Cover -- Contents -- Editors' Preface -- Introduction -- History of a Society, not of a Nation -- The Question of Nations in the Early Modern Polish‑Lithuanian Commonwealth -- Structure and Periodization -- The State of Research and Literature on the Subject -- Chapter One: Physiognomy of the Commonwealth -- 1. Names, Emblems, Capitals -- 1.1. Name -- 1.2. Emblem and Coats of Arms of the Lands -- 1.3. Capital Cities -- 2. Geographical Position and Natural Conditions -- 2.1. Geographical Position -- 2.2. Natural Conditions -- 2.3. Geopolitical Location -- 2.4. Region of East-Central Europe -- 3. Federative Commonwealth -- 3.1. Granular Structure of Early Modern Europe -- 3.2. Federative Structure of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth -- 3.3. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth -- 3.3.1. Terms of the Union of 1569 -- 3.3.2. Consequences and Appraisals of the Polish-Lithuanian Union -- 3.3.3. The Influence of the Union on the Rise of Magnates' Power -- 3.3.4. Legal and Constitutional Consequences of the Polish-Lithuanian Union -- 4. Territory -- 4.1. Territory of the State -- 4.2. Administrative and Judicial Divisions -- 4.2.1. The Crown -- 4.2.2. Great Poland and Little Poland -- 4.2.3. Masovia -- 4.2.4. Rus (Ruthenia) -- 4.3. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania -- 4.3.1. Judicial Provinces -- 4.4. Ukraine -- 4.5. Provinces and Fiefs of the Baltic Region -- 4.5.1. Royal Prussia -- 4.5.2. Warmia (Ermland) -- 4.5.3. Fief Territories on the Baltic Sea -- 4.5.4. Changes in the Relations of Provinces and Baltic Fiefs with the Commonwealth in 16th-17th Centuries -- 4.6. Border Territories -- 4.7. The Danubian Principalities -- 5. Mastery of Space -- 5.1. Mapping Techniques and the Development of Cartography -- 5.2. Distances -- 5.3. Communication Routes -- 5.4. The Space of Power -- 6. Borders.

6.1. Technical Aspects of Boundary Delimitation -- 6.2. Cultural and Administrative Borders -- 6.3. Defence of Borders -- 7. Territorial and Border Changes to the End of the 18th Century -- 7.1. Administrative Changes at the Decline of the Republic -- 7.1.1. Administrative Reform of the Four-Year Sejm -- 7.1.2. Grodno Sejm Legislation -- 7.1.3. The Partitions of the Commonwealth (1772, 1793, 1795) -- Chapter Two: Political System and Form of Government -- 1. Political Terminology -- 2. Legal Political Orders of Mixed Government -- 2.1. Interregnum -- 2.2. Institutions and Proceedings of the Interregnum -- 3. Institutions of Central Government -- 3.1. The King's Authority -- 3.2. Limitations and Obligations of the Elected King -- 3.3. Sources of Royal Incomes -- 3.4. Lèse-Majesté -- 3.5. The Royal Court -- 3.6. Royal Chancellery and the Royal Secretaries -- 4. Central Offices of the Commonwealth -- 4.1. Offices of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania -- 4.2 The Hierarchy of Central Offices -- 4.3. Appointment to Offices -- 4.4. Central Officials -- 4.5. Attempts to Modernize the Central Administration under the Wettins -- 5. Local Administration -- 5.1. Starostwo -- 5.2. Land Offices -- 5.3. Promotions of Officials -- 5.4. Sale of Offices -- 5.5. State Administration versus Private Administration -- 6. Parliamentary System -- 6.1. Parliamentary Traditions of the Crown and Lithuania -- 6.2. The General Sejm -- 6.3. Three Estates of the Sejm -- 6.4. Organization of the Sejm -- 6.5. Procedures of Sejm Sessions -- 6.6. Liberum Veto -- 6.7. A Sejm on Horseback -- 7. Confederation and Rokosz (Rebellion) -- 7.1. The Genesis of Confederation -- 7.2. General Confederation -- 7.3. Rokosz -- 8. General Sejmiks and Convocations in Lithuania -- 8.1. General Sejmiks -- 8.2. Lithuanian Convocations -- 9. Sejmiks -- 9.1. Types of Sejmiks -- 9.2. Rule of Sejmiks.

9.3. Clientelism of Sejmiks -- 10. Towards a Constitutional Monarchy -- 10.1. Program of Reforms -- 10.2. Reforms of the Early Years of King Stanisław August -- 10.2.1. System of Government -- 10.2.2. The Project of Unification of the Crown and Lithuania -- 10.3. Legislation of the Delegation Sejm (1767-1768) -- 10.4. Legislation of the Partition Sejm (1773-1775) -- 10.5. Sejms of 1776-1786 -- 10.6. The Four-Year Sejm. First Stage of Works (1788-1790) -- 10.7. The Government Act of 1791 and Later Legislation of the Four-Year Sejm -- 10.8. The Most Important Provisions of the Government Act of 1791 -- 10.8.1. Political System and Central Authorities -- 10.8.2. Parliamentary Institutions -- 10.8.3. Polish-Lithuanian Relations in the Legislation of the Great Sejm -- 10.9. Legislation of the Grodno Sejm of 1793 -- 10.9.1. Laws on Political System -- 10.9.2. Polish-Lithuanian Relations in the Legislation of Targowica and Grodno Confederations -- 11. Political System of the 1794 Insurrection -- 11.1. Central Authorities -- 11.2. Local Administration -- 11.3. Polish-Lithuanian Relations in the Acts of the Insurrection -- 12. Ideas of Political System after the Loss of Independence -- Chapter Three: Three Pillars of Power: Judiciary, Finances, and Army -- 1. Heritage of the Estate Monarchy -- 2. Codifications and Sources of Law -- 3. The Judiciary -- 3.1. Royal Courts and the Sejm Court -- 3.2. Nobility Courts -- 3.2.1. Courts of First Instance - Land Courts, Borough Courts and Chamberlain Courts -- 3.2.2. Tribunals -- 3.2.3. Special Courts -- 3.3. Rural and Urban Courts -- 3.4. The Bar -- 3.5. Performance of the Judiciary -- 3.6. Reforms of the Legal System at the Four-Year Sejm -- 3.6.1. The Noble Judiciary System -- 3.6.2. The Sejm Court -- 3.6.3. The Municipal Judiciary and Assessory Courts -- 3.6.4. The Rural Judicial System.

