Treaty of Pozvol
Encyclopedia
The Treaty or Peace of Pozvol, Pasvalys or Pozwol was a peace treaty and an alliance concluded on 5 and 14 September 1557 between the Livonian Confederation
Livonian Confederation
Terra Mariana was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia which was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade in the territories comprising present day Estonia and Latvia...

 and the Polish-Lithuanian union
Polish-Lithuanian Union
The term Polish–Lithuanian Union sometimes called as United Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania refers to a series of acts and alliances between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that lasted for prolonged periods of time and led to the creation of the Polish–Lithuanian...

, whereby the former put its territories under Polish-Lithuanian protection. The treaty was preceded by disputes between the members of the Livonian Confederation
Livonian Confederation
Terra Mariana was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia which was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade in the territories comprising present day Estonia and Latvia...

 and military pressure by Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus I was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548...

, king of Poland and Grand duke of Lithuania, and provoked Russian tsar
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...

 Ivan IV "the Terrible"
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...

 to start the Livonian War
Livonian War
The Livonian War was fought for control of Old Livonia in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia when the Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of Denmark–Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.During the period 1558–1578,...

.

Background

Albert (Albrecht), Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, had introduced the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...

 and secularized the southern part of the Teutonic Order State, creating Europe's first Protestant state in the Duchy of Prussia in 1525 under Polish protection. His efforts to introduce Protestantism to the order's Livonian territories
Livonian Brothers of the Sword
The Livonian Brothers of the Sword were a military order founded by Bishop Albert of Riga in 1202. Pope Innocent III sanctioned the establishment in 1204. The membership of the order comprised German "warrior monks"...

 met with resistance and divided the Livonian Confederation
Livonian Confederation
Terra Mariana was the official name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia which was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade in the territories comprising present day Estonia and Latvia...

.

When Albert's brother Wilhelm, who as Archbishop of Riga attempted to implement a Lutheran church order
Church Order (Lutheran)
The Church Order or Church Ordinance means the general ecclesiastical constitution of a State.The early Evangelical Church attached less importance to ecclesiastical ritual than the pre-Reformation Church had done...

 in his bishopric, appointed Protestant Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg as his bishop coadjutor
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...

, the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 estates rebelled and arrested both Wilhelm and Christopher.

Treaty

An ongoing Danish mediation of this conflict became void with the intervention of Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus I was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the only son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548...

, king of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania and by the terms of Cracow protector of Wilhelm's brother, Albert. He demanded that Wilhelm and Christopher be released and the Livonian Confederation accept his protection. When he declared war and raised an army to underline his demands, which left for Livonia in July 1557, the Livonians gave in and signed three respective treaties on 14 September in the encampment of Sigismund II Augustus' army near Pozvol
Pasvalys
Pasvalys is a city in Panevėžys County, Lithuania, located near the bank of the Svalia River. Its sister city is Götene in Sweden. In 1557, the Treaty of Pozvol was signed in the town, which provoked Ivan IV of Russia to start the Livonian War.-References:...

 (Pasvalys, Podzwol, Pozwoł).

All three treaties concerned the relation between the Livonian estates and Sigismund. The first two treaties were the result of a mediation by envoys from the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

, and were drafted on 5 September. Wilhelm was restored to his former position as archbishop, with his liberty and all former rights confirmed. Livonia restored its relation to Lithuania, and both realms concluded a defense-offense pact. The new grand master, Wilhelm von Fürstenberg, signed the alliance for the order and also ratified the other two treaties on 14 September along with other members of the order.

Consequences

The alliance was directed against the Tsardom of Russia
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia was the name of the centralized Russian state from Ivan IV's assumption of the title of Tsar in 1547 till Peter the Great's foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721.From 1550 to 1700, Russia grew 35,000 km2 a year...

, then striving for hegemony in the area and regarding the treaty as a casus belli
Casus belli
is a Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while means bellic...

. Tsar Ivan IV "the Terrible"
Ivan IV of Russia
Ivan IV Vasilyevich , known in English as Ivan the Terrible , was Grand Prince of Moscow from 1533 until his death. His long reign saw the conquest of the Khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia, transforming Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state spanning almost one billion acres,...

, who in March had ended the Russo-Swedish War with the Treaty of Novgorod
Treaty of Novgorod (1557)
The Treaty, Truce or Second Peace of Novgorod was concluded in March 1557. It ended the Russo-Swedish War , a series of skirmishes in the Vyborg and Oreshek areas resulting from Swedish attempts to keep Livonia, where the Teutonic Order's rule had collapsed, out of the Russian sphere of...

 and since focussed on Livonia, claiming the subordination of Dorpat
Tartu
Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the...

 (Tartu) for a start.

The tsar reacted to Pozvol by invading Livonia before the alliance would result in an actual mobilization of forces, starting the Livonian War
Livonian War
The Livonian War was fought for control of Old Livonia in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia when the Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of Denmark–Norway, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Union of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland.During the period 1558–1578,...

 (1558–1583). As a result, Reval
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...

 (Tallinn) turned to Sweden for protection, Ösel
Saaremaa
Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring 2,673 km². The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago...

 (Saaremaa) was occupied by Denmark-Norway, and the order's grand master Gotthard von Kettler secularized what was left of the Russian-occupied order state, formally subordinated it to Sigismund II Augustus
Treaty of Vilnius (1561)
The Treaty of Vilnius or Vilna was concluded on 28 November 1561, during the Livonian War, between the Livonian Confederation and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at Vilnius...

, and established himself as duke of Courland
Courland
Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...

.
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