Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Sweden and Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince of Poland and of Sweden, Władysław IV was the eldest son of Sigismund III Vasa and his first wife, Anna of Austria.
Władysław was elected as the tsar of Russia by the Seven Boyars in 1610, when the Polish army captured Moscow, but did not assume the throne because of his father's position and a popular uprising. Nevertheless, until 1634, he used the titular title of grand duke of Moscow. Following his election as king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania in 1632, he was largely successful in defending the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against foreign invasion, most notably in the Smolensk War of 1632–1634 in which he participated personally.
He supported religious tolerance and carried out military reforms, such as the founding of the Commonwealth Navy. Władysław was also a renowned patron of the arts and music. He gained fame by defeating the Ottoman Empire, strengthening royal power, and reforming the Commonwealth's political system, although he failed at reclaiming the Swedish throne. Despite that failure, his personal charisma and popularity among all segments of society contributed to relative internal calm in the Commonwealth.
He died without a legitimate son and was succeeded to the Polish-Lithuanian throne by his half-brother, John II Casimir Vasa. Władysław's death marked the end of relative stability in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as conflicts and tensions that had been growing over several decades came to a head with devastating consequences. The Khmelnytsky Uprising in the east (1648) and the subsequent Swedish invasion ("the Deluge", 1655–1660) weakened the country and diminished Poland's status as a regional power. For that reason, Władysław's reign was seen in the following decades as a bygone golden era of stability and prosperity.
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Life
Władysław IV's father, Sigismund III Vasa, grandson of Sweden's King Gustav I, had succeeded his father to the Swedish throne in 1592, only to be deposed in 1599 by his uncle, subsequently King Charles IX. This resulted in a long-standing feud, with the Commonwealth's kings of the House of Vasa claiming the Swedish throne. This led to the Polish–Swedish War of 1600–1629 and later to the Deluge of 1655.
Childhood
The marriage of Anne of Austria to Sigismund III was a traditional, politically motivated marriage, intended to tie the young House of Vasa to the prestigious Habsburgs. Władysław was born 9 June 1595 at the King's summer residence in Łobzów, near Kraków, a few months after the main Wawel Castle had been consumed by fire.
Władysław's mother died on 10 February 1598, less than three years after giving birth to him. He was raised by one of her former ladies of the court, Urszula Meierin, who eventually became a powerful player at the royal court, with much influence.
Władysław's Hofmeister was Michał Konarski, a Polish-Prussian noble. Around the early 17th century, Urszula lost much of her influence, as Władysław gained new teachers and mentors, including such priests as Marek Łętkowski, Gabriel Prowancjusz, and Andrzej Szołdrski and in military matters by Zygmunt Kazanowski.
Much of his curriculum was likely designed by Father Piotr Skarga, much respected by Sigismund III. Władysław studied for several years in the Kraków Academy, and for two years, in Rome.
At the age of 10, he received his own prince court. He formed a friendship with brothers Adam and Stanisław Kazanowski. It was reported that young Władysław was interested in the arts; later, this led to him becoming an important patron of the arts. He spoke and wrote in German, Italian and Latin.
Władysław was liked by the szlachta (Polish-Lithuanian nobility), but his father's plans to secure him the Polish-Lithuanian throne (vivente rege) were unpopular and eventually crushed in the Zebrzydowski Rebellion (rokosz).
Tsar
With the intensification of the Polish intervention in Russia, in 1609, the royal family moved to their residence in Vilnius, capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where he witnessed the fire of Vilnius, which required the royal family to evacuate from Vilnius Castle. Later that year, Władysław, aged 15, was elected as tsar by Russia's aristocracy council of Seven boyars, who overthrew tsar Vasily Shuysky during the Time of Troubles.
His election was ruined by his father, Sigismund III, who aimed to convert Russia's population from the Eastern Orthodox religion to Roman Catholicism. Sigismund refused to agree to the boyar's request to send Prince Władysław to Moscow and his conversion to Orthodoxy. Instead, Sigismund proposed that he should reign as a regent in Russia instead. This unrealistic proposal led to a resumption of hostilities. In 1611-1612, silver and gold coins (kopecks) were prematurely struck in the Russian mints in Moscow and Novgorod with Władysław's titulary Tsar and Grand Prince Vladislav Zigimontovych of all Russia.
