How Lithuanian was Poland Lithuania? (Short Animated Documentary) 

The Denmark-Norway one is interresting as it was clearly dominated by Denmark but they have comparable population, I can only really think of the cultural similarities as a reason it was kept togethor

After the political reforms of the 1860s, Hungary had enough autonomy to be considered a separate country in certain ways, albeit under the same political leadership and common policy.

Cossack Historian the Hungarian part of the empire had a lot of power actually it controled it’s own half of the empire such as Croatia and Slovakia and it can refuse demands from the Austrian government such as during ww1 when it refused to sell food to Austria and it can dissolve the union anytime such as after ww1 when it left the union and it had it own army so unlike the polish Lithuanian commonwealth Hungary was an equal to Austria And wanted to maintain the status quo and repeatedly shot down many attempts to federalize the empire.

@Chargingpath - well Hungary had a lot of control over its own half of the country and was close to independent, but had no power over Austria itself

or what about how portuguese was iberian union

Lithuania, Hungary and Scotland meet at a bar. *Scotland:* "Hey, how did you guys become subservient to your bigger neighbor?" *Lithuania:* "Oh, we feared we would be swallowed up by Russia so we had no choice but to agree to their terms. Hungary?" *Hungary:* "They used the fact we were dismembered by the Ottomans and then reconquered those lands to themselves. How about you, Scotland?" *Scotland:* "...We tried to set up a colony in Panama."

yarpen26 Hey look man it seemed like a good idea at the time

Also note that the first king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was Lithuanian. Ring a bell?

@@PasserMontanus "What happens when the Commonwealth is yours... And then you lose it."

Same here, I’m welsg

Spot on stuff re: social status. I hope most people realize as well that Latin was the language that was spreading at first rather than Polish, though it eventually followed. That said, just have to note that exception that the Prussian Baltic areas did self-Polonize in at least one very specific way. After opposing it initially, the German speaking burghers and nobles participated in local sejmniks for local governance and sent representatives to the Sejm. Why? Because it was a means to exercise political clout, and they learned to wield it just like everyone else. Accordingly, Poland's relatively broad franchise parliamentary style of politics spread as an institution north just as it had spread east to Lithuania. In other words, the political culture assimilated via useful institutions. Source: The Oxford History of Poland-Lithuania, Vol 1 by Robert Frost.

@@zubstep I was only refering to the adoption of the language, not the political system. But you are of course correct in that people adopted all those polish customs that gave them more influence and power. Which is also the reason why the citizens of Danzig were very adamant about being loyal subjects of the polish king and NOT the teutonic order (or the dukes of Prussia after the order had been secularised). More self-determination and fewer taxes.

MOOT

"The king did not care whether you spoke polish, lithuanian or german or whatever other local language, as long as you paid your taxes and did not cause trouble."

They were more advanced as a country than Western Europe at the time

"Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth" is the established name in English though, so calling it something else would have made the video title confusing.

@@HeadsFullOfEyeballs Yeah they kind ruined the name, it should just be commonwealth because it was the ONLY commonwealth IN THE WORLD.

@@englishrival2020 Well kinda. The world Rzeczpospolita is an archaic word and is an literal translation of latin res publica just like commonwealth. Rzeczpospolita used to refer to every republic whether it was Roman Republic, Republic of Venice or PLC.

@@coloneltaynov7314 lol what? The official name of Poland is Rzeczpospolita Polska. It's not archaic at all. And you got it completely wrong - Rzeczpospolita refers only to Poland and every other republic is just "republika".

@@GreenRatel Only nowadays. As late as the early 20th century some people talked about the Rzplita Francuska, among others. The English name was changed probably because they didn't want to call a monarchy a republic, even if they do so in regards to Venice, which was officially a monarchy.

Yes XD

Well, Lithuania was partitioned between Third Reich (Klaipeda region) and Soviet Union, too.

@Influence08 0. Kurwa

I mean... Gotta admit that's accurate af

@Influence08 You suck and you know it.

Good luck

Poland is OP after 1.27

My tip: if Austria rivals bohemia royal marry with the bohemians (dont ally them) and when they will have your dynasty on the throne claim it and declare war for easy personal union.

just came back from a byzantium attempt. rip me

@Influence08 try ottomans or france lol

Yeah

Not exactly. Ukrainian cultural identity during the XVII century was already high enough to consider them a nation of their own.

@@buckplug2423 not true. There was no such word as Ukrainian even back then. Plus there didn't have their own identity because they were part of the ruthaian family. There were ruthaian dialects but not languages as you know it today. Belarusian and Ukrainian was only starting to separate.

@@buckplug2423 Well, it's arguable. If we consider linguistic split and eventual separation of Ukrainian and Belorussian languages it would be more like late XVIII century. So, my point is there is no hard line

@@user-cn8vj5rs5c Fair point.

Dang, that’s awesome, makes me want to travel again. Thanks for sharing mate :)

im lithuanian and i'd say my country is alright but it's nice to hear that u liked visiting the country

Hello my frends forever !

@@prypiatshadow6371 has it changed for the better or worse?

@@ohnoitsthecatman738 50/50

It's Radvilos sis

Not Radvillus but Radvilos. But you are right. Thanks for pointing that out.

Radizwiłłs still exist, surprisingly.......

AnnoyinglySalty Yep. The wife of one of the Radziwill’s was on the reality show “The Real Housewives of NYC”.

@@anonimusmusic9095 Nice fake account and fake history, conflict-baiting putlerbot :) Does Dugin and the Kremlin at least pay you enough for all this spam so you could afford a VPN to be able to access proper internet like the rest of us?

pick a local noble instead

@@mulan-jinglesemusicas1513 Much better choice, quick PU with Bohemia afterwards

WE NEED A PIAST

As a Muscovy player: All pay you as much as you want, just pick a local noble

@@The-Samuil If you allow me to PU you than I won't chose a Lithuanian.

If you're talking about the Baltic haplogroup, it's quite common in South-Western Russia as well, and even found in significant (>10%) proportions as far as Chelyabinsk. Everyone's mixed. But if it's more than that, heritage doesn't have to come from centuries ago, it could easily come from less distant relatives who just went to Poland for education and/or opportunities, because Vilnius university was closed or something. I have even heard a story of a family getting completely Polonised during 1920s Vilnius region occupation. Lithuanian activists were actively persecuted, so one Lithuanian linguist decided that the best disguise was to move to Poland, pretend to be Polish and never tell your kids the truth... The disguise worked, but the children of this anti-Polonization Lithuanian activist grew up Polish...

Yes the Piłsudski times - I wonder what was a better choice for Lithuanians being part of after WW1 Poland or one of Soviet Republics run by Leninists and then Stalin. Looks like neither one.

@@pliedtka yeah, neither option was ideal. The Soviets acknowledged the existence of Lithuanian identity, but actively tried to kill every educated and even remotely wealthy or influential figure remaining from pre-occupation times, whereas the Poles would have likely left the intellectual and layers intact as long as they cooperated, but seeked to eliminate all traces of Lithuanian national identity at any cost and replace it with the a Polish one... But hey, at least of one of the two forces mentioned is mostly friendly these days.

@@pliedtka by the way, did you make a comment where you mentioned your doctor and then deleted it? It shows up in my notifications feed...

The whole "Vilnius was 2% lithuanian in 1897" is bs. It was written by the russian empire which was trying to russify lithuania. Lithuanian press was forbiden untill 1904 and in those statistic the poles arent the biggest majority too it was jews. Lithuanians lost Grodno, lida, breslav, ashmiana, suwalki and Vilnius which was populated by ethnic lithuanians before. And the whole polish-lithuanian war is misunderstood. Pilsudski didnt want vilnius because it was "polish". Both Pilsudski and Želigowski wanted to restore the "old lithuania" the multi-ethnic and multi-lingual lithuania. And they both came from polonised lithuanian nobility. While the ethnic lithuanians wanted a "new lithuanian nation" populated only by ethnic lithuanians because of the whole polonisation, russofication and slavification in the past and vilnius is a historical city of lithuania. Pilsudski wrote a letter in two languages to the people of Vilnius in lithuanian and polish. He even promised to return Vilnius to Lithuanians if they accepted their vision of Lithuania but they refused which is the whole reason why the polish puppet state the republic of central lithuania was made. My great grandmother was just a polish speaking lithuanian.

