Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

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The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a federation of two countries of the 16th century. In 1569, Jagiellon Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania formed this federation. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth covered more lands than the present lands of Poland and Lithuania. The lands of the Commonwealth also covered all the lands of present day Belarus; a large part of Ukraine and Latvia; and western part of present day Russia. This Commonwealth lasted for more than 200 years. It ended with the final Partitions of Poland in 1795. The Commonwealth was an extension of the Polish-Lithuanian Union, a personal union between those two states that had existed from 1386.

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In Poland, the official languages were Polish language and the Latin language. In Lithonia, the official languages were Ruthenium language, Latin Language, and Lithuanian language.
The Commonwealth was one of the largest countries of its time. It had a large population. At one time, the Commonwealth covered about 400,000 square miles. The population was around 11 million. The people of different ethnicity lived in the Commonwealth.
For about 200 years, the Commonwealth withstood wars with other powers of Europe of that time: these powers were Muscovy Russians, Ottoman Empire, and the Swedes.
The Commonwealth developed a system of laws and legislature. This reduced the power of the monarch. Some concepts of democracy also developed in the Commonwealth and concept like the constitutional monarchy.
In theory, the two countries of the Commonwealth were equal. But, Poland had a leading role.
The Commonwealth had a leading influence of the Catholic Church. But, the government allowed peoples of different religions to follow their religions. Thus, peoples of many religions lived in the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth also produced a national constitution, the first in Europe.
Agriculture was the main economic activity of the persons living in the Commonwealth.