Which ethnic groups lived in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Map showing Poland's territory in 1634 under the reign of Wladyslaw IV Vasa, shaded in pink and spanning from the Baltic Sea in the north to near Kyiv in the southeast. Major present-day cities such as Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Vilnius, Minsk, Lwow (Lviv), Pinsk, and Kyiv are marked within the territory, with surrounding cities like Moscow, Riga, Vienna, and Budapest shown for reference. — Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Poland's territory in 1634, during the reign of Władysław IV Vasa.

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was a notably diverse, multiethnic state. Its population included the following primary ethnic groups:

Poles
Lithuanians
Ruthenians1
Germans1
Jews1

Additionally, the Commonwealth was home to smaller populations of Tatars, Armenians, and Scots.1

This ethnic diversity was complemented by a multifaith society, which included Roman Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The state's structure allowed certain communities, such as the Jewish population, to maintain self-administration through institutions like the Council of the Four Lands.1