Nail on head!!! ... A really sloppy video that almost deliberately causes hate and division with false assumptions overlaid with contemporary victim narrative... What an absolute wank of poor quality content!!!

Extremely well said. Also worth noting, by 1386 Jagiello could see the days of remaining pagan and acting as an in-between the Catholic west and Orthodox east were over. He'd have to choose. To go with Catholicism and Poland was in significant part motivated to preserve Lithuanian identity from being subsumed into Ruthenian / Rus, which was already their language at the Lithuanian court. This point ought to be obviously relevant to modern day people, yet is totally missed in such videos on Lithuania or Poland-Lithuania.

@@zubstep Good point, it is true and people, especially Lithuanians tend to overlook it.

Zanzub and Mr Kowalski- spot on. Westerners oversimplify everything and too often prove to be ignorants.

of you would complain about the 10 minute oversimplification on the complicated history of a country. really now

Polonialism...

Make sure not to touch Polonium while going out! Polonium was named after "Poland", a small historical detail

@@seneca983 Polished version of colonialism

@@grzegorzkonieczny2682: Haha! (Or maybe colonialism is a colored version of polonialism.)

England would be a Polony now then😂

@tu tu fucking autocorrect...

That feel when Poland cucked over lithuania like 20 times and most ppl don't even know about it. I really mean it, like most Polish people haven't heard about Polish agression for Vilnus.

Yeah, we do learn about it in school. It was called "Żeligowsky's Revolt", is this what you meant?

@@SKYCROOSWILSON census made by russians in 1897 shows that Lithuanians were only 2% in the area

@@mateuszk6825 zazdroszczę u mnie w regionie 1 na 20 osób wie, że ta wojna się wogóle wydarzyła.

What you claim does not correspond to the historical reality, because the Poles ruled the Polish empire. That is why Lithuania was also Polonized. If the Poles hadn't been the rulers, there would have been no Polonization either, because then it wouldn't have been worth becoming a Pole. The video also didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. When Lithuania was united with Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility becuas many Russians were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates the fact that with the coronation as Polish king, the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. And that was by far not the only additional title to the title of the Polish king. For example the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa totaled these titles in addition to the title of King of Poland. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Polish king and parliament ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by the Polish king's troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the official king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost power in sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. The official titles of other Polish kings, such as Stephen Báthory, also make this clear. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical. What also clarifies Stephen Báthory's titles: Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia, also Prince of Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of the Polish King. But only a short time because the armies of King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore could not defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. By the way, the imperial ruling population were the Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Crown of Poland. However, the various other treaties wich followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the asimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world!

By the way, to use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. When Lithuania was united with Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw.

@@GreatPolishWingedHussars Nie posraj się

@@maksym1001 Oh someone from Vulgaristan who tries to cover up with vulgarity that he has no counterarguments! Pathetic behavior!

Debating Lithuanian nationality and calling Ruthenians Lithuanian works if you ignore everything before the commonwealth, and is also one of the reasons why the union fell

​@Semper Fidelis I don’t know what are you talking about. This video is about the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth and its Ruthenians (Ukrainians + Belarusians). Not about Hungary and its Carpathian Ruthenians. Transcarpathia never was a part of the Polish-Lithuania although its Ruthenian inhabitants were settlers from Red Ruthenia (Podolia, Eastern Galicia, Volhynia and Lemkovyna).

@Semper Fidelis There was no independent state called Ukraine when the Crown of Poland existed. The province of the Crown with the name Ukraine was inhabited by the same Ruthenians as in Red Ruthenia. Nobody called themselves Ukrainians back then. As for loyalty, only the Ruthenian nobility was loyal to the Crown. Eventually they converted to Catholicism and became Poles. But Ruthenian peasantry hated it. There was a Ruthenian insurgent movement (opryshoks) against the Polish feudal lords in Red Ruthenia from the 16th century to the early 19th century. Only after the Austrian authorities repealed the Polish "panszczyzna" in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria in 1848, the uprisings ended.

@Semper Fidelis The Kingdom of Ruthenia (Galicia-Lodomeria) was partitioned between Poland, Lithuania and Hungary starting from 1349. Galicia was incorporated into the Polish Crown in 1349 (till 1772). 423 years Podolia was incorporated in 1430 (till 1772 and 1793). 342-363 years Volhynia (Lodomeria) (except its western part which was incorporated in 1360s) and Podlachia were incorporated in 1569 (till 1795). 226 years Even though Ruthenians were divided between the Polish Crown and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, they were still bound together. There were no real borders since the Union of Krewo (1385). And Lviv remained the center of cultural life for all Ruthenians in Poland and Lithuania. Even in 1517 Polish professor of Jagiellonian University Maciej Miechowita describing the Ruthenian lands from Peremyshl (Premysliensis), Kholm (Chelmensis) and Belz (Belzensis) in the west till the Don river (Tanais) in the east in his "Tractatus de duabus Sarmatis Europiana et Asiana", calls Lviv (Leopoliensis) the capital of Ruthenia (metropolis Russiae) and Kyiv (Kiow) the former capital of Ruthenia (quae olim metropolis Russiae fuit), but still the capital of the Ruthenian Orthodox Church in Poland and Lithuania. Meletiy Smotrytsky, Ivan Vyshensky, Kostiantyn Vasyl Ostrozky, Lavrenty Zyzany, Pamwo Berynda, Zacharija Kopystensky and many others famous Ruthenians were equally close to both Lviv and Kyiv. Kyiv-Mohyla Collegium/Academy was the leading center of higher education for all Ruthenians in the Commonwealth in 17th century.

@Semper Fidelis On May 10, 1848 Supreme Ruthenian Council (Holovna ruska rada) in Lviv published the Manifesto where it was clearly stated that the Galician Ruthenians are the part of the Great Ruthenian nation of 15 million people (total population of Ruthenians/Ukrainians in both Austria-Hungary and Russia in 1848) who speak the same language. 19th-century Austrian Galicia has become the historic Piedmont of the Ruthenian (Ukrainain) national revival since in the Russian Empire expressions of Ruthenian language and culture were persecuted. Russian authorities even closed the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in 1811. Many writers and poets were arrested and exiled. Some managed to escape to the Habsburg Empire. In the second half of the 19th century there were only two political movements among Ruthenians of Austria-Hungary: 1) Moscophiles accepted the Russian imperial idea of the triune Russian nation: Great Russians (Muscovites) + Little Russians (Ruthenians) + White Russians (Belarusians or White Ruthenians) and dreamed of joining Red Ruthenia to the Russian empire. 2) Narodovtsi or Ukrainophiles considered Ruthenians of Galicia, Bukovyna, and Transcarpathia a part of one Great Ruthenian (Ukrainian) nation from the San to the Don river. But they were against the idea of joining to the Russian empire because of the Russian chauvinism. Both Ruthenian political movements were in a severe confrontation with the Poles in Galicia. There were no any pro-Polish Ruthenian organizations at all. Ruthenians clearly remembered the polonisation, panszczyzna and the Polish chauvinism (Ty Polaku, stoj w szyszaku z orężem do boju! Ty, Rusinie, sk… synie, z widłami - do gnoju!). As soon as the Habsburg empire collapsed and Galician Ruthenians proclaimed the independent West Ukrainian National Republic, Polish-Ruthenian conflict turned into the armed struggle. Poles called it the Ruthenian campaign (Kampania ruska). The funniest and the saddest thing was that the Galician Ruthenians waited for help in their fight against Poles from the Ukrainian National Republic, but Ukrainian National Republic waited for help in their fight against Russians from the West Ukrainian National Republic and the Second Polish Republic.

