Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as a European power: the system and social factors

Central and Eastern Europe is viewed by the West as a peripheral region which is the object of political bargaining among different powerful countries. However, the Poland of the Jagiellonian era deserves the name of a regional power. The Polish-Lithuanian Federation constituted the basis for the system which was republican and monarchical at the same time and which was unusual in Western Europe. From the 14th to the 16th century, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was working towards its strong position in the region. In relations with the Vatican, Poland maintained its extensive autonomy. It was the 17th century that brought the regress which resulted from the evolution of the political system in the direction of noblemen’s oligarchy