abstract
| - In 1576, following the death of previous Polish king, Stefan Batory, the Swedish king Sigismund III Vasa and Habsburg Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria took part in the election to the joint Polish–Lithuanian throne. Each of the two candidates had supporters in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the two opposing sides gathered around pro-Sigismund Chancellor and Hetman Jan Zamoyski and the Primate of Poland, Stanisław Karnkowski on one side and the pro-Maximilain Zborowski family on the other. Bad blood between Zamoyski and the Zborowski family dated years past; tensions during the elections ran high. Sigismund, supported by Zamoyski and the former king's wife, Anna Jagiellon, was elected King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on 19 August 1587 and recognized as such by the interrex, the Primate Karnkowski. However, the election was disputed by the other candidate, Maximilian III of Austria, and opponents of Sigismund chose not to respect the election outcome, decreeing that Maximilian was the rightful monarch three days later, on 22 August. Zborowscy called for the rokosz (legitimate right to rebel) and the election ended in chaos, with several killed and many wounded. For both Zamoyski and Zborowski, losing was not an option, as they knew the losing side would likely pay a severe price, from confiscations and prestige loss to a possible death sentence for treason. Neither Sigismund nor Maximilian were present in the Commonwealth at that time. After receiving news of his election, both Sigismund and Maximilan made haste for Poland. Sigismund arrived at Danzig (Gdańsk) on the 28 September, and after approximately two weeks he had departed to Kraków, where he arrived in 9 December and was crowned on 27 December. Maximilian attempted to resolve the dispute by bringing a military force to Poland – thereby starting the War of the Polish Succession. He took Lubowla, but after a failed attempt to storm Kraków (the capital of Poland) in late 1587, successfully defended by Zamoyski, he retreated to gather more reinforcements, pursued by the forces loyal to Sigismund. While waiting for reinforcements, he was defeated at the Battle of Byczyna on January 1588, and forced to surrender. This marked the end of this conflict.
|