@Semper Fidelis As for the elections in the Second Polish Republic. Most Galician Ruthenians (Uniates) just boycotted the Polish elections 1922, because they considered their land occupied and the Polish government illegitimate. But even of those who took part in the elections, the majority voted for the minority interest parties (77% Galician Uniates and 66% Volhynian, Polesian and Belarusian Orthodox Christians). In the Polish elections 1928 the minority interest parties were supported by 71% of Galician Uniates, by 21% of Volhynian, Polesian and Belarusian Orthodox Christians. Communists were supported by 12% Uniates and 44% Orthodox Christians). There were no pro-Polish Galician Ruthenians in 1944, but Galician Poles. Many of them were just polonized Ruthenians (Polish speaking Catholics), but still Poles. And they were not "physically eliminated", but transferred to Poland in 1944-1946 according to the treaty of population exchange between USSR and Poland. It was signed by the chairman of the Polish Committee of National Liberation Edward Osóbka-Morawski and the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR. Under the terms of this treaty all Poles from the western part of the Ukrainian SSR should have been transferred to Poland and all Ukrainians (Ruthenians) from the eastern part of Poland to the Ukrainian SSR. The population exchange has been officially ended on May 6, 1947. But the Poles hadn’t finished deportations on their side by this time. So they had started the new operation - the Operation Vistula. All the remaining Ruthenians had been forcibly resettled to the territories of pre-war Germany that became part of Poland after World War II. They were settled in small groups among a majority of Polish population in order to speed up the assimilation process. By the way, the present-day Galicia still is the most patriotic part of Ukraine.

union was a necessity for lithuania as russia was getting stonger and more agressive taking back "eternal russian land". unfortunately it brought poland into conflict with not only russia but also with sweden through livonia which caused the downfall of poland

In the end it didn't help much,sadly it just gave them some more time.

And still after polonization and especially after rusianization we stayed ethnic Lithuanians and we kept our language which is thousands years old

Curse? That is sad. No one forced Lithuanian elites to polonise themselves. And they had equal rights as polish nobility.

@@werthor7083 especially considering the common wealth was one of the most ethnically diverse and religiously tolerant in Europe

Or just some longer episodes

absolutely, but i do still enjoy these

Yes please!

I prefer the shorter format

That would be helpful to fully explain how difficult it is to properly established just _who_ exactly could be seen as "Lithuanian" back then.

Read about their history before union. They were also really badass. Last nation to adopt Christianity. Successfully fighting off Teutonic and Livonian Orders for century or two. Made quite a empire, conquering ruthenian lands many time larger than their homeland.

Sure you do

Worship Giltine, acquire crusade.

@@mittag6326 it was more an effort of future belarusians than lithuanians. Also they didn't conquer any of ruthenian lands. They were either connected by marriage or voluntary join

The fact is that the Polish minority in Lithuania today is discriminated, disadvantaged and patronized by the Lithuanians. Today Lithuania would actually be obliged to set up bilingual (Polish Lithuanian) road signs in areas densely populated by poles. But Lithuania does not do that. In 2014 Šalčininkai district municipality administrative director Bolesław Daszkiewicz (Written in Polish) was fined about €12,500 for failure to execute a court ruling to remove Lithuanian-Polish street signs. Lucyna Kotłowska was fined ~€1700! The Lithuanians forced the Poles to Lithuanize their surnames, i.e. the spelling of the Polish surnames was changed against the will of the citizens, despite the Polish-Lithuanian agreement of 1994 which was supposed to protect the rights of the Lithuanian and Polish minorities. For example, the name Kleczkowski has to be spelled Klečkovski in official documents. These are just a few examples of many of the permanent discrimination against Poles in Lithuania! This has nothing to do with the crimes against Poles in the past. Becuase in 1918 in Wilno, today's Vilnius, the overwhelming majority of the population spoke Polish and only 4% of the inhabitants spoke Lithuanian. Unfortunately, the majority of the Polish population was expelled from the city and the area after 1945. Poles were also murdered during the expulsion. What is left is a Polish minority that is being discriminated against.

In 16th-18th century, there was no distinction between the Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian languages? You're delusional. The spoken form of these languages had probably diverged way earlier; and written Old East Slav was no longer a thing by that time.

@@arthursimsa9005 difference were probably quite big already but people from that time seen all of those languages just as Ruthenian which was pretty vague term overall and nowadays would be quite well fit into eastern slavic languages family.

Yeah right ! The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. The Poles were the imperial ruling ethnic group of the empire, which also clearly shows the politicization of Lithuania. Because it was worthwhile to belong to the imperial ruling ethnic group of Poland, there was this polonization. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. Before being taken over by Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility becuas they were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates that the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. That was by far not the only additional title of the Polish kings. For example, the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa had in addition to the Polish royal title, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Poles ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by Polish troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost the power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical so the titles of other Polish kings like Stephen Báthory, also make clear. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia and Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of Poland. But only a short time because the armies of Polish King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore he couldn't defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. So by the imperial ruling population of Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Polish Crown. However, the various other treaties wich followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the asimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below!

So here I explain in detail the name of Poland, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term.

Another thing - while the nobles of all areas overwhelmingly spoke Polish (because that was the language of the elites), the common people did not. For instance, the nobles of the Ukrainian part of the commonwealth spoke Polish, but the peasants spoke Ukrainian. Same in Lithuania - the Lithuanian language was preserved by the peasants and other commoners. But the idea that Belarussian, Russian and Ukrainian were all the same was inaccurate - it is more accurate to say that there was more of a continuum of language, the same way that there was once a continuum of language from Madrid to Paris, with the language changing slightly with every passing mile from one city to the other, but being quite different in Paris from Madrid. But it is the case that the modern concept of Belarus was basically defined as that part of the eastern Slavs who ended up in the Lithuanian (as opposed to Polish) part of the commonwealth. The dividing line between old Lithuania and Old Poland is essentially today's dividing line between Belarus and Ukraine.

I'm pretty sure that was scrapped alongside all the potential 10-minute videos.

But this term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth wrong! This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarchBut Poland was a matchless democratic noble republic at the time and therefore something vey special. So if there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term Rzeczpospolita. By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. I'll explain that in detail in the next comment!

@@GreatPolishWingedHussars least nationalistic Pole Thanks for telling that your country oppressed Lithuanians and Ruthenians.

@@akkiaddizone6889 Yup there are many of them, they want to erase Lithuania from it despite many of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth kings and queens being Lithuanian. He even said Vilnius and land near Latvia were Polish.

@Influence08 except you forget Muscovian tzar Ivan the Terrible occupied 1/2 of Grand Duchy of Lithuania and they needed to get rid of him, so Lithuanians traded Ukraine and independence for Polish help.

So basically both poland and lithuania were surrounded by enemies from all sides which made them both good friend which made them marry and unite to stand against germans, tatars, russians and turks

Wasn’t also about inheritance as well? Weren’t the kings of Poland and Lithuania prior to the Union brothers, and after the King of Poland died in a crusade against the Ottomans. Their was a succession crisis as he had no immediate heir, so they nobles decided to name the king of Lithuania their new King. Which at least set the stones to the Commonwealth.

@@brandonlyon730 History of Unions between Lithuania is long. First was in 1385 and the reason for that was desctibed by this dude above us. (Teutonic agression) Thing that you mentioned is the dead of Władysław III king of Poland and Hungary in that time Jagiellonian dynasty ruled both in Poland and Lithuania. After his death his brother Casimir IV became king and renew the Union in 1447 but it wasn't Commonwealth yet. Commonwealht was created in 1569 by the last Jaggielon king in defense against Russia who already seized half of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

It all started in 1444, as we all know, when Poland decided they NEED A JAGIELLON ON THE THRONE

>developed their own identity That isn't true. The 'ukrainisation' of Ukraine happened thanks to the early XIXth century academics from Volynj and Kyjiv, that tried to resurgitate the old Ukrainian literary tradition (that died out in the late 17th century due to masse polonisation of the PLC) and sought to establish some sort of autonomy for the Ukrainian lands within the Russian Empire, an effort they'd previously failed to pull thru when the PLC in 1720 denied such academics to publish their books in Old Ukrainian (also known as Westrusian literary language, Prosta mova, old Belarussian etc)

@@anonymousbloke1 That's the Ukrainian point of view that puts Ukraine as a synonym of Kievan Rus. Of course Ukraine emerged from the heritage of Kiev but those nations are not the same. In current understanding of the word Ukrainian identity as culture different from Ruthenian started to emerge in XIXth century.

