The Treaty of Bila Tserkva was a
peace treaty
A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...
signed on 28 September 1651, between the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...
and the
Ukrainian Cossacks
The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...
in the aftermath of the
Battle of Bila Tserkva. It was signed for the Poles by
Mikołaj Potocki
Mikołaj "Bearpaw" Potocki (; 1595 – 20 November 1651) was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Field Crown Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1637 to 1646, Grand Hetman of the Crown from 1646 to 1651, governor of Bracław Voivodes ...
,
Marcin Kalinowski
Marcin Kalinowski (c. 1605 – 1652) was a Polish magnate and nobleman ( szlachcic), Kalinowa coat of arms, Field Crown Hetman. He was the son of Walenty Aleksander Kalinowski who fell at the Battle of Cecora (1620).
He began his studies in ...
,
Adam Kisiel
Adam Kisiel also Adam Kysil, ( pl, Adam Kisiel ; 1580 or 1600-1653) was a Ruthenian nobleman, the Voivode of Kyiv (1649-1653) and castellan or voivode of Czernihów (1639-1646). Kisiel has become better known for his mediation during the Khmel ...
,
Stanisław Lanckoroński, palatine of Bratslav, , castellan of Kyiv, , deputy judge of Bratslav. Signing for Lithuania, were Prince
Janusz Radziwill (1612-1655), Palatine , and
Wincenty Gosiewski
Wincenty Aleksander Korwin Gosiewski '' de armis'' Ślepowron (c. 1620 – 29 November 1662) – was a Polish nobleman, general, Field-Commander of Lithuania from 1654, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania and Lithuanian Great-Quartermaster since 1652 ...
. Signing for the
Zaporozhian Host
Zaporozhian Host (or Zaporizhian Sich) is a term for a military force inhabiting or originating from Zaporizhzhia, the territory beyond the rapids of the Dnieper River in what is Central Ukraine today, from the 15th to the 18th centuries.
These i ...
were
Bohdan Khmelnytsky "on behalf of the entire host".
According to the concluded agreement, the number of
Registered Cossacks
Registered Cossacks (, , pl, Kozacy rejestrowi) comprised special Cossack units of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth army in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Registered Cossacks became a military formation of the Commonwealth army beginni ...
was reduced from 40,000 (the
Treaty of Zboriv
The Treaty of Zboriv was signed on August 18, 1649, after the Battle of Zboriv when the Crown forces of about 25,000, led by King John II Casimir of Poland, clashed against a combined force of Cossacks and Crimean Tatars, led by Hetman Bohdan Kh ...
) to 20,000 and their residence restricted to the area of the
Kiev Voivodeship
The Kiev Voivodeship ( pl, województwo kijowskie, la, Palatinatus Kioviensis, uk, Київське воєводство, ''Kyjivśke vojevodstvo'') was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. Additionally, the
Brastlav and
Chernihiv
Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within ...
palatinates were given back to Polish governmental administrators, and the noblemen were permitted to return to their properties. "The Greek religion to which the Zaporozhian Host adheres is to be considered to have its ancient liberties according to the old laws", "the noblemen of the Roman and Greek faith who were in the Zaporozhian Host...are to be amnestied", and "the Jews who lived in royal and nobiliary estates and held leases there are to do so now also". Most importantly, "the Horde...is immediately to be sent home" and "the present
Hetman
( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders.
Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...
...will have any relations or agreements with it or with foreign rulers, but will remain totally and inviolably in loyal subordination to the king and the Commonwealth, faithfully and benevolently serving the Commonwealth in everything." "Envoys from the hetman and the Zaporozhian Host are to be sent to the very next Diet, with humble thanks for the mercy and favor of the king and the entire Commonwealth."
The treaty was blocked by a single vote, the
Liberum Veto, and thus never ratified by the Polish diet. "Moreover, by a resolution of 18 February", 1652, "the House of Delegates raised a rather definite protest against it and declared it invalid (owing to the overstepping of the instruction given to the Diet commissioners)...they were to agree to 6,000 Cossacks, not 20,000". Nevertheless, Khmelnytsky decided to fulfill its provisions and even ordered a Cossack detachment to pacify a peasant uprising against returning nobles in the Kiev palatinate.
[P. R. Magocsi. ''A history of Ukraine''. University of Toronto Press. 1996. p. 205]
See also
*
The Ruin (Ukrainian history)#List of treaties
References
External links
Bila Tserkva, Treaty ofin Encyclopedia of Ukraine.
{{Authority control
Bila Tserkva
Treaties of the Cossack Hetmanate
Poland–Ukraine military relations
1651 treaties
Bila Tserkva
1651 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
17th century in the Zaporozhian Host