Editing History of Poland (section)

====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"/>