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Home , Commonwealth, Confederation (Poland), Crown Tribunal, History of Poland, Kingdom of Poland, Lublin

CONFRONTATION AND COOPERATION 1000 YEARS OF POLISH–GERMAN–RUSSIAN RELATIONS

V o l . I(V)/2019: 21–28

DOI: 10.2478/conc-2019-0003

Joanna Górska-Szymczak Jagiellonian College in Toruń, Grzegorz Górski Jagiellonian College in Toruń, Poland

The Federal Structure of the Polish–Lithuanian in the 16th–18th Centuries

Key words: Poland, , history, administration, Union Act

Introduction These people had an authentic influence on public -af fairs both on the local and central level3. Institutional Compared to any other country of the 16th–18th cen- shape of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – the tury , the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Res publicae – a country with a presiding over the was a of truly unique structure. The model of gov- institutions of the state, but also a under the ernment that evolved in this country involved a special rule of its citizens, was an expression of these influences4. form of relations between the authorities of the state, In the end of the almost all European represented by both the King, and the elective politi- countries began the process of strong centralization of cal institutions of the , that was unheard the royal power. It was mostly a result of the Reforma- of elsewhere at the time1. Paradoxically, similar to the tion. broke the domination of the Roman French king Louis XIV in the end of the , and made the new protestant church- a large sub-group of the citizenry of the Commonwealth 2 could refer to itself using the statement – „State is me” . of interesting remarks in interesting problems in . Davis, God’s Playground: a , vol. 1, Oxford 1981 1 More about this unique state can be found in: W.J. and in A. Zamoyski, The Polish Way: o thousand years’ history Redoway (ed.), The Cambridge History of Poland, Cambridge of and their culture, 1989. 1951. 3 It was result of process which excellently described in 2 See more about in very interesting studies: J. Jędruch, his book H.J. Berman, Law and Revolution. The Formation of , Elections and of Poland 1493– the Western Legal Tradition. Cambridge, Ma, 1983. –1977, Washington 1982 and S. Płaza, Próby reform ustroj- 4 H. Olszewski in his study: . Przyczynek owych w czasie pierwszego bezkrólewia, Kraków 1969. Płaza do dziejów ideologii politycznoprawnej w dawnej Polsce. [in:] wrote about first period of shaping new model of Common- w dawnej Rzeczypospolitej. Ustrój i idee. Vol 2 [Com- wealth. In other study J.A. Gierowski, The Polish – Lithu- monwealth.Cause to the History of Legal and Political Thought anian Commonwealth in the XVIIIth Century. From in Poland [in:] Sejm in Former Poland. Structure and Ideas], to Well – organized State, Kraków 1996, concentrated on fi- Poznan 2002 gave interesting review about understanding of nal phase of its functioning. In this study a lot of remarks the term Rzeczpospolita – Commonwealth in 15th and 16th about absolutistic European context. We can also find a lot century Poland. 22 Confrontation and cooperation. 1000 Years of Polish-German-Russian relations es and most of national catholic churches much more D. Eliazar7, V.D. Lutz8, V. Ostrom9, J. Wayne Baker10, dependent on the secular authorities. It also opened the and many others. First let us briefly present their mean- to successive strengthening of dominance of secu- ing of federalism, which is strongly different from the lar rulers over their subjects. one accepted in Europe. Among the expressions of this tendency were a liqui- Daniel Eliazar played a fundamental role in develop- dation, or far reaching limitation and marginalisation, ing American research on federalism. He has identified of the representative institutions shaped in the 13th– the sources of American federalism, and argued that –14th centuries, and ruthless determination in the proc- they remain influential up to-date. According to Elia- ess of liquidation of the territorial and administrative zar the modern concept of federalism was introduced diversity in most of the European countries. A natural in the 16th/17th century works of the radical Calvinist follow-up was a process of forcing new, unified forms of thinkers, including H. Bulinger, Ph. Duplessi-Mornay, administration of the country5. and J. Althusius, and also the better known T. Hobbes, The former model of the state, which allowed for and J. Locke. the autonomy of territorial structures, and respected These writers drew influence from the Books of Old a diversity of liberties for various forms of corporation Testament and were strongly anti-Catholic and anti- has been saved only in the , and -Lutheran. Their concepts of political and social order partly in the Swiss Cantons. In each of those states were based on reaction to the contemporary situation there was no strong central authority, and in conse- in the Catholic and Lutheran countries. This contem- quence no pressure on territorial and other communi- porary context made them uninterested in the fact that ties. Both examples, however, are incomparable with their ideas were similar to those presented by the ear- Polish-Lithuanian state. The United Netherlands Prov- lier Christian thinkers like St. Thomas of Aquinas and inces obviously played an important role in the interna- Marsilius of . Anti-Catholic attitude made them tional politics, but never have been a European super- also oblivious to the Polish-Lithuanian experience, even power. Swiss cantons have never even been a European though it was a practical not a theoretical one. D. Elia- power. Both countries had small territories and small zar who has been fascinated by these Calvinist ideas also populations. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with omitted the Catholic accomplishments. an of about 1 mln. sq. km, and with the popu- D. Eliazar analysed the formation of modern notion lation that the middle of the 17th century was larger of covenant in comparison with the notions of com- than that of or England, has been a leading pact and contract. He has differentiated between the European superpower6. For that this structure has been contract, which had a private character, and the com- really unique in Europe. pact and covenant, which both had a public character. Compact and covenant also differed with respect to the relation to God. Compact has been understood as an The federal state agreement among the people, and covenant has been the same but under God’s authority. It was also a cov- In order to understand properly the essence of the enant with God and the oath has played key role in it. formal structure of the past Polish-Lithuanian state it is helpful to use the definition of federal state that is known from the works of American scientists including 7 On the first place we have to mention his book: Cove- nant and Commonwealth: From Christian Separation through Protestant Reformation. The Covenant Tradition in Politics, vol. II, –London 1996. 8 D. Lutz, Lutz, From Covenant to in Ameri- can Political Though. [in:] Publius: The Journal of American 5 Interesting presentation of this process we can find in: Federalism: 1980, vol. 4, and also more about it in: The Ori- R van Caenegem, An Historical Introduction to Western Con- gins of American Constitutionalism, Baton Rouge 1988. There stitutional Law, Cambridge 1995. are also a lot of interesting literature 6 Commonwealth’s population in the middle of 17th cen- 9 V. Ostrom, The meaning of American Federalism. Con- tury amounted Rzeczpospolita 11 mln. people while Germa- tinuing a Self – Society, 1991 which is a sum- ny 10,3 mln. and England only 6,6 mln. people. See: Histo- mary of his and his wife’s years of studies about federalism. ria Polski w liczbach. Ludność. Terytorium [History of Poland 10 J. Wayne Baker, Faces of Federalism: From Bullinger in Numbers. Population. Teritory]. Warszawa 1993, p. 20. to Jefferson,Publius: The Journal of Federalism 2000, vol. 4. Joanna Górska-Szymczak, Grzegorz Górski: The Federal Structure... 23

In his interesting study, J. Wayne Baker character- Legal basis for the Commonwealth ized very precisely and succinctly the ideas of Bulinger, Mornay, and Althusius. D. Lutz showed how strongly The first stage of struggle for the shape of state ended these ideas influenced the Framers of the in the early 16th century. At the 1505 session of Sejm in and their Constitution. the constitution (act) was accepted. Generally speaking, all these authors saw roots of the This new regulation granted Sejm the legislative author- federal model in the covenant background. The agree- ity (together with the king) in all matters of the state. ment of people with God and among themselves, under became a crucial element in shaping legal order the God’s law, authorized by Him, strengthened by the of the state14. oath, and right to fight with all those who are acting Culmination of the second stage of this struggle against the agreement, including the king or another came in the middle of second part of the 16th century. state