Kev there is no different 'culture' and it has nothing to do with who of the two is the real successor to the Rusj (cause every eastern Slavic nation is) What Ukraino-centric point of view are you even talking about?

@@anonymousbloke1 You see, Russia claims to be the true ancestor of Kiev, Ukraine does, as well as Belarus. That's the point, to some degree they all are, and none of them really is. Early Rus was shaped in big part by Viking nordic cultures mixed with Slavic paganism and Orthodox Christianity. It all changed with the Mongol invasion. Ruthenian culture and language mixed with Lithuanian, Polish and even nomad culture. Out of those mixes slowly emerged new cultures. Belorussian in Lithuania, Russian in The Duchy of Moscow .In XVI century the Zaporozhyan Cossack culture started to take form of early Ukrainian nationalism, but there was a list of differences between it and the early Kievian state.The Lands west of Dniepr were under heavy western influence prime example being the greco-catholic church. The language used by Ruthenians and Ukrainians is different, they have different customs etc. Italians are the ancestors of Rome, but Rome is not synonymous with Italy.

@@pacthug4life don't know if yours are merely misconceptions or you truly believe that, but: 1) first and foremost, the Lithuanian language has had virtually no influence on the ruthenian language, vocabulary of which mostly comes from Polish or from German/Latin thru German etc. 2) mongols have had little influence over ruthenians in social structure or dressing manner or whatever, if you are referring to the Cossacks. Sure, initially Danylo Halycjkyj, a 13th Ruthenian knjaz, formed his troops as if they were mongols, but that quickly changed a century after the Lithuanian conquest of Rusj. Cossacks on the other hand were mostly influenced by the sarmats and such, who'd lived there for centuries, and later on by tatars 3) the first ones to try and develop a sense for Ukrainian nationality were academics from Kyjiv and Volynj, not Cossacks (initially many of whom were Polish nobles) 4) last but not least, you have virtually NO IDEA who Ukrainians and Ruthenians are 4a. Ruthenian is a dialect of Ukrainian. Ruthenian, even in the westernmost regions of Slovakia or Serbia or whatever, is 90% intelligible to Ukrainian speakers; and the customs are those of Hutsuls so I dunno tf you're talking about 4b. Ukrainians are simply Ruthenians who'd assumed the 'Ukrainian' term to describe their nationality

So, just your regular Russian Tsar then ?

Fuckin same

Haha, same 😁

Same here ... I looked for 'winter tsars' ...no wonder why I did not find anything 😂...thank you for enlightening me 👍.

There was one czar famous for something happening in winter areas

The Hospitaller Antilles!

@@SamAronow wow you just piqued my interest and I learned something new. Thank you

@@CDexie Happy to help!

Yeah Scotland was such a weird colony of England

Scotland =/= colony

@@tezja6775 exactly, Vilnius and not wILnO

The per se good video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To use this term is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. When Lithuania was united with Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility because many Russians were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates the fact that with the coronation as Polish king, the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. And that was by far not the only additional title to the title of the Polish king. For example the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa totaled these titles in addition to the title of King of Poland. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Polish king and parliament ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by the Polish king's troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the official king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. The official titles of other Polish kings, such as Stephen Báthory, also make this clear. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical. What also clarifies Stephen Báthory's titles: Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia, also Prince of Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of the Polish King. But only a short time because the armies of King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore could not defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. By the way, the imperial ruling population were the Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Crown of Poland. However, the various other treaties which followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the assimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the Polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! In the next comment I will explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth!

So here I explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term

​@@GreatPolishWingedHussars do you like Poland?

BUT...The good video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To use this term is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. When Lithuania was united with Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility because many Russians were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates the fact that with the coronation as Polish king, the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. And that was by far not the only additional title to the title of the Polish king. For example the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa totaled these titles in addition to the title of King of Poland. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Polish king and parliament ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by the Polish king's troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the official king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. The official titles of other Polish kings, such as Stephen Báthory, also make this clear. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical. What also clarifies Stephen Báthory's titles: Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia, also Prince of Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of the Polish King. But only a short time because the armies of King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore could not defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. By the way, the imperial ruling population were the Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Crown of Poland. However, the various other treaties which followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the assimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the Polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! In the next comment I will explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

So here I explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term.

@Fat Earther grow up

@Fat Earther the duke of Lithuania married the king of Poland and formed the Polish-Lithuanian Union. The "king" of Poland was a woman at the time. I think that at the time only a king, not a queen could rule the kingdom. So they just crowned her as king.

Jagiellon dynasty quickly polonise themselves.

Wasn’t she crowned “King” because of a loophole in polish law since Poland was dealing with a very bad secession crisis and the law never stated what gender the King had to be and a Queen can’t rule by themselves so she was given that title for the rest of her reign.

@@brandonlyon730 Yes Hedwig (Jadwiga in Polish) was king not queen.

This is actually much closer to the truth than the point of view presented in the video. Slavic peoples' history is too complicated for Anglo-Saxons to grasp:)

@@AndyRhye true

@@hanshoffmann2582 Same as the rest of peasants all across the world. Not really that special.

there was no belarus ever, today is soviet creation

Hans Hoffmann you see the thing is, Polish peasants were treated the same way by the nobility really, that’s why peasants didn’t like the monarchs.

So? What is your point? The video still asks an interesting question.

What you claim is wrong! First! The good video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To use this term is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. Before being taken over by Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility becuas they were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates that the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. That was by far not the only additional title of the Polish kings. For example, the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa had in addition to the Polish royal title, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Poles ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by Polish troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost the power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical so the titles of other Polish kings like Stephen Báthory, also make clear. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia and Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of Poland. But only a short time because the armies of Polish King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore he couldn't defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. So by the imperial ruling population of Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Polish Crown. However, the various other treaties wich followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the asimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below!

So here I explain in detail the name of Poland, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term.

In fact, everything you say is historically incorrect. The Polish king had not only 2 ethnies as subjects but many ethnies, because the Polish empire ruled many peoples. Incidentally, the Poles were the imperial ruling ethnic group of the empire, which also clearly shows the politicization of Lithuania. Because it was worthwhile to belong to the imperial ruling ethnic group of Poland, there was this polonization. By the way. to use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. To use this term is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania.

@@GreatPolishWingedHussars no one cares, and you dont have to write a book across 3 months to explain that

Us lithuanian call it ATR as if in Abeju tautu Respublika aka "Both (or Two) Nation Republic"

Rzeczpospolita

@@matushka__ The Commonwealth was in no way, shape or form a Republic.... A Republic is literally defined as a state which doesn't have a monarch.

@@Wasserkaktus it wasnt , just the name was that , Like for example the people republic of korea it aint a republic its communist but "republic'

@@matushka__ A Communist Entity is still a Republic: A Republic is defined as a State lacking a monarch.

You mean Poland

@@nandinhocunha440 This is the second time when you call Lithuania Poland for an unknown reason. Lithuania is Lithuania and Poland is Poland.

@@raceris7309 he's trying to be funny, let him be.

@@vakaris41 I'm sad that five people didn't get the joke and I'm disappointed in him for not getting the joke

Some Lithuanians lost weir sens of humor in Poland :D

All this because of 1920 annexation of Vilnius.

yeah no worries mate, its all bullshit propoganda anywhay, mostly it was done by ussr to make sure peoples of the subject states dint cooperate. most of the emnity stems from ww2 and the whole vilnius mess, most forget Vilnius was ocupied at the time by soviets and we were being pushed out, if it wasnt for poles suceding in batle for Warsaw everyone wouldve been screwed. Now in modern day we eastern europeans need to stand together as neighbours not as foes against threats from east and west to make sure we can live a happy and prosperous life.

