It began on June 30, 1587, when Election Sejm was summoned in the village of Wola near Warsaw, and ended on December 27 of the same year, when King Sigismund III was crowned in Kraków’s Wawel Cathedral.

The Convocation Sejm began on February 2, 1587, and was immediately marred by arguments between supporters of four camps: Habsburg, Swedish (or Jagiellon), Muscovy and those who backed a Piast, or a native citizen of the Commonwealth.

All received large sums of money from Emperor Rudolf II, but an ultra-Catholic, Habsburg candidate was regarded as a threat to religious tolerance, guaranteed by Warsaw Confederation.

Swedish/Jagiellon candidate, Duke Sigismund, son of Katarzyna Jagiellonka and Swedish King John III, was backed by Anna Jagiellon and one of the most powerful magnates of the Commonwealth, Jan Zamoyski.

Polish and Lithuanian magnates came there with their own armed units, and electors were divided into two camps: pro-convocation (or pro-Habsburg), with the Zborowski brothers as their leaders, and anti-convocation, headed by Jan Zamoyski.

On July 27, both camps began preparation for military action, and at the last moment, the conflict was defused by Primate Stanisław Karnkowski, Voivode of Sandomierz Stanislaw Szafraniec, and Bishop of Kamieniec Podolski, Wawrzyniec Goślicki, who mediated between the two warring parties.

On August 19, the Primate nominated Sigismund to the throne, but three days later, the pro-convocation camp declared Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria new king of Poland (none was supported by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania).