"MONARCHY AS IT SHOULD BE"? BRITISH PERCEPTIONS OF POLAND-LITHUANIA IN THE LONG SEVENTEENTH CENTURY Martyna Mirecka A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2014 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6044 This item is protected by original copyright “Monarchy as it should be”? British perceptions of Poland-Lithuania in the long seventeenth century by Martyna Mirecka Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of History University of St Andrews September 2013 Abstract Early modern Poland-Lithuania figured significantly in the political perceptions of Europeans in the long seventeenth century – not only due to its considerable size and enormous commercial and military resources, but also, and just as importantly, due to its exceptional religious and political situation. This interest in Poland-Lithuania was shared by many Britons. However, a detailed examination of how Britons perceived Poland-Lithuania at that time and how they treated Poland-Lithuania in their political debates has never been undertaken. This thesis utilises a wide range of the previously neglected source material and considers the patterns of transmission of information to determine Britons’ awareness of Poland-Lithuania and their employment of the Polish-Lithuanian example in the British political discourse during the seventeenth century. It looks at a variety of geographical and historical information, English and Latin descriptions of Poland-Lithuania’s physical topography and boundaries, and its ethnic and cultural make-up presented in histories, atlases and maps, to establish what, where and who Poland-Lithuania was for Britons. Poland-Lithuania’s political framework, with its composite structure and unique relationship between the crown and nobility, elicited a spectrum of reactions, and so this thesis evaluates the role that both criticism and praise of Poland-Lithuania played in British constitutional debates. Consequently, the study argues that Britons’ perceptions of Poland-Lithuania were characterised by great plasticity. It claims that Britons’ impressions of the country were shaped by multiple – real or imagined - borders, whether cultural, economic or political, but also that Britons were affected by the exposure to a uniform, idealised historiography of this country. Crucially, the thesis asserts that references to Poland-Lithuania constituted an ingenious ideological and polemical device that was eagerly used throughout the period by Britons of diverse political sympathies. Moreover, through the examination of the kingdom’s geopolitical role, particularly its fluctuating position as a “bulwark of Christendom”, side by side its engagement against Protestants, the thesis challenges the assumption that anti-Catholicism dominated seventeenth-century British perceptions of the world. ii Declarations Candidate’s declarations I, Martyna Mirecka, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 80,000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. Date: 26/09/2013 Signature: I was admitted as a research student in September 2008 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in History in June 2009; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2008 and 2013. Date: 26/09/2013 Signature: Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in History in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date: 26/09/2013 Signature: Permission for electronic publication: In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews we understand that we are giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. We also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that this thesis iii will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate this thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. We have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: Access to printed copy and electronic publication of thesis through the University of St Andrews. Date: 26/09/2013 Signature of the candidate: Signature of the supervisor: iv Acknowledgements It is a pleasure to acknowledge and express my sincere gratitude to the institutions and people who have supported me throughout the completion of this project. This research was supported by grants from the Gibson-Sykora Trust and the Jagiellonian University Polish Research Centre in London. I am extremely grateful to both institutions for their help. I am also obliged to the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, the British Museum, the British Library, the Library of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, the National Portrait Gallery in London and St Andrews University Library for their generous permission to use various images contained within. I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Roger Mason, for his support, patience and good humour throughout my master’s and doctoral studies. If on one evening he reaches for Goślicki rather Buchanan, I will not have lived in vain. I am very appreciative of his critical comments, which have greatly improved the clarity of this thesis. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Dr Jacqueline Rose, Dr Anna Kalinowska and Claire Hawes, who have read and commented on various draft chapters of this study. Needless to say, all remaining mistakes are entirely my own. I should also like to thank Dr Peter Bajer, who provided me with valuable guidance at the beginning of this project and Dr John Robertson, who introduced me to the University of St Andrews. I have derived great benefit and pleasure from the lively discussions about various aspects of Polish-British relations with Dr Anna Kalinowska. Janie Brooks from the English Language Support has my deepest gratitude for her continual encouragement and support, which has gone far beyond linguistics. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues in the Institute of Scottish Historical Research for their assistance and friendship over the past few years, in particular the Scottish incarnations of Princess Leia and Han Solo for creating a uniquely congenial atmosphere and Claire Hawes for the West Sands discussions. On a different front, I am grateful to my colleagues from the Wardennial Team for accommodating the demands of my research. I could not have completed this thesis without my family’s and friends’ patient endurance, cheer and help in keeping a healthy perspective on the project. My warm thanks to Paulina Biedrońska in Cracow and Kasia and Arek Gibas in Bristol for their generous hospitality during my research trips, and to my sister, Natalia, for arranging the library materials and help with the images. To Dorota Pietrowicz for her unfailing friendship – thank you. My deepest gratitude is due to my father for our endless debates on politics and history, but above all for his encouragement and confidence in my abilities, his respect for my decisions and support for my ventures. To him I dedicate this study. St Andrews, September 2013 v Contents List of abbreviations ...................................................................................................... 1 List of tables, maps and figures ................................................................................... 4 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 5-15 Purpose and historiography ..................................................................... 5 Methodology ............................................................................................... 9 Structure and argument ........................................................................... 12 Conventions .............................................................................................. 14 Chapter 1: Communicating Poland-Lithuania: contacts, networks and information flows ....................................................................... 16-40 Introduction ............................................................................................... 16 The role of diplomatic relations .............................................................. 17 Networks of information ......................................................................... 24 Newspaper and book markets in Britain .............................................. 32 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 40 Chapter 2: Framing Poland-Lithuania: geography,