Michał Korybut (Wiśniowiecki) of Poland (1640 - 1673)

Born 31 May 1640 in Biały Kamień, Lwów Voivodeship, Poland

Husband of Eleonora Maria Josefa Habsburg — married 27 Feb 1670 in Kruszyna, Częstochowa Voivodeship, Poland

Died 10 Nov 1673 at age 33 in Lwów Voivodeship, Poland

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Biography

Michael I Wiśniowiecki was a member of the aristocracy in Europe.

Michał I Wiśniowiecki was elected and reigned as king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 29 September 1669 until his death on 10 November 1673. He was elected partly due to the works of his father prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki; who was a powerful magnate who helped to suppress the Cossacks of eastern Poland during the Khmelnytsky Uprising. In 1670, Michał I was married to Eleonora Maria of Austria, the daughter of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his third wife Eleonora Gonzaga.

Michał was the son of Jeremi Wiśniowiecki and his wife Gryzelda Konstancja Zamoyska. His parents were engaged on 13 February 1638, over a month after the death of Gryzelda’s father, Tomasz Zamoyski.

The wedding took place in Zamość on 27 February 1639, and a year later, on 31 May 1640, Michał Korybut was most likely born in the village of Biały Kamień as Michał Tomasz Wiśniowiecki. The infant was then taken to Zamość, where he spent first two years of his life under care of his grandmother Katarzyna Zamoyska (née Ostrogska). In 1642, Michał was taken by his mother to Lubny. During the Khmelnytsky Uprising, he fled Left-bank Ukraine with his family and first settled in Wiśniowiec in Volhynia, before arriving in Zamość in the autumn of 1648.

Jeremi Wiśniowiecki died in 1651, when most of his enormous estate remained under Cossack or Russian control. From 1651–1655, young Michał was under the care of Karol Ferdynand Vasa, the bishop of Wrocław and Płock. The boy stayed at the residence of the Bishops of Płock, in the town of Brok. After the death of Bishop Vasa on 9 May 1655, he was taken in by his wealthy uncle, Jan Zamoyski, the Voivode of Sandomierz, who funded his education. Sometime in mid-1655, Michał found himself at the court of King John II Casimir.

Following the Swedish invasion of Poland, Michał, together with the royal court, fled to Głogówek in Upper Silesia. On 18 November 1655, following the request of the king, he went to Nysa, to study at the Jesuit College Carolinum and stayed there until March 1656.

In mid-1656, thanks to the support of Queen Marie Louise, Michał began studying at Charles University in Prague. He returned to Poland in June 1660, but soon afterwards, headed to Dresden and Vienna to meet Holy Roman Empress Eleanora Gonzaga. There he saw his future wife Eleonora Maria Josefa Habsburg, who was a child at that time, for the first time. On this trip, Michael improved his knowledge of languages; he spoke Latin, German, Italian, French and also likely Tatar and Turkish as well. ^[1]

Election

On 16 September 1668, John II Casimir abdicated the Polish throne and left the country to live in France, making a new election necessary. The Bishop of Chełmno, Andrzej Olszowski, suggested that Michał Korybut should be listed as one of candidates for the throne. Wiśniowiecki was supported by the Polish nobility, who sensed that a poor and inexperienced prince would not pose a threat to their rights enshrined in the Golden Liberty.

The Free election of 1669 took place in May and June of that year. Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki was elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania on 19 June and became known as Michael I. Most of the gathered nobility voted for him as they wished to choose a native, Polish candidate (the so-called "Piast"), over foreign candidates. Wiśniowiecki won 11,271 votes and was crowned on 29 September 1669 in Kraków.

His election was immediately opposed by the pro-French camp, led by Primate of Poland Mikołaj Prazmowski and Crown Hetman Jan Sobieski.

On 27 February 1670, Michael I married Austrian princess Eleonora, and the ceremony was celebrated by Papal Nuncio, Cardinal Galeazzo Marescotti, as Primate Prazmowski refused to attend. The reception took place at the Denhoff Palace in Kruszyna. ^[2]

Internal Conflicts

Following the 1669 election, the Commonwealth was divided between two camps – pro-French, and royal. The pro-French camp had several influential members, including Mikołaj Prazmowski, Jan Sobieski, Jan Andrzej Morsztyn, Aleksander Michał Lubomirski, Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski, Krzysztof Grzymultowski, and Andrzej Trzebicki.

