Речь Посполитая, французская и европейская политика середины XVII века в «Портфолио» польской королевы Марии Людовики
The Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth, French and European politics of the mid-17th century in the Portfolio of the Polish Queen Maria Ludvika

Summary/Abstract: The documents contained in the analyzed publication present a quite accurate, although to a large extent person-oriented (with the exception of official and business papers) picture of the life of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, its relations with France and other states in the mid-17th century, as well as vivid images of individuals who influenced policy, primarily Queen Maria Ludvika. The queen’s own correspondence is sparse; her secretary des Noyer mainly informed the French side about domestic and foreign affairs. Maria Ludvika appears as an extraordinary, decisive and religious woman who seriously controlled the state’s policy and, for these purposes, constantly sought knowledge of a managerial and military nature. To a large extent, her secretary’s letters are her observations. Des Noyer not only informed his French respondents about the situation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in detail and figuratively, but also analyzed it and made forecasts, although he often confused or deliberately distorted the real state of affairs and figures in order to have a deeper impact on the addressee. His negative attitude towards the Moscow state is also obvious, which can be explained by the cooperation between French and Swedish diplomacy and the competition between Paris and Moscow in Rzeczpospolita. The content of the «Portfolio» reflects not only the policy of Paris’s desire to strengthen its influence in Poland within the framework of the Eastern Barrier policy, but also the entire diplomacy of the 1650s-60s around the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. At the same time, the country whose queen Louise Maria de Gonzaga became is called «Poland», and not «the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth», and Lithuania — as a «province». The relations with the countries of Western Europe, with the papacy, with the Ottoman Empire and Persia were in the hands of the Kingdom of Poland, and not of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which was considered only as part of the Polish state in 17th century’s France.

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