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.