power, and, finally, a crucial role of the community Four extremely important regulations further shaped of people – this is a nature of the covenant – federal the constitutional structure of the Commonwealth. system. They were the following: These analyses of the background of modern feder- 1. Lublin Union Act of 156915, alism conclude that Calvinist concepts were some kind 2. General Act of 157316, of a return to the ideas characteristic to 11th–13th cen- 3. Henry’s Articles of 157317, and turies, and they were both rooted in the writing of Old 4. Warsaw Sejm Constitution of 1578 that established Testament, and the practical experiences of Roman re- the Tribunal18. publicans. All these regulations rooted in this spirit of the mod- The same realizations were present in Poland since ernisation of Kingdom’s structure, which was presented 12th–13th centuries. Important decisions made in the by leading political thinkers of 16th Century – Jan Os- 16th century, which shaped the constitutional model of trorog at the beginning of 16th Century and Andrzej the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were strongly Frycz Modrzewski in the middle of this century19. Spe- influenced by these ideas. During the 13th century in cially publications of the later, translated on all Europe- the Polish Kingdom (still divided into a number of an languages, played important role in development of principalities11) a new model of relations was shaped political ideas in Europe in this time. His writings were between the princes and their subjects12. very popular in Netherlands and played undoubtedly In this model there was no place for a powerful king, extremely important role in shaping Utrecht Union and or the centralized authority of strong princes. This kind the structure of the United Netherlands Provinces20. of authority required support from its subjects. This model (we can call it a „dialogue model”) was supported 14 Most actual study about Nihil novi constitution is by such leading polish writers of the period as Wincenty S. Grodziski, S. Salmonowicz, Uwagi o królewskim ustawo- Kadlubek, and Janko of Czarnków, and many others, dawstwie, [in:] Parlamentaryzm i prawodawstwo przez wieki, who promoted the Roman, republican roots of most of [Considerations about Royal [in:] Parliamentarism the structures established in Poland13. and Legislature trough Ages], Kraków 1999 and W. Urusz- czak, „Sejm Walny wszystkich państw naszych”. Sejm w Ra- For the „noble nation,” which shaped itself in the domiu i Konstytucja Nihil novi z 1505 r. [„General Sejm of th th 14 –15 centuries the Roman republican tradition Our All Nations”. Sejm in Radom and Nihil novi Constitution connected with the Christian vision of social relations of 1505.], Czasopismo -Historyczne, Poznań 2004. in the spirit of theories of St. Thomas of Aquinas consti- 15 J. Sawicki, Wybór tekstów źródłowych z historii państwa tuted the foundation for thinking and acting. i prawa polskiego,Vol. 1. Warszawa 1952, 141–148. 16 Volumina Legum, Vol 2, 124–125. 17 Volumina Legum, Vol 2, 897–901. 18 Volumina Legum, Vol 2, 962–973. 19 More about Polish culture in 16th Century we can find 11 It was result of disintegration process started in the in: H.B. Segel, Culture in Poland. The Rise of Hu- middle of 12th century. Kingdom was divided for more than manism 1470–1543, Cornell 1989. About European context twenty principalities ruled by princes from Piast Family. of Polish Renaissance we can find in: S. Fiszma, The Polish 12 More about we can find in R. Grodecki, Dzieje we- Renaissance and its European Context, 1988. wnętrzne Polski w XIII wieku, [in:] Piastowska [Poland 20 It is also interesting to remind role of Polish Broth- in 13th Century [in:] Piast’s Poland], Warszawa 1969. ers – original protestan denomination, and their writings, 13 H. Olszewski, op.cit. which were very popular among German and Netherlands 24 Confrontation and cooperation. 1000 Years of Polish-German-Russian relations