Wilna is belarusian city

@@dukeofthemapping1671 hah

@@learnprog5350 that "annexation" saved the citizens of the city. Don't forget what happened with the Lithuanian leaders and army when the Russians started their approach and withdraw from Lithuania after signing the pact between Russia and Lithuania on 12.07.1920. Your forces withdrew and left that city when Russians were leaving, that city was in majority populated with Poles. In 1920 the Red Army took the city twice, murdering quite a lot of Poles. After the Polish army entered the city they created the Republic of Central Lithuania and gave citizenship to EVERYONE that lived there for at least 5 years. Our leadership plans were to have one country with Lithuanians and Ruthenians.

Rulling class and core people were Baltic Lithuanians.

@@klanas40 That's before the Commonwealth and the ruling class was Baltic in Baltic Lithuania and Ruthenian in Belarus (although even then many of then many of the Baltic upper class spoke Ruthenian). The Baltic upper class would end up intermarrying with Poles and assimilating.

@wr3t3tgetedxadge3fvzdqfgwr5gva When did I say that

Source? @wr3t3tgetedxadge3fvzdqfgwr5gva

@wr3t3tgetedxadge3fvzdqfgwr5gva What does people think about the P-L Commonwealth today in Belarus?

The per se good video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To use this term is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. When Lithuania was united with Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility because many Russians were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates the fact that with the coronation as Polish king, the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. And that was by far not the only additional title to the title of the Polish king. For example the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa totaled these titles in addition to the title of King of Poland. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Polish king and parliament ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by the Polish king's troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the official king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. The official titles of other Polish kings, such as Stephen Báthory, also make this clear. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical. What also clarifies Stephen Báthory's titles: Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia, also Prince of Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of the Polish King. But only a short time because the armies of King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore could not defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. By the way, the imperial ruling population were the Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Crown of Poland. However, the various other treaties which followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the assimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the Polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! In the next comment I will explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth!

So here I explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term

But the good video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To use this term is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. Before being taken over by Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility becuas they were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates that the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. That was by far not the only additional title of the Polish kings. For example, the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa had in addition to the Polish royal title, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Poles ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by Polish troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost the power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical so the titles of other Polish kings like Stephen Báthory, also make clear. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia and Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of Poland. But only a short time because the armies of Polish King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore he couldn't defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. So by the imperial ruling population of Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Polish Crown. However, the various other treaties wich followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the assimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below!

So here I explain in detail the name of Poland, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republic is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term.

Well if it isn't my Supreme Leader

Kim you fat bastard! What are you doing here?

Ideal cycling country to me. Thanks, I love cycling.

well if it isnt muh kween

Lithuania? Actually a small country on the Baltic Sea!

Joseph Henry. It was a direct democracy too, like ancient Athens. Didn't work too well for a country the size of Poland.

@@alanpennie8013 Well not quite like ancient Athens. It was more of an aristocratic monarchy where as athens had no aristocrats. Poland right to vote for king was hereditary. Athens it was all freemen born in the republic. But yes, it did lead to instability and foreign intervention common.

@@yotubeification True. But the citizens of Athens were a minority of the adult male population of the city. And Poland's elective monarchy was indeed an invitation to the surrounding states to meddle in Polish politics whenever a new king was elected.

@@alanpennie8013 Polish nobility seen itself as copying ancient Roman Republic and not Athens...

​@@aleksandersokal5279 not at all, neither from Rome nor from Athens. Mega oversimplification.

More like a history of being victims of imperialism. Communism requires that a state cannot exist, so authoritarian socialism is more accurate

Recovery by integrating into Germany.

@@steinistbaum2236 You mean integration into the German People's Caliphate? No thanks.

@@steinistbaum2236 i prefer to die painfuly

Jan Kowalski you Guys asked for the germans teutonics to clear the pagans Inside if your borders. Gusta j

Lithuania is like an unmovable rock in this continent. Looks a bit like one. Always standing its ground. Even the language itself resembles Proto-Indo-European more than any other IE language does.

@@RomasNordman Developed countries have access to condoms. See: "List of sovereign states and dependencies by total fertility rate" and look at what countries LTU is surrounded with(same fertility rate) on that list.

haha

POLSKA GÓRĄ! :D

Marṡ, marṡ Dǫbrowski, z ziemię włoskiej do Polski. Za twoim przewodem złǫczym się z narodem.

*laughs in taking moscow*

@@mittens5789 actually, lithuaninan leader (can't remember his name exactly) was at the gates of Moscow for 3 times: in 1376, 1378, 1380. And muscovites were just sitting in Moscow and hoping for the best since it was not the centuries of empires and all these sieges but just a centuries of glory and honor.

@@vanad1um we can agree poland and lithuania were chads from 1000s to 1700s

@@mittens5789 it was just a fan fact that it was the last three times Moscow was actually besieged

The good video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth like you too. To use this term is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. Before being taken over by Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility becuas they were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates that the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. That was by far not the only additional title of the Polish kings. For example, the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa had in addition to the Polish royal title, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Poles ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by Polish troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost the power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical so the titles of other Polish kings like Stephen Báthory, also make clear. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia and Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of Poland. But only a short time because the armies of Polish King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore he couldn't defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. So by the imperial ruling population of Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Polish Crown. However, the various other treaties wich followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the asimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below!

Yeah, that´salso why the Germans in WW1 came along so well with the eastern european jews. They could comunicate easily since German and Yiddish share quite similar vocabulary.

He said official languages, which I was shocked to find out was true.

It was the lingua franka between jewish communities from diffrent nations.

@@shadowno2298 Hebrew started to become a lingua franca among Jews in the 20th century. Prior to that Hebrew was rather a liturgical language.

@@xolang like Latin, Hebrew was both

@Mariv Yup. If it wasn't for u there would be no empire

They already fought a war between themsepves and thye are not gona do it for anotherr 100 years.

@Mariv "Lithuania would be barbaric" That is a misconseption. History is written by the victors so true europians are potrayed as bad by the chrystians. But in fact the ones who belive the true gods where better than the chrystians.

@@gunarsmiezis9321 Braliukas Runā muļķības

Provoking what? It is some delusion. Look at Russians around your country, then look at Latvia, then back to your country, look at your army, your little neighbour and what happened to Crimea. Really, Poland is not a threat

It actually refers to Belarus not modern day Lithuania. By ,, Lithuania, my fatherland" he actually meant areas near Nowogródek in western Belarus. Belarus was part of Grand duchy of Lithuania. That is why polish people called both of these places Lithuania in XIX century

Litwo, ojczyzno moja. Powiedział Polak o Białorusi.

@@kartykredytowe1642 was the poem writing in the modern day tho, no right

He wrote about territory around Nowogrodek wich was the capital of GDL before Gedimin founded Wilna

@@paranoidise6458 But its not about lithuanians but slavs. East slav not west slav like polskis.

nowadays it would be ukrainian lol

@@zzap4922 why? I think Poland would still be dominating

@@Bauvolk because most of the population in this area today are Ukrainians

@@zzap4922 nah, we would still have a dominant economy and military. But I think that they should have created the unitarian Church and open up the sarmatian identity to commoners, we would still be on the map by now. And Russia wouldn't dare come close to Kviv.

Actually wrong! The good video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To use this term is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. Before being taken over by Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility becuas they were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates that the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. That was by far not the only additional title of the Polish kings. For example, the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa had in addition to the Polish royal title, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Poles ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by Polish troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost the power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical so the titles of other Polish kings like Stephen Báthory, also make clear. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia and Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of Poland. But only a short time because the armies of Polish King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore he couldn't defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. So by the imperial ruling population of Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Polish Crown. However, the various other treaties wich followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the asimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below!

Kotryna Žvirblė Exactly! This is a big issue in the talks around these sore topics in general and it’s such a shame! It creates so much unnecessary chaos :( Bdw lovely last name, Sparrow ;D Any chance its real? Mine’s to do with cherries xd

@@aive751 Lol

@@aive751 Politics? Really? By Politics almost every country on the world should be hated, you think that in Poland we like our government? No.

