latviski
Poland
POLAND, called by the Inhabitants Polska, from the word Pole or Pola, which in the Sclavonian Tongue signifies a Plain, is an Elective Kingdom of Europe, that comprehends the ancient German Sarmatia, and the Eastern part of Germany, towards the Vistula. It’s now much greater than formerly, because Lithuania, and several other Provinces are united to it. For before it was but barely what we call’d the Great and Little Poland. It has Muscovy and Tartary to the East, Transilvania and Moldavia to the South, Germany to the West, and to the North the Baltick-sea, Livonia, part of White-Russia or Muscovy. This Country may be divided into Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, which again is subdivided into the Greater and Lesser Poland, in which last stands Cracovia, the Capital of all the Kingdom. In Great Poland are the Cities of Posnan, Kalisch, Gnesna, &c. Besides which it comprehends the Provinces of Mazovia, wherein are Warsaw and Ploczko , Cujavia wherein is Uladislaw, Royal Prussia that takes in Dantzick, Elbing, &c. and Russia Nigra, with the Cities of Leopold, and Prezmysi. Lithuania, wherein are the Cities of Wilna, Novogrodeck, Minks, &c. is divided into Volhinia, which takes in the Cities of Lucko, Kiow, &c. Podolia, where is Karminiek, &c. Polesia, in which stands Bressici and Samogitia, whose Capital is Medniki, This Kingdom may moreover be divided into thirty four Palatinates, each Palatinate having Castellans under them, that in the whole Country amount to the number of eighty seven. There are in it two Archbishopricks, which are those of Gnesna and Leopold, and fifteen Bilhopricks, several Abbies and Universities as Cracovia, Royaumont, Konigsberg, Zamoski, &c. The Air of Poland is very good but piercing, the Soil very fertile but woody, especially in Great Poland. It has silver andiron Mines, Wine, and excellent Fruits; abounds in Honey, Wax, Venison, Fowl, Wood for Building, Bevers, Otters, Elks, Sables, and such other wild Beasts; Copper, Lead, Iron, and especially fine Steel. The Gentry are Tall and Strong, manage their Fauchions with much Address and Dexterity, and are both Learned and Liberal; but yet Fierce, Proud, Obstinate, and Jealous of their Liberties. This Obstinacy and Jealousie of their Liberty has often given the Tartars and Muscovites an opportunity to over-run and destroy a great part of their Country, and was the Reason why the King of Swedeland, with an Army of forty thousand, reduced to the last Extremity, a Country whose least Armies generally exceeded 200000 Fighting Men. For their Misunderstanding is such, and the Authority of their Prince so little, that before the Dyet is assembled and the Gentry come to a Resolution, the Enemy have time to do what they please, there being no Place of Strength to put a Stop to them until they come to Warsaw. The Polanders are good Soldiers, especially the Cavalry, being armed with a Carbine, a pair of Pistols, an Hatchet at one side, and Fauchion at the other, with a Quiver full of Arrows, and a Bow behind their Backs, which they make use of after they have discharged their Fire-Arms, when the Enemy runs. They are great Travellers, faithful, obliging, and civil to Strangers, magnificent in their Cloaths and Entertainments, which are frequent among them. In their Meat, they use a great quantity of Saffron, Spice and Sugar. They pretend to a great deal of Devotion, fast Fridays and Saturdays, but will be drunk, and fight lustily on those days. The Peasants are the poorest Wretches in the World, having not the least thing which they call their own, and being Subject to Lords that treat them worse than Gally-slaves. The Gentry have Power of Life and Death over their Domesticks and Peasants, and if a Neighbour kills a Boor, it’s but paying the Price he is rated at, and the Business is made up. And whereas in other Countries a Nobleman is said to be worth so much a year, here he is said to be Master of so many Slaves, who work hard, live on little, and dwell in pitiful Cabins, daubed with Mud and covered with Straw. Their Children play, eat, and sleep with the Pigs, whilst the Father makes use of the Hog-Trough and Cow-Rack for Table and Bed. ’Tis true, some times they have a little Room in their Cottages, which is their Stove, where the chief of sthe Family lie upon Skins. There are no Inns in the Country. The Gentlemen, when they travel, lodging with their Friends, or being treated by the Boors, who are obliged to entertain them upon such Occasions. If any of the Gentry happens to be taken Prisoner, the King is obliged to ransome him. Their Drink is Beer and Metheglin. They drink no Water because it stinks in Poland, where it is stagnant in the Plains. Their Women are of short Stature, very simple, yet are not wanting in decent Behaviour and Civility. The Men are somewhat Jealous, and entrust them only with their nearest Kindred when they are in the Wars or absent from Home. They speak there the Sclavonian Tongue. Besides which they all speak Latin. The first Duke of this Kingdom was Lechus, who began his Reign about 550. His Posterity continued in fourteen Descents, to Micislaus, or Miesko, who began to reign in 964, and who was the first Christian Duke. Boleslaus, the Son of Micislaus, received the Title of King from Otho, Emperor of Germany, when that Prince visited the Tomb of S. Adelbert, who was killed by the Prussians. This King left Micislaus IId. the Father of Casimir Ist. to whom his Son Boleslaus IId. succeeded. This last, surnamed The Cruel, put to Death Stanislaus, Bishop of Cracovia, whereupon Poland was deprived of the Title of Kingdom until Primislaus was chosen King in 1295. Lewis, King of Hungary, chosen after Casimir the IId. left two Daughters, the youngest of which, called Hedwige, being declared Queen, married