Organization of The Polish State
The basic structure of the early Polish state was Mieszko's military force. The ruler managed to create an army composed of about 3,000 mounted warriors. Perhaps among them were the Varangians, which is indicated by archaeological findings in the vicinity of Poznań. This increasingly powerful force allowed the Polans to attack weaker neighboring tribes and conquer their lands. A key factor promoting cohesion of the growing state was fear of the invaders impressed by them among local populations. The first Piasts reinforced their rule by burning local strongholds and replacing them with new larger fortresses, located in strategic positions. Archaeological studies show that this practice was abandoned only at the end of Mieszko's reign, when his position was already well-established.
The largest social group in Mieszko's state were free peasants (kmiecie), who cultivated their own land. They had to support the state by levies collected from them and by supporting the duke and his attendants as he traveled around the country. There were also service villages, specializing in production of certain types of items.
Many trade routes went through the Polish lands, which facilitated the development of trade. Amber, fur and salt (extracted in Kuyavia and around Kołobrzeg) were exported to other countries, while cloth, crafts, tools and ornaments were imported.
Read more about this topic: Mieszko I Of Poland
Famous quotes containing the words organization of, organization, polish and/or state:
“It is essential that there should be organization of labor. This is an era of organization. Capital organizes and therefore labor must organize.”
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)
“Prostitution is the most hideous of the afflictions produced by the unequal distribution of the world’s goods; this infamy stigmatizes the human species and bears witness against the social organization far more than does crime.”
—Flora Tristan (1803–1844)
“Take a commonplace, clean it and polish it, light it so that it produces the same effect of youth and freshness and originality and spontaneity as it did originally, and you have done a poet’s job. The rest is literature.”
—Jean Cocteau (1889–1963)
“To reduce the imagination to a state of slavery—even though it would mean the elimination of what is commonly called happiness—is to betray all sense of absolute justice within oneself. Imagination alone offers me some intimation of what can be.”
—André Breton (1896–1966)