Between Republic and Dynasty - ONLINE

Between Republic and Dynasty: Transnational Governors and Noble Agents between Poland-Lithuania and the Duchy of Prussia

Over the past thirty years, the cultural history of politics and diplomacy has gained an important place in historical research. This presentation focuses on the easily forgotten border between Poland–Lithuania and Ducal Prussia during the early modern period—before the Hohenzollern dynasty participated in the partition of Poland at the end of the eighteenth century. It explores the widening gap between two early modern political systems through the transnational agency, of diplomats and governors, as well as their patronage and communication networks during the second half of the seventeenth century, after Ducal Prussia won its independence from its former feudal lord, the Polish king. Poland–Lithuania created a decentralized, multicultural union based on republican ideas, while a hereditary dynasty formed Ducal Prussia from the ruins of the Teutonic Order. The challenges of war and the need for cooperation were met by a transnational noble elite which crossed borders, spoke many languages, built patronage networks, and refined its diplomatic skills.

Karin Friedrich holds the Chair of Early Modern European History at the University of Aberdeen which she joined in 2005 from SSEES/UCL. A fellow and former council member of the Royal Historical Society and president of the German History Society (2021–24), she has served on the advisory boards of several German and Polish academic institutions. She has published widely on early modern Prussia and Poland–Lithuania.