I would like to propose a category structure for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and invite others to chime in their opinions/ideas/improvements. This is not necessarily a difficult region to understand.
I believe I have explained in simple and read friendly terms a short background and how to categorize. Creation of voivodeships does not have to be confusing when we are able to add a time-span to the name of the category. Voivodeships were first created under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, then dissolved by 1795, then readopted in 1918, and with changing administrations/boundaries several times to present day. Adding a time-span will differenciate the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from Second Polish Republic 1918-1939 (and the categories that exist for present-day Poland).
I do not anticipate many categories need to be created, as few Wikitree users are able to research to this time-frame. I have several within my One-Place-Study born into this region (they are what I consider my "top-dogs"). It should also help with royalty.
The Polish Wikipedia breakdown of voivodeships and powiats: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podzia%C5%82_administracyjny_I_Rzeczypospolitej
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had 3 provincial divisions & a few "other" territories:
1. Province of Greater Poland (prowincja wielkopolska)
2. Province of Lesser Poland (prowincja małopolska)
3. Province of Lithuania (prowincja litewska)
4. Other Territories:
a. Livonia (Inflanty)
b. Duchy of Siewier (Księstwo Siewierskie)
c. Lenna (Lenna)
d. Protectorates (Protektoraty)
Provinces were divided into smaller administrative units known as voivodeships (województwa or sometimes known as palatinate). Voivodeships were divided into powiats (often translated as county). Then powiats was the location of the village or city.
The basic category structure for the region of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is as follows using Cieplice as an example:
*[[Category: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth]], [[Category: Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów]]
** [[Category: prowincja małopolska, Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów (1569-1795)]] (province, region with time-span)
*** [[Category: województwo ruskie, prowincja małopolska (1569-1795)]] (voivodeship, province with time-span)
**** [[Category: powiat lwowski, województwo ruskie (1569-1795)]] (powiat, voivodeship with time-span)
***** [[Category: Cieplice, powiat lwowski (1569-1795)]] (village, powiat with time-span)
Information on language use can be found via Wikipedia, with best results using the Polish server: https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podzia%C5%82_administracyjny_I_Rzeczypospolitej
*Polish was the official language used in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
*"Using the place names as they were used at the time that the records were created is more accurate and increases the chances of finding sources." M.Ross, Wikitree member.
*We use the Polish spelling and grammar because it is not much different from English, so navigation should not be difficult: województwa lwowskie vs. Lwów Voivodeship. There should be no other categorization in other languages; with the exception of adding a parallel language in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth category which gives instructions to the researcher in their language, such as in German, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, etc.
*Polish grammar is correct in using lowercase letters: "województwa lwowskie", however Wikitree will automatically capitalize the first letter upon creating a category. Capitalization occurs when the proper name stands alone: Cieplice or Jarosław with no other description.
*Adding the time-span is extremely important to differentiate place names in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569-1795) from the Second Polish Republic (1918-1939). Both having similar grammar, both sharing many villages with the same village/powiat, etc. combination; however the administrative map is entirely different. Time-span reflects the general timeline of the region, even though there is a variation of when voivodeships and powiats were formed/dissolved.
Please also view the proposal for Second Polish Republic: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/1464858/proposal-category-structure-second-polish-republic-1918-1939
