Union with the
Crown in home policy of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania before the 1569 Parliament
in Lublin
Andrej
Januškievič
The propagated thesis about deliberate and
active support of the Union draft by the nobility of the Grand Duchy of
Lithuania does not quite accord with the facts. In reality the GDL’s nobility
supported only the idea of moderate union, in which the Duchy would retain
domestic autonomy. This support was of passive character since the nobility was
not a self–dependent and properly organized political force. The political
initiative came from the Lord and his Rada (Council). The Rada nobles did not conflict
with idea of carrying out home reforms in the state to establish true “noble’s
democracy”. This viewpoint was in accordance with political interests of the
nobility. With such an approach in the idea of close Union with Poland for
“golden nobles’ freedoms” was pointless. The Rada had nothing against the
integration with Poland on the principles of joint economic power and
indivisible foreign policy. That was necessary to wage an efficient campaign
against Muscovy. But Rada’s nobles positively stood for retaining the free
Parliament of the GDL in the state–legal structure of the Polish Lithuanian
Commonwealth as the main basis for the Duchy’s self–dependency.
The idea of tempered union with Poland to solve
military–defendant problems was supported both by the GDL’s magnates and the
nobility. Radical propositions of the Poles to incorporate the GDL into Poland
did not disaccord with state interests. However, the Radzivil’s policy directed
on retarding the time and constant postponing the negotiation on the Union was
appreciated neither by the nobility nor by part of magnate elite.
Grand Duke Žyhimont Aŭhust played the
key role in signing the Union of Lublin. Since 1562 he had been consecutively
aspiring to the realization of that act. Depending on political situation in
Poland and the GDL, he was disposed to compromise solutions and was seeking for
public support for the Union. In 1567 he summoned the noble’s levy of the GDL,
holding a sort of “nobles’ referendum” .The nobles appreciated the idea of convocation of
the joint Polish–Lithuanian Parliament to solve the problem of the
Union. The latter was successfully realized in Lublin in 1569.