Here we can find interesting link between pol- The new structure of the state was accepted „in the ish ideas and American Constitutionalism. As R. van name of Lord” by representatives of both nations. In its Caenegem noticed, “the Constitution of the Dutch Re- Act the Sejm declared: „To our God in the Holy Trinity public (...) deserves our special attention, for it belongs to Glory forever and to our King in God’s Grace lord and the most interesting legal experiments of the Old European lord Sigmund August immortal gratitude and the same to era and through its influence on the Constitution of the famous Polish Crown and Lithuanian Great Duchy glory United States of America played significant role in and adornment forever”. history” 21. In European history the 16th century is recognized Lublin Union Act assumed two hundred years of as an epoch of extremely inflamed religious conflicts. connection between the and the Viewed from this perspective the Polish-Lithuanian Great Duchy of Lithuania. Two separate states became Commonwealth was an oasis of religious peace and in 1569 a one Commonwealth under the rule of a com- freedom. This article is not a place to describe the rea- mon King and a common – Sejm. Kingdom sons and circumstances of how this was the case22. We and Duchy established one „undivided and indifferent would only recall that in polish tradition since the mid- body” in „Commonwealth of two states and two Nations dle the state authorities accepted as equal in one people united”. two Christian denominations – catholic () and or- Sejm in Lublin regulated the rules of succession of thodox in the lands gained by Casimir the the king’s and the ’s thrones and declared that Great. During the reign of this great king thousands of „during the coronation of new king all laws, and privileges persecuted elsewhere in- and outside Europe also and liberties of both nations have to be confirmed by the came to Polish Kingdom where they were accepted with oath forever.” unprecedented privileges. All Commonwealth legislation was vested to the In the Lithuanian Duchy pagan princes were toler- Sejm composed by the King and two chambers – the ant of the orthodox ruthenium population and after the Senate (a representation of the clergy and great nobles), princes’ baptism in the end of the 14th century in Ro- and the House of Deputies (a representation of noble Catholic church nothing changed there. Likewise, nation and, partially, the cities). The Lublin Act the Reformation in the Kingdom and in the Duchy was also obliged the King to make regulations related to: not persecuted by the state and the catholic church au- –– guarantying a complete balance in the monetary sys- thorities and could proceed freely. But in this atmos- tems in both parts of the Commonwealth, phere of religious freedom there was no spectacular –– liquidating all toll barriers between both parts of the progress of the reformed churches. Commonwealth, and In 1555 after terrible religious wars the –– liquidating all legal inconveniences for polish citi- Peace was accepted based on a very inhuman principle – zens in the Duchy, and Lithuanian citizens in the cuius regio eius religio. The Polish-Lithuanian Common- Crown. wealth constructed a completely alternative solution. In Common authorities – the King and the Sejm – the Warsaw Confederation Act of 1573 a representation were responsible for foreign affairs and defence policy of of the Nation declared religious freedom in the Com- the Commonwealth. In all other areas the Crown and monwealth. Assembled in Warsaw, the Catholic, prot- the Duchy retained entire autonomy. They separately estant, and orthodox believers declared: „We promise could decide about all internal affairs, and retained their ourselves and future by our oath, faith, honesty, administration and legal systems. honour and conscience to protect peace among us and not to shed blood, and to stay together against those who would like to make bloodshed”. Protestant. More about it we can find in: S. Kot, in Poland, Boston 1957. 21 R. van Caenegem, op. cit., 142. We can also remind 22 See excellent summary of this problem in S. Salmono- here how important influence on french republican ideas has wicz, La tolerance religieuse dans la „modele polonais” (XVIe– 18th Century writings of Polish king Stanislaw Leszczynski. –XVIIIe siecles) [In:] 350 anniversaire des Traites de Westphalie It is presented in french book: J. Fabre, Stanislas – August 1648–1998. Une genese de l’Europe, une societe a reconstruire. et l’Europe des lumieres, 1952. On the other Actes du Colloque Internationl. Starsbourg 15 au 17 octobre hand we know that American Framers also based on French 1998, Strasbourg 1998. There is also a lot of interesting lit- republican thinkers writings. erature about European context. Joanna Górska-Szymczak, Grzegorz Górski: The Federal Structure... 25

