It was formed on 26 November 1715 in Tarnogród by nobility angered by illegal taxation, levied for Saxon forces operating in Grand Duchy of Lithuania on behalf of Augustus II the Strong, who wanted to introduce absolute monarchy in the Commonwealth.
The confederates and the royal forces did not fight any decisive battles, but they fought numerous smaller skirmishes; several towns and castles were taken.
The ensuing negotiations eventually brought Peter I of Russia and Russian Empire forces into the Commonwealth "for peacekeeping and mediation".
This event marked the beginning of lasting Russian Empire influence on Commonwealth internal affairs, starting with the Silent Sejm of 1717.
The Russians entered the country, but did not participate in any major engagements, and in fact they bid their time, as Peter posed as the conciliator between the Commonwealth king and the szlachta.
[8][10] In January, negotiations in Rawa Ruska led to a temporary ceasefire, but it did not hold, particularly as the Russians encouraged the Confederates to be more aggressive.
While some beneficial reforms were passed (such as the establishment of standing taxes for the military), the Sejm is regarded negatively by modern historians.
[6][7] With a reduced army, removal of Saxon troops and the right to form confederations, the nobility and the king had less power to fight one another – or, not incidentally, to resist the outside forces.
[17] Thus the Silent Sejm is regarded as one of the first precedences that the Russian Empire dictated Polish internal policy,[1] and also as a precursor to the partitions of Poland, which erased the Commonwealth from world maps by 1795.