Władysław tried to regain the tsar's throne himself, organising a campaign in 1616. Despite some military victories, he was unable to capture Moscow. The Commonwealth gained some disputed territories in the Truce of Deulino, but Władysław was never able to reign in Russia; the throne during this time was instead held by tsar Michael Romanov. He held on to the title,[a] without any real power, until 1634.
Likely, the failure of this campaign showed Władysław the limits of royal power in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as major factors for the failure included the significant autonomy of the military commanders, which did not see Władysław as their superior, and a lack of funds for the army, as the Commonwealth's parliament (sejm) refused to subsidize the war.
Prince
Before he was elected king of the Commonwealth, Władysław fought in many campaigns, seeking personal glory. After his final campaign against the Russians in 1617–1618 (the end of the Dymitriads), he went to Silesia in 1619 looking for an opportunity to aid the Habsburgs in their struggle against the Czech Hussites in the Thirty Years' War, an opportunity that never materialized.
In 1620, he took part in the second phase of the Polish–Ottoman War, a consequence of the long series of struggles between Poland and the Ottomans over Moldavia. In 1621, he was a Polish commander at Chocim. He reportedly was stricken with illness, but despite that, he proved a voice of reason, convincing other Polish commanders to stay and fight. His advice was correct, and the battle eventually ended with a peace treaty that returned the status quo from before the Ottoman invasion. This peace treaty also gave Władysław an international reputation as a "defender of the Christian faith" and increased his popularity in the Commonwealth itself.
In 1623, while near Gdańsk (Danzig), he witnessed Gustavus Adolphus's Swedish Navy use its naval superiority to demand concessions from Gdańsk (the Commonwealth had no navy).
In 1624, King Sigismund decided that the time had come for Władysław to travel, like many of his peers, to Western Europe. For security reasons, Władysław travelled under a fake name, Snopkowski (from Polish Snopek, meaning sheaf, as seen in the Vasa's coat of arms). On the long voyage (1624–1625), he was accompanied by Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł and other courtiers.
First, he travelled to Wrocław (Breslau), then Munich, where he met Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria. In Brussels he met Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain; in Antwerp, Rubens. Near Breda he met Ambrosio Spinola. It was during his stay with Spinola that he was impressed by Western military techniques; this was later reflected when he became king, as military matters were always important to him.
While not a military genius and surpassed by his contemporary, Commonwealth Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski, Władysław was known as a fairly skillful commander on his own. In Rome, he was welcomed by Pope Urban VIII, who congratulated him on his fighting against the Ottomans. During his stay in Florence, he was impressed by opera and decided to bring this form of art to the Commonwealth, where it was previously unknown.
Reign
The election sejm of 1632 eventually chose Władysław; there were no other serious contenders. The decision was reached on 8 November, but as the pacta conventa were not yet ready, the official announcement was delayed until 13 November. In the pacta conventa, Władysław pledged himself to fund a military school and equipment; to find a way to fund a navy; to maintain current alliances; not to raise armies, give offices or military ranks to foreigners, negotiate peace treaties, or declare war without the Sejm's approval; not to take a wife without the Senate's approval; to convince his brothers to take an oath to the Commonwealth; and to transfer the profits from the Royal Mint to the Royal Treasury rather than to a private treasury. When the election result was announced by the Crown Grand Marshal, Łukasz Opaliński, the szlachta (nobility), who had taken part in the election, began festivities in honor of the new king, which lasted three hours. Władysław was crowned in the Wawel Cathedral, in Kraków on 6 February in the following year.