I would love to see Polish people similar way we see Latvian's !!! In the end of the day we share the same border. As long as we can respect each other's differences and support on each other's weaknesses. What happened in the past can't be used as excuse to hate each other these days. If I was born 100y ago I bet I'd be doing same things people did back then! Peace and right - fuck politicians. People are the power!

@@algirdasnausedas324 I'm from Poland, i love Lithuania, and i hope that we can be friends like in the old days

@@marcelow8606 that is entirely up to us - common people ;) And I am all way in!!! :)

Second requirement : *Being an absolute badass*

*Swedes

Scrolled deep down just to see this comment xD

Like, ALL of Europe hated the Turks at some point sooooooo...........

*Hating everyone

I think, maybe in this current diagram ruthenians means ruthenians-belarusians. Its just assumption

The Ruthenians are the progenitors of the Ukrainians and Belarusians. By the way, the official and written language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania before being taken over by Poland was not the Lithuanian language, which only became a written language in the 16th century, but Ruthenian, an early form of today's Belarusian and Ukrainian languages. By the way, everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. Before being taken over by Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility becuas they were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates that the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. That was by far not the only additional title of the Polish kings. For example, the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa had in addition to the Polish royal title, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Poles ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by Polish troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost the power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical so the titles of other Polish kings like Stephen Báthory, also make clear. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia and Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of Poland. But only a short time because the armies of Polish King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore he couldn't defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. So by the imperial ruling population of Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Polish Crown. However, the various other treaties wich followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the asimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! By the way, the video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. But this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. In everyday language Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below!

So here I explain in detail the name of Poland, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term.

Lmao, underrated

The good video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To use this term is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. When Lithuania was united with Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility because many Russians were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates the fact that with the coronation as Polish king, the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. And that was by far not the only additional title to the title of the Polish king. For example the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa totaled these titles in addition to the title of King of Poland. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Polish king and parliament ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by the Polish king's troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the official king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. The official titles of other Polish kings, such as Stephen Báthory, also make this clear. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical. What also clarifies Stephen Báthory's titles: Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia, also Prince of Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of the Polish King. But only a short time because the armies of King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore could not defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. By the way, the imperial ruling population were the Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Crown of Poland. However, the various other treaties which followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the assimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the Polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world!

So here I explain in detail the name of Poland, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term.

Lithuania Proper was not that small compared to East Slavic world, there were famines in Rus' post mongol invasions especially in Ukraine.

@@1MuchButteR1 it was. Also nobility felt culturally backwards, everyone around was Christian, while they were pagan and Teutons wanted them dead for it, getting much support.

@@matm4413 You cannot understand history if you look at the world in current situation. Being backwards is another propaganda, entire Western Europe had diplomatic relations with Pagan Lithuanian leaders.

@@1MuchButteR1 denying the role of the church in those times is what you speak against

To be fair most of Lithuanias land they got out of a massive power vacuum by chance, also from what I’ve read here when your being invaded you are extremely willing to trade some land that isn’t very Lithuanian to get help

Oh god you are right. Thanks for saing that

Totally missed that XD

@@jankubiak324 me too

Yes that's right! The two peoples (Belarusians and Lithuanians) called themselves also "Lithuanians" in their languages ​​because of their state affiliation. The Ruthenians are the progenitors of the Ukrainians and Belarusians. By the way, the official and written language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania before being taken over by Poland was not the Lithuanian language, which only became a written language in the 16th century, but Ruthenian, an early form of today's Belarusian and Ukrainian languages. By the way, everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. Before being taken over by Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility becuas they were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates that the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. That was by far not the only additional title of the Polish kings. For example, the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa had in addition to the Polish royal title, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Poles ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by Polish troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost the power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical so the titles of other Polish kings like Stephen Báthory, also make clear. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia and Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of Poland. But only a short time because the armies of Polish King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore he couldn't defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. So by the imperial ruling population of Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Polish Crown. However, the various other treaties wich followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the asimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! By the way, the video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. But this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. In everyday language Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below!

So here I explain in detail the name of Poland, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term.

@@GreatPolishWingedHussars shit-pole there are no automatic becoming but elections. And read statutes of Grand Duchy of Lithuania poles even cant own land in private property in GDoL. P. s. Lithuanian grand duke Jogaila fuck your Anzu (Jadwiga) princess and made dinasty. Real polish born king rules Poland Kingdom only in mid 1600. P.s.s. and first president of Poland (after WWI) was lithuanian noble Narusevicius, second Pilsudski from Lithuania too. Pour shit-pole you domination only is in your ashole.

What are you confused about for instance?

@@plrc4593 I guess when did the poles first get land? Where does our Sence of self come from. Ik those are stupid questions but like I said idk much about my own history

@@samgreen7334 Poles didn't get land, they created a country. Mieszko I did. His son Bolesław the Brave was the first Polish king.

Now that right there is something we're proud of

Avery The Cuban-American STOP BEING EVERYWHERE!

Why in high hell would you know that as an American?

Avery The Cuban-American bro, we have the same taste in all vids!

Because it's eurovision dude, a collection of bads and memes judged by the masses

But the Radziwiłł opponents of the union with Poland were the exception. Because most of them were supporters of the union with Poland, because they were actually Polonized Lithuanian nobility, just as the majority of the Lithuanian nobility was also Polonized. They were so Polonized that in 1547 Barbara Radziwiłł married the Polish King Sigismund II August, thus becoming Queen of Poland. The name was Polonized too! The Radziwiłłs' first names were also mostly Polish. Because of the Polonization of the Lithuanian nobility, Polish first names were common! Like Bishop Mikołaj Radziwiłł or Prince Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł. By the way, to use the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as it is done in the video is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. When Lithuania was united with Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates the fact that with the coronation as Polish king, the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. And that was by far not the only additional title to the title of the Polish king. For example the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa totaled these titles in addition to the title of King of Poland. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Polish king and parliament ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by the Polish king's troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the official king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. The official titles of other Polish kings, such as Stephen Báthory, also make this clear. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical. What also clarifies Stephen Báthory's titles: Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia, also Prince of Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of the Polish King. But only a short time because the armies of King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore could not defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. By the way, the imperial ruling population were the Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Crown of Poland. However, the various other treaties which followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the assimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the Polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! In the next comment I will explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth!

So here I explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! You probably know Polish but I'll explain that for non-Poles. The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term.

Lol, Lithuanian)))

@@user-bh7ix4eh5k well he was Lithuanian. Barely a Russian

@@5Penkets Jagiellons is Ukrainian Dynasty.

@@user-bh7ix4eh5k ahh yes Algirdas is my favourite Ukrainian born in the center of Ukraine somewhere near Vilnius.

@@5Penkets He is not Algirdas, he is Demetrius. His mother from Polotsk and his wife is Ukrainian Quenn. And two his sons Vladislav and Boleslav are TOTALLY UKRAINIAN!!!

A lot of ethnic lithuanians were polonized in the centuries after Christianization and Union with Poland.

@@sovijus I just watched that documentary about the Baltic tribes and their fight against christianization. Very interesting. This summer I’m booking a trip to visit.

The commonwealth was formed when Queen Jadwiga married the then ruler of Lithuania in XIVc. Jadwiga was only ~14yo, and she kept the "King of Poland" title. Yes, she was female, formally called King. It was because polish nobility could not know how the marriage and the union would play out in longer term, so didn't want to cede the King's title to the Lithuanian prince Jagiello.

