Władysław IV Vasa

Władysław IV (June 9, 1595 – May 20, 1648) is the son of Sigismund III Vasa and his wife, Anna of Austria (also known as Anna of Habsburg).

Władysław IV reigna as King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from November 8, 1632, to his death in 1648.

In 1610, the teenage Władysław is elected Tsar of Russia by the Seven Boyars, but does not assume the Muscovite throne due to his father's opposition and popular uprising in Russia; he uses the title of Grand Duke of Muscovy until 1634.

The throne during this time is instead held by Michael Romanov.

Władysław manages to prevent the Commonwealth becoming embroiled in the bloody Thirty Years' War that ravages western Europe during his reign, and is fairly successful in defending the Commonwealth from invasion.

He supports religious tolerance and carries out military reforms.

He fails, however, to realize his dreams of fame and conquest, or to reform and strengthen the Commonwealth.

His death marks the end of the Golden Age of the Commonwealth, as conflicts and tensions that Władysław had failed to resolve lead in 1648 to the greatest of the Cossack uprisings—the Khmelnytsky Uprising—and to Swedish invasion ("The Deluge").

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