Union is a community, a union, a community of states,political organizations, religious denominations. Most often used in the sense of monarchical unity of several powers under the authority of one ruler.
Agreement classification
Real union is a union that monarchies conclude,at the same time taking a single order of succession to the throne. The heir is the future monarch for all countries participating in the agreement. Such a union - strong, reliable - can be terminated only if one of the participants changes the form of government to republican. The abolition of monarchical power in one or all Member States entails the disintegration of the union or the reduction of its quantitative composition.
Личная уния – это соглашение, которое заключается by chance, if one person becomes a monarch in several states as a result of his kinship with two or three rulers, or if necessary. In the participating countries, the procedure of succession to succession does not change and is not unified. Such a union is doomed to decay. Sooner or later, the claimant to the throne will reign in one state, and in another it may not be possible due to the nature of the legislation.
Church union is a type of agreement that is concluded between denominations. The goals and reasons for the union depend on historical circumstances.
Union and Confederation: what is the difference?
Often this form of association is equated to confederation. It is worth noting that such an identification is not correct.
First, union can only occur withmonarchical states. This is its main feature. As for the confederation, republican state formations can join such a union.
The existence of the union does not require closepolitical or economic cooperation. Allied agreements are not binding. The situation is different with the confederation. By signing an agreement, its members have certain obligations to each other. Union members do not lose state sovereignty. The single monarch-monarch multiplies his power. After signing the union, he is the bearer of the sovereign rights of each country belonging to the union.
An important detail of the legal aspect of signingagreement on confederation - the existence of an agreement with prescribed mutual obligations. This guarantees political unity. A union is a community that can be concluded without a contract.
An important feature concerns the conduct of militaryactions between the parties to the agreement. The member states of the union cannot fight each other, since the ruler is one, therefore, declaring war within the union, he undertakes to attack himself.
Political unity and dynastic agreements
History knows many cases of imprisonment.similar unions. One of the earliest known and significant - Krevo Union. Lithuania and Poland were parties to the treaty. Like many other unions, this one was sealed by a dynastic marriage concluded by the Polish queen Jadviga and the great Lithuanian prince Jagiello.
The Union of 1385, signed at Krevo Castle, made certain changes to the structure of both participating countries.
Reasons for concluding a union - weakening bothStates and the pressure exerted on them from the outside: from the Teutonic Order, Muscovy, the Golden Horde. Even before the Krevo union, Lithuania signed several treaties with the prince of Moscow and with the Teutons, which were to significantly influence the course of events, but were not implemented.
The essence of the contract in Krevo
According to the contract, Jagiello became the king of Poland. This imposed a number of obligations on him:
- The new ruler undertook to spread the Latin alphabet in Lithuania.
- Jagiello was supposed to pay the Duke of Austria Wilhelm compensation for violated marriage contract, according to which the latter was to marry Jadwig.
- In Lithuania, it was necessary to introduce Catholicism.
- Jagiello was to return the lands of former Russia to Poland and increase the territory of the kingdom. Union Lithuanian and Polish obliged him to increase the number of prisoners.
Simply put, Jagiello became the single ruler.for Lithuania and Poland, but the monetary system and the treasury, legislation, customs rules remained separate, there was a border, there were separate armies for each member state of the agreement. Krevo Union caused disagreement from the nobility of Lithuania and the former Russia, but served as the basis for the union in Lublin. The territory of Poland has increased.
Historical background of the Union of Lublin
For many years after signing the contract in KrevoThere were disputes between Lithuanians and the Polish gentry for the rights and level of influence in the country. In the process of increasing land tenure, the structure of the privileged class in both countries also changed. For the two states there were various features of the development of the feudal class: the Polish gentry was homogeneous, all its representatives were given equal rights, and all differences were eliminated; Lithuanian magnates - polarized estate. Under the "poles" refers to two types of nobility:
- Large landowners (magnates) whohad almost unlimited rights and privileges. They were not subject to local courts - only the court of the Grand Duke. In addition, they could occupy important positions in the state. In addition to the huge amount of land, they had considerable reserves of labor power.
- Small and medium landowners.They did not have such political and economic levers of influence as the first group (less land, labor, opportunities). In addition, they often became victims of the greed of large magnates, because they depended on them.
For reasons of hunger for justice (or greater power and influence), representatives of the second group sought equality, which should have been among the gentry.
But the problem was not only the fightThe magnates - the representatives of Poland and Lithuania were not always able to agree on common military campaigns, which made both states vulnerable. The Polish elite were afraid of losing the land of Lithuania, since the ruling Sigismund-Augustus at that time was the last representative of the Jagiellons - a change of the royal family could cause the separation of some territories.
How did the Lithuanians and the Poles agree?
Union of Lublin - the first agreement between Polandand Lithuania, which was carefully planned as a constitutional act. The main idea was the incorporation of Lithuania into Poland. For a long time there were negotiations that were supposed to resolve all inaccuracies.
The union of 1569 was supposed to besigned during the Polish-Lithuanian Winter Sejm. Negotiations were difficult, unity could not be achieved. The demands of the Lithuanian side were the cause of the crisis: the coronation was to be held in Vilna, the ruler needed to be chosen only in the general diet, and in Lithuania the state officials were to be occupied only by local natives. Poland could not accept such demands. In addition, the Lithuanians, dissatisfied with what was happening, left the Diet.
