History of Poland
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{{History of Poland}}
Highly developed agricultural people have lived in the area that is now Poland for the last 7500 years, the [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] people have settled in this territory for over 1500 years, and the '''History of [[Poland]]''' as a state spans well over a millennium. [[territorial changes of Poland|The territory ruled by Poland has shifted and varied greatly]]. At one time, in the [[16th century]], the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] was the largest state in [[Europe]], before the rise of the [[Russian Empire]]. At other times there was no separate Polish state at all. Poland regained its independence in [[1918]], after more than a century of rule by its neighbours, but its borders shifted again after the [[Second World War]].
Following its emergence in the [[10th century]], the Polish nation was led by [[List of Polish monarchs|a series of rulers]] who [[Baptism of Poland|converted]] the [[Poles]] to [[Christianity]], created [[Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)|a strong kingdom]] and integrated Poland into the [[Culture of Europe|European culture]]. [[Fragmentation of Poland|Internal fragmentation]] eroded this initial structure in the [[13th century]], but consolidation in the [[1300s]] laid the base for the new dominant [[Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)|Kingdom of Poland]] that was to follow.
Beginning with the [[Grand Duke of Lithuania|Lithuanian Grand Duke]] [[Jogaila]] (Władysław II Jagiełło), the [[Jagiellon dynasty]] (1385–1569) formed the [[Polish-Lithuanian union]]. The partnership proved beneficial for the Poles and [[Lithuanians]], who coexisted and cooperated in one of the most powerful states in [[Europe]] for the next three centuries. The ''[[nihil novi]]'' act adopted by the Polish [[Sejm]] ([[parliament]]) in [[1505]], transferred most of the [[legislative power]] from the [[monarch]] to the Sejm. This event marked the beginning of the period known as "[[Golden Liberty]]", when the [[State]] was ruled by the "free and equal" [[szlachta|Polish nobility]]. The [[Lublin Union]] of 1569 established the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] as an influential player in [[Europe]] and a vital cultural entity, [[Polonization|spreading]] the [[Western culture]] eastwards.
By the [[18th century]] the nobles' [[democracy]] had gradually declined into [[anarchy (word)|anarchy]], making the once powerful Commonwealth vulnerable to foreign intervention. Poland's location in the middle of Europe became especially significant in a period when both the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] and the [[Russian Empire]] were intensely involved in European rivalries and alliances and modern nation states were established over the entire [[History of Europe#The 16th, 17th and 18th century|continent]]. Over the course of three successive [[partitions of Poland|partitions]] by the countries bordering it (the Russian Empire, [[Habsburg Austria]] and the Kingdom of Prussia), the Commonwealth was significantly reduced in size the first two times and ultimately ceased to exist in 1795. The idea of Polish independence however was kept alive throughout the [[19th century]] and led to several [[List of Polish wars#Polish uprisings|Polish uprisings]] against the partitioning powers.
[[Polish Independence Day|Poland regained its independence]] in 1918, but the [[Second Polish Republic]] was destroyed by [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]] by their [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|Invasion of Poland]] at the beginning of the [[Second World War]]. Nevertheless the [[Polish government in exile]] kept functioning and through the many Polish military formations [[Polish contribution to World War II|contributed significantly]] to the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] victory. Nazi Germany's forces were compelled to retreat from Poland as the Soviet [[Red Army]] advanced, which led to the creation of the [[People's Republic of Poland]]. The country's geographic location was shifted to the west and Poland existed as a Soviet [[satellite state]]. By the late 1980s [[Solidarity]], a Polish reform movement, became crucial in causing a peaceful transition from a [[communist state]] to [[democracy]], which resulted in the creation of the modern Polish state.
== Prehistory of Poland ==
{{main|Prehistory of Poland (until 966)}}
[[Image:Archeologia (Bielsko) - kultura łużycka.JPG|thumb|right|300px|Lusatian culture artifacts]]
The Stone Age era in Poland lasted five hundred thousand years and involved three different [[Human|human species]]. The [[Stone Age]] cultures ranged from early human groups with primitive tools to advanced [[Agriculture|agricultural]] societies using sophisticated [[stone tool]]s, building fortified settlements and developing [[copper]] [[metallurgy]].
The Bronze and Iron Age cultures in Poland are known mainly from [[archaelogy|archeological]] research. Early [[Bronze Age]] cultures in Poland begin around 2400/2300 BC. The [[Iron Age]] commences ca. 750/700 BC. The subject of the [[ethnic group|ethnicity]] and linguistic affiliation of the groups living in central and eastern Europe at that time is, giving the absence of written records, speculative, and accordingly there is considerable disagreement. In Poland the most famous archeological finding from that period is the [[Biskupin]] fortified settlement ([[gord (Slavic settlement)|gord]]), representing the [[Lusatian culture]] of the early Iron Age.
Peoples belonging to numerous [[archaeological culture|archeological cultures]] identified with [[Celts|Celtic]], [[Germanic people|Germanic]] and [[Balts|Baltic]] tribes lived in and migrated through various parts of the territory that now constitutes Poland from about 400 BC. Expanding and moving out of their homeland in Scandinavia and northern Germany the Germanic people settled this territory and used it as migrating route for several centuries. Many Germanic tribes moved out of the area in the southern and eastern directions, while other remained. As the Roman Empire was nearing its collapse and the nomadic peoples invading from the east destroyed, damaged or destabilized the various Germanic cultures and societies, the Germanic people left eastern and central Europe for the safer and wealthier southern and western parts of the continent. The northeast corner of modern Poland's territory was and remained populated by Baltic tribes.
According to the currently predominant opinion, the [[Slavic tribes]] were not indigenous to the lands that were to become Poland. Their first waves settled the area of the upper [[Vistula River]] and elsewhere in southeastern Poland and southern [[Masovia]], coming from the upper and middle regions of the [[Dnieper River]], beginning in the second half of the [[5th century]], some half century after these territories were vacated by [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] tribes.
From there the new population dispersed north and west over the course of the [[6th century]]. Slavic people lived from cultivation of crops and were generally farmers, but also engaged in hunting and gathering. Their migration was probably caused by the pursuit of fertile soils and invasions of eastern and central [[Europe]] by waves of people and armies from the east, such as the [[Huns]], [[Eurasian Avars|Avars]] and [[Magyars]].
