Sigismund I becomes the King of Poland and Poland's Golden Age begins. Literature is written in Polish as well as Latin. The Confederation of Warsaw passes an Act assuring to all the freedom to practice their religion without suffering discrimination or penalty. Jan Ill Sobieski routs the Turkish Army besieging of Vienna, stems the advance of the Ottoman Turks into the heart of Europe. It is the first institution of its kind in the world.
More Polish territory is annexed by Russia and Prussia.
Russian troops are stationed in Poland. 1794 Tadeusz Kosciuszko, hero of the American War of Independence, leads an uprising designed to cast the Russians out of Poland. Initially successful, it ends, six months later in defeat at the hand of the Russians. The third partition of Poland follows in 1795. All of its territory having been annexed, the state ceases to exist for the next 123 years.