Our series on former countries takes us to the Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania, a dual monarchy that existed for over 2 centuries, from 1569 to 1795.
Both entities had been in existence for a long time, but the union of the two crowns - the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland - would prove one of the most successful unions, with a territory that covered what is now the greatest part of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Successive territorial gains in the East were reached during the 17th century, but they would not last forever. Being surrounded by very large and bellicose neighbours - Austria to the South, Russia to the East, Prussia to the West - meant that by the mid 18th century, it had to abandon large parts of its territory. What is today referred to as the three partitions of Poland took place in 1772, 1793 and 1795, the last one corresponding to the disappearance of both entities. They would only regain their sovereignty after World War I.
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Poland-Lithuania
