Refugees from South-Eastern Provinces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the first stage of the Chmielnicki Uprising

The uprising ignited by Bohdan Chmielnicki had a multidimensional effect on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. One of its consequences was the migration of population forced by Cossaks’ actions. The gentry inhabiting the southeastern parts of the country had to flee inland fearful for their lives. Jews, who were a group prone to being persecuted by Cossacks, acted in a similar way. Refugees from the Ukrainian provinces first fled to the neighbouring city fortresses which, however, capitulated under the siege of the rebels. People who survived the slaughter, usually carried out by the Cossacks, tried to reach the central part of the country hoping to escape the rebels’ sabres and spring guns.