| Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth | |
|---|---|
| 1569–1648 | |
 Administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1619, around the time of the Commonwealth's greatest extent | |
| 1667–1768 | |
 Administrative division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1667–1768, following the territorial losses of the mid-17th century | |
Subdivisions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth evolved over for centuries of its existence from thesigning of the Union of Lublin to thethird partition.
The lands that once belonged to the Commonwealth are now largely distributed among several central, eastern, and northern European countries:Poland (exceptwestern Poland),Lithuania,Latvia,Belarus, most ofUkraine, parts ofRussia, southern half ofEstonia, and smaller pieces inSlovakia andMoldova.
While the term "Poland" was also commonly used to denote this whole polity, Poland was in fact only part of a greater whole – thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which comprised primarily two parts:
The Crown in turn comprised two "prowincjas":Greater Poland andLesser Poland. These and a third province, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, were the only three regions that were properly termed "provinces". The Commonwealth was further divided into smaller administrative units known asvoivodeships (województwa – note that some sources use the wordpalatinate instead ofvoivodeship). Each voivodeship was governed by aVoivode (governor). Voivodeships were further divided intopowiats (often translated as county) being governed by astarosta generalny orgrodowy. Cities were governed bycastellans. There were frequent exceptions to these rules, often involving theziemia subunit of administration: for details on the administrative structure of the Commonwealth, see the article onoffices in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Royal lands (królewszczyzna) further divided intostarostwa, eachstarostwo being governed by astarosta niegrodowy.
By provinces, voivodeships and lesser entities.
Crown of the Kingdom of Poland or just colloquiallyThe Crown (Polish:Korona) is the name for theterritories under Polish direct administration in the times of Kingdom of Poland until the end ofPolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795.
Two important ecclesiastical entities with high degree of autonomy within the Crown of Poland wereDuchy of Siewierz andPrince-Bishopric of Warmia.
Fiefs of Crown of Poland included theLauenburg and Bütow Land and twocondominiums (joint domain) with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania:Duchy of Livonia andDuchy of Courland and Semigallia.
Some enclaves in the Hungarian area ofSpisz were also part of Poland (due to theTreaty of Lubowla).
TheGrand Duchy of Lithuania or just colloquiallyLithuania (Lithuanian:Lietuva) is the name for the territories under direct Lithuanian administration during medieval sovereign Lithuanian statehood, and later until the end of common Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth statehood in 1795.
Just before theUnion of Lublin (1569), four voivodeships (Kiev,Podlaskie,Bracław, andWołyń) of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania were transferred to the Polish Crown by direct order ofSigismund II Augustus, and theDuchy of Livonia, acquired in 1561, became acondominium (joint domain) of both Lithuania and Poland. TheDuchy of Courland and Semigallia was another condominium.
After 1569, Lithuania had eight voivodeships and one eldership remaining:
| Voivodeship after 1569 | Coat of arms | Banner | Capital | Year established[1] | Number of powiats | Area (km2) in 1590[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brześć Litewski Voivodeship |  |  | Brześć Litewski (Brest) | 1566 | 2 powiats | 40,600 |
| Mińsk Voivodeship |  | Mińsk Litewski (Minsk) | 1566 | 3 powiats | 55,500 | |
| Mścisław Voivodeship |  |  | Mścisław (Mstsislaw) | 1566 | 1 powiat | 22,600 |
| Nowogródek Voivodeship |  | Nowogródek (Novogrudok) | 1507 | 3 powiats | 33,200 | |
| Połock Voivodeship |  | Połock (Polotsk) | 1504 | 1 powiat | 21,800 | |
| Samogitian Eldership |  |  | Raseiniai | 1411 | 1 powiat | 23,300 |
| Smoleńsk Voivodeship |  | Smoleńsk (Smolensk) | 1508 | 2 powiats | ||
| Trakai Voivodeship |  | Trakai | 1413 | 4 powiats | 31,100 | |
| Vilnius Voivodeship |  | Vilnius | 1413 | 5 powiats | 44,200 | |
| Witebsk Voivodeship |  |  | Witebsk (Vitebsk) | 1511 | 2 powiats | 24,600 |
One of the oldest Lithuanian territories, theDuchy of Samogitia, had a status equal to that of a voivodeship, but retained the name Duchy.
After theLivonian War (1558–1582), Lithuania acquired vassal stateDuchy of Courland with capital inJelgava.
TheDuchy of Prussia was aduchy in the eastern part ofPrussia from 1525 to 1701. In 1525 during theProtestant Reformation, theGrand Master of theTeutonic Knights, Albert of Hohenzollern, secularized the PrussianState of the Teutonic Order, becomingAlbert, Duke in Prussia. His duchy, which had its capital inKönigsberg (Kaliningrad), was established as a fief of theCrown of Poland, as had been Teutonic Prussia since theSecond Peace of Thorn in October 1466. This treaty had ended the War of the Cities orThirteen Years' War and provided for the Order's cession of its rights over the western half of its territories to the Polish crown, which became the province ofRoyal Prussia, while the remaining part of the Order's land became a fief of theKingdom of Poland (1385–1569). In the 17th century KingJohn II Casimir of Poland submittedFrederick William to regain Prussian suzerainty in return for supporting Poland against Sweden. On 29 July 1657, they signed theTreaty of Wehlau inWehlau (Polish: Welawa; now Znamensk), whereby Frederick William renounced a previous Swedish-Prussian alliance and John Casimir recognised Frederick William's full sovereignty over the Duchy of Prussia.[3] Full sovereignty was a necessary prerequisite for upgrading the Duchy toKingdom of Prussia in 1701.
TheDuchy of Livonia[4] was a territory of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania – and later a joint domain (Condominium) of the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
| Coat of arms | Voivodeship | Capital | Year established | Number ofstarostwos (districts) | Area (km2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Dorpat Voivodeship | Dorpat (Tartu) | 1598 | 5 starostwos | 9,000 |
| Parnawa Voivodeship | Parnawa (Pärnu) | 1598 | 8 starostwos | 12,000 |
| Wenden Voivodeship | Wenden (Cēsis) | 1598 | 15 starostwos | 30,000 |
| Inflanty Voivodeship | Dyneburg (Daugavpils) | 1621 | 4 starostwos | 12,000 |
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia is aduchy in theBaltic region that existed from 1562 to 1791 as a vassal state of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania and later thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1685,District of Pilten was in union with the duchy. In 1791 it gained full independence, but on 28 March 1795, it was annexed by theRussian Empire in theThird Partition of Poland. The duchy also hadcolonies inTobago and Gambia
Caffa
In 1462, during the expansion of theOttoman Empire and the Crimean Tatars, Caffa placed itself under the protection of KingCasimir IV of Poland. The proposition of protection was accepted by the Polish king but when the real danger came, help for Caffa never arrived.[5]
Following the territorial losses of theSecond Partition of Poland, theGrodno Sejm of 1793 introduced a new administrative division (italic marks new voivodeships):[6]
Thought was given at various times to the creation of aGrand Duchy of Ruthenia, particularly during the 1648Cossack insurrection against Polish rule in Ukraine. Such a Duchy, as proposed in the 1658Treaty of Hadiach, would have been a full member of the Commonwealth, which would thereupon have become a tripartitePolish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth, but due to szlachta demands, Muscovite invasion, and division among the Cossacks, the plan was never implemented.
For similar reasons, plans for aPolish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth also were never realized, although during thePolish–Muscovite War (1605–18) the Polish Prince (later, King)Władysław IV Waza was briefly elected Tsar of Muscovy.
