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Szlachta (pronounced: ) were the privileged class in Poland from the late middle ages up to 18th and to a lesser extent to the 19th century. 1 Origins
The origins of the szlachta can be probably traced to a Slavic class of free warriors. However, this is far from certain, as there is very little documentation on the early history of Poland.
2 Rise of szlachta
There were many differences between the szlachta and the nobility in other countries, the most important being that while the power of nobility wanded and rulers gained power steering their countries towards absolute monarchy, in Poland the reverse process happened: szlachta gained power at the expence of the king and political system was evolving towards democracy (or as some argue anarchy).
Thus szlachta had many rights that no other noble class had, and each new king granted more and more priviliges to szlachta. Near the end of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth members of Szlachta could legally make confederations, that is armed rebellions, against the king or state officers if they thought that the law was being broken. The szlachta were also more numerable than the usual noble class - about 10% of population of Poland, and in some regions like Mazowsze even about 30% population were members of the szlachta - while the usual percentage in EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se was closer to 1-3% (with the exception of SpainThe Kingdom of Spain is a country located in the southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. To the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. It inc). The king was electedSee also Election (movie) for the film directed by Alexander Payne For the Theological concept of election, see Predestination An election is a process in which a vote is held to elect candidates to an office. It is the mechanism by which a democracy fill by all members of the szlachta, and that no change in lawThis article is about law in society. For other possible meanings, see law (disambiguation). Law (a loanword from Danish-Norwegian lov , in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules of conduct which mandate or proscribe (or both) specified relationshi or other important decision like taxation or declaration of warA Declaration of War is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation, and one or more others. Declarations of war and international law In classical public international law a declaration o could be made by unilateral decision of the king. Instead, all changes had to be approved by representants of the szlachta from all lands during the SejmSejm or Seym (pronounced: []) is the name of lower house of Polish parliament. The history of the Sejm dates back to 1182 and the first Sejm at Leczyca. With time and develpment of unique Polish noble's democracy the Sejm powers increased. Since 1493 the. During the Jagiellonian Dynasty, candidates were chosen from all members of the dynasty; later, there were no limitations on the choice of candidates.
Szlachta were also protected by laws similar to Habeas corpus (a law called neminem captivabimus - granted by the act of Jedlnia , 1430) and had many privileges that were denied to all other classes. The act of nihil novi of 1505 greatly strenghtened the political position of szlachta.
The system was quite complex - many types of laws required unanimity ( liberum veto) of all lands, others just a majority. Despite having a king, Poland was called the Republic ( Rzeczpospolita) at that time because the king was elected and Poland was considered to be property of the class, not of the king or ruling dynasty.