When the new character of relations between Polish In 1578 the , and three years later and Lithuanian parts of the Commonwealth was deter- the were established. This develop- mined, and religious freedom and peace was protected, ment was both a culmination of over a hundred years of there came the time for codifying other principal regu- struggle against the arbitrary of the , and lations of the of the Commonwealth. the logical completion of the architecture of the Com- two regulations were meant to make this precise. monwealth. Both Tribunals took over from the King A key role was played by the regulations, which pro- the appellate jurisdiction for most of the judicial cases. tected the Nations’ influence for the personal shape and Their formation was also model of democratic creation functioning of all public offices. of Tribunals by local communities, and this system The preamble to the Henry’s Articles 23 illustrates the guaranteed their independence from the King’s rule. essence of this act. The decision was made by the „nobles Later on the criticized the Tribunals, es- and knighthood of the Kingdom’s Polish and Lithuanian pecially in the 18th century, when the oligarchic noble nations”. The King was in the second place and this or- families made the Tribunals depended on their interests. der confirmed the primacy of the representation of the However, when comparing both Tribunals with the Eu- nation in the structure of the state. ropean courts at the same level in this period one can This Act also confirmed the primacy of the sover- say that they set a good example of efficient and honest eignty of the nation, which is one of the principles of judiciary. What is also very important, Tribunals were modern constitutionalism. Cooperation between the free from domination by the King, which was charac- nation and the King is also an illustration of their cov- teristic for such bodies in . enant made in Face of God, based on His Order and Institutions of the Polish-Lithuanian Common- Law. wealth were shaped in the spirit of covenant philosophy, The following regulations of the Henry’s Articles which bounded the King with his subjects, linked the strengthened the of the nation. The King two nations, and bonded all of them with God. This guaranteed the nation’s right to „free” election of his covenant was based on God’s Law and God guaranteed successors, the aforementioned religious freedom, the it. If the King would break this covenant, the subjects nation’s participation in shaping the most important could legally oppose him, and special rules were adopt- decisions in of foreign affairs, the right to de- ed for legalizing the procedure in such situations. clare war and peace, and, finally, the right to decide on All these observations prompt us to acknowledge general mobilisation, and on all taxation matters. that Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a federal A special council was established in order to ensure state in the sense defined by the previously mentioned better government of the state under the nation’s con- American writers. trol. Sixteen members of this council were elected by Next, let us take a look at the same problem from the Sejm from the members of Senate. the perspective of European understanding of federal The King also confirmed that Sejm would have system. The following four elements are crucial: regular sessions every two years, and that it would also –– first one is the creation of a union of various territo- always convene when it was „violently needed”. rial corporations, or states, in a free agreement, The King confirmed his respect for all privileges and –– second one is the level of pressure from central gov- liberties of all groups in the kingdom, and not to tax his ernment on the regional authorities, subjects „without consent of all nation in Sejm”. –– third one is the degree of decentralization in govern- The last two points of the Articles were also very ing of the state, and in regional matters, important. First the King again confirmed forever all –– fourth one is the extent of freedom of the territorial liberties of his subjects and the legal order of the Com- authorities in administering of the local problems. monwealth. Next, there followed a stipulation that if In order to better understand the sense of this ques- the King would act „against rules, liberties, articles, (...) tion one should ponder the structure of the institutions Commonwealth citizens would be free from obedience and shaped in Europe in the , in the 12th and faith”. 13th centuries. During these centuries a model of cor- porate structures and institutions was established. Cit- 23 Henry represented French ruling family Valois and ies, villages, universities, economic corporations, ethnic fought for Polish throne wit Habsburg’s candidate. After groups, and territorial all fought for one year he escaped from Poland and gained French throne. privileges. When they received them, they became legal- 26 Confrontation and cooperation. 