any member of the Sejm to dissolve a current session immediately) was exercised by a deputy in 1652.<ref name="playground I xxix"/> This practice would eventually weaken Poland's central government critically. In the [[Pereyaslav Council|Treaty of Pereyaslav]] (1654), the Ukrainian rebels declared themselves subjects of the [[Tsardom of Russia|Tsar of Russia]]. The [[Second Northern War]] raged through the core Polish lands in 1655–1660; it included a brutal and devastating invasion of Poland referred to as the [[Deluge (history)|Swedish Deluge]]. The war ended in 1660 with the [[Treaty of Oliva]],<ref name="playground I xxix"/> which resulted in the loss of some of Poland's northern possessions. In 1657 the [[Treaty of Bromberg]] established the independence of the [[Duchy of Prussia]].<ref name="playground I xxix"/> The Commonwealth forces did well in the [[Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)]], but the result was the permanent division of Ukraine between Poland and Russia, as agreed to in the [[Truce of Andrusovo]] (1667).<ref name="playground I xxix"/> Towards the end of the war, the [[Lubomirski's rebellion]], a major magnate revolt against the king, destabilized and weakened the country. The large-scale [[Slavery in the Ottoman Empire|slave raids]] of the [[Crimean Khanate|Crimean Tatars]] also had highly deleterious effects on the Polish economy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Williams|2013|p=27}}.</ref> ''[[Merkuriusz Polski Ordynaryjny|Merkuriusz Polski]]'', the first Polish newspaper, was published in 1661.<ref name="playground I xxix"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Gierowski|1986a|pp=220–240}}.</ref>

In 1668, grief-stricken at the recent death of his wife and frustrated by the disastrous political setbacks of his reign, John II Casimir abdicated the throne and fled to [[Early modern France|France]].{{Ref label|z|z|none}}

====John III Sobieski and last military victories====

[[File:Siemiginowski John III Sobieski with his son.jpg|thumb|left|upright|King [[John III Sobieski]] with his son [[James Louis Sobieski|Jakub]], whom he tried to position to be his successor. Sobieski led the Commonwealth to its [[Battle of Vienna|last great military victories]].]]

King [[Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki]], a native Pole, was elected to replace John II Casimir in 1669. The [[Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676)]] broke out during his reign, which lasted until 1673,  and continued under his successor, [[John III Sobieski]] (r. 1674–1696).<ref name="playground I xxix"/> Sobieski intended to pursue Baltic area expansion (and to this end he signed the secret [[Treaty of Jaworów]] with France in 1675),<ref name="playground I xxix"/> but was forced instead to fight protracted wars with the Ottoman Empire. By doing so, Sobieski briefly revived the Commonwealth's military might. He defeated the expanding [[Muslim]]s at the [[Battle of Khotyn (1673)|Battle of Khotyn]] in 1673 and decisively helped deliver Vienna from a [[Ottoman Empire|Turkish]] onslaught at the [[Battle of Vienna]] in 1683.<ref name="playground I xxix"/> Sobieski's reign marked the last high point in the history of the Commonwealth: in the first half of the 18th century, Poland ceased to be an active player in international politics. The [[Treaty of Perpetual Peace (1686)]] with Russia was the final border settlement between the two countries before the [[First Partition of Poland]] in 1772.<ref name="playground I xxix"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Gierowski|1986a|pp=240–258}}.</ref>

The Commonwealth, subjected to almost constant warfare until 1720, suffered enormous population losses and massive damage to its economy and social structure. The government became ineffective in the wake of large-scale internal conflicts, corrupted legislative processes and manipulation by foreign interests.{{synthesis inline|date=January 2023}} The nobility fell under the control of a handful of feuding magnate families with established territorial domains. The urban population and infrastructure fell into ruin, together with most peasant farms, whose inhabitants were subjected to increasingly extreme forms of serfdom. The development of science, culture and education came to a halt or regressed.<ref name="Gierowski(a) 190-219"/>

====Saxon kings====

[[File:August der Starke.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Augustus II the Strong]], the first [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxon]] ruler of Poland. His death sparked the [[War of the Polish Succession]].]]

The royal election of 1697 brought a ruler of the [[Saxony|Saxon]] [[House of Wettin]] to the Polish throne: [[Augustus II the Strong]] (r. 1697–1733), who was able to assume the throne only by agreeing to convert to Roman Catholicism.  He was succeeded by his son [[Augustus III of Poland|Augustus III]] (r. 1734–1763).<ref name="playground I xxix"/>  The reigns of the Saxon kings (who were both simultaneously [[prince-elector]]s of [[Electorate of Saxony|Saxony]]) were disrupted by competing candidates for the throne and witnessed further disintegration of the Commonwealth.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

The [[Great Northern War]] of 1700–1721,<ref name="playground I xxix"/>  a period seen by the contemporaries as a temporary eclipse, may have been the fatal blow that brought down the Polish political system. [[Stanisław Leszczyński]] was installed as king in 1704 under Swedish protection, but lasted only a few years.<ref name="playground I 374–375">{{Harvnb|Davies|2005a|pp=374–375}}</ref> The [[Silent Sejm]] of 1717 marked the beginning of the Commonwealth's existence as a [[Tsardom of Russia|Russian]] protectorate:<ref name="playground I 375–377">{{Harvnb|Davies|2005a|pp=375–377}}</ref> the Tsardom would guarantee the reform-impeding [[Golden Liberty]] of the nobility from that time on in order to cement the Commonwealth's weak central authority and a state of perpetual political impotence. In a resounding break with traditions of religious tolerance, Protestants were executed during the [[Tumult of Thorn (Toruń)|Tumult of Thorn]] in 1724.<ref name="playground I 139–142">{{Harvnb|Davies|2005a|pp=139–142}}</ref> In 1732, [[Russian Empire|Russia]], [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]] and [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], Poland's three increasingly powerful and scheming neighbors, entered into the secret [[Treaty of the Three Black Eagles]] with the intention of controlling the future royal succession in the Commonwealth. The [[War of the Polish Succession]] was fought in 1733–1735<ref name="playground I xxix"/> to assist Leszczyński in assuming the throne of Poland for a second time. Amidst considerable foreign involvement, his efforts were unsuccessful. The [[Kingdom of Prussia]] became a strong regional power and succeeded in wresting the historically Polish province of [[Silesia]] from the [[Habsburg monarchy]] in the [[Silesian Wars]]; {{synthesis span|text=it thus constituted an ever-greater threat to Poland's security|date=January 2023}}.

The [[personal union]] between the Commonwealth and the [[Electorate of Saxony]] did give rise to the emergence of a reform movement in the Commonwealth and the beginnings of the [[Enlightenment in Poland|Polish Enlightenment]] culture, the major positive developments of this era. The first Polish public library was the [[Załuski Library]] in Warsaw, opened to the public in 1747.<ref name="playground I xxix"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Gierowski|1986a|pp=258–301}}.</ref>