Vanished Polity of the Day: the Kingdom of Poland

Yes, I know, Poland exists today. But only FOR NOW. History has taught us how it is Poland's wont to drift in and out of the proverbial rubbish bin. The sledded Polacks have unfortunately been smote innumerable times in the last milennia. Who knows how long it will be before historical instinct kicks in, and one of Poland's irrascible neighbours (bad luck to be sandwiched between the Germans and the Russian orbit) decides to ride roughshod over its cities and intelligentsia.

Thus on the 540th anniversary of the Second Treaty of Torun, it seems only fair to remark upon a highlight in Polish history, when it was actually on the winning side of its frequent battles. The Peace of Torun brought to an end the so-called Thirteen Years' War, fought between the erstwhile Kingdom of Poland and the Germanic order of the Teutonic Knights. For over a hundred years, the Poles had been bludgeoning away at the Teutonics over access to the Baltic Sea. When, in 1454, ambitious, mercantile Prussian cities decided to throw off the Teutonic yoke, the ante had been clearly upped.

After another 13 years of bludgeoning and bloodshed, the Prussian Teutonics submitted to the Poles, ceding control of a number of territories and cities to the expanding Polish kingdom (which itself remained, nevertheless, under the titular suzerainty of the Holy Roman emperor).

The Poles shouldn't gloat, however. It seems that everybody esle was too distracted to intervene against them. The late medieval world took a look at east central Europe, and shrugged its shoulders.

Nevertheless, Poland emerged from the rubble as an enlarged and important player on the European stage, which it would remain for a few centuries. Above is the improbable map of its achievements. Yes, that's Poland in the red dress. Looking snazzy.