3.7. Criminal Courts of Kościuszko's Insurrection -- 4. Fiscal and Financial Matters -- 4.1. Development of Public Finances and Taxes in the Commonwealth of the 16th to 17th Centuries -- 4.2. Organization of Financial Authorities -- 4.3. Court Treasure and Public Treasure -- 4.4. Public and Private Income of the King -- 4.5. Revenues of the Court Treasury -- 4.6. Revenue to the Treasury of the Commonwealth -- 4.7. Reforms of the Fiscal System in the 17th-18th Centuries -- 4.8. Financial Burdens of the Catholic Clergy -- 5. Military System -- 5.1. Organization of the State Army in the 16th-17th Centuries -- 5.2. Formations -- 5.3. Command -- 5.4. Social Composition of the Army -- 5.5. Participation of Townsmen in the Defense of the Commonwealth -- 5.6. Military Recruitment -- 5.7. Military and Professional Training -- 5.8. Soldier's Pay and Army Supplies -- 5.9. Modernization of the Army in the 18th Century -- Chapter Four: The State and the Churches -- 1. Relations between the State and Churches in the Early Modern Commonwealth -- 1.1. Theory of Confessionalization -- 1.2. Confederation of Warsaw (1573) -- 1.3. Equal Rights of Confessions as a Constitutional Principle -- 1.4. Equality of Confessions or Toleration? -- 2. Christian Churches in the Commonwealth of the 16th-18th Centuries -- 2.1. Roman Catholic Church -- 2.2. Protestant Churches (Reformation Churches) -- 2.2.1. Reformed Church -- 2.2.2. Lutheran Church (Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession) -- 2.3. Churches of the Eastern Tradition -- 2.3.1. The Orthodox Church -- 2.3.2. The Union of Brest (1596) -- 2.3.3. Greek Catholic (Uniate) Church -- 2.3.4. Orthodox Church after the Union of Brest -- 2.3.5. Armenian Church -- 3. Evolution of the State Policy towards Religion, the 16th-18th Centuries -- 3.1. Religious Policy of the Two First Elective Kings.

3.2. King Sigismund III and the Counter-Reformation -- 3.3. The Decline of Protestant Patronage. Conversions and Dying out of Protestant Families -- 3.4. King Wladislaus IV's Religious Policy -- 3.5. An Attempt at Conciliation - Colloquium Charitativum (1645) -- 3.6. Anti-Arian Decrees -- 3.7. Limitation of Public Rights of Dissidents -- 3.8. Situation of Protestants in the Wettin Times -- 3.9. Dissident Cause under King Stanisław August Poniatowski -- 3.10. Enlightened Catholicism -- 3.11. Catholic Confessionalization -- Chapter Five: Economy -- 1. The Place of the Commonwealth within European Economy -- 1.1. Economic Specificity of the Commonwealth -- 1.2. A division of Europe along the Line of the Elbe River? -- 1.3. Economic Regions of the Commonwealth -- 1.4. Economy of the Crown versus European Economy - Main Stages and Factors of Changes -- 2. The Crisis of the 17th Century -- 2.1. Monetary Crisis -- 2.2. Global Crisis of the 17th Century -- 2.3. Mercantilism -- 2.3.1. The Commonwealth's Economists in the Face of the Monetary Crisis -- 2.3.2. Solutions to the Crisis -- 3. Commerce -- 3.1. Organization of Commerce and Banking -- 3.2. Place of the Commonwealth within European Trade -- 3.3. Commercial Specificity of the Provinces and Regions -- 3.4. Fairs and Contracts -- 4. Transportation -- 4.1. Land Transport -- 4.2. Waterways -- 4.3. Sea Transport -- 5. Agriculture -- 5.1. Farming Methods and Tools -- 5.2. Stages of Transformation of Manorial Economy in the 16th-17th Centuries -- 6. Horticulture and Fruit Farming -- 7. Animal Husbandry -- 8. Forestry -- 8.1. Forest Protection -- 8.2. Beekeeping -- 9. Fishing Industry -- 10. Crafts -- 10.1. Organization of Crafts and Technological Innovations -- 10.2. Main Stages and Tendencies of Changes -- 11. Industry -- 11.1. Cloth Manufacturing -- 11.2. Mining Industry -- 11.3. Metallurgy.

12. Economic Changes in the 18th Century.