In March 1700 the third Northern War (usually referred to as the Great Northern War) began. The coalition of Saxony, Russia and Denmark attacked Sweden. Charles XII, the young Scandinavian ruler, quickly defeated the Danes and forced them to sign a peace agreement. Next, in November 1700 he beat the Russian army at Narva. Then he attacked the neutral Commonwealth of Poland ruled by the elector of Saxony Augustus II Wettin. The Swedish King’s troops defeated the Saxon army during the Crossing of the Düna (Battle of Riga) and moved against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, capturing Samogitia in September 1701.In April 1702 Charles XII’s army entered the Polish lands (the Crown) and captured successive towns without resistance. In May his troops stopped in Praga, which was a separate town at that time (now part of Warsaw). They made preparations to cross the Vistula and occupy Old and New Warsaw. After occupying them, the Swedish commissioners demanded that both municipalities supply provisions for 30,000 offi cers and soldiers and pay a large monetary tribute.In 1704 the Commonwealth of Poland was divided into two camps: the royalist, which supported Augustus II and the alliance with Tsar Peter I, who set up the so-called Sandomierz Confederation, and the opposition camp assembled around the Warsaw Confederation,which supported Charles XII.This is how the fi fteen-year period of turmoil began (between 1702 and 1717). Different troops (Swedish, Russian, Saxon, but also Polish-Lithuanian) in turns demanded that Warsaw inhabitants provide money, food or elements of weaponry. The desperate burghers tried to maneuver between the confl icting sides. They invoked letters of protection issued by monarchs or high commanders that exempted them from these duties. Sometimes, by means of various “presents” they convinced the commanders to leave the exhausted inhabitants alone.The article shows both the historical background of this armed conflict and the mechanism of forcing those tributes. The paper discusses in detail how the sums to be paid were calculated, divided between inhabitants, and who did it.Owing to the documents found in the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw (the Warsaw Economic records collection) the study seeks to show how great were sums of money and supplies obtained by the troops occupying Warsaw in 1702–1716.I hope that the present article will demonstrate how ruthless the conduct was of both the enemies of the Commonwealth: the Swedes, and of the allies: the Russians and Saxons, and even the Polish and Lithuanian troops, who were supposed to defend Warsaw.
PL
Brak streszczenia w języku polskim.
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