Consequences

Abstract

The spring of 1648 began a decisive new era in Polish history. Ukrainian cossacks defeated government forces in two battles during May, the same month that King Wladislaw IV died. The civil war between the government and the cossacks continued for years without either side gaining an advantage. In 1654, cossacks agreed to accept the suzerainty of Tsar A lexis I, and their new Russian ruler promptly invaded Poland. The following year, Sweden attempted to take advantage of the deteriorating Polish situation by launching its own invasion. Soon, Transylvania, Brandenburg, Denmark, and the Dutch Republic were all caught up in this great conflagration in the East. Sweden settled its differences with Poland and Denmark in 1660, but Poland remained at war with Russia until 1667.