Company
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(Redirected from Company (law)) The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (April 2010)

For other uses, see Company (disambiguation).
Companies law
Company · Business
Company forms
Sole proprietorship
Partnership
(General · Limited · LLP)
Corporation
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S corporation · C corporation
LLC · LLLP · Series LLC
Delaware corporation
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K.K. · N.V. · Oy · S.A. · more
Doctrines
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Limited liability · Ultra vires
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Internal affairs doctrine
De facto corporation and
corporation by estoppel
Piercing the corporate veil
Rochdale Principles
Related areas
Contract · Civil procedure
v · d · e


A company is a form of business organization. It is a collection of individuals and physical assets with a common focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection exists in Law and therefore a company is considered a "Legal Person".

In the United States, a company is a corporation—or, less commonly, an association, partnership, or union—that carries on an industrial enterprise."[1] Generally, a company may be a "corporation, partnership, association, joint-stock company, trust, fund, or organized group of persons, whether incorporated or not, and (in an official capacity) any receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, or similar official, or liquidating agent, for any of the foregoing."[1]

In English law, and therefore in the Commonwealth realms, a company is a form of body corporate or corporation, generally registered under the Companies Acts or similar legislation. It does not include a partnership or any other unincorporated group of persons.Contents [hide]
1 Meaning and etymology
2 History
3 Types
4 References
5 Further reading

[edit]
Meaning and etymology

A company can be defined as an "artificial person", invisible, intangible, created by Law, with a discrete legal entity, perpetual succession and a common seal. It is not affected by the death, insanity or insolvency of an individual member.

The English word has its origins in the Old French military term compaignie (first recorded in 1150), meaning a "body of soldiers",[2] originally taken from the Late Latin word companio "companion, one who eats bread with you", first attested in the Lex Salica as a calque of the Germanic expression *gahlaibo (literally, "with bread"), related to Old High German galeipo "companion" and Gothic gahlaiba "messmate". By 1303, the word referred to trade guilds. Usage of company to mean "business association" was first recorded in 1553 and the abbreviation "co." dates from 1769.
[edit]
History

According to one source, "it may be formed by Act of Parliament, by Royal Charter, or by registration under company law (referred to as a limited liability or joint-stock company)."[3] In the United Kingdom, the main regulating laws are the Companies Act 1985 and the Companies Act 2006.[3] Reportedly, "a company registered under this Act has limited liability: its owners (the shareholders) have no financial liability in the event of winding up the affairs of the company, but they might lose the money already invested in it".[3] In the USA, companies are registered in a particular state—Delaware being especially favoured—and become Incorporated (Inc).[3]

In North America, two of the earliest companies were The London Company (also called the Charter of the Virginia Company of London)—an English joint stock company established by royal charter by James I of England on April 10, 1606 with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America—and Plymouth Company that was granted an identical charter as part of the Virginia Company. The London Company was responsible for establishing the Jamestown Settlement, the first permanent English settlement in the present United States in 1607, and in the process of sending additional supplies, inadvertently settled the Somers Isles, alias Bermuda, the oldest-remaining English colony, in 1609.
[edit]
Types
For a country-by-country listing, see Types of business entity.

There are various types of company that can be formed in different jurisdictions, but the most common forms of company (generally formed by registration under applicable companies legislation) are:
A company limited by guarantee. Commonly used where companies are formed for non-commercial purposes, such as clubs or charities. The members guarantee the payment of certain (usually nominal) amounts if the company goes into insolvent liquidation, but otherwise they have no economic rights in relation to the company. This type of company is common in England.
A company limited by shares. The most common form of company used for business ventures. Specifically, a limited company is a "company in which the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount individually invested" with corporations being "the most common example of a limited company."[1] This type of company is common in England.
A company limited by guarantee with a share capital. A hybrid entity, usually used where the company is formed for non-commercial purposes, but the activities of the company are partly funded by investors who expect a return. This type of company may no longer be formed in the UK, although provisions still exist in law for them to exist.[4]
A limited-liability company. "A company—statutorily authorized in certain states—that is characterized by limited liability, management by members or managers, and limitations on ownership transfer", i.e., L.L.C.[1]
An unlimited company with or without a share capital. A hybrid entity, a company where the liability of members or shareholders for the debts (if any) of the company are not limited.

Less commonly seen types of companies are:
Companies formed by letters patent. Most corporations by letters patent are corporations sole and not companies as the term is commonly understood today.
charter corporations. Before the passing of modern companies legislation, these were the only types of companies. Now they are relatively rare, except for very old companies that still survive (of which there are still many, particularly many British banks), or modern societies that fulfil a quasi regulatory function (for example, the Bank of England is a corporation formed by a modern charter).
Statutory Companies. Relatively rare today, certain companies have been formed by a private statute passed in the relevant jurisdiction.

Note that "Ltd after the company's name signifies limited company, and PLC (public limited company) indicates that its shares are widely held."[3]

In legal parlance, the owners of a company are normally referred to as the "members". In a company limited or unlimited by shares (formed or incorporated with a share capital), this will be the shareholders. In a company limited by guarantee, this will be the guarantors. Some offshore jurisdictions have created special forms of offshore company in a bid to attract business for their jurisdictions. Examples include "segregated portfolio companies" and restricted purpose companies.

There are however, many, many sub-categories of types of company that can be formed in various jurisdictions in the world.

Companies are also sometimes distinguished for legal and regulatory purposes between public companies and private companies. Public companies are companies whose shares can be publicly traded, often (although not always) on a regulated stock exchange. Private companies do not have publicly traded shares, and often contain restrictions on transfers of shares. In some jurisdictions, private companies have maximum numbers of shareholders.
[edit]
References

Corporation sole
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)


A corporation sole is a legal entity consisting of a single ('sole') incorporated office, occupied by a single ('sole') man or woman. This allows a corporation (usually a religious corporation) to pass vertically in time from one office holder to the next successor-in-office, giving the position legal continuity with each subsequent office holder having identical powers to his predecessor.

Most corporations sole are church-related (for example, the Archbishop of Canterbury), but some political offices of the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States are also corporations sole. An example is that, in the UK, many of the Secretaries of State are corporations sole.[1] In contrast to a corporation sole, a corporation aggregate consists of two or more persons, typically run by a board of directors. Another difference is that corporations aggregate may have owners or stockholders, neither of which are a feature of a corporation sole.

The concept of corporation sole originated as a means to the orderly transfer of church or religious society property, serving to keep title within the church or religious society. In order to keep the religious property from being treated as the estate of the vicar of the church, the property was titled to the office of the corporation sole. In the case of the Roman Catholic Church, the property is usually titled to the diocesan bishop, who serves in the office of the corporation sole. The Roman Catholic Church continues to use the corporation sole for holding title for property, and as recently as 2002, split a Californian diocese into many, smaller corporations sole, with each parish priest becoming his own corporation sole, thus limiting the liability of the diocese. However, this is not an accurate statement of the worldwide position which will vary from country to country. For example in Britain and Ireland, a Roman Catholic Bishop is not a corporation sole and property is held by way of trusts. This position is largely due to the suppression of Catholics under Henry VIII and the penal laws.

The corporation sole form can also serve the needs of a very small church or religious society, just as well as a large diocese. By reducing the complexity of the organization to one office and one office holder, the need for by-laws is eliminated. Also, the pastor of the church or overseer of the society does not have to deal with the complexity of a board of directors.

Every state of the United States recognizes corporations sole under common law, and fifteen states have specific statutes that stipulate the conditions under which that state recognizes the corporations sole that are filed with that state for acquiring, holding, and disposing of title for church and religious society property. Almost any religious society or church can qualify for filing as a corporation sole in these states. There can be no legal limitation to specific denominations, therefore a Buddhist temple or Jewish Community Center would qualify as quickly as a Christian church. Some states also recognize corporations sole for various other non-profit purposes including performing arts groups, scientific research groups, educational institutions, and cemetery societies.

