Research Catalog

After the deluge : Poland-Lithuania and the Second Northern War, 1655-1660

Title: 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.
Author: Frost, Robert I.
Publication: Cambridge [England] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Filter by

1 Item

Item details
Status	Format	Access	Call Number	Item Location
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	DL725.6 .F76 1993	Off-site

Details

Description

xxiv, 211 pages : maps; 24 cm.

Summary

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. Although the Swedes were ultimately driven out, the 'Swedish Deluge' proved to be a crucial turning-point in Polish history. The Commonwealth, dominant in eastern and northern Europe in the sixteenth century, never recovered from the blows inflicted during the Second Northern War (1655-1660). In the eighteenth century it was the plaything of its neighbours, and its political system was the laughing-stock of Europe. By 1795 it had been partitioned out of existence. 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; none failed more dramatically than Poland-Lithuania. 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 to reform should have failed. The paucity hitherto of English-language material on the Second Northern War means that After the Deluge will appeal to a broad audience among political, diplomatic and military historians of Poland, Germany, Scandinavia, Russia and early modern Europe in general.

Series Statement

Cambridge studies in early modern history

Uniform Title

Cambridge studies in early modern history.

Subject

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. 180-202) and index.

Contents

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.

ISBN

0521420083
9780521420082
9780521544023
0521544025

LCCN

92005528

OCLC

ocm25552195
25552195
SCSB-1982573

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library