The Structure and Scope of the Foreign Trade of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th to 18th Centuries: The Case of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Abstract

This article is a continuation of the analysis of the structure and extent of the foreign trade of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th to 18th centuries, the starting point of which is the problematic place of the concept of the capitalist world system (CWS) which has exaggerated too much the influence of international trade on the socioeconomic development of the Commonwealth. Having analysed Poland’s foreign trade structure in the 16th to 18th centuries, as well as the scale of its economic involvement in international trade, the article seeks to determine the foreign trade structure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) in the 16th to 18th centuries, and the scale of its involvement in international trade. The article consists of two sections (The Integration of the GDL’s Foreign Trade in the 16th to 18th Centuries into European Market Relations: The Role of Sea Trade and its Growth; and The Foreign Trade of the GDL with the West in the 16th to 18th Centuries: Structure and Scale), and a Summary. The latter contains a comparative analysis of the structure and scale of the foreign trade of Poland and the GDL with the west, and the scale of the Commonwealth’s involvement in international trade is determined.