Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Sweden and Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince of Poland and of Sweden, Władysław IV was the eldest son of Sigismund III Vasa and his first wife, Anna of Austria.
Władysław was elected as the tsar of Russia by the Seven Boyars in 1610, when the Polish army captured Moscow, but did not assume the throne because of his father's position and a popular uprising. Nevertheless, until 1634, he used the titular title of grand duke of Moscow. Following his election as king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania in 1632, he was largely successful in defending the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against foreign invasion, most notably in the Smolensk War of 1632–1634 in which he participated personally.
He supported religious tolerance and carried out military reforms, such as the founding of the Commonwealth Navy. Władysław was also a renowned patron of the arts and music. He gained fame by defeating the Ottoman Empire, strengthening royal power, and reforming the Commonwealth's political system, although he failed at reclaiming the Swedish throne. Despite that failure, his personal charisma and popularity among all segments of society contributed to relative internal calm in the Commonwealth.
He died without a legitimate son and was succeeded to the Polish-Lithuanian throne by his half-brother, John II Casimir Vasa. Władysław's death marked the end of relative stability in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, as conflicts and tensions that had been growing over several decades came to a head with devastating consequences. The Khmelnytsky Uprising in the east (1648) and the subsequent Swedish invasion ("the Deluge", 1655–1660) weakened the country and diminished Poland's status as a regional power. For that reason, Władysław's reign was seen in the following decades as a bygone golden era of stability and prosperity.
Władysław IV's father, Sigismund III Vasa, grandson of Sweden's King Gustav I, had succeeded his father to the Swedish throne in 1592, only to be deposed in 1599 by his uncle, subsequently King Charles IX. This resulted in a long-standing feud, with the Commonwealth's kings of the House of Vasa claiming the Swedish throne. This led to the Polish–Swedish War of 1600–1629 and later to the Deluge of 1655.
The marriage of Anne of Austria to Sigismund III was a traditional, politically motivated marriage, intended to tie the young House of Vasa to the prestigious Habsburgs. Władysław was born 9 June 1595 at the King's summer residence in Łobzów, near Kraków, a few months after the main Wawel Castle had been consumed by fire.
Władysław's mother died on 10 February 1598, less than three years after giving birth to him. He was raised by one of her former ladies of the court, Urszula Meierin, who eventually became a powerful player at the royal court, with much influence.
Władysław's Hofmeister was Michał Konarski, a Polish-Prussian noble. Around the early 17th century, Urszula lost much of her influence, as Władysław gained new teachers and mentors, including such priests as Marek Łętkowski, Gabriel Prowancjusz, and Andrzej Szołdrski and in military matters by Zygmunt Kazanowski.
Much of his curriculum was likely designed by Father Piotr Skarga, much respected by Sigismund III. Władysław studied for several years in the Kraków Academy, and for two years, in Rome.
At the age of 10, he received his own prince court. He formed a friendship with brothers Adam and Stanisław Kazanowski. It was reported that young Władysław was interested in the arts; later, this led to him becoming an important patron of the arts. He spoke and wrote in German, Italian and Latin.
Władysław was liked by the szlachta (Polish-Lithuanian nobility), but his father's plans to secure him the Polish-Lithuanian throne (vivente rege) were unpopular and eventually crushed in the Zebrzydowski Rebellion (rokosz).
With the intensification of the Polish intervention in Russia, in 1609, the royal family moved to their residence in Vilnius, capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, where he witnessed the fire of Vilnius, which required the royal family to evacuate from Vilnius Castle. Later that year, Władysław, aged 15, was elected as tsar by Russia's aristocracy council of Seven boyars, who overthrew tsar Vasily Shuysky during the Time of Troubles.
His election was ruined by his father, Sigismund III, who aimed to convert Russia's population from the Eastern Orthodox religion to Roman Catholicism. Sigismund refused to agree to the boyar's request to send Prince Władysław to Moscow and his conversion to Orthodoxy. Instead, Sigismund proposed that he should reign as a regent in Russia instead. This unrealistic proposal led to a resumption of hostilities. In 1611-1612, silver and gold coins (kopecks) were prematurely struck in the Russian mints in Moscow and Novgorod with Władysław's titulary Tsar and Grand Prince Vladislav Zigimontovych of all Russia.
Władysław tried to regain the tsar's throne himself, organising a campaign in 1616. Despite some military victories, he was unable to capture Moscow. The Commonwealth gained some disputed territories in the Truce of Deulino, but Władysław was never able to reign in Russia; the throne during this time was instead held by tsar Michael Romanov. He held on to the title,[a] without any real power, until 1634.
Likely, the failure of this campaign showed Władysław the limits of royal power in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as major factors for the failure included the significant autonomy of the military commanders, which did not see Władysław as their superior, and a lack of funds for the army, as the Commonwealth's parliament (sejm) refused to subsidize the war.
Before he was elected king of the Commonwealth, Władysław fought in many campaigns, seeking personal glory. After his final campaign against the Russians in 1617–1618 (the end of the Dymitriads), he went to Silesia in 1619 looking for an opportunity to aid the Habsburgs in their struggle against the Czech Hussites in the Thirty Years' War, an opportunity that never materialized.
In 1620, he took part in the second phase of the Polish–Ottoman War, a consequence of the long series of struggles between Poland and the Ottomans over Moldavia. In 1621, he was a Polish commander at Chocim. He reportedly was stricken with illness, but despite that, he proved a voice of reason, convincing other Polish commanders to stay and fight. His advice was correct, and the battle eventually ended with a peace treaty that returned the status quo from before the Ottoman invasion. This peace treaty also gave Władysław an international reputation as a "defender of the Christian faith" and increased his popularity in the Commonwealth itself.
In 1623, while near Gdańsk (Danzig), he witnessed Gustavus Adolphus's Swedish Navy use its naval superiority to demand concessions from Gdańsk (the Commonwealth had no navy).