Zebrzydowski Rebellion

Zebrzydowski's Rebellion ( _pl. rokosz Zebrzydowskiego), or the Sandomierz Rebellion ( _pl. rokosz sandomierski), was a rokosz (semi-legal rebellion) in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against King Sigismund III Vasa. The rokosz, formed on 5 August 1606 by Mikołaj Zebrzydowski, Jan Szczęsny Herburt, Stanisław Stadnicki, Aleksander Józef Lisowski and Janusz Radziwiłł in Stężyca and Lublin, was caused by the growing dissatisfaction with the King among the nobility ("szlachta"), who disapproved of the King's efforts to limit the power of the nobles (his attempts to weaken the "Sejm", the Polish parliament) and to introduce a hereditary monarchy in place of the elective one). The rebellion (1606-08) ended in the defeat of the rebels. Despite its failure to overthrow the King, it firmly established the dominance of the szlachta over the monarch in the Polish-Lithuanian political system.

The Polish nobles gathered at rokosz formed a konfederacja. Demands of the konfederacja was outlined in 67 articles. They demanded Sigismund III's dethronement for breaching the Henrician Articles, and the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They further demanded that the Sejm was to be appoint state officials instead of the king; that local officials should be elected and not appointed and that protestant rights should be expanded and protected.

The 1607 Sejm rejected the demands. Meanwhile, the rebel nobles gathered in Guzów (Guzow, Guznów, Guznow, Guzowo), and in 1607, the Royal Army led by Hetman Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (commander at the Battle of Kircholm) was sent to pacify the rebels. The confrontation turned violent, eventually leading to a full scale battle (battle of Guzów) on July 5/July 6 (sources vary), with 200 casualties, which resulted in the victory of the Royalist faction.

By 1609 the rebellion was over. Two years after the start of the revolt, the rebellious nobles formally surrendered to the king at the 1609 meeting of the Sejm, which became known as the Pacification Sejm. The nobles surrendered in return for leniency, as many royal supporters, including Hetman Chodkiewicz had successfully argued for amnesty for the rebels.

Despite the failure of the rebellion, it nevertheless ruined any chance that Sigismund III had to strengthen his role in the government. The Polish historian Halecki later wrote: "Royalty lost, to great extent, the moral prestige it had enjoyed... The Polish constitution was henceforth regarded as sacrosanct and the king had to renounce not only the idea of making any far-reaching changes in it, but even any reform, without touching its principles."

After the rebellion, King Sigismund attempted to funnel the nobles' restless energy into external wars. This, combined with other factors, led to the official Commonwealth involvement in the Polish-Muscovy War (1609-1618), which followed the Dimitriads (1605-1609).

See also

* Rokosz
* Confederation ("konfederacja")
* Lubomirski's Rokosz
* Chicken War
* nihil novi

References

* Halecki, O. A History of Poland. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978.

Further reading

* Kate Wilson, "The jewel of liberty stolen?: The Rokosz of Sandomierz and Polish Dissent", paper at GRADUATE CONFERENCE IN CENTRAL EUROPEAN STUDIES, The Contours of Legitimacy in Central Europe, Oxford, [http://users.ox.ac.uk/~oaces/conference/papers/Kate_Wilson.pdf PDF]