In November 1669, the French camp broke the Coronation Sejm, hoping to dethrone Michael and elect Count Charles-Paris d'Orléans-Longueville. In 1670, the internal struggle moved to the local sejmiks, during which the nobility demanded to bring a Sejm lawsuit against Jan Sobieski. To defend their commander, Sobieski's soldiers formed a Confederation near Trembowla.

To make matters worse, the divided Commonwealth was under constant Turkish threat. In 1671, the king supported a rebellion of a unit of Stanisław Wyżycki, who, against the explicit order of Sobieski, abandoned Volhynia, leaving the province defenceless. King Michael ordered Wyżycki and his men to spend the winter of 1671/72 in the wealthy starostwo of Sambor, and paid them their salaries, while Sobieski and his soldiers did not receive any money.

In 1672, the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Commonwealth, and the Polish–Ottoman War of 1672–76 began. Despite this, the situation in the Polish Crown was still chaotic, with the danger of a civil war. The nobility formed a confederation near Gołąb, demanding the removal of Primate Prazmowski. Its members looted real estate owned by Hetman Sobieski and his family. On 22 November 1672 Lithuanian soldiers formed their own confederation in Kobryń, declaring their support for the Gołąb confederation. In response, soldiers under Sobieski formed a confederation in Szczebrzeszyn. John Sobieski, together with his troops, headed to Łowicz, to meet Primate Prazmowski.

Negotiations between the two factions were carried out by Papal Nuncio Francesco Buonvisi and Bishop of Kraków Andrzej Trzebicki. Furthermore, Sultan Mehmed IV of the Ottoman Empire sent an offensive letter to Warsaw, demanding complete subordination of the Commonwealth. This greatly enraged the Poles but due to chaotic internal situation of the Commonwealth, both sides of the conflict reached an agreement in March 1672.

Polish-Ottoman War

In June 1672, a 100,000-strong Ottoman army, under Mehmed IV, besieged the city of Kamieniec Podolski, which capitulated after 26 days. The invaders then approached Lwów, which paid a ransom. Mounted Crimean Tatar units penetrated as far as Hrubieszów, Jasło and Biecz.

In October 1672, Hetman Jan Sobieski, upon request of the senators, tried to stop the invaders, defeating them in the Battle of Niemirów, Battle of Komarno, and Battle of Petranka. Meanwhile, the Treaty of Buchach was signed on 18 October, in which the king ceded Podolia to the Ottomans and agreed to pay a yearly tribute. Under these terms, the once mighty Polish Commonwealth was humbled by the Turks.

Soon afterwards, Michael I began preparation for a new military campaign against the Ottomans. On 8 October 1673 at Skwarzawa near Złoczów, some 40,000 Polish soldiers concentrated, with 50 cannons. Due to poor health, the king handed the command of the army to Sobieski, and the Poles marched southwards, to Chocim.^[3]

Death and legacy

King Michael I Korybut died in the Palace of the Archbishops of Lwów, on 10 November 1673. His early demise seems to have been brought about by a severe case of food poisoning, although rumours persisted that he had been actually murdered by traitorous generals angered at the declining power of the Commonwealth.

The day after his death, Jan Sobieski won the Battle of Chocim, which reversed some of the losses under Michael I's reign. On 19 May 1674 Hetman Jan Sobieski was elected the new monarch after the Free election of 1674.

After the funeral, the heart of the king was buried at a Camedule Monastery in the Bielany district of Warsaw. The bowels were placed in a wall of the Latin Cathedral in Lwów, while the body was buried in Wawel Cathedral in Kraków on 31 January 1676, the same day that Jan Sobieski was crowned as John III.

Michael's reign was considered to be less than successful as his ability to be a capable monarch were greatly hurt by Poland's quarrelling factions. His father's military fame notwithstanding, Michael lost the first phase of the Polish–Ottoman War of 1672–1676 ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micha%C5%82_Korybut_Wi%C5%9Bniowiecki#Biography
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micha%C5%82_Korybut_Wi%C5%9Bniowiecki#Election
3. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micha%C5%82_Korybut_Wi%C5%9Bniowiecki#War_with_the_Ottoman_Empire
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micha%C5%82_Korybut_Wi%C5%9Bniowiecki#Death,_funeral,_and_legacy