Paliy uprising

Paliy uprising (also Palej uprising) was a Cossack uprising, led by colonel Semen Paliy against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1702–1704.

Paliy uprising
Part of Swedish invasion of Poland (1701–1706)
Date 1702–1704 Location Right-Bank Ukraine, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Result Uprising suppressed (See § Aftermath)
Belligerents
Cossack Hetmanate	Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Cossack Hetmanate  Tsardom of Russia
Commanders and leaders
Semen Paliy Samiylo Samus [uk] Andriy Abazyn [uk] (WIA)  Ivan Iskra	Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski Józef Potocki Marcin Chomętowski [pl] Ivan Mazepa
Strength
12,000 rebels	15,000 10,000 Mazepa's cossacks
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Unknown
2,000–5,000 rebels executed 70,000 civilians wounded 2,000 civilians massacred in Ładyżyn

In 1699 a new Polish king Augustus II disbanded the Cossack militia and signed a peace treaty with Ottoman Turkey. Cossacks were angered by this situation, and in 1702 colonel (polkovnyk) Paliy started an open rebellion against the crown, the last of the major Cossack uprisings against the Commonwealth. Together with a number of other Cossack polkovnyks, Paliy and his rebels captured Bila Tserkva, Fastiv, Nemyriv and a few other towns. Rebellious Cossacks massacred their traditional enemies — Polish szlachta, Catholic priests and Jews — in the area they controlled. In October of 1702, Cossack forces led by Paliy and Samiylo Samus defeated the Polish army under hetman Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski near the town of Berdychiv,^[1] however in February 1703 the rebels were defeated at Werbicze. Paliy's last stand was at Bila Tserkva.

Russian Tsar Peter I and Left-bank Ukraine hetman Ivan Mazepa, who were allied with Poland against Sweden at the time, intervened diplomatically, arranging a ceasefire, and ordered Paliy to surrender Bila Tserkva, but he and his men refused. Mazepa convinced Russian Tsar Peter I to allow him to intervene, which he successfully did, taking over major portions of Right-bank Ukraine.

Aftermath

Fearing the popularity of Paliy, Mazepa had him exiled to Siberia in 1705. After the suppression of the uprising, Right-bank Ukraine was transferred to the Cossack Hetmanate^[2][3] being de-facto it's part until 1714, when following the unsuccesful Pylyp Orlyk's attempt to capture Right-Bank Ukraine from the Tsardom of Russia, it was transferred back to Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.^[4]

References

1. "Повстання С. Палія - 100 ключових подій української історії". uahistory.co (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2025-05-17.
2. "Features - Ukraine's Lost Capital - Archaeology Magazine - September/October 2023". Archaeology Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
3. "ІВАН МАЗЕПА (1687 – 1709 рр.) - Гетьмани України - Каталог статей - Сайт вчителя історії та правознавства". sh-history.ucoz.ua. Retrieved 2025-05-17.
4. "ЗГІН НАСЕЛЕННЯ З ПРАВОБЕРЕЖНОЇ УКРАЇНИ В ЛІВОБЕРЕЖНУ 1711–1712". resource.history.org.ua. Retrieved 2025-05-17.