Please come to Lithuania. And have kids

Same with the lithuanians they got attack by the livonians but for years

Leman Russ. But we kicked some ass in the East at least for a little while haha :D We should be proud of our history and learn better ways

But then Lithuania disappeared in the shadow of Poland! However the good video contains some mistakes. One of the most important mistakes is the use of the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To use this term is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. When Lithuania was united with Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Several times in history Poles have proposed Polish-Russian Union to Russian nobility. But that was always rejected by the Russian nobility because many Russians were afraid of polonization, as was already happening with Lithuanian and Ruthenian nobility. Because in fact, the Ruthenian territories were also polonized although these areas originally belonged to the Lithuanian dominion, but through the Union of Krewo in 1385, these Ruthenian areas, like the entire Lithuanian dominions, came under Polish supremacy. Step by step these areas were polonized. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates the fact that with the coronation as Polish king, the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. And that was by far not the only additional title to the title of the Polish king. For example the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa totaled these titles in addition to the title of King of Poland. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Polish king and parliament ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by the Polish king's troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the official king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. The official titles of other Polish kings, such as Stephen Báthory, also make this clear. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical. What also clarifies Stephen Báthory's titles: Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia, also Prince of Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of the Polish King. But only a short time because the armies of King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore could not defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. By the way, the imperial ruling population were the Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Crown of Poland. However, the various other treaties which followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the assimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the Polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! In the next comment I will explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

So here I explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term.

Lithuania? That was the Polish Empire and Lithuania was a part of it! Furthermore, important was not the number of certain ethnicities in the empire, but rather who had power in the empire. So what is crucial is that the Poles had power in the empire. The winged hussars fought for the Polish king and the Polish empire, of which Lithuania was a part. The hussars were Polish regardless of whether Lithuanians were also part of them. By the way, to use the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as it was also done in the video is wrong because this term is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. I explain why the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong in detail in the next comment below! By the way, the Polish Empire could also be used as an alternative to Rzeczpospolita for this state if one wants to use a modern term. Because that was a Polish Empire and not a Polish Lithuanian Empire. Because the Poles completely dominated this state and were the rulers. The video didn't make clear enough how much the Poles dominated Lithuania. In fact, this is also clearly shown by the real name of the state. The ruling Poles have also determined what the state should be called Polisch Rzeczpospolita! The Polish name was then adopted by the Lithuanians into the Liatuish languages ​​as "Žečpospolita". By the way, Polish term for nobility ”szlachta” was also adopted into Lithuanian as ”šlėkta” like many other Polish words. As the video shows, the official languages ​​were Polish and Latin. Everywhere the upper class spoke Polish. When Lithuania was united with Poland in 1385, the East Slavic language Ruthenian, as most common language, was used as the written language, not Lithuanian. Lithuanian was mostly used as a spoken language and not in writing, because the earliest surviving written Lithuanian text is a translation dating from about 1503-1525. The first book printed in the Lithuanian language was in 1547. The majority of the loanwords in Lithuanian were from Polish. This is also why Polish was able to spread so successfully in the Lithuanian. So the languages Lithuanian and Ruthenian were supplanted by Polish. Everywhere in the empire the upper class spoke Polish. Poles completely dominated the Lithuanians. Lithuania was voluntarily polonized. All relevant was Polish like also the Polish currency Polski Złoty. Złoty means golden in Polish. The capitals of the entire state were the Polish cities of Krakow and Warsaw. Polish dominance over Lithuania also illustrates the fact that with the coronation as Polish king, the Polish king automatically became the grand duke of Lithuania. And that was by far not the only additional title to the title of the Polish king. For example the Polish King Sigismund III Vasa totaled these titles in addition to the title of King of Poland. Grand Duke of Lithuania and Grand Duke of Finland, Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Livonia, also Hereditary King of Sweden. Rus stands for Russia because the Polish king and parliament ruled large areas of Russia at the time, and even Moscow was briefly occupied by the Polish king's troops. Samogitia stands for the Baltic States, which the Polish king largely ruled. Hereditary king of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland because the Polish king was also the official king of Sweden for a short time. But he lost power in Sweden and Finland. This list of titles makes it clear that Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of the many titles of the Polish king. But the most important title was always King of Poland. The official titles of other Polish kings, such as Stephen Báthory, also make this clear. But he titles of Polish kings were not always identical. What also clarifies Stephen Báthory's titles: Grand Duke of Lithuania and Prince of Rus, Prussia, Mazovia, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlaskie, Severia, Czernihów, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Podlaskie, Livonia, also Prince of Transylvania. He ruled large areas in southern Europe up to the Black Sea with Moldova. In 1462 even Caffa in Crimea was a protectorate of the Polish King. But only a short time because the armies of King Casimir IV were involved with the war against the Teutonic Order and therefore could not defend Caffa against the Ottomans. Poland was in the 15. century the largest kingdom in Europe. So it is no exaggeration to call this state a Polish empire because the Polish kings ruled at least over 15 different peoples and also over 5 different religious groups because an empire is a multi-ethnic state with political and military dominion of a population who are culturally and ethnically distinct from the imperial ruled ethnicities and its culture. By the way, the imperial ruling population were the Poles. This all shows the Polish dominance because in an empire reigns and dominates just one ethnic group. The Polish king was the head of all inhabitants of the empire. In the end, the title Grand Duke of Lithuania was just one of many Polish king's titles. The title was particularly important only at the beginning of the Polish rule over Lithuania, when the Lithuanian nobility was not yet Polonized. At that time the Poles still had to pretend the Lithuanian nobility that this was not a takeover. The treaty of Krewo for personal union of Poland with Lithuania in 1385 was the decisive step in Poland's takeover of Lithuania. This union was declared indissoluble. This personal union meant that the Polish king should also be the ruler of Lithuania. In fact, the union treaty also contained the provision of the attaching of Lithuanian and Ruthenian lands to the Crown of Poland. However, the various other treaties which followed this treaty actually meant the takeover and Polonization of Lithuania too. A significant resolution was the adoption of Polish administrative divisions and offices like voivode and castellan by Lithuania. Even more important was that in total 47 selected Lithuanian nobles were adopted by Polish nobles heraldic families and granted Polish coats of arm. This symbolic gesture signified their desire to adopt Polish customs and integrate into Polish society. Because of this possibility of heraldic adoption, Poland had a much higher proportion of nobles than other European kingdoms. In Poland, the proportion of nobles in the total population was already 10-15% in the 16th century, in the rest of Europe it was 1%. Thus the Union of Krewo in 1385 signified the beginnings of the strengthened Polonization of Lithuania. Strengthened Polonization because the Polonization actually started before the Union of Krewo, because the Lithuania was Christianized from Poland. Priests, especially from Poland, Christianized Lithuania and priests had great influence at that time, so there was already a Polish influx in Lithuania before the Union of Krewo. The revolutionary constitution Nihil Novi in 1505 passed by the Polish parliament applied to the entire Polish Empire as well as to Lithuania. Through this constitution, Poland became the Rzeczpospolita Nobles' Democracy! The state was no longer called the Kingdom of Poland, but the most serene (most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland. The constitution was the primary element of the democratic governance in the Polish kingdom which granted Parliament extensive powers. The Parliament (sejm) was a powerful political institution and the king could not pass most of laws without the approval of that body. Poland, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! Warsaw was the primary location of the sejm. The Lithuanians have adopted the Polish word "sejm" as "seimas" for parliament from Polish! With this constitution, the Polish nobility, including the Polonized nobility in Lithuania and Ruthenia, actually had power in the state. Later the constitution was supplemented with the Henrycian Articles, which stipulated that the Polish king was elected by the nobility. The Articles incorporated the Warsaw Confederation provisions guaranteeing almost unprecedented religious freedom. It is worth to underline that according to the Articles, if the King were to transgress against the law or the privileges of the the nobility, the Articles authorized the the nobility to refuse the king’s orders and act against him. As mentioned above, the nobility made up up to 10-15% of the population in the Polish Empire, which meant that 10-15% of the population had democratic rights. This was revolutionary in comparison to other European nations ruled despotically by a single monarch, with the exception of the English.The final fusing was then in 1569 with the Union of Lublin. This union replaced the personal union with the real union of Poland and Lithuania. This union showed clearly how advanced the assimilation of Lithuania was. That was the last act of the Polonization of Lithuania, in which it was only legally determined what had long been factual, that Poland had completely absorbed Lithuania. Poland was successful for centuries The Polish Empire, along with England, was a leader in democratic development in Europe, that was, in the world! In the next comment I will explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth!

