This article discusses the
organizational and
administrative structure of the
Polish-Lithuanian CommonwealthThe Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ("
Nobility Commonwealth" or "
Commonwealth of Both Nations", in Polish:
Rzeczpospolita Szlachecka or
Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów; in Lithuanian:
Abiejų Tautų Respublika or sometimes
Žečpospolita, in Belarusian: Рэч Паспалітая Абодвух Народаў) was a
confederative aristocratic republic of the period 1569 – 1795, comprising the
Kingdom of Poland, the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania and their
fiefs. The Commonwealth was governed by the Parliament (
Sejm) consisting of the
King, the King-appointed
Senate (Voivodes, Castellans, Ministers, Bishops) and the rest of hereditary
nobility either in person or through the Lower Sejm (consisting of deputies representing their lands). The nobility's constitutional domination of the state made the King very weak and the commoners (burgesses and peasants) almost entirely unrepresented in the Commonwealth's political system.
The Commonwealth's administrative system was a pre-
bureaucracy. In terms of
Max Weber's
tripartite classification of authority, it was, as with other contemporary
monarchies, largely based on "
traditional domination". There was, however, evidence of "
rational-legal authority" in the
nobility's respect for
laws such as the
Pacta conventa.
== Senatorial offices == <!--linked from
Grand Treasurer of Lithuania-->
The......
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