The Monarch of the Commonwealth realms is a corporation sole – she or he may possess property as monarch which is distinct from the property he or she possesses personally, and may do acts as monarch distinguished from their personal acts. In fact, Elizabeth II has several corporations sole – Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the United Kingdom, Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Australia are all distinct corporations sole. Because Australia and Canada have federal systems of government, Elizabeth also has a distinct corporation sole for each of the Australian states and Canadian provinces - for example, Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Queensland and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Ontario.Contents [hide]
1 Statutory corporations sole in the United Kingdom
2 Statutory corporations sole elsewhere
3 See also
4 References

[edit]
Statutory corporations sole in the United Kingdom
Auditor General for Wales
Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice
Official Custodian for Charities
Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
Traffic Director for London
The Crown
The Information Commissioner
The Dai al-Mutlaq[2]
[edit]
Statutory corporations sole elsewhere
Minister of the Government, Republic of Ireland
Public Trustee
New Zealand Public Trustee
[edit]
See also
Sole proprietorship
[edit]
References

Archbishop of Canterbury
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The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group of Christians in the world.

The current archbishop is the Most Reverend Rowan Williams. He is the 104th in a line that goes back more than 1400 years to St Augustine of Canterbury, the "Apostle to the English", who founded the Catholic Church in England in the year 597. From the time of St Augustine until the 16th century, the Archbishops of Canterbury were in full communion with the See of Rome and thus received the pallium. During the English Reformation the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church, at first temporarily under Henry VIII and Edward VI and later permanently during the reign of Elizabeth I.

In the Middle Ages there was considerable variation in the methods of nomination of the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops. At various times the choice was made by the canons of Canterbury Cathedral, the King of England, or the Pope. Since the English Reformation, the Church of England has been more explicitly a state church and the choice is legally that of the British crown; today it is made in the name of the Sovereign by the Prime Minister, from a shortlist of two selected by an ad hoc committee called the Crown Nominations Commission.Contents [hide]
1 Present roles and status
1.1 Additional roles
2 Origins
3 Province and Diocese of Canterbury
4 Styles and privileges
5 Residences
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit]
Present roles and status

Today the archbishop fills four main roles:[1]
He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, which covers the east parts of the County of Kent. Founded in 597, it is the oldest see in the English church.
He is the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Canterbury, which covers the southern two-thirds of England.
As Primate of All England, he is the senior primate and chief religious figure of the Church of England (the British sovereign is the "Supreme governor" of the church). Along with his colleague the Archbishop of York he chairs the General Synod and sits or chairs many of the church's important boards and committees; power in the church is not highly centralised, however, so the two archbishops can often lead only through persuasion. The Archbishop of Canterbury plays a central part in national ceremonies such as coronations; due to his high public profile, his opinions are often in demand by the news media.
As spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop, although without legal authority outside England, is recognised by convention as primus inter pares (first among equals) of all Anglican primates worldwide. Since 1867 he has convened more or less decennial meetings of worldwide Anglican bishops, the Lambeth Conferences.

In the last two of these functions he has an important ecumenical and interfaith role, speaking on behalf of Anglicans in England and worldwide.

The current Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

The archbishop's main residence is Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth. He also has lodgings in the Old Palace, Canterbury, located beside Canterbury Cathedral, where the Chair of St. Augustine sits.

As holder of one of the "five great sees" (the others being York, London, Durham and Winchester), the Archbishop of Canterbury is ex officio one of the Lords Spiritual of the House of Lords. He is one of the highest-ranking men in England and the highest ranking non-royal in the United Kingdom's order of precedence.

Since Henry VIII broke with Rome, the Archbishops of Canterbury have been selected by the English (British since the Act of Union in 1707) monarch. Today the choice is made in the name of the monarch by the prime minister, from a shortlist of two selected by an ad-hoc committee called the Crown Nominations Commission. Since the twentieth century, the appointment of Archbishops of Canterbury conventionally alternates between more moderate Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals.[2]

The current archbishop, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Rowan Douglas Williams, is the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury. He was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 27 February 2003. As archbishop he signs himself as + Rowan Cantuar. Immediately prior to his appointment to Canterbury he was the Bishop of Monmouth in Wales. Whilst at Monmouth he was later, for a shorter period, also the Archbishop of Wales.
[edit]
Additional roles

In addition to his office, the archbishop also holds a number of other positions; for example, he is Joint President of the Council of Christians and Jews in the United Kingdom. Some positions he formally holds ex officio and others virtually so (the incumbent of the day, although appointed personally, is appointed because of his office). Amongst these are:[3]Chancellor of Canterbury Christ Church University[4]
Visitor for the following academic institutions:
The University of Kent (whose main campus is located at Canterbury)
King's College London
University of King's College
All Souls College, Oxford
Keble College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Ridley Hall, Cambridge
Selwyn College, Cambridge
Wycliffe Hall, Oxford (also Patron)
Visitor of the following schools
Benenden School
Cranbrook School
Haileybury and Imperial Service College
Harrow School
King's College School, Wimbledon
The King's School, Canterbury
St. John's School, Leatherhead
Marlborough College
Dauntsey's School Governor of Charterhouse School
Governor of Wellington College
Visitor, The Dulwich Charities
Visitor, Whitgift Foundation
Visitor, Hospital of the Blessed Trinity, Guildford (Abbot's Fund)
Trustee, Bromley College
Trustee, Allchurches Trust
President, Corporation of Church House, Westminster
Joint President, Churches Conservation Trust[citation needed]
Director, Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance

[edit]
Origins

Arms of the see of Canterbury. Nearly 500 years after the Reformation, the arms still depict the pallium, a symbol of the authority of the Pope and metropolitan archbishops.

It has been suggested that the Roman province of Britannia had four archbishops, seated at London, York, Lincoln and Cirencester.[5] However, in the 5th and 6th centuries Britannia began to be overrun by pagan, Germanic peoples who came to be known collectively as the Anglo-Saxons. Of the kingdoms they created, Kent arguably had the closest links with European politics, trade and culture, because it was conveniently sited for communication with the Continent. In the late 6th century, King Æthelberht of Kent married a Christian Frankish princess named Bertha, possibly before becoming king, and certainly a number of years before the arrival of the first Christian mission to England.[6] He permitted the preaching of Christianity.[7]

The first Archbishop of Canterbury was St Augustine (not to be confused with St Augustine of Hippo), who arrived in Kent in 597 AD, having been sent by Pope Gregory I on a mission to the English. He was accepted by King Æthelbert, on his conversion to Christianity, about the year 598. It seems that Pope Gregory, ignorant of recent developments in the former Roman province, including the spread of the Pelagian heresy, had intended the new archiepiscopal sees for England to be established in London and York.[8] In the event, Canterbury was chosen instead of London, owing to political circumstances.[9] Since then the Archbishops of Canterbury have been referred to as occupying the Chair of St. Augustine.

Before the break with papal authority in the 16th century, the Church of England was an integral part of the Western European church. Since the break the Church of England, an established national church, still considers itself part of the broader Western Catholic tradition as well as being the "mother church" of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
[edit]
Province and Diocese of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury exercises metropolitical (or supervisory) jurisdiction over the Province of Canterbury, which encompasses thirty of the forty-four dioceses of the Church of England, with the rest falling within the Province of York. The four dioceses of Wales were formerly also under the Province of Canterbury until 1920 when they were transferred from the established Church of England to the disestablished Church in Wales.

