Sigismund III (Vase), whose photo is presented in the article, was on the throne of the Commonwealth and Sweden. During the reign, he tried to unite these two powers. He succeeded for a short time in 1592. However, three years later, the Swedish parliament elected a regent instead of the absent autocrat. Sigismund III (Vase) spent most of his remaining life on the return of the lost throne. Let us consider further what this figure became known for.
Sigismund III (Vase): biography
The monarch was born on June 20, 1566 in the castle of Gripsholm. There Kateryna Yangellonka (his mother) accompanied Johan (father), imprisoned by his 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. A large role was played by his aunt Anna Yangellonka and hetman Jan Zamoysky. By inviting the prince, the heir to the Swedish throne, to the throne, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth hoped to eliminate territorial problems with Sweden and obtain disputed areas in the north of the state.
The beginning of the reign
Some time after the coronation, the monarch opposed Maximilian (Archduke of Austria). The latter was defeated near Bichina, where he was captured. However, under an agreement of 1589, Maximilian was released on condition that he renounces any claim to the throne. Sigismund III neither in character nor in appearance caused sympathy among the population of the Commonwealth. 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 Zamoysky, influential at that time. The cause of the conflict between them was the unfulfilled promise of the monarch about Estonia's accession to the state. As a result, the Inquisition Diet took place, after which the power of the monarch significantly weakened. Instead of Zamoysky, who hoped that he would control the will of the autocrat, the Jesuits took over.
Goals of the Board
The Polish king Sigismund III set the main task of consolidating Catholicism in the state. Along with this, he sought to destroy Orthodoxy and Protestantism. In the 1591-93's. he crushed the Kosinsky rebellion, 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 main foreign policy tasks to be a boron with Protestant Sweden and Orthodox Russia. Along with this, the autocrat did not forget about dynastic interests.
Weakening power
The domestic political activity of the king contributed to the rapid decomposition of statehood in Poland. The most significant events during the years of his reign were Rokosh Zebrzydowski and the proclamation of unanimity in the Sejm. Sigismund III systematically tried to establish absolutism in the country. However, they were rejected by the Sejm. The king sought to limit the power of the assembly, to transform the existing posts into subordinates only to him. He also tried to form mastery with the help of marjorams. Possessing them would give a 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 conceived reforms. In 1589, Zamoysky proposed approving the decisions of the Sejm by a majority vote. The king opposed, opposing the hetman opposition Opalinsky.
The fight for Sweden
In 1592, Sigismund married the daughter of the Austrian Duke Karl, the 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. Karl supported Protestantism and quickly gained popularity with the Swedish people, clearly aiming for the throne. In 1596, Sigismund made Warsaw the capital, moving it from Krakow. Arriving in Sweden again in 1598, the monarch pushed many as his supporter, and in the next 1599 he was removed from the throne. The new king of Sweden was declared his uncle by the name of Charles IX. However, the estranged monarch did not want to lose power. As a result, he involved Poland in a 60-year confrontation with Sweden, which was extremely unsuccessful for the country.
Transnistria
Towards the end of the 17th century, Cossacks began to gather under the banner of the adventurer from Serbia, Mikhail, who was captured by Moldova. It should be said that the Ukrainian daredevils got a kind of custom to give shelter to various daredevils and impostors. To curb such abuses, Sigismund charged the Cossacks with an obligation not to accept such people. At that time, a rumor circled in Russia that Tsarevich Dmitry was alive. Accordingly, the news reached Ukraine. The Cossacks had the opportunity to transfer self-control to Moscow land. At the same time, a struggle was going on in the Dniester region for the formation of a Cossack state under the leadership of Grigory Loboda and Severin Nalyvaiko. The latter wrote a letter to Sigismund in 1595. In it, he outlined his plans, which implied the creation of a Cossack state with the patronage of the monarch. Nalivaiko carried out many aggressive campaigns. He died in the struggle under the Lubny. After his death, the idea of creating a Transnistrian Cossack state was no longer reborn.
Wars with Russia
During the years of 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 the accession to Moscow land, the impostor promised that Chernigov-Seversky territories would depart to Poland. In 1609, after the death of the first False Dmitry, the monarch led the siege of Smolensk. In 1610, the Polish army, commanded by Zholkevsky, captured Moscow. By decision of the Russian boyars, the throne in the capital of Russia was to take Vladislav, the son of the autocrat. In 1611, on October 29, Vasily Shuisky (the former Russian tsar), along 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, a ceasefire was signed at Deulin. Under this agreement, Severskaya, Chernihiv, and Smolensk lands departed for Poland.
Conclusion
In 1598, the first wife of Sigismund died. In 1605, he married for the 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 rule, on the one hand, was at the peak of the power of the Commonwealth. Along with this, during the years of his power the first signs of decline began to appear. Subsequently, they led to the complete destruction of Polish-Lithuanian statehood.