Military revolution and state capacity of Jagiellonian states at the turn of the Middle Ages in European context

Abstract

This article provides an overview of financial situation in the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the end of the Middle Ages and beginning of the early modern era when both states entered the period of military revolution. Military conflicts engaging the Kingdom and the Duchy in the 15th and especially in the 16th century were a catalyst for institutional and treasury reforms affecting crown/ducal domains and fiscal systems in both states. The reforms were aimed primarily at increasing the royal and ducal revenues, but in the long run they were conducive to political changes, the most important of which was the parliamentary union in 1569 and establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Although revenues increased and foreign policies of Jagiellonian states proved successful, their treasury systems were never fully modernized. Fixed taxes played a minimal role and allowed the state apparatuses to function relatively efficiently only during periods of peace. The crises, in turn, showed that the Jagiellons’ credit capacity was very limited. Compared to the most developed European countries, the revenue and financial capacity of the Kingdom of Poland, and even more so of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, can be considered very modest.