View of Canterbury Cathedral from the north west circa 1890-1900.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has a ceremonial provincial curia, or court, consisting of some of the senior bishops of his province.[10] The Bishop of London—the most senior cleric of the church with the exception of the two archbishops—serves as Canterbury's provincial dean, the Bishop of Winchester as chancellor, the Bishop of Lincoln as vice-chancellor, the Bishop of Salisbury as precentor, the Bishop of Worcester as chaplain and the Bishop of Rochester as cross-bearer.

Along with primacy over the Archbishop of York, the Archbishop of Canterbury also has a precedence of honour over the other bishops of the Anglican Communion. He is recognised as primus inter pares, or first amongst equals. He does not, however, exercise any direct authority in the provinces outside England.

At present the archbishop has three suffragan bishops:
The Bishop of Dover is given the additional title of "Bishop in Canterbury" and empowered to act almost as if he were the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, since the archbishop is so frequently away fulfilling national and international duties.
Two further suffragans, the Bishop of Ebbsfleet and the Bishop of Richborough, are provincial episcopal visitors for the whole Province of Canterbury, licensed by the archbishop as "flying bishops" to visit parishes throughout the province who are uncomfortable with the ministrations of their local bishop who has participated in the ordination of women.

The Bishop of Maidstone was previously a second actual suffragan bishop working in the diocese, until it was decided at the diocesan synod of November 2010 that a new bishop will not be appointed.[11]
[edit]
Styles and privileges

The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York are both styled as "The Most Reverend"; retired archbishops are styled as "The Right Reverend". Archbishops are, by convention, appointed to the Privy Council and may, therefore, also use the style of "The Right Honourable" for life (unless they are later removed from the council). In formal documents, the Archbishop of Canterbury is referred to as "The Most Reverend Father in God, Forenames, by Divine Providence Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England and Metropolitan". In debates in the House of Lords, the archbishop is referred to as "The Most Reverend Primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury". "The Right Honourable" is not used in either instance. He may also be formally addressed as "Your Grace"—or, more often these days, simply as "Archbishop", "Father" or (in the current instance) "Dr Williams".

The Archbishop of Canterbury's official London residence is Lambeth Palace, photographed looking east across the River Thames.

The surname of the Archbishop of Canterbury is not always used in formal documents; often only the first name and see are mentioned. The archbishop is legally entitled to sign his name as "Cantuar" (from the Latin for Canterbury). The right to use only a title as a legal signature is only permitted to bishops, Peers of the Realm and peers by courtesy. The current Archbishop of Canterbury usually signs as "+Rowan Cantuar:".

In the English order of precedence, the Archbishop of Canterbury is ranked above all individuals in the realm, with the exception of the Sovereign and members of the Royal Family.[12] Immediately below him is the Lord Chancellor and then the Archbishop of York.
[edit]
Residences

The Archbishop of Canterbury's official residence in London is Lambeth Palace. He also has a residence next to Canterbury Cathedral on the site of the medieval Archbishop's Palace. The archbishops had palaces on the periphery of London and on the route between London and Canterbury.

Former palaces of the archbishops include
Croydon Palace: the summer residence of the Archbishops from the 15th to the 18th centuries.
Addington Palace: purchased as a replacement for Croydon Palace in 1807; sold in 1897.
Archbishop's Palace, Maidstone : constructed in the 1390s, the palace was seized by the Crown at the time of the Reformation.
Otford Palace: a medieval palace, rebuilt by Archbishop Warham c. 1515 and forfeited to the Crown by Thomas Cranmer in 1537.
Archbishop's Palace, Charing : a palace existed from at least the 13th century; seized by the Crown after the Dissolution.
Knole House: built by Archbishop Bourchier in the second half of the 15th century, it was forfeited to the Crown by Archbishop Cranmer in 1538.
The Old Palace, Bekesbourne, built c. 1552 for Archbishop Cranmer[13]
[edit]
See also
Accord of Winchester
List of Archbishops of Canterbury
Religion in the United Kingdom
[edit]
References
^ Archbishop's Roles and Responsibilities, Archbishop of Canterbury website . Retrieved 8 February 2008.
^ The Archbishop of Canterbury, website of the Archbishop of York. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
^ "Register of Lords' interests". House of Lords. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
^ "Archbishop installed as first Chancellor". Canterbury Christ Church University. 12 December 2005. Retrieved 7 August 2008.
^ Wacher, J., The Towns of Roman Britain, Batsford, 1974, especially pp. 84-6.
^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Bertha.
^ Bede, Ecclesiastical History, i, 25.
^ Bede, Ecclesiastical History, i, 29.
^ Brooks, N., The Early History of the Church of Canterbury, Leicester University Press, 1984, pp. 3-14.
^ Order of Service from the Enthronement of the 104th Archbishop in 2003
^ Canterbury Diocese — Synod News
^ Whitaker's Almanack, 2008, p43 - (Precedence, England and Wales)
^ http://homepage.mac.com/philipdavis/Engl...sites/4000.html
Tim Tatton Brown, Lambeth Palace: A History of the Archbishops of Canterbury and Their Houses (2000) p.73-4

Peer of the realm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Peers of the Realm) This article does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)


Peer of the Realm is a term for a member of the (aristocratic) highest social order (not considering the ruling dynasty) in a kingdom, notably:
a member of the peerage (noble and equivalent titles granted by the British crown; actually there are several peerage systems, such as the peerages of England, of Ireland, of Scotland, of the UK)
the English rendering a member of a similar order in another realm, especially the French title pair as used in the French kingdom and the crusader state kingdom of Jerusalem
nobility proper of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth who enjoyed hereditary paritas. Those who would sit on hereditary basis in Land Parliaments, or be royal electors, enjoy personal immunity, and the right to be judged only by the King's court or the court of peers. Also the exclusive right to be granted state or Land dignities and titles. The Skartabelli who were middle-nobility by law were not peers. Nobles who were not direct barons of the Crown but held land from other lords were not peers de facto as they would not enjoy full noble privileges.
[edit]
See also
pair de France
Categories: Peerage
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r the development of modern social and political ideas. It was famous for its rare quasi-democratic political system, praised by philosophers such as Erasmus; and, during the Counter-Reformation, was known for near-unparalleled religious tolerance, with peacefully coexisting Catholic, Jewish, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant and Muslim communities. The Commonwealth gave rise to the famous Christian sect of the Polish Brethren, antecedents of British and American Unitarianism.[64]

With its political system, the Commonwealth gave birth to political philosophers such as Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski (1503–1572) (Pic. 9), Wawrzyniec Grzymała Goślicki (1530–1607) and Piotr Skarga (1536–1612). Later, works by Stanisław Staszic (1755–1826) and Hugo Kołłątaj (1750–1812) helped pave the way for the Constitution of May 3, 1791, the first modern codified national constitution in Europe,[22] which enacted revolutionary political principles for the first time on that continent.

