Election
The Election Sejm of 1632 convened on 27 September at its traditional site at Wola near Warsaw to consider both the royal election and legislative items, with Marshal of the Sejm Jakub Sobieski presiding.
The indecisiveness of the Catholic faction allowed Władysław to campaign for increased rights for Protestants and Eastern Orthodox Christians, and thus he obtained their support. At the same time, his evident religious tolerance did not lose him the support of his Catholic backers. Nor did Władysław's breaking custom to go to Warsaw during the election generate noticeable disapproval.
A commission headed by Władysław drafted "Measures for the Appeasement of the Ruthenian People of the Greek Faith that Live in the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania," by which Ukrainian Greek Catholic and Orthodox metropolitans were granted legal jurisdiction. Władysław, lobbied by Peter Mogila, also granted the Orthodox Church the right to its own hierarchs, subject to the candidates' confirmation by the government. Many differences regarding the Orthodox Church and the Union of Brest were thus settled. The religious freedoms that had been established in 1573 by the Warsaw Confederation were reaffirmed, and a new tax was adopted, the kwarta, which sent 40% of starostwos' incomes to the Royal Treasury. It was decided to fortify Puck and to create there a port for the Commonwealth Navy. The Cossack delegation's proposal for increased funding and a Cossack register was turned down; similarly, requests from the Royal Army were rejected. Some of the Sejm's proposals were vetoed by the Senate.
The decision on who would be the Commonwealth's next king was reached on November 8, but as the pacta conventa were not yet ready, the official announcement was delayed until November 13. In the pacta conventa, Władysław pledged himself to fund a military school and equipment; to find a way to fund a naval fleet; to maintain current alliances; not to raise armies, give offices or military ranks to foreigners, negotiate peace treaties or declare war without the Sejm's approval; not to take a wife without the Senate's approval; to convince his brothers to take an oath to the Commonwealth; and to transfer the profits from the Royal Mint to the Royal Treasury rather than to a private treasury.
At least 3,543 votes were cast for Władysław. When the election result were announced by the Crown Grand Marshal, Łukasz Opaliński, the nobility (szlachta) who had taken part in the election began festivities in honor of the new king, which lasted three hours.
This election sejm was the third sejm of 1632. It had been preceded by an ordinary general sejm (March 11 – April 2, 1632) and by the convocation sejm (June - August 1632) .
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Famous quotes containing the word election:
“Now that the election is over, may not all, having a common interest, re-unite in a common effort, to save our common country?”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“Last evening attended Croghan Lodge International Order of Odd Fellows. Election of officers. Chosen Noble Grand. These social organizations have a number of good results. All who attend are educated in self-government. This in a marked way. They bind society together. The well-to-do and the poor should be brought together as much as possible. The separation into classes—castes—is our danger. It is the danger of all civilizations.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“In the past, as now, Haiti’s curse has been her politicians. There are still too many men of influence in the country who believe that a national election is a mandate from the people to build themselves a big new house in Petionville and Kenscoff and a trip to Paris.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)