A number of such [[Polish tribes]] formed small dominions beginning in the [[8th century]], some of which coalesced later into larger ones. Among those were the [[Vistulans]] (''Wiślanie'') in southern Poland with [[Kraków]] and [[Wiślica]] as their main centers. Major building of fortified centers and other developments in their country took place in the [[9th century]]. From the early 10th century on the [[Polans (western)|Polans]] (''Polanie'', lit. "people of the fields") of what is now [[Greater Poland]] became a moving force behind the historic processes that gave rise to the Polish state. The tribal unions built many [[gord (Slavic settlement)|gords]] – fortified structures with earth and wood walls and embankments, from the [[7th century]] onwards. Some of them were developed and inhabited, others had a very large empty area and may have served primarily as refuges in times of trouble. The Polans settled in the flatlands around [[Giecz]], [[Poznań]] and [[Gniezno]] that eventually became the foundation and early center of Poland, lending their name to the country. They went through a period of accelerated building of fortified settlements and territorial expansion beginning in the first half of the [[10th century]], and the Polish state developed from their tribal entity in the second half of that century.
== Piast dynasty ==
{{main|History of Poland (966-1385)}}
[[Image:Krakow kosciol 20071229 1246.jpg|right|thumb|220px|St. Andrew's Church in Kraków (built in 11th century)]]
The viability of the emerging state was assured by the early [[Piast dynasty|Piast]] leaders' persistent territorial expansion, which beginning with a very small area around [[Gniezno]] (before the town itself existed), lasted throughout most of the 10th century, resulting in a territory approximating that of the present day Poland. The Polanie tribe conquered and merged with other Slavic tribes, formed a tribal federation and then a centralized state, which after the addition of [[Lesser Poland]] and [[Silesia]] (taken from the [[Czech lands|Czech]] state during the later part of the 10th century) stretched across most of what is now Poland.
[[Mieszko I]] was the first ruler of the [[Polans (western)|Polans]] tribal union known from contemporary written sources. A pagan "king", Mieszko in 965 married [[Dubrawka]], a Czech [[Christian]] princess. Mieszko's [[966]] [[Baptism of Poland|conversion to Christianity]] in its [[Western Christianity|Western Latin Rite]] is considered by many to be the founding event of the Polish state. In 968 the first missionary bishop was appointed, which counteracted the intended eastern expansion of the [[Magdeburg]] Archdiocese, established at the same time. The Mieszko's state had a complex political relationship with the [[Germany|German]] [[Holy Roman Empire]]; it fought wars with the [[Polabian Slavs]], the [[margrave]]s of the [[Saxon Eastern March]], and the Czechs. By around 990, when Mieszko I officially submitted his country to the authority of the [[Holy See]] (''[[Dagome iudex]]''), he had transformed Poland into one of the strongest powers in [[Eastern Europe]].
Contrary to what Mieszko had intended, his oldest son [[Boleslaw I of Poland|Bolesław]] managed to become the sole ruler of Poland. A man of high ambition and strong personality, he embarked on further territorial expansion in three (western, southern and eastern) directions, much of which, while often successful, turned out to be of only passing significance and badly strained the resources of the young nation. Bolesław lost the economically crucial Western [[Pomerania]], which had previously been gained with great effort by Mieszko.
Bolesław started by continuing his father's policy of alliance with the Holy Roman Empire. He skillfully took advantage of the death of [[Adalbert of Prague|Wojciech]], a Czech missionary, whom Bolesław accepted and helped and who was killed in [[Prussia (region)|Prussia]]. The [[Christian martyrs|martyrdom]] of Wojciech in 997 gave Poland a patron saint, [[Adalbert of Prague|St. Adalbert]], and soon resulted in the creation of an independent Polish province of the [[Roman Catholic Church|Church]] with an archbishop in [[Gniezno]]. The [[Congress of Gniezno]] took place in the year 1000, when the young emperor [[Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto III]] came as a pilgrim to visit St. Adalbert's grave and lent his support to Bolesław and his designs. Otto however died in 1002, Bolesław's relationship with his successor [[Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry II]] turned out to be much more difficult, resulting in a series of wars in the coming years. In [[1025]], shortly before his death, [[Boleslaw I of Poland|Bolesław the Brave]] finally succeeded in obtaining the papal permission to crown himself, and became the first [[list of Polish monarchs|king of Poland]].
After Bolesław's death his son, King [[Mieszko II Lambert|Mieszko II]], tried to continue his father's politics, having his kingdom act as an interventionist great power. This reinforced much of the old resentment and hostility on the part of Poland's neighbors, which Mieszko's two dispossessed younger brothers took advantage of, arranging for foreign invasions from the east and west (1031; from that time on Emperor [[Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor|Conrad II]] was able to exercise control over the Polish affairs). Eventually as a result of internal strife all three of them got killed, and with Mieszko's death in 1034 the first Piast state collapsed. Deprived of a government Poland was ravaged by an [[pagan reaction in Poland|anti-feudal and pagan rebellion]], and in 1039 by the forces of [[Bretislaus I of Bohemia]].
The nation made a recovery under Mieszko's son, Duke [[Casimir I of Poland|Casimir I]] (1016-1058), properly known as the Restorer, since he rebuilt the Polish monarchy and through several military campaigns the country's territorial integrity. He was aided in this endeavor by the recent adversaries of Poland, the Holy Roman Empire and [[Kievan Rus']], who didn't find the chaos in Poland to be to their liking either. Casimir introduced a more mature form of [[feudalism]], by (in order to relieve the burden of financing large army units from the state treasury) settling his warriors on feudal estates and therefore turning them into landed gentry. Faced with the widespread after the Czech expedition destruction of [[Greater Poland]], Casimir moved his court to [[Kraków]], which replaced the old Piast capital Gniezno and functioned afterwards as the nation's capital for several centuries.
Casimir's son [[Bolesław II the Bold]], also known as the Generous (1040-1081), developed Polish military strength further and, as an active supporter of the papal side in its feud with the German emperors, with the blessing of Pope [[Pope Gregory VII|Gregory VII]] crowned himself king in 1076. There was a conspiracy or conflict that involved Bolesław's brother [[Władysław I Herman|Władysław Herman]] (1040-1102) and the Bishop of Kraków. Bolesław had Bishop [[Stanislaus of Szczepanow|Stanisław]] executed; subsequently Bolesław was forced to abdicate the Polish throne because of the pressure from the Catholic Church and the pro-imperial faction of the nobility. [[Stanislaus of Szczepanów|St. Stanislaus]] was to become the second martyr and patron saint of Poland. After Bolesław's exile the country found itself under the unstable rule of Władysław Herman, who was strongly dependent on [[Count palatine|Palatine]] [[Sieciech]]. When Władysław's two sons [[Zbigniew]] and Bolesław finally forced him to remove his hated protégé, Poland from 1098 was divided among the three of them, and after the father's death from 1102 to 1106 between the two brothers.