Kraków's Jagiellonian University is one of the oldest universities in the world (established in 1364),[65] together with the Vilnius University (established in 1579) they were the major scholarly and scientific centers in the Commonwealth. The Komisja Edukacji Narodowej, Polish for Commission for National Education, formed in 1773, was the world's first national Ministry of Education.[66] Commonwealth scientists included: Martin Kromer (1512–1589), historian and cartographer; Michał Sędziwój (1566–1636), alchemist and chemist; Jan Brożek (Ioannes Broscius in Latin) (1585–1652), polymath: a mathematician, physician and astronomer; Krzysztof Arciszewski (Crestofle d'Artischau Arciszewski in Portuguese) (1592–1656), engineer, ethnographer, general and admiral of the Dutch West Indies Company army in the war with the Spanish Empire for control of Brazil;[67] Kazimierz Siemienowicz (1600–1651), military engineer, artillery specialist and a founder of rocketry; Johannes Hevelius (1611–1687), astronomer, founder of lunar topography; Michał Boym (1612–1659), orientalist, cartographer, naturalist and diplomat in Ming Dynasty's service (Pic. 11); Adam Adamandy Kochański (1631–1700), mathematician and engineer; Baal Shem Tov (הבעל שם טוב in Hebrew) (1698–1760), considered to be the founder of Hasidic Judaism; Marcin Odlanicki Poczobutt (1728–1810), astronomer and mathematician (Pic. 12); Jan Krzysztof Kluk (1739–1796), naturalist, agronomist and entomologist. In 1628 the Czech teacher, scientist, educator, and writer John Amos Comenius took refuge in the Commonwealth, when the Protestants were persecuted under the Counter Reformation.[64][68]

The works of many Commonwealth authors are considered classics, including those of Jan Kochanowski (Pic. 10), Wacław Potocki, Ignacy Krasicki, and Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz. Many szlachta members wrote memoirs and diaries. Perhaps the most famous are the Memoirs of Polish History by Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł (1595–1656) and the Memoirs of Jan Chryzostom Pasek (ca. 1636–ca. 1701). Jakub Sobieski (1590–1646) (father of John III Sobieski) wrote notable diaries. During the Khotyn expedition in 1621 he wrote a diary called Commentariorum chotinensis belli libri tres (Diary of the Chocim War), which was published in 1646 in Gdańsk. It was used by Wacław Potocki as a basis for his epic poem, Transakcja wojny chocimskiej (The Progress of the War of Chocim). He also authored instructions for the journey of his sons to Kraków (1640) and France (1645), a good example of liberal education of the era.
[edit]
Art and music

Coffin portrait of Barbara Domicela Lubomirska née Szczawińska, 1676.

The two great cultures of the Commonwealth, Latin and Eastern Orthodox, coexisted and penetrate each other, which is reflected in great popularity of icons (Pic. 13) and icon resembling effigies of Mary, as well as metal dresses typical for the Orthodox Church in predominantly Latin territories of today's Poland (Black Madonna) and Lithuania (Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn).[69] The implementation of post-renaissance naturalism and sentimentality of Polish baroque in Orthodox painting as well as creation of Cossack Baroque in architecture, also inspired by Polish patterns, were the major factors of Latin infiltration in Eastern art (Pic. 3).[70]

A common art form of the Sarmatian period were coffin portraits, particular to the culture of the Commonwealth, used in funerals and other important ceremonies.[71] As a rule, such portraits were nailed to sheet metal, six – or eight – sided in shape, fixed to the front of a coffin placed on a high, ornate catafalque.[72]

Another characteristic is common usage of black marble. Altars, fonts, portals, balustrades, columns, monuments, tombstones, headstones and whole rooms (e.g. Marble Room at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, St. Casimir Chapel of the Vilnius Cathedral and Vasa Chapel of the Wawel Cathedral) were decorated with black marble.

Baroque Leżajsk organ by Stanisław Studziński and Jan Głowiński were accomplished in 1693.

Music was a common feature of religious and secular events. To that end many noblemen founded church and school choirs, and employed their own ensembles of musicians. Some, like Stanisław Lubomirski build their own opera houses (in Nowy Wiśnicz). Yet others, like Janusz Skumin Tyszkiewicz and Krzysztof Radziwiłł were known for their sponsorship of arts which manifested itself in their permanently retained orchestras, at their courts in Vilnius.[73] Musical life further flourished during the reign of the Vasas. Both foreign and domestic composers were active in the Commonwealth. King Sigismund III brought in Italian composers and conductors, such as Luca Marenzio, Annibale Stabile, Asprilio Pacelli, Marco Scacchi and Diomedes Cato for the royal orchestra. Notable home grown musicians, who also composed and played for the King's court, included Bartłomiej Pękiel, Jacek Różycki, Adam Jarzębski, Marcin Mielczewski, Stanisław Sylwester Szarzyński, Damian Stachowicz, Mikołaj Zieleński and Grzegorz Gorczycki.[73]

Magnates often undertook construction projects as monuments to themselves: churches, cathedrals, monasteries (Pic. 14), and palaces like the present-day Presidential Palace in Warsaw and Pidhirtsi Castle built by Grand Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski herbu Pobóg. The largest projects involved entire towns, although in time many of them would lapse into obscurity or be totally abandoned. Usually they were named after the sponsoring magnate. Among the most famous is the town of Zamość, founded by Jan Zamoyski and designed by the Italian architect Bernardo Morando. The magnates throughout Poland competed with the kings. The monumental castle Krzyżtopór, built in the style palazzo in fortezza between 1627 and 1644, had several courtyards surrounded by fortifications. Due to efforts of powerful Radziwiłł family, the town of Nesvizh in today's Belarus came to exercise significant influence in many domains – the Nesvizh manufactures of firearm, carpets, kontusz sashes and tapestries as well as school of painting produced renowned and luxury items.[74] Late baroque fascination with the culture and art of the "central nation" is reflected in Queen Masysieńka's Chinese Palace in Zolochiv.[75] 18th century magnate palaces represents the characteristic type of baroque suburban residence built entre cour et jardin (between the entrance court and the garden). Its architecture - a merger of European art with old Commonwealth building traditions are visible in Wilanów Palace in Warsaw (Pic. 15), Branicki Palace in Białystok and in Warsaw, Potocki Palace in Radzyń Podlaski and in Krystynopol, Raczyński Palace in Rogalin and Sapieha Palace in Ruzhany.
[edit]
Szlachta and Sarmatism

Polish nobleman by Rembrandt van Rijn.

The prevalent ideology of the szlachta became "Sarmatism", named after the Sarmatians, alleged ancestors of the Poles.[49] This belief system was an important part of the szlachta's culture, penetrating all aspects of its life. Sarmatism enshrined equality among szlachta, horseback riding, tradition, provincial rural life, peace and pacifism; championed oriental-inspired attire (żupan, kontusz, sukmana, pas kontuszowy, delia, szabla); and served to integrate the multi-ethnic nobility by creating an almost nationalistic sense of unity and of pride in the szlachta's Golden Freedoms.[49]

In its early, idealistic form, Sarmatism represented a positive cultural movement: it supported religious belief, honesty, national pride, courage, equality and freedom. In time, however, it became distorted. Late extreme Sarmatism turned belief into bigotry, honesty into political naïveté, pride into arrogance, courage into stubbornness and freedom into anarchy.[76] The faults of Sarmatism were blamed for the demise of the country from the late 18th century onwards. Criticism, often one-sided and exaggerated, was used by the Polish reformists to push for radical changes. This self-deprecation was accompanied by works of Prussian, Russian and Austrian historians, who tried to prove that it was Poland itself that was to blame for its fall.[77]
[edit]
Demographics and religion
Further information: Historical demographics of Poland

Cossack's wedding. Painting by Józef Brandt.

