Litewska kampania sejmikowa przed sejmem warszawskim z 1677 roku

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: 17 amžius; Jonas III Sobieckis; Jonas III Sobieskis; Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė (LDK; Grand Duchy of Lithuania; GDL); Pavietų seimeliai; Seimas; Seimeliai; 17th century; Diet(Sejm); Dietines(Sejmiks); John III Sobieski; Lituanian sejmik.

ENThe article presents an analysis of the Lithuanian political scene in the first years of the reign of King John III Sobieski, by focusing on the description of the course of the sejmik campaign before the Warsaw Sejm of 1677. The aim of the analysis is to reconstruct a system of power and influence on the local scene of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The analysis of the source material proved that many aspects of the Lithuanian political situation at the beginning of the reign of King John III require detailed examination. The study revealed that after the Żurawiny campaign, the position of the Pac Family in Lithuania and at the court strengthened, but the position of the leaders of the Lithuanian supporters of the king weakened. Besides, the source material made it possible to notice that the members of the Pac family – the grand chancellor and the grand hetman – did not form a monolithic party. The lack of political unanimity in the faction of the Pac family, however, did not have a major impact on the course of the sejmiks held before the sejm of 1677. This is because the course of the campaign was directly controlled by Michał Kazimierz Pac, and not the grand chancellor, who looked after the interests of the faction at the court. Therefore, Krzysztof Pac’s influence could only be noticed for a few sejmiks. On the other hand, an analysis of the election of envoys showed that thanks to the great work of Benedykt Sapieha (who achieved full success at two sejmiks and compromises at eight), and despite Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł’s absence, the court party did not fail. Moreover, the process which in the future would open to the members of the Sapieha family the way to overtake hegemony in Lithuania was initiated, because only members of the Sapieha family were able to undertake a confrontation with the Pacs. [From the publication]