After a power struggle, [[Bolesław III Wrymouth|Bolesław III the Wrymouth]] (1102-1138) became the Duke of Poland by defeating his half-brother in 1106-1107. Zbigniew had to leave the country, but received support from Emperor [[Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry V]], who attacked Bolesław's Poland in 1109. Bolesław was able to defend his country because of his military abilities, determination and alliances, and also because of a national mobilization across the social spectrum; Zbigniew who later returned was eliminated. Bolesław's other major achievement was the conquest of Pomerania, a task begun by his father and completed by Bolesław around 1123. At that time also the Christianization of the region was initiated in earnest, an effort crowned by the establishment of the Pomeranian [[Wolin]] Diocese after Bolesław's death in 1140.
Before he died, [[Bolesław III Wrymouth|Bolesław Krzywousty]] [[testament of Bolesław III Krzywousty|divided the country among four of his sons]]; a complex arrangement intended to preserve the country's unity, in practice ushered in a long period of fragmentation. For two centuries the Piasts were to spar with each other, the clergy, and the nobility for the control over the divided kingdom. The stability of the system was supposedly assured by the institution of the senior or high duke of Poland, based in Kraków and assigned to the special [[Seniorate Province]] that was not to be subdivided. This principle broke down already within the generation of Bolesław III's sons, when [[Władysław II the Exile]], [[Bolesław IV the Curly]], [[Mieszko III the Old]] and [[Casimir II the Just]] fought for power and territory in Poland, and in particular over the Kraków throne.
Early [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] Poland was developing culturally as a part of the European [[Christendom]]. Intellectual and artistic activity was concentrated around the institutions of the Church, the courts of the kings and dukes (already Mieszko II and Casimir the Restorer were literate and educated), and increasingly around the households of the emergent hereditary elite. Along with the ''Dagome iudex'' act, the most important written document and source of the period (the 10th through the end of 12th centuries) is the chronicle by a foreign cleric from the court of Bolesław the Wrymouth known as [[Gallus Anonymus]]. A number of [[Pre-Romanesque]] stone churches were built beginning in the 10th century, often accompanied by "palatium" ruler residencies; those were followed by [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] buildings proper. Among the preeminent early [[monastic]] religious orders were the [[Order of Saint Benedict|Benedictines]] and the [[Cistercians]].
The 13th century brought fundamental changes in the structure of the Polish society and political system.
The civil strife and foreign invasions, such as the [[Mongol invasions]] in 1241 and 1259, weakened and depopulated the many small Polish principalities, as the country became progressively more split. This caused a massive immigration of West European, mostly [[Ostsiedlung|German settlers into Poland]]. The German immigrants were important in the establishment of the Polish [[bourgeoisie|burgher]] (city dwelling merchants) class; they brought with them West European laws and customs which the Poles adopted. From that time on the Germans became one of the minorities in Poland.
In [[1228]], the Acts of Cienia were passed and signed into law by [[Władysław III Spindleshanks|Władyslaw III]]. The titular Duke of Poland promised to provide a "just and noble law according to the council of bishops and barons."
In [[1226]] [[Konrad I of Masovia]] invited the [[Teutonic Knights]] to help him fight the [[Prussian people]] whose territory bordered his lands. In the following decades the Teutonic Order conquered large areas along the [[Baltic Sea]] coast and established their [[Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights|monastic state]]. When virtually all of the Western [[Balts|Baltic]] pagans became converted or exterminated, the Knights turned their attention to Poland and Lithuania. They fought wars with them for most of the 14th and 15th centuries, until their remaining state was converted into the Protestant [[Duchy of Prussia]] under the King of Poland in 1525.
[[Image:Olsztyn(js)1.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Ruins of a 14th century castle in Olsztyn near Częstochowa]]
In 1325 the Poles and Lithuanians made a treaty to defend themselves against the Teutonic Knights who were invading their lands. During 1327-1332 the Polish-Lithuanian armies fought the Teutonic Order, which managed to capture [[Kujawy]] and [[Dobrzyń]]. It was during these wars that the Mongols invaded Eastern Europe.
In the middle of the 14th century Poland started to expand to the east and annexed the [[Halych]] area of [[Rus']].
There were numerous attempts to unify the Polish state. In 1295 [[Przemysł II]] became King of Poland, but he ruled over only a part of the territory of Poland and was killed soon after his coronation. The regional division ended for good when [[Władysław I the Elbow-high]] united the various principalities of [[Poland]].
His son [[Casimir III of Poland|Kazimierz (Casimir) the Great]], the last of the [[Piast]] dynasty, considerably strengthened the country's position in both foreign and domestic affairs. Before his death in 1370, the heirless king arranged for his nephew, [[Louis I of Hungary|Louis of Hungary]] of the [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevin dynasty]], to inherit the throne.
== Jagiellon Era ==
{{main|History of Poland (1385-1569)}}
[[Image:CopernicusHouse.jpg|thumb|right|The house in [[Toruń]] where [[Nicolaus Copernicus]] was born on February 19, 1473]]
With the death of [[Casimir III of Poland|Casimir the Great]] the period of hereditary monarchy in Poland ended, as Casimir did not have any male heirs to succeed him. The land owners and nobles did not want a strong monarchy. A constitutional monarchy was established between 1370 and 1493.
During the reign of [[Louis I of Hungary|King Louis I]] Poland formed a union with Hungary. This union was known as the [[Privilege of Koszyce]]. This union lasted for twelve years and ended in war. The failure of the union of Poland and Hungary paved the way for the union of Lithuania and Poland.
In 1385, the [[Union of Krewo]] was signed between Louis' daughter [[Jadwiga of Poland|Jadwiga]] and [[Jogaila]], the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Grand Duke of Lithuania]] (later known as Władysław II Jagiełło), beginning the [[Polish-Lithuanian Union]] and strengthening both nations in their shared opposition to the Teutonic Knights and the growing threat of the [[Grand Duchy of Moscow]].