The population of the Commonwealth was never overwhelmingly either Roman Catholic or Polish. This circumstance resulted from Poland's possession of Ukraine and confederation with Lithuania, in both of which countries ethnic Poles were a distinct minority. The Commonwealth comprised primarily four nations: Lithuanians, Poles, Belarusians and Ukrainians; the latter two usually referred to as the Ruthenians. Sometimes inhabitants of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were called Litvins, a Slavic term for people from Lithuania, regardless their ethnicity (with the exception of Jews, which were called Litvaks). Shortly after the Union of Lublin ( 1569 ), the Commonwealth population was around 7 million, with a rough breakdown of 4.5 m Poles, 0.75 m Lithuanians, 0.7 m/10% Jews and 2 m Ruthenians.[78] In 1618, after the Truce of Deulino, the Commonwealth population increased together with its territory, reaching 11.5 million people, which was composed roughly of 4.5 m Poles, 3.5 m Ukrainians, 1.5 m Belarusians, 0.75 m Lithuanians, 0.75 m Old Prussians, 0.5 m Jews, and 0.5 m Livonians. At that time nobility was 10% of the population, and burghers were 15%.[79] The average population density per square kilometer was: 24 in Mazovia, 23 in Little Poland, 19 in Great Poland, 12 in Lublin palatinate, 10 in the Lvov area, 7 in Podolia and Volhynia, 3 in the Ukraine. There was a tendency for the people from the more densely inhabited western territories to migrate eastwards.[80] In the period from 1648–57, populations losses are estimated at 4 m.[79] Coupled with further population and territorial losses, in 1717 the Commonwealth population had fallen to 9 m, with roughly 4.5 m/50% Poles, 1.5 m/17% Ukrainians, 1.2 m Belarusians, 0.8 m Lithuanians, 0.5 m Jews, and 0.5 m others.[79]

To be Polish, in the non-Polish lands of the Commonwealth, was then much less an index of ethnicity than of religion and rank; it was a designation largely reserved for the landed noble class (szlachta), which included Poles but also many members of non-Polish origin who converted to Catholicism in increasing numbers with each following generation. For the non-Polish noble such conversion meant a final step of Polonization that followed the adoption of the Polish language and culture.[81] Poland, as the culturally most advanced part of the Commonwealth, with the royal court, the capital, the largest cities, the second-oldest university in Central Europe (after Prague), and the more liberal and democratic social institutions had proven an irresistible magnet for the non-Polish nobility in the Commonwealth.[9] Many referred to themselves as "gente Ruthenus, natione Polonus" (Ruthenian by blood, Polish by nationality) since 16th century onwards.[82]

Greek-Catholic St. George's Cathedral in Lviv was constructed between 1746–1762 following the Act of Unification of the Lviv archeparchy with the Holy See.[83]

Church in Kamianets-Podilskyi was converted into a mosque during the Turkish occupation between 1672-1699, the 33m minaret was added at that time.[84]

As a result, in the eastern territories a Polish (or Polonized) aristocracy dominated a peasantry whose great majority was neither Polish nor Roman Catholic. Moreover, the decades of peace brought huge colonization efforts to Ukraine, heightening the tensions among nobles, Jews, Cossacks (traditionally Orthodox), Polish and Ruthenian peasants. The latter, deprived of their native protectors among the Ruthenian nobility, turned for protection to cossacks that facilitated violence that in the end broke the Commonwealth. The tensions were aggravated by conflicts between Eastern Orthodoxy and the Greek Catholic Church following the Union of Brest, overall discrimination of Orthodox religions by dominant Catholicism,[85] and several Cossack uprisings. In the west and north, many cities had sizable German minorities, often belonging to Reformed churches. The Commonwealth had also one of the largest Jewish diasporas in the world – by the mid-16th century 80% of the world's Jews lived in Poland (Pic. 16).[86]

Until the Reformation, the szlachta were mostly Catholic or Eastern Orthodox (Pic. 3, 13). However, many families quickly adopted the Reformed religion. After the Counter-Reformation, when the Roman Catholic Church regained power in Poland, the szlachta became almost exclusively Roman Catholic, despite the fact that Roman Catholicism was not a majority religion (the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches counted approximately 40% of the population each, while the remaining 20% were Jews and members of various Protestant churches).[87]

The Crown had about double the population of Lithuania and five times the income of the latter's treasury. As with other countries, the borders, area and population of the Commonwealth varied over time. After the Peace of Jam Zapolski (1582), the Commonwealth had approximately 815,000 km² area and a population of 7.5 million.[88] After the Truce of Deulino (1618), the Commonwealth had an area of some 990,000 km² and a population of 10–11 million (including some 4 million Poles and close to a million Lithuanians).[89]
[edit]
Languages

Crimean falconer of King John II Casimir with his family, Daniel Schultz, 1664.
Polish - officially recognized;[90] dominant language, used by most of Commonwealth nobility[90][91][92][93] and by peasantry in the Crown province;[94] official language in Crown chancellery and since 1697 in Grand Duchy chancellery.[95] Dominant language in the towns.[94]
Latin - off. recog.;[90][96] commonly used in foreign relations[95] and popular as second language among the nobility.[97]
French - not officially recognized; replaced Latin at the royal court in Warsaw in the beginning of the 18th century as a language used in foreign relations and as genuine spoken language.[98][99] It was commonly used as a language of science and literature and as second language among the nobility.[100]
Chancellery Ruthenian - also known as Chancellery Slavonic;[95] off. recog.;[90] official language in Grand Duchy chancellery until 1697 (when replaced by Polish); used in some foreign relations[95][96][101] its dialects were widely used in Grand Duchy and eastern parts of the Crown as spoken language.
Lithuanian - not officially recognised;[90][102] but used in some official documents in Grand Duchy[103][104][105] and, mostly, used as a spoken language in the northwest part of the Grand Duchy (in Lithuania Proper) and the northern part of Polish Prussia (see Lithuania Minor).[106]
German - off. recog.;[90] used in some foreign relations,[95] in Polish Prussia and by minorities in cities.[94][107]
Hebrew - off. recog.;[90] used by the Jews in their religion matters;
Yiddish, used by the Jews in their daily life[94] but not recognized as official language.[108][109]
Armenian - off. recog.[90] used by Armenian minority.[109][110]
[edit]
Legacy

The Duchy of Warsaw, established in 1807, traced its origins to the Commonwealth. Other revival movements appeared during the November Uprising (1830–31), the January Uprising (1863–64) and in the 1920s, with Józef Piłsudski's failed attempt to create a Polish-led Międzymorze ("Between-Seas") federation that would have included Lithuania and Ukraine. Today's Republic of Poland considers itself a successor to the Commonwealth,[111] whereas the Republic of Lithuania, re-established at the end of World War I, saw the participation of the Lithuanian state in the old Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth mostly in a negative light at the early stages of regaining its independence,[112] although this attitude has been changing recently.[113]
[edit]
Administrative division
Main article: Administrative division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
See also: Offices in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Outline of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with its major subdivisions after the 1618 Peace of Deulino, superimposed on present-day national borders.
The Crown
Duchy of Prussia, Polish fief
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Duchy of Courland, Lithuanian fief
Duchy of Livonia
Swedish and Danish Estonia

While the term "Poland" was also commonly used to denote this whole polity, Poland was in fact only part of a greater whole—the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which comprised primarily two parts:
the Crown of the Polish Kingdom (Poland proper), colloquially "the Crown"; and
the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, colloquially "Lithuania".

The Commonwealth was further divided into smaller administrative units known as voivodships (województwa). Each voivodship was governed by a voivod (wojewoda, governor). Voivodships were further divided into starostwa, each starostwo being governed by a starosta. Cities were governed by castellans. There were frequent exceptions to these rules, often involving the ziemia subunit of administration.

The lands that once belonged to the Commonwealth are now largely distributed among several Central and East European countries: Poland, Ukraine, Moldova (Transnistria), Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.[114][115] Also some small towns in Slovakia, then within the Kingdom of Hungary, became a part of Poland in the Treaty of Lubowla.

