Polish–Lithuanian union: Difference between revisions

The '''Polish–Lithuanian Unionunion''' was a relationship created by a series of acts and alliances between the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland]] and the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] that lasted for prolonged periods of time from 1385 and led to the creation of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]—the, or the "Republic of the Two Nations"—in, in 1569 and eventually to the creation of a unitary state in 1791.<ref name="Catholic Encyclopedia">[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12181a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia - Poland]</ref>

Important historical events in the process of union included:

* 1385 – [[Union of Krewo]] –, a [[personal union]] that brought the [[Grand Duke of Lithuania]], [[Jogaila]], to the [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Polish]] throne as a result of his marriage to [[Jadwiga of Poland]] in February 1386

* 1401 – [[Union of Vilnius and Radom]], –which strengthened the Polish–Lithuanian union<ref name=jean>{{cite book| title= East Central Europe in the Middle Ages, 1000–1500 |page= 388 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ANdbpi1WAIQC&pg=PA388&sig=ACfU3U3LdKwwAHdnCsWS3BEOu5h81f_KVg |publisher= University of Washington Press |year= 1994 |volume=3 |series= History of East Central Europe |first= Jean W. |last= Sedlar |isbn= 0-295-97290-4}}</ref>

* 1432 (1432–34) – [[Union of Grodno (1432)|Union of Grodno]], a declarative attempt to renew a closer union

* 1499 – [[Union of Kraków and Vilnius]], in which the [[personal union]] became a [[dynastic union]], recognisingand recognised the sovereignty of Lithuania and describingdescribed interactionrelations between the two states

* 1501 – [[Union of Mielnik]], a renewal of the personal union
* July 1, 1569 – [[Union of Lublin]] –, a [[real union]] that resulted in creation of the semi-[[federation|federal]], semi-[[confederation|confederal]] [[Republic of the Two Nations|Republic of the Two Nations (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth)]]

* May 3, 1791 – [[Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791]]: abolished the [[Royalroyal elections in Poland|Electiveelective monarchy]] and turned it into a [[hereditary monarchy,]] and established a common state, the ''[[Rzeczpospolita]] Polska'' (the Polish Commonwealth), in theirits place. The [[Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations]] modified thesethe changes, by stressing the continuity of bi-nationalbinational status of the state. The changes were reversed completely in 1792 under pressure from forces of the [[Russian Empire]].

[[Category:Early Modernmodern history of Lithuania]]