theological polemics with their Catholic opponents. In 1632 the Polish king
relented and legalized Orthodoxy again, but the problem of seized property and
persecution of Orthodox persisted.
In this tense atmosphere, Cossacks came to play a pivotal role, rising beyond their
warrior band ethos to lead a widespread social and economic revolt. Cossacks had
begun to gather on the Dnieper already in the latefifteenth century; already in 1492
groups are mentioned as mercenaries forthe Polish kingdom and Grand Duchy on
steppe-forest border, protecting against Crimean raids. By the end of the sixteenth
century thousands of Cossacks lived on the Dnieper, many at the cataracts or
Zaporozhian Sich. The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth struggled to control this
unruly population, creating“registers”of Cossacks who enjoyed certain privileges in
return for service. They were paid by thestate and served as separate regiments,
commanded by their elected hetman; on the model of the Polish nobility, they were
exempt from taxation and unjust arrest and enjoyed landholding rights. As much as
these claims resembled the legal rights of the Polish nobility, the state never recognized
Cossacks’demands for that status and it kept most Cossacks outside of the registers.
In 1568 there were only 1,300 registered Cossacks, 6,000 in 1625, 8,000 in 1630,
while for the campaign against the Ottomans at Khotyn in 1621, Poland recruited
more than 40,000 Cossacks. Despite Polish efforts to turn“unregistered”Cossacks
into taxed peasants, they continued their military lifestyle, banditry, and raiding as far
south as the Crimea and Ottoman ports, endangering the Commonwealth’s efforts to
keep diplomatic peace with its Tatar and Ottoman neighbors. Attempts to enserf and
tax unregistered Cossacks and grievancesabout Polish oppression caused frequent
Cossack rebellions (1596, 1625, 1630, 1637) that were harshly put down and were
followed by even harsher strictures on unregistered Cossacks.
Heartbed of the Cossack community, the Zaporozhian Sich became a center of
Cossack political consciousness. Led by Hetman Petro Sahaidachny (ruled
1614 – 22), Zaporozhian Cossacks stepped into the role of defending regional
Ruthenian interests against the Commonwealth. In 1620 Cossacks provided the
military protection to restore the Orthodox hierarchy and the entire Zaporozhian
Host joined the Kyiv Orthodox Fraternity, taking a more public political stance. In
1648 a rebellion erupted, sparked by the grievances of Zaporozhian Hetman
Bohdan Khmelnytsky (1595–1657; see Figure 3.1) against an abusive Polish
official. The rebellion quickly expanded to encompass the discontent of broader
Ukrainian groups on religious, political, and social grounds. Cossacks brought
grievances over access to landholding and Cossack rights; the Orthodox Church
mobilized to defend itself against the Union; Ruthenian petty noblemen and
burghers complained of Polish social and economic oppression; Ukrainian-
speaking peasants protested encroaching serfdom. Coached by learned Orthodox
clergy and Ruthenian noblemen adept in the Polish political system, Hetman
Khmelnytsky and his Cossack leadership transformed their rhetoric from narrow
Cossack grievances to a broad call for restoration of Orthodox faith, Ruthenian
regional autonomies, and resistance to Polish control.
At the height of their power (1648–57) Cossacks led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky
ruled a vast territory on both sides of the Dnieper. Their rebellion sparked a
Assembling Empire 75