Other notable parts of the Commonwealth, without respect to region or voivodship divisions, include:
Lesser Poland (Polish: Małopolska), southern Poland, with its capital at Kraków (Cracow);
Greater Poland (Polish: Wielkopolska), west–central Poland around Poznań and the Warta River system;
Masovia (Polish: Mazowsze), central Poland, with its capital at Warszawa (Warsaw);
Lithuania Proper (Lithuanian: Lietuva siaurąją prasme, tikroji Lietuva), the catholic, or, perhaps, in some cases ethnically Lithuanian, part of Grand Duchy in the northwest of it;
Samogitia (Polish: Żmudź, Lithuanian: Žemaitija), an autonomous area of Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the westernmost part of it, the western part of Lithuania Proper;
Royal Prussia (Polish: Prusy Królewskie), at the southern shore of the Baltic Sea, was an autonomous area since the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), incorporated into the Crown in 1569 with the Commonwealth's formation;
Pomerelia (Polish: Pomorze Gdańskie), Pomerania around Gdańsk (Danzig), western part of Royal Prussia;
Ruthenia (Polish: Ruś), the eastern Commonwealth, adjoining Russia;
Duchy of Livonia (Inflanty), a joint domain of the Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Parts lost to Sweden in the 1620s and in 1660;
Duchy of Courland (Polish: Kurlandia), a northern fief of the Commonwealth. It established a colony in Tobago in 1637 and on St. Andrews Island at the Gambia River in 1651 (see Courland colonization);
Silesia (Polish: Śląsk) was not within the Commonwealth, but small parts belonged to various Commonwealth kings; in particular, the Vasa kings were dukes of Opole (Oppeln) and Racibórz (Ratibor) from 1645 to 1666.[116]

Commonwealth borders shifted with wars and treaties, sometimes several times in a decade, especially in the eastern and southern parts. After the Peace of Jam Zapolski (1582), the Commonwealth had approximately 815,000 km² area and a population of 7.5 million.[88] After the Truce of Deulino (1618), the Commonwealth had an area of some 1 million km² (990,000 km²) and a population of about 11 million.[89]
[edit]
Geography

16th century map of Europe by Gerardus Mercator.

Topographical map of the Commonwealth in 1764.

In the 16th century, the Polish bishop and cartographer Martin Kromer published a Latin atlas, entitled Poland: about Its Location, People, Culture, Offices and the Polish Commonwealth, which was regarded as the most comprehensive guide to the country.

Kromer's works and other contemporary maps, such as those of Gerardus Mercator, show the Commonwealth as mostly plains. The Commonwealth's southeastern part, the Kresy, was famous for its steppes. The Carpathian Mountains formed part of the southern border, with the Tatra Mountain chain the highest, and the Baltic Sea formed the Commonwealth's northern border. As with most European countries at the time, the Commonwealth had extensive forest cover, especially in the east. Today, what remains of the Białowieża Forest constitutes the last largely intact primeval forest in Europe.[117]
[edit]
Gallery[show]
v · d · e
Pictures


[edit]
See also
Historical Powers
List of Polish Coats of Arms
List of szlachta
Polish heraldry
History of the Jews in Lithuania
History of the Jews in Poland
[edit]
Notes

a. ^ Name in native and official languages:
Latin: Regnum Poloniae Magnusque Ducatus Lithuaniae / Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae[122] Magnique Ducatus Lithuaniae
French: Royaume de Pologne et Grand-duché de Lituanie / Sérénissime République de Pologne et Grand-duché de Lituanie[123]
Polish: Królestwo Polskie i Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie
Lithuanian: Lenkijos Karalystė ir Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė
Belarusian: Каралеўства Польскае і Вялікае Княства Літоўскае (Karaleўstva Pol'skae і Vjalіkae Knjastva Lіtoўskae)
Ukrainian: Королівство Польське і Велике князівство Литовське
German: Königreich Polen und Großfürstentum Litauen

