Sejmiki powiatu wiłkomierskiego w latach 1781–1784
Sejmiks of Ukmergė District over the period of 1781–1784

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the manner in which the sejmik of Ukmergė District, located in Vilnius Voivodeship functioned over the period of 1781–1784. The article discusses the preparations for, the course of the proceedings and the outcomes of each assembly in which the nobility of Ukmergė participated. As regards the analysed period, we have access to the information on the proceedings of nine sejmiks in Ukmergė: four deputational, two envoy, two administrative and one electoral assembly. The research was based on manuscript sources, namely correspondence, lists of candidates for deputies and resolutions of the sejmiks. The sejmiks in Ukmergė were not among the most numerous. The resolutions in the period under examination were signed by 21 to 45 participants. The driving force behind political life in the district were the Morykoni and Kościałkowski families, which had connections with the royal court. They played major roles as early as in the time when the Court Treasurer Antoni Tyzenhaus was a dominant figure. The local elites, headed by Benedict Morykoni, enjoyed considerable independence in personal matters, such as selection of people promoted for parliamentary and deputy functions. Despite their many ties with Vilnius Voivode Karol S. Radziwiłł, the sejmik leaders sometimes acted against his expectations. A relatively high degree of independence of politicians from Ukmergė was probably due to their personal ties with the leaders of Lithuanian advocates of strong royal rule (regalists), namely with Deputy Chancellor Joachim Chreptowicz, and earlier with Tyzenhaus.

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