Editing History of Poland (section)

====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}}