Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitsky: (1595-1657) Ukrainian Cossack Leader
Bohdan Khmelnitsky was born in 1595
in Chigirin, Ukraine.
He was educated in Poland
and served with the Polish military against the Turks. In December
1647, he rebuked against the Polish governor, forcing him to flee the
Ukraine and join the fortress of the Zaporozhian
Cossacks, a group of runaway serfs, bandits, and traders who settled
along the Dneiper River. (The New Encyclopedia
Britannica, 15th Edition, Vol. 6, p. 838)
Khmelnitsky
is best known for his rebellious and fearless nature. As a result of
Polish political rule over the Ukraine,
Khmelnitsky led the Zaporozhian
Cossacks and staged a mass uprising against the Poles in 1648. “His
victorious advance won him additional support from the dissatisfied
townspeople and clergy of Ukraine,
who joined him in a mass uprising that enabled him to enter Poland proper and seize Luiv.”
(The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition)
After making
peace with the Polish king, a virtually independent Cossack principality
was established in the Ukraine.
(The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Edition)
Photographs:
Photographs of the Garden
Further Reading:
History
of Khmelnitsky, 1648-57
History
of the Ukraine
The Encyclopedia
of Cleveland History
Published Source:
The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th Edition. Vol. 6.,
p. 837-8, 2002.