Between 1386 and 1572 Poland and Lithuania were ruled by a succession of constitutional monarchs of the [[Jagiellon dynasty]]. The political influence of the Jagiellon kings was diminishing during this period, which was accompanied by the ever increasing role in central government and national affairs of landed nobility. The royal dynasty however had a stabilizing effect on Poland's politics. The Jagiellon Era is often regarded as a period of maximum political power, great prosperity, and in its later stage the [[Renaissance in Poland|Golden Age of Polish culture]].
The first king of the new dynasty was the Grand Duke of Lithuania [[Jogaila]], or Ladislaus II as the [[List of Polish monarchs|King of Poland]]. He was elected a King of Poland after becoming a Christian and marrying [[Jadwiga of Poland|Jadwiga of Anjou]], daughter of Louis I, who was Queen of Poland in her own right. [[Jogaila|Władysław Jagiełło]] was later the victor in the famous [[Battle of Grunwald|Grunwald Battle]]. Two of the Jagiellon rulers after him enjoyed long and successful reigns. [[Casimir IV Jagiellon|Casimir Jagiellończyk]] fought the [[Teutonic Knights|Teutonic Order]], and [[Sigismund I the Old]] supported the arts and built the presently existing [[Wawel castle|Wawel]] [[Renaissance]] castle. [[Sigismund II Augustus I|Sigismund II]] had no children, thus ending Poland's last hereditary succession.
The [[personal union]] with the [[grand duchy|Grand Duchy]] of [[Lithuania]] located north-east of Poland paved the way for closer relations of the two states. By the [[Union of Lublin]] in 1569 a unified [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]] (''[[Rzeczpospolita]]'') was created, stretching from the [[Baltic Sea]] and the [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathian]] mountains to present-day [[Belarus]] and western and central [[Ukraine]] (which earlier had been [[Kievan Rus']] principalities).
The [[Teutonic Knights]], in control of [[Prussia]] since the 13th century, were defeated by a combined Polish-Lithuanian force in 1410 in the [[Battle of Grunwald]], and in the later [[Thirteen Years War]]. In the [[Second Peace of Thorn (1466)]] they had to surrender the western half of their territory to the Polish crown (the areas known afterwards as [[Royal Prussia]]), and to accept Polish-Lithuanian [[suzerainty]] over the remainder (the later [[Duchy of Prussia|Ducal Prussia]]).
During this period [[Poland]] became the home to Europe's largest [[Jewish]] population, as royal edicts guaranteeing Jewish safety and religious freedom, issued during the 13th [[century]], contrasted with bouts of persecution in [[Western Europe]]. This persecution intensified following the [[Black Death]] of 1348–1349, when some in the West blamed the outbreak of the plague on the Jews. Much of Poland was spared from this disease, and Jewish immigration brought their valuable contributions and abilities to the rising state. The greatest increase in Jewish population occurred in the 18th century, when the Jews constituted up to 7% of the population.
== Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ==
{{main|History of Poland (1569-1795)}}
During the [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], in the 16th century, Poland became an [[elective monarchy]], in which the king was elected by the hereditary [[szlachta|nobility]]. This king would serve as the monarch until he died, at which time the country would have another election.
In 1572, the Polish King [[Sigismund II Augustus]] died without any heirs. The political system was not prepared for this eventuality, as there was no method of choosing a new king. After much debate it was determined that the entire nobility of Poland would decide who the king was to be. The nobility were to gather near Warsaw and vote in a “free election”.
The first such Polish royal election was held in 1573. The four men running for the office were [[Henry III of France|Henri of Valois]] (''Henryk Walezy''), who was the brother of the King of France [[Charles IX of France|Charles IX]], the Russian Czar [[Ivan IV of Russia|Ivan IV the Terrible]], [[Archduke Ernest of Austria|Archduke Ernest]] from the Austrian [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] dynasty, and the King of Sweden, [[John III of Sweden|Johan Vasa III]]. Henri of Valois was the winner in a very disorderly election. But after serving as Polish king for only four months, he received the news that his brother, the King of France, had died. Henri of Valois then abandoned his Polish post and went back to France, where he claimed the throne as [[Henry III of France|Henry III]].
From 1569 the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth suffered a series of [[Tatar invasions]]. The borderland area to the south-east was in a state of semi-permanent warfare until the 18th century. Some researchers estimate that altogether more than 3 million people were captured and enslaved during the time of the [[Crimean Khanate]].
In 1593, 1626, 1637-1638 and 1648-1654 several [[Cossack]] uprisings took place. The last one led by [[Bohdan Khmelnytsky]] lasted for six years. As a result of several requests from the Ukrainian [[hetman]] Ukraine was taken under the protection of Russia. The agreement was made in January of 1654 in the city of [[Pereyaslavl]] (Ukraine). This development led to a new Russian-Polish war that lasted from 1654 to 1667. In the end, the parties signed an agreement in the village of Andrusovo near [[Smolensk]], according to which eastern Ukraine now belonged to Russia (with a high degree of local autonomy and an internal army).
[[Image:Elekcja1.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Election of King [[Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki]] on [[Wola]] fields in [[1669]].]]
The elections of kings lasted until the [[Partitions of Poland]]. The elected kings in chronological order were: [[Henry III of France|Henri of Valois]], [[Stefan Batory]], [[Sigismund III Vasa|Zygmunt III Vasa]], [[Władysław IV Vasa|Władyslaw IV Vasa]], [[John II Casimir of Poland|Jan Kazimierz]], [[Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki]], [[John III Sobieski|Jan III Sobieski]], [[Augustus II the Strong]], [[Stanisław Leszczyński]], [[Augustus III of Poland|Augustus III]] and [[Stanisław August Poniatowski]].
Two of the elective kings are more highly regarded than the others. Stefan Batory was determined to reassert the deteriorated royal prerogative, at the cost of alienating the powerful noble families. Jan III Sobieski commanded the allied [[Battle of Vienna|Relief of Vienna]] operation in 1683, which turned out to be the last great victory of the [[Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth|"Republic of Both Nations"]]. Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last of the Polish kings, was a controversial figure. On the one hand he was a driving force behind the substantial and constructive reforms belatedly undertaken by the Commonwealth. On the other, by his weakness and lack of resolve, especially in dealing with imperial Russia, he doomed the reforms together with the country they were supposed to help.
