A war of many states

By the middle of the war, its outcome concerned more than Stockholm and Warsaw. Muscovy, Transylvania, Brandenburg-Prussia, the Habsburg lands and Denmark pursued their own interests. Their actions might help the Commonwealth at one moment and demand costly concessions at another¹².

Radnot: a plan that was never carried out

On 6 December 1656 an agreement at Radnot proposed dividing Commonwealth lands among Sweden's allies. Representatives of Brandenburg-Prussia, Transylvania and the Cossack side were among those involved. The Museum of the Polish Army stresses that the treaty's provisions were not put into effect. It shows the scale of the threat, but its proposed partition must not be described as an accomplished partition¹.

The price of a new alliance

In 1657 the Commonwealth concluded the Wehlau-Bromberg agreements with the Elector of Brandenburg. The Elector changed sides in the conflict, but the Commonwealth acknowledged his independent rule in Ducal Prussia, which had previously been a Polish fief. Peace with Sweden did not undo this political loss².

Oliva ended one war

The Peace of Oliva was signed on 3 May 1660. It ended the Commonwealth's war with Sweden: John II Casimir gave up his claim to the Swedish crown, while the settlement over Livonia and Prussia reflected the changed Baltic balance. It did not end fighting on every front. The Commonwealth's war with Muscovy continued, with interruptions, until the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667³⁴⁵.

After the treaty came the question of what the war had cost people, towns, the economy and the state. The next chapter examines the evidence.