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Article: Poland-Lithuania, Commonwealth of, 1569–1795
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
- Author:
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POLAND-LITHUANIA, COMMONWEALTH OF, 1569
–
1795
POLAND-LITHUANIA, COMMONWEALTH OF, 1569
–
1795.
The Union of Lublin, signed in 1569, joined Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into the Commonwealth
(Rzeczpospolita)
of Both Nations, with one elected monarch serving as king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania. Poland and Lithuania were to have a joint Sejm (parliament) while preserving separate (but parallel) administrations, treasuries, and armed forces. Lithuania gradually integrated with Poland culturally, and the legal status of its nobility was adapted to that of the Polish nobility, so that at the beginning of the seventeenth century there was no difference between ...