Civil war in Lithuania (1700)
Encyclopedia
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
families in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
, part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
. The powerful Sapieha
Sapieha
The Sapieha is a Polish-Lithuanian princely family descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk. The family acquired great influence in the sixteenth century.-History:...
family, most powerful in the Grand Duchy, was opposed by the coalition of several other families: Radziwiłł, Wiśniowiecki
Wisniowiecki
Wiśniowiecki is the name of a family notable in the history of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. They were powerful magnates in Ruthenia of Rurikid or Gediminids descent. The family traditions traces their descend to Gediminids, but modern historians believe there is more evidence for the Rurikid...
, Pac
Pac (family)
Pac was one of the most influential noble families in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the era of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Numerous high ranking officials of the Commonwealth came from their ranks. Their coat of arms was Gozdawa....
and Ogiński.
In the late 17th century Sapiehas gained control of many offices of the Grand Duchy
Offices in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
This article discusses the organizational and administrative structure of the Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthThe Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth This article discusses the organizational and administrative structure of the Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthThe Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth This article...
; in 1700 Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger
Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger
Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger was a Grand Hetman of Lithuania since 1682. He held the title of a Duke since 1700. In 1681 he became Field Hetman of Lithuania, the following year he also became the voivode of Vilnius....
was the Lithuanian Grand Hetman, Aleksander Paweł Sapieha the Lithuanian Grand Marshal and Benedykt Paweł Sapieha, the Lithuanian Deputy Treasurer (podskarbi). The Sapieha family had much influence at the royal court, and was able to issue and execute decrees damaging the other families. This had led to the formation of anti-Sapieha coalition among the lesser magnates and the common nobles (szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
).
1694. Sapieha, instead of paying his soldiers their wages, quarters them in the estates of Bishop of Wilno, Brzostowski. Brzostowski excommunicates him in response.
1697. The Sapiehas supported François Louis, Prince of Conti
François Louis, Prince of Conti
François Louis de Bourbon, Prince of Conti was Prince de Conti, succeeding his brother Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti in 1685. Until this date he used the title of Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon. He was son of Armand de Bourbon and Anne Marie Martinozzi, niece of Cardinal Jules Mazarin...
for the Polish throne while most of the Lithuanian nobility and the Oginski family supported Augustus II the Strong
Augustus II the Strong
Frederick Augustus I or Augustus II the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania ....
.
Oginski, together with Kociell convinces the nobility to rebel against the Sapiehas, but is beaten in battles of Brzesc and Jurbork. A compromise is signed in Warsaw but none of the parties are satisfied with it, which was Augustus' intention. Further rebellions. Treaty at Puzenice. Saxon troops in Lithuania.
The situation became inflamed again in early 1700. An anti-Sapieha noble, Sebastian Cedrowski fired a pistol at the carriage of Hetman Sapieha in February. Soon after Karol Radziwill was chosen as the Marshall of the 1700 Lithuanian Tribunal
Lithuanian Tribunal
The Lithuanian Tribunal was the highest appeal court for the nobility of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It was established by Stefan Batory, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Poland, in 1581 as the counterpart to the Crown Tribunal of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom, established in 1578...
, which the Sapiehas took as a personal affront.
The Sapiehas were defeated in the Battle of Olkieniki
Battle of Olkieniki
The Battle of Olkieniki took place on November 18, 1700, during the Lithuanian Civil War, between forces of the Sapieha family, led by Michał Franciszek Sapieha, and an anti-Sapieha coalition of Wiśniowiecki, Ogiński, Radziwiłł and Pac families and their supporters , led by Michał Serwacy...
(near Valkininkai
Valkininkai
Valkininkai is a historic town in Lithuania, located about northeast from Varėna and about southeast from Vilnius. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 238. It is situated on the confluence of Merkys River with its tributaries Šalčia and Geluža...
in modern Lithuania) on 18 November, and have lost their dominant position in the Duchy, never to regain it in the future.
In the aftermath of the civil war, the unrest in the Grand Duchy continued, as the lesser magnates vied for control of the offices and lands of the defeated Sapieha family. This led to the Grand Duchy weak position in the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
.