But they had to soon return and continue negotiations. There were many reasons that pushed Lithuania to seek support in Poland:
- The country lost a lot during the Livonian War.
- In the state there was growing discontent with landowners.
- Lithuania waged war against the Moscow kingdom, which was not the strongest side.
To quickly "persuade" the Lithuanians, the Polishthe king annexed Volyn and the Podlaskie province and threatened to take away the privileges of the apostates. All gathered again in Poland. The Lithuanian side swore allegiance to Sigismund-Augustus. Again began to prepare for the signing of the union. Poland had high hopes for this agreement.
Signing agreement
The Sejm resumed work in June 1569, and in the firstJuly day the participants entered into an alliance. The Union of Lublin proclaimed the formation of a single state of the Commonwealth. The ambassadors of Lithuania and Poland signed a treaty in a solemn atmosphere. After 3 days, the agreement was further confirmed by the king.
However, the adoption of the union did not solve all the problems, andSeym continued. Separate issues were settled within a month after the official procedure of signing and ratification. The task of distribution of powers was solved, a Seym consisting of two chambers was created. Union consolidated what was begun by the Krevo Agreement.
The main ideas of the union in Lublin:
- The state should have a single ruler - the king, who chose the Sejm.
- Monetary system, the Senate and the Sejm were common to the Polish and Lithuanian territories.
- The rights were equalized by Polish and Lithuanian gentry.
- Lithuania has retained part of the symbols of its statehood - the seal, the emblem, the army, the administration.
Results of the Lublin Agreement
Lithuanians managed to preserve the language, the legislativesystem and a number of signs of statehood. Poland increased its influence and increased the size of the territories. Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for several centuries was a strong adversary on the world stage. In addition, it was possible to spread Catholicism and create a cultural Polish community.
The negative moments were the growthbureaucracy and increased corruption. The election of the king gave rise to an active struggle within the Diet, which for several centuries led the Rzeczpospolita to collapse.
Negative traits are most clearly manifested inmatters of religion. The population of Lithuania did not have the opportunity to choose the faith - Catholicism was implanted almost by force. Orthodoxy was forbidden. The opponents of Catholicism were "outlawed" - they were deprived of all rights, subjected to persecution. In the Ukrainian territories, which were under the rule of the Commonwealth, fraternal schools began to emerge.
And at the same time, the gentry was equal in rights, reforms were carried out in the political, legislative, and economic spheres. So the consequences of the Union of Lublin cannot be assessed unequivocally.
Church agreements
The history of Christianity knows many attempts to returnintegrity of religion. Recall that as a result of the split in 1054, Catholicism and Orthodoxy were formed. They became separate branches of Christianity. It was almost at the same time that the first attempts of the union - association were made.
Catholicism and Orthodoxy have different traditions.rites No agreement could be reached. The main reason is the refusal of the Orthodox to submit to the Pope. The Catholics could not accept the conditions put forward by the opponents: the Orthodox demanded that the Pope should reject the supremacy of the church hierarchy.
Over the years, Orthodoxy has weakened and neededsupport of Catholicism in the fight against various threats. In 1274, the Lyon Agreement was signed, aimed at the common struggle against the Tatar-Mongols, and in 1439 - the Union of Florence. This time the alliance was directed against the Turks. These agreements were short, but the “movement for union” gained more and more fans.
Background of the Brest Union
The Union of Brest is an agreement that spawned a new denomination and has been controversial for many centuries.
In the XVI century, the Orthodox Church was impossibleto call a model of morality and spirituality - she experienced a serious crisis. The appearance of the patronage tradition, when the temple was actually the property of the patron magnate, brought many secular features to religion. Even the commoners intervened in the affairs of the church. This refers to the fraternity - urban organizations that had the right to control even the bishops. The church has lost its influence and reputation as a defender of the rights of believers.
Uniate movement resumed becauserevitalization of the Jesuits in Poland. There are polemical texts about the benefits of the union. Their authors were preachers and philosophers - Venedikt Gerbest, Peter Skarga and many others.
Uniates became active after the “calendarreforms ”Gregory XIII - as a result, the religious holidays of the Orthodox and Catholics diverged in time. This infringed upon the rights of the Orthodox population living in the territory of the Commonwealth.
As a result of the complex influence of these causes, the Brest Union was signed.
The essence of the agreement
In 1590 a church was held in Belzcongress On it with a call to conclude the union made Gideon Balaban. His initiative was supported by many bishops. After 5 years, the need for union recognized the Pope.
The Union of Brest was to be signed in1596 But the strife does not stop. The congress, which gathered to sign the treaty, split. One part was made up of worshipers of Orthodoxy, the other part was Uniates. The stumbling block was the need to obey the Pope. In the end, the union signed only part of the meeting. The Orthodox clergy did not recognize the union. The signing of the treaty took place under the leadership of Metropolitan Mikhail Rogozy.
Conditions:
- Uniates recognized submission to the Pope.
- The clergy had equal rights with the Catholic church hierarchs.
- The dogmas of faith are Catholic, the rites are Orthodox.
Thus, the result of an attempt to mergebecame even more split. On the basis of Orthodoxy and Catholicism, another faith appeared. Now, Uniateism was imposed by force — the Orthodox were in a worse situation than before the Beresteysky (Brest) agreement.
Finally, we add: union is a factor of unification, but, as historical facts show, the union did not always benefit all parties involved.
