The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

[The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Królestwo Polskie i Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie

Capital And Largest City : Warsaw

Population: Kingdom of Poland/Duchy of Lithuania: ~9,000,000 Across Personal Union & Other Holdings: ~4,260,000

Demographics: 76% Polish 14% Lithuanian 5% Ukrainian 5% Other

National Language: Polish & Latin

Minority Languages: Ruthenian, Lithuanian,Russian, Ukrainian

State Religion: Roman Catholicism

Protected Minority Religion: All Faiths

Demonym: Polish

Unofficial Anthem: Gaude Mater Polonia (Rejoice, Oh Mother Poland)

Government: Constitutional Elective Monarchy

King of Poland: Stanisław I

Grand Chancellor of Poland: Jerzy Albrecht Denhoff

Grand Chancellor of Lithuania: Karol Radziwiłł

Legislature: General sejm Upper House: Senate Lower House: Chamber of Deputies

Currency: złoty

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Królestwo Polskie i Wielkie Księstwo Litewskie

The Polish-Lithuanian is a Constitutional Elective Monarchy located in Eastern Europe and parts of Central Europe, in addition to its colonial possessions & holdings in Russia. The nation has a population of about 10 million, and the national language is Polish and Latin.


Government

Poland-Lithuania is a Constitutional Elective Monarchy headed by the King of Poland, the current holder of the title being Stanisław I. The King forms the executive alongside his council, which is comprised of the King's appointed ministers. The King & Council splits power with the General Sejm, a bicameral legislature with a Senate and Chamber of Deputies.

The election of the King is based on the legal custom of an election of the Nobility. Historically, the king of Poland has been Polish, German, Ukrainian, or Lithuanian. The king is obliged to respect citizens' rights specified in King Henry's Articles as well as in pacta conventa, negotiated at the time of his election. The monarch's power is limited in favor of a sizable noble class. Each new king has to pledge to uphold the Henrician Articles, which are the basis of Poland's political system and include near-unprecedented guarantees of religious tolerance.


Economy

The economy of the Commonwealth is predominantly based on agricultural output and trade, though there is an abundance of artisan workshops and manufactories — notably paper mills, leather tanneries, ironworks, glassworks and brickyards. The majority of industries and trades are concentrated in the Kingdom of Poland; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is more rural and its economy was driven by farming and clothmaking. Mining developed in the south-west region of Poland which is rich in natural resources such as lead, coal, copper and salt.

The country plays a significant role in the supply of Western Europe by the export of grain (rye), cattle (oxen), furs, timber, linen, cannabis, ash, tar, carminic acid and amber. The agricultural sector is dominated by feudalism based on the plantation system (serfs). Slavery was forbidden in Poland in the 15th century, and formally abolished in Lithuania in 1588, replaced by the second enserfment. Typically a nobleman's landholding comprised a folwark, a large farmstead worked by serfs to produce surpluses for internal and external trade. This economic arrangement works well for the ruling classes and nobles.