The behaviour of the various subordinate minorities of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth towards Polish hegemony covers the entire theoretical spectrum: from rebellious through resigned, to accepting, to assimilationist. At one extreme are the Germans, Scots, and others who reached an accommodation with Polish domination that resulted in their eventual assimilation and integration. At the other extreme are the Arians, whose failure to submit to the demands of subordinate status led in 1667 to their expulsion. Somewhat different was the response of the Cossacks and, at times, the Ruthenian peasants. The posture they maintained was frequently one of antagonism and conflict, and even led to militant secessionist tendencies as expressed in various uprisings.

The Jews’ position was between the extremes. Polish society supported the Jews’ communal institutions, tolerated their cultural differences, and offered opportunities for successful articulation with the general economic order. In exchange, the Jews resigned themselves to domination and, by and large, remained within the bounds of the economic, social, and political roles that the majority defined for them. Significantly, the first act of the umbrella institution of Jewish autonomy, the Council of Four Lands, was intended to guarantee that Jewish economic activity would not infringe on the prerogatives of Poles. This decree, issued in 1580, forbade Jews to lease royal concessions in the western parts of Poland. The probable reason for the Council taking such action was the fear that competition with Polish noblemen for these leases might elicit a reaction that would endanger all Jews.

The Jews were generally supporters of the political status quo. As I have pointed out elsewhere, Jewish leaders were convinced that the graciousness of kings and nobility was what guaranteed their security and prosperity. They regarded the Polish kings as the guarantors of the Jews’ safety and freedom and generally perceived their interests as being linked with those of the king or local magnate. The clearest expressions of Jewish support for the Polish political order come from the period of the Chmielnicki uprising (1648-57). The Jews were not passive observers waiting for the accursed houses of the protagonists to be put in order so that Jewish suffering would cease; rather, they were active allies of the Commonwealth.