Colonization attempts by Poland

In a contractual agreement, signed with king Henri de Valois (see also Henrician Articles), the nobles secured permission to settle in some overseas territories[which?]

[1] On the basis of the Union of Vilnius (28 November 1561), Gotthard Kettler, the last Master of the Livonian Order, created the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in the Baltics and became its first Duke.

[2] The Commonwealth never concerned itself with the Duchy of Courland's colonial aspirations, even though in 1647 Kettler met with king Władysław IV Waza, and suggested creation of a joint trade company, which would be active in India.

The colony exported sugar, tobacco, coffee, cotton, ginger, indigo, rum, cocoa, tortoise shells, tropical birds and their feathers.

The governors maintained good relations with the locals, but came into conflict with other European powers, primarily Denmark, Sweden, and the United Provinces.

[2] In 1882, almost a century after Poland was partitioned and lost its independence, Polish nobleman and officer of Russian Imperial Fleet, Stefan Szolc-Rogoziński organized an expedition to Cameroon.

[5] He had no official support from the Russian Empire, nor from its puppet Congress Poland, but was backed by a number of influential Poles, including Bolesław Prus, and Henryk Sienkiewicz.

[6] It became highly influential in shaping the government's policies with regards to Polish Merchant Marine, despite its long and ongoing campaign (publications, exhibitions, speeches, lobbying, etc.)

[7] Some historians, such as Tadeusz Piotrowski, have characterized government policies supporting interwar Polish settlement in modern-day Ukraine and Belarus as colonization (see Osadnik).