S/H/20. Cossacks and Clerics. Religion, Rebellion and Kyivs Road to Muscovy. 1569-1654

This paper addresses the triangular relationship that existed between Catholicism, the socio-cultural antagonisms between Poles and non-Poles and the political struggles of the Polish and Ukrainian nobility in the Polish East (Ukraine). The papers central theme is that the Polish presence in the eastern borderlands that became Ukraine acted as the catalyst for the rise of Cossackdom and their eventual alienation from Polish culture, religion and rule; in time moving closer to Orthodox Moscow for protection of the Cossack Orthodox faith and their independence which was threatened by hostile Catholic Poles. The Orange Revolution witnessed in 2004 was the most recent victorious example of how Ukraine has spent the last 350 years trying to step out of the shadow of Russian influence. How Ukraine initially stepped into that shadow is what this paper explains. Major issues addressed in this work included the struggles between the Catholic and Orthodox churches, the dynamics of the gentry system that involved Poles and the Cossack culture, the politics between the Polish elites and the Russians, and the 1648 rebellion that led to Ukraine leaving the Polish orbit and drifting towards that of the Russians. The Jewish presence in Poland and Ukraine is also heavily addressed and presented as a significant variable in this equation. In its entirety this work is 25 pages double-spaced and is 7102 words long. There is a colored picture on the front and a bibliography of 19 sources. This work was done for a senior history seminar on Early-Modern Europe. The work is also marked with footnotes on each page, in total numbering 71. This is a detailed work that was thoroughly researched.