1000 Years of Polish-German-Russian relations ly separated corporations dependent on king’s authority King’s privileges guaranteed self-government for based only on the legal rules. The Kings remained on and villages. Also private towns and villages had their the top of the union of corporations, which for bet- privileges. ter expression of their interests created representations: The situation in the Crown was more complicated. for social groups, for territories, for the state at least. Historically, the two main provinces there were Wielko- In the 15th and 16th centuries, when kings strengthened polska (Great Poland) and Małopolska (Little Poland). their positions and the process of centralization of royal After in 1466 of a part of Pruthenia (the authority began, these representations and corporations so called Royal Pruthenia; the second part of the former were the first victims of this process. Teutonic Knight State – the Prince’s Pruthenia – was Commonwealth, and previously the Polish King- a of the Polish King), this land and its population dom, did not participate in this process. In the begin- aspired to equal position with two main provinces. The ning of the 14th century reunification of the kingdom same aspirations were held by , also was in progress. In 1320 King Władysław Łokietek a former fief of the Polish King. Based on the Lublin confirmed the new public character of the state in the Sejm decisions the three Ruthenian voivodships, which formula of Corona Regni Poloniae. This model was very previously belonged to Lithuania, were incorporated friendly to all autonomic corporations in the country. to Małopolska province. In order to make the posi- Władysław’s son Casimir the Great strengthened the tion of the province of Wielkopolska equal to that of position of these corporations. The nature of Casimir’s Małopolska, Pruthenia and Mazovia were incorporated kingdom was reflected in the notion known from the to this province. German and Czech context as the „Polish Reich”. The Decisions made in Lublin resulted in the Crown’s former meaning in public law of the notion „Reich” was structure with two equal parts. However, while in Ma- the state of states (in German Staatenstaat)24. In this lopolska the Ruthenian lands had no separate status,25 model of state the king ruled over territory directly sub- in the Wielkopolska province Pruthenia and Mazovia dued to him, and over territories with their own princes retained some special privileges. The greatest scale of (and sometimes even kings) who accepted the supreme special regulations was saved in Pruthenia: king’s authority. 1. Particular rules for organisation and function of the Casimir the Great persistently aimed at minimiz- general provincial , ing the number of territorial principalities in the King- 2. Principles for Pruthenian indygenat 26, dom of Poland. Despite that, in the 15th, and the first 3. Organisation of territorial structure, local adminis- part of the 16th century a number of territories in the tration and local judiciary, and also military princi- Kingdom, and in the Lithuanian Duchy, had diversi- ples, fied their legal status and position in relation to central 4. Particular regulations for religious liberties, authority. It was necessary to put this situation in order 5. Particular privileges in taxation, and the previously mentioned Sejm in Lublin in 1569 6. Particular judicial law, specifically addressed this problem. As a result anew 7. Special position of Pruthenian cities – first of all the model of territorial structure was created by this Sejm. three greatest ones – Gdansk, Torun and Elblag27. The highest level of territorial architecture, united by the common King and Sejm, comprised two parts 25 But we have to remember about religious diversity of the Commonwealth: the Crown of Polish Kingdom, and tolerance for majority of Greek-Catholic and orthodox and the Great Duchy of Lithuania. population there. Also legal order based on Lituanian Stat- The lower levels of structure of the Duchy were sim- utes were different there and courts used this law. But the crucial political role played there great ruthenian ple. The Duchy was composed of voivodships, wherein who polonaised and converted to Catholicism. They quickly the Sejmik representing the local noble community became strongest political players in country. played a crucial role. The Sejmik decided regarding all 26 It was institution allowing foreign person (mostly no- local problems, including taxation for the local needs. ble) to become a Polish citizen and noble under Sejm control. 