Polish–Lithuanian union

Painting commemorating Polish–Lithuanian union; ca. 1861. The motto reads "Eternal union".

The term Polish–Lithuanian Union sometimes called as United Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania refers to a series of acts and alliances between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that lasted for prolonged periods of time and led to the creation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth—the "Republic of the Two Nations"—in 1569 and eventually to the creation of a short-lived unitary state in 1791.

The most important acts in the process of union were:

• 1385 – Union of Krewo – a personal union that brought Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila to Polish throne;
• 1401 – Union of Vilnius and Radom – strengthened the Polish–Lithuanian union;
• 1413 – Union of Horodło – heraldic union, that granted many szlachta rights to Lithuanian nobility;
• 1432 (1432–34) – Union of Grodno a declarative attempt to renew closer union;
• 1499 – Union of Kraków and Vilnius personal union turns to dynastic union, recognises sovereignty of Lithuania and describes interaction between the two states;
• 1501 – Union of Mielnik – personal union renewed;
• July 1, 1569 – Union of Lublin – a real union that resulted in creation of the semi-federal, semi-confederal Republic of the Two Nations (Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth); and
• May 3, 1791 – Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791: the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were abolished, and a common state, the Rzeczpospolita Polska (the Polish Republic, or Polish Commonwealth) was created in their place. The changes were modified with the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations that stressed the continuity of bi-national status of the state, and were reversed completely in 1792 under pressure of Russian Empire forces.

References

• (Polish) Anna Pasterak, Unie polsko-litewskie, Pedagogical University of Cracow, 2004

See also

• Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795)
• Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth
• Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth
• Union of Kėdainiai
• Polish–Swedish union