European University Institute Library

After the deluge, Poland-Lithuania and the Second Northern War, 1655-1660, Robert I. Frost, lecturer in the Department of History, King's College London

eng

index present

non fiction

After the deluge

electronic resource

dictionaries

726823718

Robert I. Frost, lecturer in the Department of History, King's College London

Cambridge studies in early modern historyCambridge Social Sciences eBooks

Poland-Lithuania and the Second Northern War, 1655-1660

The Swedish invasion of 1655, known to Poles ever since as the 'Swedish deluge', provoked the political and military collapse of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the second-largest state in Europe. Robert Frost examines the reasons for Poland's fall and the conduct of the war by the Polish government, and addresses the crucial question of why, despite widespread recognition of the shortcomings of the political system, subsequent attempts at reform failed. War has long been seen as crucial to the development of more effective systems of government in Europe during the seventeenth century, but studies usually concentrate on states which responded successfully to the challenges. Much can be learned from those that failed, and the paucity of English-language material on this important conflict means that After the Deluge will appeal to a broad audience among historians of Poland, Germany, Scandinavia, Russia, and early modern Europe in general.--, Provided by publisher

1. Introduction: Poland-Lithuania in the mid-seventeenth century -- 2. The deluge -- 3. Recovery: July 1655-August 1656 -- 4. The widening conflict: June- December 1656 -- 5. Constructing a coalition: January- December 1657 -- 6. The sucession and the failure of the coalition: January-July 1658 -- 7. Political reform -- 8. Towards a French candidature: 1658-1660 -- 9. Conclusion: the succession and the failure of reform