Jagellon, Duke of Lithuania, who thereupon became Christian, and took the Name of Ladislaus IVth. and united his Territories to Poland in 1386. He had for Successors Ladislaus Vth. Casimir, John, Albert, Alexander, Sigismond I. and Sigismond II. which last dying without Issue in 1572. the Polanders chose Henry Duke of Anjou, Son to King Henry II. of France, who was crowned there in 1574. but coming to France, to succeed his Father Charles IXth. in 1576. some of the Electors named Stephen Bathori Prince of Transilvania, and another part Maximilian Archduke of Austria, which occasioned a War, wherein the first got the better; but dying without Children in 1786, Sigismond IIId. Son to John, King of Swedeland, was put upon the Throne in 1787, and after his Father’s death took Possession of the Crown of Swedeland ; but the Sweeds revolted, and chose Charles Prince of Sudermania, Sigismond’s Uncle, made War against Poland, and possessed themselves of Riga in 1625. Sigismond died in 1632. His Son Ladislaus succeeded, who dying in 1648, John Casimir was chosen to succeed him. He voluntarily abdicated the Crown, and was succeeded by Michael Koribut Wiesnoviski, who died in 1672. and had for his Successor John Sobieski, renowned upon many Accounts, but more particularly for his Relief of Vienna, June 17th. 1686. and is succeeded by Frederick Augustus, Elector of Saxony, who carried the Election against all the Competitors, and now reigns King of Poland. As to Government, Poland is Monarchical and Aristocratical; Monarchical, because they have a King; but Aristocratical, because this Prince’s Power is so limited that he cannot, without the Consent of the Senators, undertake any considerable Matters. Others add to the two former, a Democracy or Popular Government, which is that of the Gentry. The Archbishop of Gnesna, Primate of the Kingdom, has the Administration during the Interregnum. He assembles the States for the Election of a new King, appoints the time and place for it. The King being chosen by the Plurality of Voices, this Prelate calls him into the middle of the Assembly, and then leads him to the Church, where he swears he will preserve the Privileges of the Kingdom, and observe the established Laws, which oblige him to do nothing without the Approbation of the States. In Business of Importance the King sends by his Chancellor Letters, which he calls Instructionis Literae, to the Palatines, to acquaint them with what he designs to propose to them, and the time that he would have them come to Court. Upon the Receipt of these Letters, each Senator examines in particular the Nature, Quality and Consequences of the Proportions, to which he has full Liberty to make what Answer he thinks suits best with the publick, and his own private Interest. The King sends his Letters also into the Palatinates, to assemble the Gentry, who chuse a Nuncio, that is, a Man of Parts and Capacity to appear for the Province; but they must all agree unanimously in their Choice; for if but a private Gentleman refuses his Suffrage, it hinders the Election, and the Province from having either Vote or Privilege in the States. When these Provincial Assemblies are ended, the Senators and Nuncio’s come to Court, where the King, attended by his Chancellor, proposes the thing a-new, and hears their Advices. If they all agree, nemine reclamante, nemine diffentiente, as they speak, things go well. If they differ, then the Diet breaks up, and each returns to his Home. Among the Cities, none but Cracovia, Dantzick, and Vilna have the Privilege to send Deputies to the Diet that sit among the Nobles. Their Provincial Assemblies being open to the meanest Peasant, the Enemies of the State never fail to know what is debated in them, to the great Disappointment of their Undertakings. The King’s principal Revenue consists in the Salt-pits near Cracovia, in the Copper, Lead, and Silver Mines, and Tribute from the Jews. Besides that, he has the Nomination to Bishopricks, and to other Places of Honour and Trust, as the Commands in the Army, the Officers of State, of the Exchequer, and the Courts of Justice. The Crown-General has great Incomes, and by virtue of his Office, is Grand-Master of the King’s-Household; Grand-Master of the Ceremonies, Introductor of Embassadors, Lord High Steward, Sovereign Judge, &c. The Generals of the Kingdom and Lithuania, have a Sovereign and unlimited Power in the Field. Besides Palatines and Chatelains, the Towns have their Burgraves, Judges, and Magistrates. But there goes an Appeal from their Sentence to Cracovia for Great Poland; and to Lublin for Little Poland and Prussia. As to their Religion, they were formerly Idolaters, and adored the same Divinities that the Greeks, Romans, and Germans did. Tertullian affirms in his Treatise against the Jews, That the Gospel was preached in Sarmatia, but we know it was not received in that of Europe, which is Poland, till the tenth Age. The Reformation, about 1535, begun in these Countries, but was never generally embraced. The Greek Church has some footing here too. But the most general is the Roman Catholick. Gregory Pauli, Minister of Cracovia, preached Arianism there about the Year 1566, but Sigismund Augustus expelled him, together with George Blandrata, Lelio Socini, Valentin Gentilis, and some others. Faustus Socinus, who gave Name to the Socinians, came afterwards, and left his Disciples there; who continued till 1660, when they were banifh’d by King John Casimire. To understand the State of the Socinians in Poland, and the manner of their Expulsion in 1660; the Reader may consult a Book, call’d Historia Reformationis Polonicae. Munster, Mercator, Ortelius, Merula, Bertius, Cluverius, Cromer Hist. Polon. Chytraeus de Russor. ac Tartar. Relig. Spondan. &c.
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