Noble democracy (in Latin: Aurea Libertas; in Polish: Arystokratyczna demokracja), sometimes translated into golden freedom, aristocratic freedom or aristocratic alliance (in Polish: Rzeczpospolita Szlachecka, in Latin: á urea libertas) is a unique aristocratic regime adopted by the Polish Lithuanian Federation after the union of the Kingdom of Poland and Lublin. In this regime, all the nobles with direct property (Shirachita) have equal power and control powerful rights and privileges. The nobility controls the legislature (Thum Polish Parliament) and the elected monarch of the Federation.
Noble Election in 1573 (painted by Jan Matyeko) The monarch's power is very limited, and his power is replaced by the power of a huge number of aristocrats. Every new king had to agree with the foundation of the Polish regime - the King Henry Clause (which even had an almost unprecedented Religious tolerance Guarantee). Over time, the King Henry Clause and the convent treaty gradually merged into one, and the king's electoral system supported these detailed commitments. At that point, the king was in fact a partner of the aristocracy and was often senator Supervision. The foundation of the whole federation, "aristocratic democracy", includes:
Free suffrage : All nobles participate according to their wishes;
Thum Congress convened by the king every two years;
Convent treaty （ Latin ： pacta conventa ）, the "agreement supported" by the king's election system, including the list of powers and the treaty binding the king, originated from the earlier King Henry Clause ； uprising （ Latin ： rokosz ）The power of Schlachita can start a riot against the king who violates their freedom; Free veto （ Latin ： liberum veto ）The power of individual land envoys can oppose the decisions initiated by more people when Thum is in court; After the use of "free veto", all laws and regulations declared to be passed at the hearing can be invalidated; After the crisis in the second half of the 17th century, Polish nobles could also be Thum Used in Free veto ； Alliance (Polish: konfederacja) (from Latin confederatio ）, the right to organize the army through common political goals. It is difficult to classify the federal regime simply, but it can be temporarily described as a mixture of the following systems through its characteristics:
Confederation system and federalism Extensive about its region autonomy 。 However, it is difficult to call the federation a confederation or a federation. The federal government is a mixture of the two“ Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth ”Is "Federal"); Oligarchy Only Schlachita - about 10% of the population - has political rights; Democracy, because all Shirachita people are equal in power and privilege, and Thum can, law , foreign affairs, declaration of war and taxation (changing existing taxes or collecting new taxes) to veto the king. Moreover, 10% of the people in the country enjoy political rights (Shirachita), which is very advanced compared with any other European countries; In 1831, only 1% of French people had the right to vote, while in 1867, only 3% of British people had the right to vote; Electoral monarchy Because the monarch is elected by Shirachita and is the head of state; Constitutional monarchy , because the monarch is limited by Convent treaty And other laws, and Shlachita can disobey any order they think the king is illegal. The "aristocratic democracy" is a unique system, which is also a controversial point of the Polish regime. It is an exception, characterized by the composition of powerful nobles and weak kings Absolutism When it was prevalent among the major European countries - but the Polish system, this exception was consistent with some modern values. In most European countries Centralization ， Absolute monarchy When religion and dynasty were at war, the Federation boldly made Decentralization of power ， Confederation system ， federalism , democracy, Religious tolerance Even Pacifism Try. Because Thum often vetoed the king's plan to wage war, which led the nobles to Democratic Peace Theory Debate. This regime is a modern concept democratic ， Constitutional monarchy and federalism The pioneer of. Federal Shirachita The right to appreciate resistance, the theory of social contract, individual freedom, the principles of the approved government, relying on their own values - all the values of freedom and democracy popular in the world. Like liberal democrats in the 19th and 20th centuries, Polish nobles were concerned about the power of the state. Polish nobility received autocratic Strong opposition from the state. Perhaps Poland's "aristocratic democracy" and North America outside Europe—— Southern United States The slave holding class of the United States is the closest. The local slave holding democrats and founders of the United States, for example Thomas Gefferson or George Washington There are many similarities between the concept of "Li" and the aristocratic reformists in the Federation. It is no coincidence that in 1791, the Federation promulgated the second oldest country in the world constitution 。 But others criticized the aristocratic democracy, pointing out that it was limited to the aristocratic class, not including the civilian class, and did not provide for the majority of the people free The legal system of serf Treatment. The Federation is called Noble Paradise , sometimes—— Jewish Paradise , but also a citizen（ middle class ）Purgatory and Farmer's Hell 。 Even in the nobility（ Shirachita ）The aristocratic democracy was abused by their strongest（ Dignitaries ）Twist. However, "Jewish heaven, but also the purgatory of citizens and the hell of farmers" was created by the German Jewish novelist Alfred Dobrin It was first put forward, not by the people at that time, so the authenticity of this sentence should be evaluated. In fact, it is true that most Russian farmers fled from their cruel lords to open Poland and settled down. This is a counter example of the so-called "peasants' hell". At the end of the aristocratic democracy, it was criticized and responsible for "civil war and foreign invasion, weak national strength, indecisiveness and spiritual impoverishment". The Federation did not become autocratic And nation-state Of“ modern ”Regime, because Free veto And other abuses of aristocratic democracy confusion The edge of the river is declining. The majority of the votes of Schlachita convinced them that they lived in a perfect country and believed that Salmathianism Until the end of its powerful crossbow. Because Schlachita refused to collect taxes for organizing a powerful and modern army, and the powerful were bribed by foreign forces to paralyze the federal government, the federation could not keep up with its increasingly militarized and efficient work (because Bureaucracy ）Our neighbors have become the fat of our neighbors. last Poland is divided up , and at the end of the 18th century partition poland At that time, it became a vassal state of a powerful autocratic neighbor. Aristocratic democracy created a country that was unusual in his time, although city-state , for example Republic of Venice Similar systems can still be found. (Interestingly, both countries are called“ The most noble republic 。”） Italy escaped the tragic fate of Poland under the aristocratic democracy; First, because of the incompetence of the secular kings and popes of France and Spain, they compromised each other when dividing the country, and then Habsburg The government's response was to completely unify the country in 1861 at the latest, supporting the then King of Sardinia House of Savoy Of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy The nation state under the rule Kingdom of Italy 。 In any case, the most important point is that neither the Republic of Venice nor later Italy“ Free veto ”This system. 