b. ^ Historians date the change of the Polish capital from Krakow to Warsaw between 1595 and 1611, although Warsaw was not officially designated capital until 1793.[124] The Commonwealth Sejm began meeting in Warsaw soon after the Union of Lublin and its rulers generally maintained their courts there, although coronations continued to take place in Krakow.[124] The modern concept of a single capital city was to some extent inapplicable in the feudal and decentralized Commonwealth.[124] Warsaw is described by some historians as the capital of the entire Commonwealth.[125][126] Vilnius, the capital of the Grand Duchy,[29][127][128] is sometimes called the second capital of the entity.[129][130]
[edit]
References
^ "Poland." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 20 Feb. 2009
^ Heritage: Interactive Atlas: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. For population comparisons, see also those maps: [1], [2]
^ Norman Davies, Europe: A History, Pimlico 1997, p. 554: Poland-Lithuania was another country which experienced its 'Golden Age' during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The realm of the last Jagiellons was absolutely the largest state in Europe
^ Yale Richmond, From Da to Yes: Understanding the East Europeans, Intercultural Press, 1995, p. 51
^ Maciej Janowski, Polish Liberal Thought, Central European University Press, 2001, ISBN 963-9241-18-0, Google Print: p3, p12
^ Paul W. Schroeder, The Transformation of European Politics 1763–1848, Oxford University Press, 1996, ISBN 0-19-820654-2, Google print p84
^ Rett R. Ludwikowski, Constitution-Making in the Region of Former Soviet Dominance, Duke University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-8223-1802-4, Google Print, p34
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^ a b c d e Aleksander Gella, Development of Class Structure in Eastern Europe: Poland and Her Southern Neighbors, SUNY Press, 1998, ISBN 0-88706-833-2, Google Print, p13
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^ Halina Stephan, Living in Translation: Polish Writers in America, Rodopi, 2003, ISBN 90-420-1016-9, Google Print p373. Quoting from Sarmatian Review academic journal mission statement: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was [...] characterized by religious tolerance unusual in premodern Europe
^ This quality of the Commonwealth was recognized by its contemporaries. Robert Burton, in his The Anatomy of Melancholy, first published in 1621, writes of Poland: "Poland is a receptacle of all religions, where Samosetans, Socinians, Photinians [...], Arians, Anabaptists are to be found"; "In Europe, Poland and Amsterdam are the common sanctuaries [for Jews]".
^ Feliks Gross, Citizenship and Ethnicity: The Growth and Development of a Democratic Multiethnic Institution, Greenwood Press, 1999, ISBN 0-313-30932-9, Google Print, p122 (notes)
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^ Martin Van Gelderen, Quentin Skinner, Republicanism: A Shared European Heritage, Cambridge University Press, 2002, ISBN 0-521-80756-5 Google Print: p54
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^ "Poland." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 5 August 2009
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^ a b c John Markoff describes the advent of modern codified national constitutions as one of the milestones of democracy, and states that "The first European country to follow the U.S. example was Poland in 1791." John Markoff, Waves of Democracy, 1996, ISBN 0-8039-9019-7, p.121.
^ The Most Serene Republic of Poland – official name of the state in international treaties: [4], [5]
^ Although the terms Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth/Republic) and Oba Narody (Two/Both Nations) were widespread in the period, and were used in the combined form for the first time only in 1967 in Paweł Jasienica's book thus entitled.
^ [6]
^ . In 1651, in the face of a growing threat from Poland, and forsaken by his Tatar allies, Khmelnytsky asked the Tsar to incorporate Ukraine as an autonomous duchy under Russian protection."Pereyaslav Agreement". 2006.[7]
^ Poland, the knight among nations, Louis Edwin Van Norman, New York: 1907, p. 18
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^ a b c Norman Davies (1998). Europe: A History. HarperCollins. pp. 657–660. ISBN 9780060974688.
^ Rey Koslowski (2000). Migrants and citizens: demographic change in the European state system. Cornell University Press. p. 51. ISBN 9780801437144.
^ Andrzej Jezierski, Cecylia Leszczyńska, Historia gospodarcza Polski, 2003, s. 68.
^ Russia's Rise as a European Power, 1650–1750, Jeremy Black, History Today, Vol. 36 Issue: 8, August 1986
^ Jan Zamoyski's speech in the Parliament, 1605 (English) Harbottle Thomas Benfield (2009). Dictionary of Quotations (Classical). BiblioBazaar, LLC. p. 254. ISBN 11-13147-91-1.
^ a b Pacy, James S.; James T. McHugh. Diplomats Without a Country: Baltic Diplomacy, International Law, and the Cold War (1st Edition ed.). Post Road West, Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. doi:10.1336/0313318786. ISBN 0-313-31878-6. Retrieved 2006-09-03.
^ Bardach, Juliusz (1998). O Rzeczpospolitą Obojga Narodów. Warszawa.
^ Joanna Olkiewicz, Najaśniejsza Republika Wenecka (Most Serene Republic of Venice), Książka i Wiedza, 1972, Warszawa
^ Joseph Conrad, Notes on Life and Letters: Notes on Life and Letters, Cambridge University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-521-56163-9, Google Print, p422 (notes)
^ Frost, Robert I.. The Northern Wars: War, State and Society in northeastern Europe, 1558–1721. Harlow, England; New York: Longman's. 2000. Especially pp9–11, 114, 181, 323.
^ (English) David Sneath (2007). The headless state: aristocratic orders, kinship society, & misrepresentations of nomadic inner Asia. Columbia University Press. p. 188. ISBN 02-31140-54-1.
^ (English) M. L. Bush (1988). Rich noble, poor noble. Manchester University Press ND. pp. 8–9. ISBN 07-19023-81-5.
^ (English) David Sneath (2007). The headless state: aristocratic orders, kinship society, & misrepresentations of nomadic inner Asia. Columbia University Press. p. 188. ISBN 02-31140-54-1.
^ (English) M. L. Bush (1988). Rich noble, poor noble. Manchester University Press ND. pp. 8–9. ISBN 07-19023-81-5.
^ William Christian Bullitt, Jr., The Great Globe Itself: A Preface to World Affairs, Transaction Publishers, 2005, ISBN 1-4128-0490-6, Google Print, pp42–43
^ John Adams, The Political Writings of John Adams, Regnery Gateway, 2001, ISBN 0-89526-292-4, Google Print, p.242
^ a b Henry Eldridge Bourne, The Revolutionary Period in Europe 1763 to 1815, Kessinger Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1-4179-3418-2, Google Print p161
^ a b Wolfgang Menzel, Germany from the Earliest Period Vol. 4, Kessinger Publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-4191-2171-5, Google Print, p33
^ Isabel de Madariaga, Russia in the Age of Catherine the Great, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 2002, ISBN 1-84212-511-7, Google Print p431
^ Carl L. Bucki, The Constitution of May 3, 1791, Text of a presentation made at the Polish Arts Club of Buffalo on the occasion of the celebrations of Poland's Constitution Day on May 3, 1996. Retrieved March 20, 2006
^ a b c Piotr Stefan Wandycz, The Price of Freedom: A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the Present, Routledge (UK), 2001, ISBN 0-415-25491-4, Google Print p131
^ "Welcome to Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to History". Britannica.com. 1910-01-31. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
^ (English) PPerry Anderson (1979). Lineages of the absolutist state. Verso. p. 285. ISBN 08-60917-10-X.
^ a b Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries (2007). A history of Eastern Europe: crisis and change. Taylor & Francis. p. 189. ISBN 9780415366274.
^ a b Yves Marie Bercé (1987). Revolt and revolution in early modern Europe: an essay on the history of political violence. Manchester University Press. p. 151.
^ a b c (English) Institute of History (Polish Academy of Sciences) (1991). "Volumes 63-66". Acta Poloniae historica. National Ossoliński Institute. p. 42. ISBN 08-80331-86-0.
^ a b (English) The role of East-Central Europe in international trade, 16th and 17th centuries. Akadémiai Kiadó. 1970. p. 220.
^ (Polish) Warszawa, jej dzieje i kultura. Arkady. 1980. p. 667. ISBN 83-21329-58-6.
^ (English) Krzysztof Olszewski (2007). The Rise and Decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth due to Grain Trade. p. 7. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
^ (English) Jarmo Kotilaine (2005). Russia's foreign trade and economic expansion in the seventeenth century: windows on the world. BRILL. p. 47. ISBN 90-04138-96-X.
^ (English) Krzysztof Olszewski (2007). The Rise and Decline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth due to Grain Trade. pp. 6–7.
^ (Polish) Maciej Kobyliński. "Rzeczpospolita spichlerzem Europy". www.polinow.pl. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
^ (English) Nicholas L. Chirovsky (1984). The Lithuanian-Rus'commonwealth, the Polish domination, and the Cossack-Hetman state. Philosophical Library. p. 367. ISBN 08-02224-07-5.
^ (English) Sven-Olof Lindquist, Birgitta Radhe (1989). Economy and culture in the Baltic, 1650-1700: papers of the VIIIth Visby Symposium held at Gotland's Historical Museum, Visby, August 18th-22th [sic], 1986. Gotlands Fornsal. p. 367. ISBN 91-97104-88-4.
^ (English) ""Polonaise" carpet". www.museu.gulbenkian.pt. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
^ a b (English) A Republic of nobles: studies in Polish history to 1864. CUP Archive. 1982. p. 209. ISBN 05-21240-93-X.
^ (English) Jacek F. Gieras (1994). "Volume 30 of Monographs in electrical and electronic engineering, Oxford science publications". Linear induction drives. Oxford University Press. p. V. ISBN 01-98593-81-3.
^ (English) Norman Davies (2005). God's Playground: A History of Poland. Columbia University Press. p. 167. ISBN 02-31128-19-3.
^ (English) "Setting Sail". www.warsawvoice.pl. 29 May 2003. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
^ (English) Paul Peucker. "Jan Amos Comenius (1592–1670)". www.moravian.org. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
