Sigismund III (Vase), whose photo is presented in the article, was on the throne of the Commonwe alth and Sweden. During his reign, he tried to unite these two powers. He succeeded for a short time in 1592. However, three years later, the Swedish parliament chose a regent to replace the absent autocrat. Most of the rest of his life Sigismund III (Vase) spent on the return of the lost throne. Consider further what this figure became known for.
Sigismund III (Vase): biography
The monarch was born on June 20, 1566 at Gripsholm Castle. There Katerina Yangellonka (his mother) accompanied Johan (father), imprisoned by brother Eric 4. Sigismund III was brought up by Jesuits who preached the ideas of militant Catholicism. At the age of 21, he ascended the throne. His aunt Anna Yangelonka and hetman Jan Zamoyski played a big role in this. By inviting the prince, heir to the Swedish throne, to the throne, the Commonwe alth hoped to eliminate territorial problems with Sweden and get disputed areas in the north of the state.
Start of reign
Some time after the coronation, the monarch opposed Maximilian (Archduke of Austria). The latter was defeated near Bichina, where he was taken prisoner. However, under a treaty of 1589, Maximilian was released on the condition that he renounces any claim to the throne. Sigismund III did not arouse sympathy among the population of the Commonwe alth either by character or appearance. The attitude towards him became even worse when he entered into secret negotiations with the Duke of Austria, Ernest. This happened in the same 1589, during his trip to his father in Revel. The young king Sigismund III could not win over Jan Zamoyski, who was influential at that time. The reason for the conflict between them was the unfulfilled promise of the monarch about the accession of Estonia to the state. As a result, the Inquisitorial Diet took place, after which the power of the monarch was significantly weakened. Instead of Zamoyski, who expected that he would control the will of the autocrat, the Jesuits took over.
Government Objectives
The Polish king Sigismund III set the main task of strengthening Catholicism in the state. At the same time, he sought to destroy Orthodoxy and Protestantism. In the years 1591-93. he suppressed the Kosinsky uprising, and in 1594-96, the resistance of Nalivaiko in the south-west of Russia. Sigismund III actively participated in the conclusion of the Union of Brest. The monarch considered the struggle with Protestant Sweden and Orthodox Russia to be the main foreign policy tasks. At the same time, the autocrat did not forget about dynastic interests.
Weakening power
The domestic political activities of the king contributed to the rapid disintegration of statehood in Poland. The most significant events in the yearshis reign became Rokosh Zebrzydowski and the proclamation of unanimity at the diets. Sigismund III systematically tried to establish absolutism in the country. However, they were rejected by the Diets. The king sought to limit the power of the assemblies, to transform existing positions into ranks subordinate only to him. He also tried to form power with the help of majorates. Possession of them would give the right to vote in the Senate. However, despite his commitment to absolutism, Sigismund III contributed to the proclamation of the principle of unanimity, which fundamentally undermined the possibility of carrying out the planned reforms. In 1589, Zamoysky proposed to approve the decisions of the Sejm by a majority vote. The king spoke out against it, putting Opalinsky's opposition against the hetman.
Fight for Sweden
In 1592, Sigismund married the daughter of the Austrian Duke Karl, granddaughter of Ferdinand 1 - Anna. In 1955, their son Vladislav was born. After the death of Johan (his father), Sigismund went to Sweden, where he was crowned in 1594. However, he was forced to appoint his uncle as regent. Charles supported Protestantism and quickly gained popularity among the Swedish people, clearly striving for the throne. In 1596, Sigismund made Warsaw the capital, moving it from Krakow. Arriving in Sweden again in 1598, the monarch alienated many of his supporters, and in the following 1599 he was removed from the throne. The new king of Sweden was his uncle under the name Charles IX. However, the ousted monarch did not want to lose power. As a result, he involved Poland in a 60-year standoffwith Sweden, which was extremely unsuccessful for the country.
Transnistria
By the end of the 17th century, Cossacks began to gather under the banner of the Serbian adventurer Michael, who had captured Moldavia. It should be said that the Ukrainian daredevils had something like a custom to give shelter to various daredevils and impostors. To curb such self-will, Sigismund charged the Cossacks with an obligation not to accept such people. At this time, a rumor spread throughout Russia that Tsarevich Dmitry was alive. Accordingly, the news reached Ukraine. The Cossacks had the opportunity to transfer self-will to Moscow land. At the same time, in the Dniester region, there was a struggle for the formation of a Cossack state under the leadership of Grigory Loboda and Severin Nalivaiko. The latter wrote a letter to Sigismund in 1595. In it, he outlined his plans, which implied the creation of a Cossack state under the patronage of the monarch. Nalivaiko carried out many aggressive campaigns. He died in the struggle near Lubny. After his death, the idea of creating a Transnistrian Cossack state was no longer revived.
Wars with Russia
During his reign, Sigismund hatched plans for eastern expansion. When False Dmitry the First appeared in Russia, the monarch supported him and concluded a secret agreement with him. After accession to the Moscow land, the impostor promised that the Chernihiv-Seversky territories would go to Poland. In 1609, after the death of the first False Dmitry, the monarch ledsiege of Smolensk. In 1610, the Polish army, commanded by Zholkiewski, captured Moscow. By decision of the Russian boyars, the throne in the capital of Russia was to be taken by Vladislav, the son of the autocrat. In 1611, on October 29, Vasily Shuisky (former Russian Tsar), together with his brothers Ivan and Dmitry, swore allegiance to the prince in Warsaw. In 1612, the Zemstvo militia liberated Moscow. However, the war continued until 1618. As a result, an armistice was signed in Deulin. Under this agreement, the Seversk, Chernigov and Smolensk lands departed to Poland.
Conclusion
In 1598 Sigismund's first wife died. In 1605 he married a second time to Constance, her sister. In 1609, his second son was born, who was named Jan Casimir. Sigismund was very upset by the death of Constance, which happened in 1631. At the end of April 1632, he himself died of a stroke. Sigismund remained in history as a very controversial figure. His reign, on the one hand, fell on the peak of the power of the Commonwe alth. At the same time, during the years of his power, the first signs of decline began to appear. Subsequently, they led to the complete destruction of the Polish-Lithuanian statehood.