The [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], following the [[Union of Lublin]], became a counterpoint of sorts to the [[absolute monarchy|absolute monarchies]] gaining power in Europe. Its quasi-[[democracy|democratic]] [[political system]] of [[Golden Liberty]], albeit limited to nobility, was mostly unprecedented in the [[history of Europe]].
However the series of power struggles between the lesser nobility ([[szlachta]]), the higher nobility ([[magnate]]s) and [[free election|elected]] [[monarch|kings]] undermined [[citizenship]] values and gradually eroded the [[government]]'s ability to function and its authority. The infamous ''[[liberum veto]]'' procedure was used to paralyze parliamentary proceedings beginning in the second half of the 17th century. After the series of devastating wars in the middle of the 17th century (most notably the [[Chmielnicki Uprising]] and [[The Deluge (Polish history)|The Deluge]]) Poland-Lithuania stopped being an influential player in the politics of Europe. Its [[economic system|economy]] and growth were further damaged by the nobility's reliance on [[agriculture]] and [[serfdom]], which delayed the [[industrialization]] of the country. By the beginning of the 18th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the largest European state, was little more than a pawn of its neighbours (the [[Russian Empire]], [[Prussia]] and [[Habsburg Monarchy|Austria]]) who interfered in its domestic politics almost at will.
The [[Bar Confederation]] of 1768-1772 was the first in a series of uprisings and wars aimed at preserving Poland's independence, but it was directed not only against Russia, but also against King Stanisław August and his reform camp. The Bar Confederation was quelled and the country was punished with the First [[Partitions of Poland|Partition of Poland]], in which Russia, Prussia and Austria took big chunks of the Commonwealth's territory.
With the coming of the [[Polish Enlightenment]] in the second half of the 18th century, the movement for reform and revitalization of the country made important gains, culminating in the adoption of the [[Constitution of May 3]], the first modern codified [[constitution]] on the [[Europe]]an continent. However the reforms, which transformed the Commonwealth into a [[constitutional monarchy]], were viewed as dangerous by Poland's neighbours, who didn't want the rebirth of the strong Commonwealth.
Before the Commonwealth could fully implement and benefit from its reforms, it was [[Polish-Russian War of 1792|invaded in 1792 by Russia]] aided by the local anti-reform alliance of conservative nobility known as the [[Targowica Confederation]]. The ensuing war was not lost, at least not yet, but the King surrendered and the pro-Russian Targowica took over. The Empire responded with the Second Partition nevertheless, in which only Russia and Prussia participated.
In the wake of the 1792 war and the Second Partition a new conspiracy came into being. Among its leaders were both the civilian personalities of the reform movement and military officers of the previous war. The [[Kościuszko Uprising|Kościuszko Rising]] erupted in March of 1794. When it too became extinguished, the three partitioning powers executed the final, or Third Partition, and the Commonwealth ceased to exist.
== Partitioned Poland ==
{{main|History of Poland (1795-1918)}}
[[Image:Rzeczpospolita Rozbiory 3.png|thumb|right|400px|Map showing the [[Partitions of Poland]] of 1772, 1793, and 1795]]
Polish independence ended in a series of [[Partitions of Poland|Partitions]] (1772, 1793 and 1795) undertaken by [[Imperial Russia|Russia]], [[Prussia]] and [[Austria]]. Russia gained most of the Commonwealth's territory including nearly all of the former [[Lithuania]] (except [[Podlasie]] and lands west of the [[Neman River|Niemen River]]), [[Volhynia]] and [[Ukraine]]. Austria gained the populous southern region henceforth named [[Galicia (Central Europe)|Galicia]]–[[Lodomeria]], after the Duchy of [[Halych|Halicz]] and [[Volodymyr-Volynskyi|Volodymyr]]. In 1795 Austria also gained the land between [[Kraków]] and [[Warsaw]], between the [[Vistula River|Vistula]] and [[Pilica River|Pilica]] rivers. Prussia acquired the western lands from the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] through [[Greater Poland]] to [[Kraków]], as well as [[Warsaw]] and [[Lithuania]]n territories to the north-east and [[Podlasie]].
Following the [[France|French]] emperor [[Napoleon I]]'s defeat of Prussia, a small Polish state was set up in 1807 under French tutelage as the [[Duchy of Warsaw]]. When [[Polish-Austrian War|Austria was defeated in 1809]], Galicia was added, giving the new state a population of some 3.75 million, a quarter of that of the former [[Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth|Commonwealth]]. Polish nationalists were to remain among the staunchest allies of the French as the tide of war turned against the French, inaugurating a relationship that continues into the present.
With Napoleon's defeat, the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1815 converted most of the Duchy of Warsaw into the so-called [[Congress Poland|Kingdom of Poland]], ruled by the Russian [[tsar]], until the Russian dynasty was deposed from the throne by the Kingdom's Parliament during the [[November Uprising|November Rising]] of 1830/31. After the [[January Uprising|January Rising]] of [[1863]] the Kingdom was fully integrated into Russia proper. The national uprisings were bloodily subdued by the partitioning powers, which did not extinguish the striving of Polish patriots to regain their independence. The opportunity for freedom appeared only after [[World War I]], when the oppressing states were defeated or weakened by war and revolution.
== Second Republic ==
{{main|History of Poland (1918-1939)}}
[[Image:Jozef Pilsudski5.jpg|thumb|right|Józef Piłsudski]]
[[World War I]] and the political turbulence that was sweeping Europe in 1914 offered the Polish nation hopes for regaining independence. By the end of World War I Poland had seen the defeat or retreat of all three occupying powers. On the outbreak of war the Poles found themselves conscripted into the armies of Germany, Austria and Russia, and forced to fight each other in a war that was not theirs. As many Poles sympathized with France and Britain, they found it hard to fight them on the Russian side. They also had little sympathy for the Germans.
Polish independence was eventually proclaimed on [[November 3]], [[1918]] and later confirmed by the [[Treaty of Versailles]] in 1919. The same treaty also gave Poland some territories annexed by the Germans and Austrians during the partitions (see [[Polish Corridor]]). The post-war eastern borders of Poland were determined by Polish victory in the [[Polish-Soviet War]]. According to the British historian [[A.J.P. Taylor]], the Polish-Soviet War "largely determined the course of European history for the next twenty years or more. […] Unavowedly and almost unconsciously, Soviet leaders abandoned the cause of international revolution." It would be twenty years before the Bolsheviks sent their armies abroad to "make revolution".
