Kingdom of Poland

Kingdom of Poland (Polish: Królestwo Polskie, Latin: Regnum Poloniae) was the name of Poland under a series of monarchial regimes from 1000/1025 to 1795:

The name was later used for various externally controlled governments, under foreign monarchies:

History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty

History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty is the period in the history of Poland that spans the late Middle Ages and early Modern Era. Beginning with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło), the Jagiellonian dynasty (1386–1572) formed the Polish–Lithuanian union. The partnership brought vast Lithuania-controlled Rus' areas into Poland's sphere of influence and proved beneficial for the Poles and Lithuanians, who coexisted and cooperated in one of the largest political entities in Europe for the next four centuries.

In the Baltic Sea region Poland's struggle with the Teutonic Knights continued and included the Battle of Grunwald (1410) and in 1466 the milestone Peace of Thorn under King Casimir IV Jagiellon; the treaty created the future Duchy of Prussia. In the south Poland confronted the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Tatars, and in the east helped Lithuania fight the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Poland's and Lithuania's territorial expansion included the far north region of Livonia.

Kingdom of Poland (1916–18)

The Kingdom of Poland, also known informally as the Regency Kingdom of Poland (Polish: Królestwo Regencyjne), was a client or puppet state of Germany created during World War I. This government was recognized by the emperors of Germany and Austria-Hungary in November 1916, and it adopted a constitution in 1917. The decision to create a state of Poland was taken by Germany in order to attempt to legitimize its military occupation amongst the Polish inhabitants, following upon German propaganda sent to Polish inhabitants in 1915 that German soldiers were arriving as liberators to free Poland from subjugation by Russia.

The state was utilized by the German government alongside punitive threats to induce Polish landowners living in the German-occupied Baltic territories to move to the state and sell their Baltic property to Germans in exchange for moving to Poland, and efforts were made to induce similar emigration of Poles from Prussia to the state.

Following the armistice with Germany that ended World War I, the area became part of the Second Polish Republic.

Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)

The Kingdom of Poland (Polish: Królestwo Polskie; Latin: Regnum Poloniae), was the Polish state created by the Union of Krewo, uniting Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch. Later, elected monarchs of both states happened to be the same persons, or members of the same royal family. The union was transformed to a closer one by the Union of Lublin in 1569, which was shortly followed by the end of the Jagiellon dynasty that had ruled Poland for two centuries.

See also

References

Poland

Coordinates: 52°N 20°E / 52°N 20°E / 52; 20

Poland (Polish: Polska [ˈpɔlska]), officially the Republic of Poland (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska, listen ), is a country in Central Europe,bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad Oblast (a Russian exclave) and Lithuania to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres (120,726 sq mi), making it the 71st largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, as well as the most populous post-communist member of the European Union. Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions.

The establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a longstanding political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th-century Europe. The Commonwealth ceased to exist in the years 1772–1795, when its territory was partitioned among Prussia, the Russian Empire, and Austria. Poland regained its independence (as the Second Polish Republic) at the end of World War I, in 1918.

Poland (novel)

Poland is a historical novel written by James A. Michener and published in 1983 detailing the times and tribulations of three Polish families (the Lubonski family, the Bukowski family, and the Buk family) across eight centuries, ending in the then-present day (1981).

Overview

Michener was hired by a television company to travel to a foreign country to shoot a documentary. He was offered support to go anywhere in the world and Michener decided to make the trip to Poland. Following this, Michener made several trips back to Poland and conducted extensive study of Poland's history and culture. He began writing the book in 1979 and it was published four years later.

Like Michener's other works, he includes an acknowledgments section at the beginning of the book; however due to the political turmoil in Poland at the time, Michener decided not to include the names of the people he traveled with for fear of persecutions against them. He writes: "Normally, as I have done in my other novels, I would list their names, their impressive occupations, their achievements in research and scholarship, but I cannot ascertain whether in the present climate this would hurt or help them."

Poland (European Parliament constituency)

In European elections, the member state of Poland is subdivided into constituencies, in the same way as United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, France and Belgium. Unlike those countries, the number of seats in each subconstituency is not decided until after the election. Poland therefore is sometimes treated as a single constituency for purposes of reportage.

Current MEPs

As of October 2007

2004

The 2004 European election was the sixth election to the European Parliament. However, as Poland had only joined the European Union earlier that month, it was the first election European election held in that state. The election took place on June 13.

The elections resulted in a heavy defeat for the governing Alliance of the Democratic Left and Labor Union parties, although the very low turnout makes a direct comparison with national election results difficult. As expected the most successful party was the Civic Platform. Second place was taken by the strongly anti-EU League of Polish Families.