Polish Society
A short history of Polish societies from its prehistory to the modern era.
Foundations of Poland
Polish society formed from a collection of Western Slavic tribes during the medieval era. Little is known of these early people, but they are said to have elected their leaders on occasion. These tribes banded together into small dukedoms. One of these dukes, Mieszko I, and his son Bolesław I brought them together to found the Kingdom of Poland by 1025 CE. They formed the Piast dynasty, which would guide Poland through multiple Mongol invasions and expand its territory considerably.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The last Piast king, Casimir III, died in 1370. Poland soon passed to Jadwiga, a noblewoman of Polish, Hungarian, and French ancestry. Jadwiga married Władysław Jagiełło, a pagan Grand Duke of Lithuania. Their union joined the two states, which would later form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This ushered in a period of peace, stability, and growth in Poland known as the Polish Renaissance. Royal courts imported Italian artists, scholars, and merchants to enrich their society. The Jagiellonian University, founded in Krakow in 1384, fostered scientists like Nicolaus Copernicus. Foreign influences brought new foods, music, and arts to the upper classes of Poland. As a consequence, the nobility grew richer and more powerful as time went on. They came to make up about 10 percent of the total population. It was uncommon but not impossible for commoners to enter their ranks.
Noble Democracy in Poland
The 16th century brought further changes to Poland’s social structure. The Nihil Novi Act of 1505 forced Polish rulers to make most decisions with the consent of the nobles. King Henry’s Articles, passed in 1575, created a system known as noble democracy. The Golden Liberty required policies to pass through a parliament called the Sejm, which met every two years. Nobles possessed equal rights within the Sejm and elected each new monarch. They operated as a republic led by a king, though rulers held little real power. A single noble could veto any proposal, often leading to decades of gridlock. The articles also enacted an unusual policy of religious tolerance. They allowed the development of a prosperous Jewish middle class in Poland. But while the nobility flourished, few rights were extended to the lower classes of Poland. In 1791, it adopted its own Constitution, the first in Europe and second in the world. Serfdom officially ended with its adoption, but the state was soon divided between other European nations.
Modern Societies of Poland
The Partitions of Poland took place between 1772 and 1795. Austria, Russia, and Prussia each claimed part of the former Commonwealth. Poland would not emerge again as its own nation until 1918, following World War I. The next World War began with its invasion by Nazi Germany in 1939. Under Nazi rule, an estimated 3 million Polish Jews and another 2 million non-Jewish Poles were killed. The nation fell under Soviet control for the next half-century. In 1989, it gained independence as the Republic of Poland. Modern Poland is now healthy democracy known for its high quality of life. The state offers free university education and universal healthcare for its citizens, among other rights.
References
Biskupski, Mieczysław B. The History of Poland. Greenwood Press. 2000.
Dyczewski, Leon, ed. Values in the Polish Cultural Tradition. The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy. 2002.
Hertz, Aleksander. The Jews in Polish Culture. Northwestern University Press. 1988.
Lukowski, Jerzy and Hubert Zawadzki. A Concise History of Poland. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press. 2006.
Stone, Daniel. The Polish-Lithuanian State, 1386-1795. Volume 4. University of Washington Press. 2001.
“The World Factbook: Poland.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 20 June 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pl.html.
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