From the mid 1920s to mid 1930s the Polish government was under the control of [[Józef Piłsudski]], the politically-moderate war hero who had engineered the [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)|defeat of the Soviet forces]]. Polish independence had boosted the development of culture, but Poland was hit hard by the [[Great Depression]]. The new Polish state had had only 20 years of relative stability and uneasy peace before Poland's aggressive neighbours tried to wipe her from the map of Europe again. In [[1939]], under constant threat from Germany, Poland entered into a full military alliance with Britain and France. In August, Germany and Russia signed a secret agreement concerning the future of Poland, the [[Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact]].
== World War II ==
{{main|History of Poland (1939-1945)}}
[[Image:Jewish prisones of KZGesiowka liberated by Polish Soldiers of Home Army Warsaw1944.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Jewish prisoners liberated by Polish soldiers in the beginning of [[Warsaw Uprising]]]]
[[Image:Destroyed Warsaw, capital of Poland, January 1945.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Warsaw destroyed, January 1945]]
On August 23, 1939 [[Nazi Germany]] and the [[Soviet Union]] signed the [[Ribbentrop-Molotov pact|Ribbentrop–Molotov]] non-aggression pact, which secretly provided for the dismemberment of Poland into [[Nazism|Nazi]] and Soviet-controlled zones. On [[September 1]], [[1939]] [[Hitler]] ordered his troops into Poland. On [[September 17]] the Soviet troops invaded and took control of most of the areas of eastern Poland having significant [[Ukrainians|Ukrainian]] and [[Belarusians|Belarusian]] populations under the terms of this agreement. After Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Poland was completely occupied by German troops.
The Poles formed an underground resistance movement and a [[Polish government in exile]], first in [[Paris]] and later in [[London]], which was recognized by the Soviet Union. During [[World War II]] 400,000 Poles fought under the Soviet command, and 200,000 went into combat on western fronts in units loyal to the Polish government in exile. Many Polish refugee camps were set up, including one in Valdivadé, near [[Kolhapur]] in [[India]]. The camp numbered about 5000 refugees, and the Polish embassy of the government in exile had its office in [[Bombay]]. The camp existed from 1943 to 1948.
In April 1943 the Soviet Union broke relations with the Polish government in exile after the German military announced that they had discovered mass graves of murdered Polish army officers at [[Katyń massacre|Katyń]], in the USSR. The Soviets claimed that the Poles had insulted them by requesting that the [[Red Cross]] investigate these reports. In July 1944 the Soviet [[Red Army]] and the [[Ludowe Wojsko Polskie|Peoples' Army of Poland ]] controlled by the Soviets entered Poland, defeated the Germans (losing 600,000 of their soldiers), and established a communist-controlled "[[Polish Committee of National Liberation]]" in [[Lublin]].
There was powerful hatred of the Nazis in Warsaw, and there was often resistance, of which the most famous instance was the [[Warsaw Uprising]] of 1944. The uprising, in which most of the Warsaw population participated, was largely instigated by the underground [[Armia Krajowa]], the Home Army. The uprising was planned with the expectation that the Soviet forces, who had arrived in the course of their offensive and were waiting on the other side of the Vistula River in full force, would help in battle over Warsaw. However the Soviets betrayed the Poles, stopping their advance at the Vistula and branding them as criminals on radio broadcasts. For the next two months the Soviets calmly watched as the Nazis brutally suppressed the forces of the pro-western, loyal to the government in exile Polish underground. Historian [[Norman Davies]] has said that to comprehend the numbers killed, one would have to imagine the Twin Towers 9/11 disaster every day for 63 days, and it still wouldn't be enough. After a hopeless surrender on the part of the Poles, the Germans carried out Hitler's order that "there not be two bricks standing" in Warsaw, systematically levelling the city. They retreated only in January 1945 when the Soviets resumed their offensive.
During the war about 6 million Polish citizens were killed by the Germans, and 2.5 million were deported to Germany for forced labour or to extermination camps such as Oświęcim-[[Auschwitz]]. In 1941-1943 Ukrainian nationalists (OUN and [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]]) [[Massacres of Poles in Volhynia|massacred more than 100,000 Poles in Galicia and Volhynia]]. During 1939-1941 1.45 million people inhabiting Eastern Poland ([[Kresy]]) were deported by the Soviet regime, of whom 63.1% were Poles and 7.4% were Jews. Previously it was believed that about one million Polish citizens died at the hands of the Soviets, however recently Polish historians, based mostly on queries in Soviet archives, estimated the number of deaths at about 350,000.
The Soviet government retained most of the territories captured as a result of the [[Nazi-Soviet pact]] in 1939 (now western [[Ukraine]], western [[Belarus]] and the area around [[Vilnius]]), compensating Poland with parts of [[Silesia]], [[Pomerania]] and southern [[East Prussia]], along with [[Gdańsk]] ("[[Regained Territories]]"), which were granted to [[Poland]]. [[Expulsion of Germans after World War II|Most of the German population there was expelled to Germany]].
During World War II over half a million fighting men and women and 6 million civilians (22% of the total population) died. About 50% of these were Polish Christians and other non-Jews and 50% were Polish Jews. Approximately 5,384,000, or 89.9% of Polish war losses (Jews and Gentiles) were the victims of prisons, death camps, raids, executions, annihilation of ghettos, epidemics, starvation, excessive work and ill treatment. So many Poles were sent to concentration camps that virtually every family had someone close to them who had been tortured or murdered there.
There were one million war orphans and over half a million war disabled. The country lost 38% of its national assets (Britain lost 0.8%, France lost 1.5%). Half the prewar Poland was expropriated by the Soviet Union, including the two great cultural centres of [[Lwów]] and [[Wilno]]. Many Poles could not return to the country for which they had fought because they belonged to the "wrong" political group, or came from prewar eastern Poland incorporated into the Soviet Union, or having fought in the West were warned not to return because of the high risk of persecution. Others were arrested, tortured and imprisoned by the Soviet authorities for belonging to the Home Army (see [[Cursed soldiers]]), or persecuted because of having fought on the western front. Although technically "victors", they were not allowed to partake in victory celebrations.
