A King Fit For a Commonwealth Trivia Quiz

Answer:

The elective monarchy in the Polsh-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795) has been variously portrayed as either an advancement towards democracy or as the enhancement of aristocratic privileges, which increasingly resulted in the elites not viewing the state as something to be preserved, but rather as just a medium for obtaining more and more prestige, titles and power.

Stefan Batory reigned from 1576 to 1586. He was of Hungarian origins and had previously ruled in Transylvania. His election came during the Livonian War, which pitted the Commonwealth against the aggressive policies of Muscovy, led by Ivan the Terrible. Batory also led a vigorous domestic policy aimed at kurbing the excesses of the nobility, which earned him polemics, but also the gratitude of the common people.

Sigismund III Vasa was elected after Batory's death and led the Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632. He was a member of Sweden's ruling House of Vasa. From 1592 to 1599 he was also King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland. Sigismund had many enemies to face and he coped with the problems afflicitng his realm with overall competence. He clashed with England over the latter's involvement in Dutch affairs against the Spanish (the Commonwealth's natural ally against Ottoman expansionism), suppressed a nobiliary revolt, forced Muscovy out of temporarily seized Commonwealth lands and defeated a major Ottoman incursion with the help of the Ukrainian Cossacks.

Wladyslaw IV Vasa was also from the Swedish ruling House, being Sigismund's son. He was elected after his father's death (ruled from 1632 to early 1648), and immediately found himself in another war against Muscovy, from which the Commonwealth emerged victorious. He also, in an era of increased confessionalization, promoted religious tolerance, making attempts to accommodate the non-Catholic Christians in his realm, while keeping the Ottomans at bay. So much did even the memory of Wladyslaw irk the Muscovites that, several years after his death, they demanded that all copies of panegyrics dedicated to him be burned.

John II Casimir was Wladyslaw's younger sibling. He was elected in 1648 and kept his throne until his abdication in 1668. His reign was marked by many troubles. First and foremost, the Ukrainian Cossacks, dissatisfied with the increasing marginalization of both their nation and religious confession, revolted under Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Then came wars with Muscovy and Sweden, which ended in territorial concessions, as well as the reassertion of Ottoman primacy in the Danube Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. On top of that, part of the nobility (mostly of the Lithuanian segment of the nobility) also raised the banner of rebellion, angered at the primacy of Poles within the Commonwealth.

Michael I was elected in 1669 and led the Commonwealth until his death in 1673. Throughout his reign, the situation worsened, and the nobles not favoured by Michael rallied around the pro-French Sobieski family, while Michael opted for pro-Austian policies. Shortly before his death, Michael had to face another Ottoman incursion.

John III Sobieski was elected King in 1674, in no small part due to his military prowess. His most famous accomplishment was his tremendous contributon to the relief of Vienna in 1683, saving the fortress of Western Christendom from falling to the Ottomans. This earned him many plaudits from all over Europe, although his later efforts at further pushing the Ottomans were indecisive. Inside the Commonwealth, he was viewed fondly for another reason, as well, namely his efforts to stabilize the state. He ruled until his death in 1696.

Augustus II was of Saxon (German) origins. He reigned twice, first from 1697 to 1706 and then from 1709 to 1733. In what later proved to be a major miscalculation, Augustus stood against the Swedes when the Great Northern War started, eyeing the Swedish possessions in the Baltic. Sweden dealt him a series of catastrophic defeats, marching all the way to Warsaw and ousting Augustus until 1709 and the Poltava debacle. While Augustus returned to his throne, the Commonwealth was now dependent on Muscovy, which by 1721 had appropriated the medieval dynastic name of Rus', rebranding itself as the Russian Empire.

Stanislaw I was first elected after the Swedes ousted Augustus II in 1706. He maintained friendly ties with Sweden, but lost his throne after the Poltava debacle in 1709. Augustus II returned and, until the latter's death, Stanislaw cautiosuly ruled a minor duchy within the Commonwealth. After Augustus died, Stanislaw, with French support, claimed the throne anew, leading to a Russian invasion and his second overthrow, this time by Augustus III, son of Augustus II. The Commonwealth's decline was by now evident.

Augustus III reigned from 1733 to 1763. By large a figurehead, he devoted most of his reign to pleasure, while aristocratic families both deepened the class divisions and made the Commonwealth more and more dependent on her neighbours. Augustus also picked the losing side on two major wars, the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years's War.

Stanislaw II Poniatowski was elected King in 1764, primarily with the aid of Russian machinations. The last King of the Commonwealth, his thirty-year reign was marked the three Partitions of Poland, which erased the country from the world map.

The incorrect answers were either princes (Danylo of Halych, Mykhailo Olelkovych) or Hetmans (Vyshnevetsky, Khmelnytsky, Orlyk) of Ukraine. Orlyk was also the author of the first Constitution.