Chmielnicki Uprising

Chmielnicki Uprising or Chmielnicki Rebellion is the name of a civil war in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the years 1648–1654. It was waged between the forces loyal to the Commonwealth and Ukrainian Cossacks led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. In the end, the Commonwealth not only lost parts of its territory to the Russian Empire, but was weakened at the moment of invasion by Sweden: The Deluge.

Chmielnicki's role

Although Khmelnytsky's personal resentment influenced his decision to rid Ukraine of Polish and Ruthenian magnates and Jews, it seems that his ambition to become the ruler of Ukraine was the main motive that led him to instigate an uprising of the Ruthenian people against them, known after him as the Chmielnicki Uprising.

Related Topics:
Magnate - Ruthenian people

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Within a few months, almost all Polish nobles, officials, and priests had been wiped out or driven from Ukraine. Jewish losses were especially heavy because they were the most numerous and accessible representatives of the szlachta regime. Khmelnytsky told the people that the Poles had sold them as slaves "into the hands of the accursed Jews." With this as their battle-cry, the Cossacks massacred a huge number of Jews during the years 1648–1649. The precise number of dead may never be known, but estimates range from a minimum 50,000 to several hundred thousands Jews killed: 300 Jewish communities were totally destroyed. The Commonwealth population losses in the Uprising were over one million citizens killed. In reprisals, many thousands of Cossacks and peasantry supporting them were also murdered.

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