== People's Republic of Poland ==
{{main|History of Poland (1945-1989)}}
In June 1945, following the February [[Yalta Conference]], a Polish [[Provisional Government of National Unity]] was formed; the [[United States|US]] recognized it the next month. Although the Yalta agreement called for free elections, those held in January 1947 were controlled by the [[PZPR|Communist Party]]. The [[communist]]s then established a regime entirely under their domination. The [[Polish government in exile]] existed until 1990, although its influence was degraded.
In October 1956, after the [[Twentieth Party Congress|20th Soviet Party Congress]] in [[Moscow]] ushered in [[destalinization]] and riots by workers in [[Poznań]] ensued, there was a shakeup in the communist regime. While retaining most traditional communist economic and social aims, the regime of First Secretary [[Władysław Gomułka]] began to liberalize internal Polish life.
In 1968 this trend was reversed when student demonstrations were suppressed and an [[anti-Zionism|anti-Zionist]] campaign initially directed against Gomułka supporters within the party eventually led to the emigration of much of Poland's remaining Jewish population. In December 1970, disturbances and strikes in the port cities of [[Gdańsk]], [[Gdynia]], and [[Szczecin]], triggered by a price increase for essential consumer goods, reflected deep dissatisfaction with living and working conditions in the country. [[Edward Gierek]] replaced Gomułka as First Secretary.
Fueled by large infusions of Western credit, Poland's economic growth rate was one of the world's highest during the first half of the 1970s. But much of the borrowed capital was misspent, and the centrally [[planned economy]] was unable to use the new resources effectively. The growing debt burden became insupportable in the late 1970s, and economic growth had become negative by 1979.
In October 1978, the [[Archbishop of Kraków]], [[Cardinal (Catholicism)|Cardinal]] [[Karol Józef Wojtyła]], became [[Pope]] [[Pope John Paul II|John Paul II]], head of the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Polish Catholics rejoiced at the elevation of a [[Poles|Pole]] to the [[papacy]] and greeted his June 1979 visit to Poland with an outpouring of emotion.
[[Image:Jaruzelski przemowienie.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Wojciech Jaruzelski]] declared [[martial law in Poland|martial law]] on [[December 13]], [[1981]].]]
[[Image:Towary.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|Butcher store in the 1980's]]
On [[July 1]], [[1980]], with the Polish foreign debt at more than $20 billion, the government made another attempt to increase meat prices. A chain reaction of strikes virtually paralyzed the Baltic coast by the end of August and, for the first time, closed most coal mines in [[Silesia]]. Poland was entering into an extended crisis that would change the course of its future development.
On [[August 31]], [[1980]], workers at the Lenin Shipyard in [[Gdańsk]], led by an electrician named [[Lech Wałęsa]], signed a 21-point agreement with the government that ended their strike. Similar agreements were signed at [[Szczecin]] and in [[Silesia]]. The key provision of these agreements was the guarantee of the workers’ right to form independent [[trade union]]s and the right to strike. After the Gdańsk agreement was signed, a new national union movement "[[Solidarity]]" swept Poland.
The discontent underlying the strikes was intensified by revelations of widespread corruption and mismanagement within the Polish state and party leadership. In September 1980, Gierek was replaced by [[Stanisław Kania]] as First Secretary.
Alarmed by the rapid deterioration of the [[Polish United Workers' Party|PZPR]]'s authority following the Gdańsk agreement, the Soviet Union proceeded with a massive military buildup along Poland's border in December 1980. In February 1981, Defense Minister Gen. [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]] assumed the position of Prime Minister, and in October 1981, was named First Secretary of the Communist Party. At the first Solidarity national congress in September–October 1981, Lech Wałęsa was elected national chairman of the union.
On [[December 12]]–[[December 13|13]], the regime declared [[martial law]], under which the army and [[ZOMO]] riot police were used to crush the union. Virtually all Solidarity leaders and many affiliated intellectuals were arrested or detained. The United States and other Western countries responded to martial law by imposing economic sanctions against the Polish regime and against the Soviet Union. Unrest in Poland continued for several years thereafter.
In a series of slow, uneven steps, the Polish regime rescinded martial law. In December 1982, martial law was suspended, and a small number of political prisoners were released. Although martial law formally ended in July 1983 and a general amnesty was enacted, several hundred political prisoners remained in jail.
In July 1984, another general amnesty was declared, and two years later, the government had released nearly all political prisoners. The authorities continued, however, to harass dissidents and Solidarity activists. Solidarity remained proscribed and its publications banned. Independent publications were censored.
In late 1980s the government was forced to negotiate with [[Solidarity]] in the [[Polish Roundtable Negotiations]]. The [[Contract Sejm|Polish legislative elections in 1989]] became one of the important events marking the [[fall of communism]] in Poland.
<!-- Merge? At the [[Yalta Conference]] the Allies broadly agreed to the Soviet proposals for Poland's future borders and to reconstitution of the Polish government, which initiated Poland's absorption into the Soviet sphere of influence. A Polish People's Republic (''Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa'') was created under communist party rule after a brief period of coalition government. With the approaching collapse of the [[USSR]], power passed in 1989 to the opposition led by the [[Solidarity]] trade union movement.
Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of an independent trade union "[[Solidarity]]" (''Solidarność'') that over time became a political force and in 1989–1990 swept elections to both parliament and the presidency, displacing the communist party from government. This lead to the Former known poland as a society free form former communist rule.-->
== Third Republic ==
{{main|History of Poland (1989–present)}}
The government's inability to forestall Poland's economic decline led to waves of strikes across the country in April, May and August 1988. The "round-table" talks with the opposition began in February [[1989]]. These talks produced an agreement in April for partly-open National Assembly elections. The failure of the communists at the polls produced a political crisis. The round-table agreement called for a communist president, and on July 19, the National Assembly, with the support of a number of Solidarity deputies, elected General [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]] to that office. However, two attempts by the communists to form governments failed.
On August 19, President Jaruzelski asked journalist/Solidarity activist [[Tadeusz Mazowiecki]] to form a government; on September 12, the [[Sejm]] voted approval of Prime Minister Mazowiecki and his cabinet. For the first time in more than 40 years, Poland had a government led by noncommunists.
In December 1989, the Sejm approved the government's reform program to transform the Polish economy rapidly from centrally planned to free-market, amended the constitution to eliminate references to the "leading role" of the Communist Party, and renamed the country the "Republic of Poland." The [[Polish United Workers Party|Polish United Workers' (Communist) Party]] dissolved itself in January [[1990]], creating in its place a new party, [[Socjaldemokracja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej|Social Democracy of the Republic of Poland]].