27 More about these Pruthenian differences we can find in: S. Salmonowicz, Prusy Królewskie w Rzeczpospolitej pol- 24 R. Grodecki, Działalność gospodarcza Kazimierza Wiel- sko-litewskiej. Uwagi porównawcze, [in:] Rzeczpospolita wie- kiego, [in:]Polska Piastowska [Economic Activity of Casimir the lu narodów i jej tradycje. Materiały z konferencji „Trzysta lat Great [in:] Piast’s Poland], continuing this view of older pol- od początku unii polsko-saskiej. Rzeczpospolita wielu na- ish researchers like O. Balzer. rodów i jej tradycje” [Royal Pruthenia in Polish-Lithuanian Joanna Górska-Szymczak, Grzegorz Górski: The Federal Structure... 27

In Mazovia we could find some similar elements (Prussian, Austrian and Russian) in the end of the 18th (points 1, 3, 5 and 6), and add one exceptional and century the same direction of shaping of the state insti- characteristic for this land. In this province the noble tutions was chosen by the . Although at the population, relative to other social groups, was the larg- time the United States had a smaller territory, and only est in the country. It comprised almost 25% of this 25% of the population of the Polish-Lithuanian Com- province’s population. Consequently, in Mazovia the monwealth, they quickly created a federal structure ca- greatest fraction of the population could actively partic- pable of functioning on great territory and with great ipate in the public and political life of the country. This population. This American federal model is very close played important role because in this land, near War- to the former Polish-Lithuanian state. saw, was a place where the Nation elected new Kings. Because of that Mazovian nobles played crucial politi- cal role in the most important political decisions of the References Commonwealth. Similar to Lithuania, both Crown’s provinces were Baker J. Wayne, Faces of Federalism: From Bullinger to Jefferson, divided into voivodships (and lands) with sejmiki. In Publius: The Journal of Federalism 2000, vol. 4. Berman H.J., Law and Revolution. The Formation of the Western the voivodships there were also the royal and private Legal Tradition. Cambridge, Ma, 1983. cities and villages. Davis N., God’s Playground: a history of Poland, vol. 1, Oxford 1981 One should remember that the Commonwealth’s Eliazar D., Covenant and Commonwealth: From Christian Separa- tion through Protestant Reformation. The Covenant Tradition in central administration was very weak. There were not Politics, vol. II, New Brunswick–London 1996. too many functions of the state at this time. As a result, Fabre J., Stanislas – August Poniatowski et l’Europe des lumieres, in all voivodship in the 17th century, the institution of Paris 1952. Fiszma S., The Polish Renaissance and its European Context, Indiana Sejmik became a real local authority that decided on 1988. local problems, and it’s administration grew accord- Gierowski J.A., The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the XVIIIth ingly. Sejm tried to limit the influence of Sejmik in the Century. From Anarchy to Well – organized State, Kraków 1996, beginning of the 18th century but in practice nothing Grodecki R., Działalność gospodarcza Kazimierza Wielkiego, [in:] Polska Piastowska [Economic Activity of Casimir the Great, [in:] changed untill the beginning of the second part of the Piast’s Poland], 18th century. This means that far reaching decentraliza- Grodecki R., Dzieje wewnętrzne Polski w XIII wieku, [in:] Polska th tion of power was realized in the Commonwealth. Piastowska [Poland in 13 Century [in:] Piast’s Poland], War- szawa 1969. Grodziski S., Salmonowicz S., Uwagi o królewskim ustawodaw- stwie. [in:] Parlamentaryzm i prawodawstwo przez wieki, [Con- Conclusions siderations about Royal Legislature [in:] Parliamentarism and Legislature trough Ages] Kraków 1999 and W. Uruszczak, „Sejm Walny wszystkich państw naszych”. Sejm w Radomiu i Konsty- Looking at the structure of the Commonwealth from tucja Nihil novi z 1505 r. [„General Sejm of Our All Nations”. the perspective of European understanding of federal Sejm in Radom and Nihil novi Constitution of 1505.], Czasopi- smo Prawno-Historyczne, Poznań 2004. state model we can say that it was really a classical fed- Historia Polski w liczbach. Ludność. Terytorium [History of Poland in eral state. 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