The
Union of Lublin (
Lithuanian Liublino unija;
Belarusian ??´???????? ?´??? Polish Unia lubelska) replaced the
personal union of the
Kingdom of Poland and the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a
real union and an
elective monarchy, since
Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the
Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. In addition, the autonomy of
Royal Prussia was largely abandoned.
It was signed July 1, 1569, in Lublin, Poland, and created a single State, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth was ruled by a single elected monarch who carried out the duties of Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and governed with a common Senate and parliament (the Sejm). The Union was an evolutionary stage in the Polish-Lithuanian alliance and personal union, necessitated also by Lithuania's dangerous position in wars with Russia.[1][2][3]
Constituting a crucial event in the history of several nations, the Union of Lublin has been viewed quite differently by many historians. Polish historians concentrate on its positive aspects, emphasizing its peaceful, voluntary creation and its role in the spreading of Polish culture. Lithuanian historians are more critical of the Union, pointing out that it was dominated by Poland.
There were long discussions before signing the treaty, as Lithuanian magnates were afraid of losing much of their powers, since the union would make their legal status equal to that of the much more numerous Polish lower nobility. However Lithuania had been increasingly on the losing side of the Muscovite-Lithuanian Wars and by the second half of the 16th century it faced the threat of total defeat in the Livonian war and incorporation into Russia. The Polish nobility (the szlachta) on the other hand were reluctant to offer help to Lithuania without receiving anything in exchange. Sigismund II Augustus, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, seeing the threat to Lithuania and eventually to Poland, nonetheless pressed for the union, gradually gaining more supporters.