In an attempt to take advantage of the confusion expected after the death of the Commonwealth's king, Tsar Michael I of Russia invaded the Commonwealth. A Muscovite army crossed Lithuania's eastern frontier in October 1632 and laid siege to Smolensk (which was ceded to Lithuania by Russia in 1618, at the end of the Dymitriad wars). In the war against Russia in 1632–1634 (the Smolensk War), Władysław broke the siege in September 1633 and then, in turn, surrounded the Russian army under Mikhail Shein, which was then forced to surrender on 1 March 1634.
During that campaign, Władysław started the modernisation program of the Commonwealth army, emphasising the usage of modern infantry and artillery. Władysław proved to be a good tactician, and his innovations in the use of artillery and fortifications based on Western ideas greatly contributed to the eventual Polish–Lithuanian success. King Władysław wanted to continue the war or, because the Polish–Swedish Treaty of Altmark would soon be expiring, ally with the Russians to strike against Sweden. However, the Sejm wanted no more conflict. As Stanisław Łubieński, the Bishop of Płock, wrote two weeks after Shein's surrender: "Our happiness is in remaining within our borders, guaranteeing health and well-being." The resulting Peace of Polyanov (Treaty of Polanów), favourable to Poland-Lithuania, confirmed the pre-war territorial status quo. Muscovy also agreed to pay 20,000 rubles in exchange for Wladyslaw's renunciation of all claims to the tsardom and return of the royal insignia, which were in the Commonwealth's possession since the Dymitriads.
Assessment
Władysław had many plans (dynastic, about wars, territorial gains: regaining Silesia, Inflanty (Livonia), incorporation of Ducal Prussia, creation of his hereditary dukedom, etc.), some of them with real chances of success, but for various reasons, most of them ended in failure during his 16-year reign. Though his grand international political plans failed, he did improve the Commonwealth's foreign policy, supporting the establishment of a network of permanent diplomatic agents in important European countries.
Throughout his life, Władysław successfully defended the Commonwealth against foreign invasions. He was recognised as a good tactician and strategist, who did much to modernize the Commonwealth's Army. Władysław ensured that the officer corps was significantly large so that the army could be expanded; introduced foreign (Western) infantry to the Polish Army, with its pikes and early firearms, and supported the expansion of the artillery. His attempt to create a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Navy resulted in the creation of a new port village, Władysławowo. Despite promising beginnings, Władysław failed to secure enough funds for the fleet creation; the ships were gone – sunk, or stolen – by the 1640s.
The king, while Catholic, was very tolerant and did not support the more aggressive policies of the Counter-Reformation. When he took power, the Senate of Poland had 6 Protestant members; at the time of his death, it had 11. Despite his support for religious tolerance, he did fail, however, to resolve the conflict stemming from the Union of Brest split. Despite his support for the Protestants, he did not stop the growing tide of intolerance, either in Poland or abroad, as shown by the fate of the Racovian Academy, or an international disagreement between the faiths. Neither did he get involved with the disagreement about the Orthodox Cossacks, a group that he respected and counted on in his plans.
In internal politics, he attempted to strengthen the power of the monarchy, but this was mostly thwarted by the szlachta, who valued their independence and democratic powers. Władysław suffered continuing difficulties caused by the efforts of the Commonwealth's Sejm (parliament) to check the King's power and limit his dynastic ambitions. Władysław was fed up with the weak position of the king in the Commonwealth; his politics included attempting to secure a small, preferably hereditary territory – like a duchy – where his position would be much stronger.
Royal titles
Official title:
Latin: Vladislaus Quartus, Dei Gratia Rex Poloniae, Magnus Dux Lithuaniae, Russiae, Prussiae, Masoviae, Samogitiae, Livoniae, Smolenscie, Severiae, Czernichoviaeque; nec non Suecorum, Gothorum et Vandalorumque haereditarius Rex; electus Magnus Dux Moschoviae, etc.
English translation:
Władysław IV, by the Grace of God, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia, Prussia, Mazovia, Samogitia, Kiev, Volhynia, Livonia, Severia, Smolensk, Chernigov; and also hereditary King of Sweden, the Goths and the Wends; elected Grand Duke of Moscow.
In 1632, Władysław was elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. He claimed to be King of Sweden by paternal inheritance, but was never able to gain possession of that throne.