Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki (31 May 1640-10 November 1673) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 19 June 1669 to 10 November 1673, succeeding John II Casimir Vasa and preceding Jan Sobieski.
Biography[]
Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki was born in Bialy Kamien, Poland-Lithuania (now Bilyi Kamin, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine) in 1640, the son of Prince Jeremi Wisniowiecki. He was raised in Lubny and Zamosc at the time of the Khmelnytsky Uprising, and he inherited the remains of his father's mostly Cossack and Russian-controlled estates on his death in 1651. In 1655, his uncle Jan Zamoyski took him in and funded his education, and he joined King John II Casimir Vasa's court that same year. He participated in the Russo-Polish War in 1663 and loyally supported the king during Lubomirski's rebellion in 1666. In 1668, after John Casimir's abdication, the Polish nobility elected Wiśniowiecki as King, believing that he would not threaten their rights. He married Eleonore of Austria, angering the pro-French camp led by Jan Sobieski. In 1669, the French camp left hte Sejm and attempted to dethrone King Michał. The Ottoman Turks took advantage of this disunity to invade Poland in 1672, and Lithuania joined the anti-Michał rebellion on 22 November 1672. In March 1672, both Polish factions came together after Sultan Mehmed IV demanded the complete subordination of the Commonwealth to his Islamic empire. Jan Sobieski repeatedly defeated the invaders, but Michał ceded Podolia to the Turks to end the war. Before he could prepare a new military campaign against the Ottomans, he died of food poisoning in November 1673, and Jan Sobieski was elected King a year later.