Material and Demographic Losses of the Towns Belonging to the Ordynacja Zamojska as Result of Bogdan Chmielnicki’s Army’s Attack in 1648

Abstract

The Chmielnicki Uprising spread to the lands belonging to the Ordynacja Zamojska, considerably straining their potential. Up till that time they had had a rather quiet history. Tartar units that ravaged the territories of the south-east of the Polish Republic did not venture into these regions. In 1648 all the towns of the “Zamojski State”, except Krzeszów, became the object of the attack launched by Kossack-Tartar troops. Only Zamość, owing to its modern bastion fortifications, was not captured. The houses in Turobin and Tomaszów were destroyed to the largest degree. With respect to the losses of the craftsmen Tomaszów and Tarnogród suffered most. An analysis of the available parish documents only allowed approximated estimates of the demographic losses concerning Szczebrzeszyn and Kraśnik. The 1648 war intensified the economic crisis that loomed over the territory even earlier. It became part of a general tendency, but it also had its own specificity. Establishing Zamość, and the dynamic development of the town that became a serious competitor as well as a danger for the economic development of the towns-districts in the neighborhood surely was a factor that contributed to the crisis.