So here I explain why it is wrong to call the Polish Empire the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, repeating some aspects from above. To call this state Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is wrong. This term is wrong because the term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is a modern, nonsensical invention by 20th century historians that does not correspond to reality. This state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The correct translation of Rzeczpospolita would actually be republic. But it would still be wrong to use the English term republic to refer to this Polish state, because the republic is actually defined today as the opposite of a monarch. But Poland was a monarchical republic back then and therefore something special. If there is no suitable translation for a term, then the proper noun from the original language is usually used. In this case it is the Polish proper name Rzeczpospolita. By the way, I know that's done in English-speaking countries, that republik is mistranslated as Commonwealth. This is because English is a very chaotic language with many vague terms. Unfortunately, this is currently the lingua franca worldwide. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth. That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Just because many use a wrong translation does not mean that it becomes a correct translation. Republic derived from Latin res publica for public affair is definitely not the same as common wealth (Commonwealth.) That's a fact. Public affair is not the same as common wealth! Therefore Commonwealth is the wrong translation for Rzeczpospolita! Moreover, the term is being used incorrectly because the Polish term Rzeczpospolita has been mistranslated as Commonwealth. So the term Commonwealth is used because of an incorrect translation. For that reason alone, one should not use this term. In addition the Commonwealth of Nations as the union of the former British colonies has the official title "Commonwealth". If one compare these Polish state of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries with this Commonwealth one can see how absurd the term Commonwealth is instead of Rzeczpospolita. The term Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealt was not used at all in earlier times. It would be appropriate to speak of Rzeczpospolita because that was the traditional and official name of this state as a whole, including all duchies i.e. all areas dominated by the Polish Parliament and the Polish King. It is a combination of rzecz "thing, matter" and pospolita "common", a calque of the Latin res publica (res "thing" + publica "public, common"), so the republic, incorrectly translated as Commonwealth in English. By the way, in Poland, the word Rzeczpospolita is used exclusively in relation to the Republic of Poland, while other republic is referred to in Polish as "republika". Used in international treaties and diplomacy, the state has been called the most serene ( most high) Rzeczpospolita Poland (Polish: Najjaśniejsza Rzeczpospolita Polska, Latin: Serenissima Res Publica Poloniae or also Rzeczpospolita of the Polish Kingdom or Rzeczpospolita of Poland. Its residents simply referred it in the everyday language as Rzeczpospolita or Poland occasionally also the crown. But the state was never called Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. NEVER! The term Rzeczpospolita seems difficult to pronounce for non-Poles. But that is not the case at all. With a little practice, anyone can pronounce the term correctly, even you. A little help: Rz is pronounced like the "isi" in vision. So virzon sounds like vision. Cz sounds like the "ch" in church. So Czurcz sounds like church. But if one just use "sh" instead of "rz", that sounds close to Polish. "Ch" can be used instead of "cz". So Shechpospolita would be written in English, which could be pronounced without problems. So there is no reason not to use this correct term.

I watched this because Lithuania was in title... Greetings from Poland.

depends. The aristocracy thought about themselves as Polish. No matter if they came from Rus, Lithuania or Crown (this is what Poles called the Polish part of commonwealth). The people (aristocracy) if asked about their identity usually said sth like this : ,,Genthe Ruthenus, Nationale Polonus " It means I'm ethnically Rus, but I'm Polish. I for myself are part Rus part Lithuanian (even part Tatar) and still...I'm Polish 100 % (wouldn't trade it for anything else !) :)

@@piotrstrukiel3479 Indeed there were "local" identity as you've mentioned (as well as religious identity - whether you are orthodox/muslim/catholic - which was also very important) However, problem is that today many put modern meanings to the terms and names which were used back in the day. "Pole" today has quite the different meaning from it used to be (today - it's being of polish nationality - which relates to homogeneous national state of Poland, whereas PLC was a state with quite medieval mindset and didn't really had a chance to form national identity) Same with "Lithuanian" where as we see people tend to directly link the Duchy to modern Lithuania, whereas Duchy differ quite significantly from modern national state of Lithuania (region named "Litwa" was different from Letuva's hearland, state language was ruthenian not Baltic and majority of population used to be non Baltic but Slavic) Here a more correct analogy would be like this: Dutchy to modern Lithuania/Belarus/Ukraine is like Francia to modern Germany/France/Italy.

What? Everyone in USSR was Soviet

@@TheTomol Yes but in america and other countries they often call them russians

@@Feffdc Because the language of administration was Russian and a lot of Russian speakers moved to into non Russian SSRs because of job related reasons, creating large Russian minorities to this day.

Bumbling Brit ruthenian was the name for today’s Ukrainian. There was no Ukraine or Ukrainian back then. The people of that region were also referred to as Rusini ... and it had nothing to do with Russia.

@@hetman3196 So todays russian people ancestors werent called rus?

​@@LukasSRR What do you mean by Rus though? :) Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus'? Polotskian Rus? Kievan Rus? Black Rus? White Rus? Red Rus? There is a lot of Rus so... Slavic?

@@LukasSRR they were, same as Poles and Czechs were once just "Western Slavs"

@@PandaBearWithMic Rus comes from the duchy of White Rus, settled by Viking raiders from the Swedish province of Roslagen.

Ruthenia is latin for Russia, Ruscia, Roxolania. Since the 13th century Ruthenia is used to describe south-western parts of Rus and Russia as north-eastern. Nothing to do with ukrainians.

Ruthenian later split into Ukrainian and Belarusian.

@@SornGeorge Ah that makes sense

The Ruthenians were the east-slavic-speaking inhabitants of Red Ruthenia (today west Ukraine), as well as Black and White Ruthenias (today Belarus). What then was known as Ukraine is now just central and eastern Ukraine.

It is, Ukrainian is an ethnic term the Russians implemented in the USSR for Ruthenians. In 1918-1939 Poland, Ukrainians were still, officially, called Ruthenians (colloquially Poles also called them Ukrainians) but this became politicized by the USSR for... reasons. Long story short; USSR, and it's predecessor, the Russian Empire, saw themselves as the rightful inheritors of the legacy of the Kievan Rus, a continuation if you will. The Poles never saw it that way, and for centuries after the forming of the Russian Tsardom, referred to them as Muscovites/Duchy of Muscovy. In any case, Russia came to dominate the area, including Kiev by 1666, and as far as they were concerned, they were the "Rus" thank you, goodbye, when in fact the Ruthenians, i.e. modern day Ukrainians, are the true decedents of the Kievan Rus. The USSR, and the Empire before it, wanted to remove such silly notions form people head's and voila, Ukraine, translating to "Border Land". No shit. The name of their country is "borderland". They kept the name, but they will fight any Russian who says that they're not the true inheritors of the Kievan Rus

"Litwa" is just a translation into Slavic. As mentioned by linguists. As also mentioned by Polish speaking nobility that came from Belarusian lands such as Syrokomla. Early 12th century Kievan history sources("Повесть временных лет") which were about late 11th, early 12th century time period put "Litva" on a different list than that of Slavic language users(said list of Slavic peoples includes such peoples as Dregoviches and Kriviches). 'Litva' is listed next to other Baltic and Finnic peoples as non-Slavic using and having their own language. Throughout the middle ages, there were literally over a dozen sources that stated things like: "the Lithuanians and Samogitians use the same language", "Lithuanian and Samogitian are two dialects of the same language". If you want, I'll list or quote some of them for you. Languages were tools back then. Language began to be associated with nationality/identity centuries later. And names were translated based on the language of the text. Latin was official in Poland for centuries before Polish became official. Same with Armenian in Georgia before Georgian. Same with Chinese in Korea before Korean. Even though those languages existed. Nobody states that Poles were Italian, Georgians were Armenian or Koreans were Chinese because of it.

What is happy in death of 300 000 people?

Res Publica Your right, I should of say “Today is the 75th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, may we take a moment to remember those who fought against German rule.

@@Turntapp That sounds much better.

very interesting. such a shame that prussia disappeared and that germanized prussians were forced to leave the home country. i would love to see prussia restored.

I hate jadwiga, king of Poland.