Micha? Wi?niowiecki becomes King of Poland

Historical Context Note

Pawel Styrna (University of Illinois at Chicago)

Ed. by Ewa M. Thompson, Rice University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.8.3: Polish Writing and Culture.
Vol. editors: Roman Koropeckyj (University of California, Los Angeles), Ewa M. Thompson (Rice University)

Domains

Changes of government, elections and reigns

Dates

Date of occurrence 1669-06-19-1673-11-10

Places

Poland (Location)

Resources

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Michał I Korybut Wiśniowiecki, son of the magnate and warlord Jarema Wieśnowiecki (1612-1651), was elected King of Poland on 19 June 1669 and is remembered primarily as a symbol of weakness and incompetence. The electoral system in Poland allowed foreign powers to interfere by bribing the electors, and Wiśniowiecki was supported by the pro-Habsburg faction. Poland's petty nobles supported him because he was nominally Polish and seen as guarantor of the “golden liberties” of the Polish-Lithuanian nobility. The opposing faction included Jan Sobieski who was to be elected king after Wiśniowiecki.

During his reign the raids into Polish-Lithuanian territory by the Crimean Tatars, the vassals of the Grand Porte, had been destructive. An immediate cause of the war declared by the Turks

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223 words

Citation: Styrna, Pawel. "Micha? Wi?niowiecki becomes King of Poland". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 26 June 2009 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=2615, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Micha? Wi?niowiecki becomes King of Poland

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