Szlachta

The szlachta (Ukrainian: шляхта, Polish: szlachta, Belarusian: шляхта, šlachta, Lithuanian: šlėkta, šlėktos or bajorai ) was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333–1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland, the existing Lithuanian nobility formally joined this class. As the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) evolved, its membership grew to include leaders of Ducal Prussia and Ruthenian lands.

The origins of the szlachta are shrouded in obscurity and mystery and have been the subject of a variety of theories. Traditionally, its members were owners of landed property, often in the form of "manor farms" or folwarks. The nobility negotiated substantial and increasing political and legal privileges for itself throughout its entire history until the decline of the Polish Commonwealth in the late 18th century

During the Partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1772 to 1795, its members began to lose these legal privileges. From that point until 1918, the legal status of the nobility was essentially dependent upon the policies of the three partitioning powers: the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Monarchy. The legal privileges of the szlachta were legally abolished in the Second Polish Republic by the March Constitution in 1921.