^ (English) Państwowy Instytut Badania Sztuki Ludowej (1974). "Volumes 28-29". Polska sztuka ludowa (Polish Folk Art). Państwowy Instytut Sztuki. p. 259.
^ (English) Paul Robert Magocsi (1996). A history of Ukraine. University of Toronto Press. pp. 286–287. ISBN 08-02078-20-6.
^ (English) "Portraits collection". www.muzeum.leszno.pl. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
^ (English) Mariusz Karpowicz (1991). Baroque in Poland. Arkady. p. 68. ISBN 83-21334-12-1.
^ a b (English) Michael J. Mikoś. "Baroque". www.staropolska.pl. Retrieved 2009-05-13.
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^ Andrzej Wasko, Sarmatism or the Enlightenment: The Dilemma of Polish Culture, Sarmatian Review XVII.2, online
^ Dziejochciejstwo, dziejokrętactwo, Janusz Tazbir, Polityka 6 (2591) 10-02-2007 (in Polish)
^ Total and Jewish population based on Frazee; others are estimations from Pogonowski (se following reference). Charles A. Frazee, World History the Easy Way, Barron's Educational Series, ISBN 0812097661, Google Print, 50
^ a b c Based on 1618 population map (p115), 1618 languages map (p119), 1657–67 losses map (p128) and 1717 map (p141) from Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski, Poland a Historical Atlas, Hippocrene Books, 1987, ISBN 0-880-29394-2
^ R. B. Wernham, The new Cambridge modern history: The Counter-Reformation and price revolution, 1559-1610,1968, Cambridge University Press, Google print p. 377
^ Linda Gordon, Cossack Rebellions: Social Turmoil in the Sixteenth Century Ukraine, SUNY Press, 1983, ISBN 0-87395-654-0, Google Print, p.51
^ (English) Serhii Plokhy (2006). The origins of the Slavic nations: premodern identities in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Cambridge University Press. p. 169. ISBN 05-21864-03-8.
^ (English) "Lemberg". Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
^ (English) Peter Kardash, Brett Lockwood (1988). Ukraine and Ukrainians. Fortuna. p. 134.
^ "Poland, history of", Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [8]. Retrieved February 10, 2006 and "Ukraine", Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. [9]. Retrieved February 14, 2006.
^ "European Jewish Congress – Poland". Eurojewcong.org. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
^ Thus, at the time of the first partition in 1772, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth consisted of 43 per cent Roman Catholics, 33 per cent Greek Catholics, 10 per cent Christian Orthodox, 9 per cent Jews and 4 per cent Protestant (English) Willfried Spohn, Anna Triandafyllidou (2003). Europeanisation, national identities, and migration: changes in boundary constructions between Western and Eastern Europe. Routledge. p. 127. ISBN 04-15296-67-6.
^ a b (English) Artūras Tereškinas (2005). Imperfect communities: identity, discourse and nation in the seventeenth-century Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Lietuvių literatūros ir tautosakos institutas. p. 31. ISBN 99-55475-94-3.
^ a b (English) Aleksander Gieysztor, ed (1988). Rzeczpospolita w dobie Jana III (Commonwealth during the reign of John III). Royal Castle in Warsaw. p. 45.
^ a b c d e f g h Anatol Lieven, The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence, Yale University Press, 1994, ISBN 0300060785, Google Print, p.48
^ Stephen Barbour, Cathie Carmichael, Language and Nationalism in Europe, Oxford University Press, 2000, ISBN 0199250855, Google Print p.184
^ Östen Dahl, Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm, The Circum-Baltic Languages: Typology and Contact, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2001, ISBN 9027230579, Google Print, p.45
^ Glanville Price, Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe, Blackwell Publishing, 1998, ISBN 0631220399, Google Print, p.30
^ a b c d Mikulas Teich, The National Question in Europe in Historical Context, Cambridge University Press, 1993, ISBN 0521367131, Google Print, p.295
^ a b c d e Kevin O'Connor, Culture And Customs of the Baltic States, Greenwood Press, 2006, ISBN 0313331251, Google Print, p.115
^ a b Daniel. Z Stone, A History of East Central Europe, p.46
^ Karin Friedrich et al., The Other Prussia: Royal Prussia, Poland and Liberty, 1569–1772, Cambridge University Press, 2000, ISBN 0521583357, Google Print, p.88
^ (English) Tomasz Kamusella (2008). The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 115. ISBN 02-30550-70-3.
^ L'union personnelle polono-saxonne contribua davantage à faire connaître en Pologne le français que l'allemand. Cette fonction de la langue française, devenue l'instrument de communication entre les groupes dirigeants des deux pays. (French) Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of History (1970). "Volume 22". Acta Poloniae historica. National Ossoliński Institute. p. 79.
^ They were the first Catholic schools in which one of the main languages of instruction was Polish. [...] Although he followed Locke in attaching weight to the native language, in general Latin lost ground to French rather than Polish. (English) Richard Butterwick (1998). Poland's last king and English culture: Stanisław August Poniatowski, 1732-1798. Oxford University Press. p. 70. ISBN 01-98207-01-8.
^ Piotr Eberhardt, Jan Owsinski, Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth-century Central-Eastern Europe: History, Data, Analysis, M.E. Sharpe, 2003, ISBN 0765606658, Google Print, p.177
^ Östen Dahl, Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm, The Circum-Baltic Languages: Typology and Contact, John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2001, ISBN 9027230579, Google Print, p.41
^ Zinkevičius, Z. (1993). Rytų Lietuva praeityje ir dabar. Vilnius: Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla. p. 70. ISBN 5-420-01085-2. "Official usage of Lithuanian language in the 16th century Lithuania's cities proves magistrate's decree of Vilnius city, which was sealed by Žygimantas Augustas’ in 1552...//Courts juratory were written in Lithuanian language. In fact, such [courts juratory written in Lithuanian] survived from the 17th century..."
^ ""Mes Wladislaus..." a letter from Wladyslaw Vasa issued in 1639 written in Lithuanian language". Retrieved 2006-09-03.
^ Ališauskas, V.; L. Jovaiša, M. Paknys, R. Petrauskas, E. Raila and others (2001). Lietuvos Didžiosios Kunigaikštijos kultūra. Tyrinėjimai ir vaizdai. Vilnius. p. 500. ISBN 9955-445-26-2. "In 1794 Government's declarations were carried out and in Lithuanian."
^ Daniel. Z Stone, A History of East Central Europe, p.4
^ Czesław Miłosz, The History of Polish Literature, University of California Press, 1983, ISBN 0520044770, Google Print, p.108
^ Jan K. Ostrowski, Land of the Winged Horsemen: Art in Poland, 1572–1764, Yale University Press, 1999, ISBN 0300079184, Google Print, p.27
^ a b (English) Joanna B. Michlic (2006). Poland's threatening other: the image of the Jew from 1880 to the present. U of Nebraska Press. p. 42. ISBN 08-03232-40-3.
^ (English) Rosemary A. Chorzempa (1993). Polish roots. Genealogical Pub.. ISBN 08-06313-78-1.
^ A. stated, for instance by the preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland of 1997.
^ Alfonsas Eidintas, Vytautas Zalys, Lithuania in European Politics: The Years of the First Republic, 1918–1940, Palgrave, 1999, ISBN 0-312-22458-3. Print, p78
^ ""Zobaczyć Kresy". Grzegorz Górny. Rzeczpospolita 23-08-2008 (in Polish)" (in (Polish)). Rp.pl. 2008-08-23. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
^ (English) Sarah Johnstone (2008). Ukraine. Lonely Planet. p. 27. ISBN 17-41044-81-2.
^ (English) Stephen K. Batalden, Sandra L. Batalden (1997). The newly independent states of Eurasia: handbook of former Soviet republics. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 45. ISBN 08-97749-40-5.
^ (English) Richard M. Golden (2006). "Volume 4". Encyclopedia of witchcraft: the Western tradition. ABC-CLIO. p. 1039. ISBN 15-76072-43-6.
^ (English) Daniel H. Cole (2002). Pollution and property: comparing ownership institutions for environmental protection. Cambridge University Press. p. 106. ISBN 05-21001-09-9.
^ (English) Gordon Campbell (2006). The Grove encyclopedia of decorative arts. Oxford University Press US. p. 13. ISBN 01-95189-48-5.
^ Gwei-Djen Lu, Joseph Needham, Vivienne Lo (2002). Celestial lancets: a history and rationale of acupuncture and moxa. Routledge. p. 284. ISBN 07-00714-58-8.
^ (English) Ian Ridpath. "Taurus Poniatovii - Poniatowski's bull". www.ianridpath.com. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
^ After a fire had destroyed a wooden synagogue in 1733 Stanislaw Lubomirski decided to found a new bricked synagogue building. (English) Polin Travel. "Lancut". www.jewish-guide.pl. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
^ (French) Antoine-François-Claude Ferrand (1820). "Volume 1". Histoire des trois démembremens de la Pologne: pour faire suite à l'histoire de l'Anarchie de Pologne par Rulhière. Deterville. p. 182.
^ (French) Guillaume de Lamberty (1735). "Volume 3". Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire du XVIIIe siècle, contenant les négociations, traitez, résolutions et autres documents authentiques concernant les affaires d'état: avec le supplément aux années MDCXCVI-MDCCIII. p. 343.
^ a b c Francis W. Carter (1994). Trade and urban development in Poland: an economic geography of Cracow, from its origins to 1795 – Volume 20 of Cambridge studies in historical geography. Cambridge University Press. pp. 186, 187. ISBN 9780521412391.
^ Daniel Stone (2001). The Polish-Lithuanian state, 1386–1795. University of Washington Press. p. 221. ISBN 9780295980935.
^ Robert Bideleux, Ian Jeffries (1998). A history of eastern Europe: crisis and change. Routledge. p. 126. ISBN 9780415161114.
^ Politics and reformations: communities, polities, nations, and empires.2007 p.206
^ Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropa-Forschung.2006, Vol.55; p.2
^ Thomas A. Brady, Christopher Ocker; entry by David Frick (2007). Politics and reformations: communities, polities, nations, and empires : essays in honor of Thomas A. Brady, Jr. Brill Publishers. p. 206. ISBN 9789004161733.
^ Marcel Cornis-Pope, John Neubauer; essay by Tomas Venclova (2004). History of the literary cultures of East-Ce