In October 1990, the constitution was amended to curtail the term of President Jaruzelski.
In the early 1990s, Poland made great progress towards achieving a fully democratic government and a market economy. In November 1990, Lech Wałęsa was elected President for a 5-year term. In December Wałęsa became the first popularly elected President of Poland.
Poland's [[Polish parliamentary election, 1991|first free parliamentary elections]] were held in 1991. More than 100 parties participated, and no single party received more than 13% of the total vote. In 1993 [[Polish parliamentary election, 1993|parliamentary elections]] the [[Alliance of the Democratic Left]] (SLD) received the largest share of votes. In 1993 the Soviet [[Northern Group of Forces]] finally left Poland.
In November 1995, Poland held its [[Polish presidential election, 1995|second post-war free presidential elections]]. SLD leader [[Aleksander Kwaśniewski]] defeated Wałęsa by a narrow margin—51.7% to 48.3%.
In 1997 [[Polish parliamentary election, 1997|parliamentary elections]] two parties with roots in the Solidarity movement — [[AWS|Solidarity Electoral Action]] (AWS) and the [[Freedom Union (Poland)|Freedom Union]] (UW) — won 261 of the 460 seats in the Sejm and formed a coalition government. In April 1997, the first post-communist [[Constitution of Poland]] was finalized, and in July put into effect.
[[Image:Warsaw8cr.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Skyline of Warsaw]]
Poland joined [[NATO]] in [[1999]].
In the [[Polish presidential election, 2000|presidential election]] of [[2000]], [[Aleksander Kwaśniewski]], the incumbent former leader of the post-communist [[Alliance of the Democratic Left|SLD]], was re-elected in the first round of voting. After [[Polish parliamentary election, 2001|September 2001 parliamentary elections]] SLD (a successor of the communist party ) formed a coalition with the agrarian [[Polish Peasant Party|PSL]] and leftist [[Unia Pracy|UP]].
Poland joined the [[European Union|EU]] in May [[2004]]. Both President Kwaśniewski and the government were vocal in their support for this cause. The only party decidedly opposed to EU entry was the populist right-wing [[League of Polish Families]] (LPR).
In the autumn of 2005 Poles voted in both parliamentary and presidential elections. [[Polish parliamentary election, 2005|September's parliamentary poll]] was expected to produce a coalition of two centre-right parties, PiS ([[Law and Justice]]) and PO ([[Civic Platform]]). During the increasingly bitter campaign however, PiS launched a strong attack on the liberal economic policies of their allies and overtook PO in opinion polls. PiS eventually gained 27% of votes cast and became the largest party in the Sejm ahead of PO with 24%. [[Polish presidential election, 2005|Presidential elections in October]] followed a similar script. The early favorite, [[Donald Tusk]], leader of the PO, saw his opinion poll lead slip away and was beaten 54% to 46% in the second round by the PiS candidate [[Lech Kaczyński]] (one of the twins, founders of the party).
Coalition talks ensued simultaneously with the presidential elections. However, the severity of the campaign attacks had soured the relationship between the two largest parties and made the creation of a stable coalition impossible. The ostensible stumbling blocks were the insistence of PiS that it controls all aspects of law enforcement: the Ministries of Justice and Internal Affairs, and the special forces; as well as the forcing through of a PiS candidate for the head of the [[Sejm]] with the help of several smaller populist parties. PO also wanted to control the law enforcement and the situation ended up in the stalemate. The PO decided to go into opposition. PiS then formed a minority government which relied on the support of smaller populist and agrarian parties ([[Samoobrona]], [[Liga Polskich Rodzin|LPR]]) to govern. This became a formal coalition, but its deteriorating state made early parliamentary elections necessary.
After the 2007 parliamentary elections the government of [[Donald Tusk]], the chairman of PO was formed. The current government is made of two parties, PO and the peasants' party, [[Polish People's Party|PSL]].
== See also ==
* [[History of Europe]]
* [[History of present-day nations and states]]
* [[Old Polish units of measurement]]
== Maps ==
* [http://www.piastowie.kei.pl/piast/mapy/1.htm Poland and West-Slavs 800-950]
* [http://www.piastowie.kei.pl/piast/mapy/2.htm Poland 990-1040]
* [http://www.piastowie.kei.pl/piast/mapy/3.htm Poland 1040-1090]
* [http://www.piastowie.kei.pl/piast/mapy/4.htm Poland 1090-1140]
* [http://www.piastowie.kei.pl/piast/mapy/10.htm Poland 1140-1250]
* [http://www.piastowie.kei.pl/piast/mapy/12.htm Poland 1250-1290]
* [http://www.piastowie.kei.pl/piast/mapy/13.htm Poland 1290-1333]
* [http://www.piastowie.kei.pl/piast/mapy/17.htm Poland 1333-1350]
* [http://piastowie.kei.pl/piast/mapy/kwmapa.htm Poland 1350-1370]
* [http://www.kresy.co.uk/Images/map.jpg Poland 1550]
* [http://www.forumnobilium.net/Poland%201677.jpg Poland 1677]
* [http://ornatowski.com/maps/rzeczpospolita1773.jpg Poland 1773]
* [http://www.iirzeczpospolita.px.pl/images/mapapolski.jpg Poland 1939]
* [http://www.michalowo.ug.gov.pl/bip/image/wojewodztwa.jpg Poland 2004]
* [http://rw46.webpark.pl/poczet/poczet.htm Poland (flash version)]
== References ==
* [[Jerzy Wyrozumski]] - ''Historia Polski do roku 1505'' (History of Poland until 1505), Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe ([[Polish Scientific Publishers PWN]]), Warszawa 1986 (copyright 1982), ISBN 83-01-03732-6
<references/>
{{Unreferenced|date=April 2008}}
== External links ==
* [http://historicaltextarchive.com/books.php?op=viewbook&bookid=1 A History of East Central Europe by Oscar Halecki]
* [http://www.zincavage.org/paintings-index.html History of Poland, in paintings]
* [http://www.historycy.org/index.php?showforum=206 History of Poland on Historycy.org forum]
* [http://commonwealth.pl Commonwealth of Diverse Cultures: Poland's Heritage]
{{History of Europe}}
[[Category:History of Poland| ]]
[[Category:National histories|Poland]]
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