Polonization (or Polonisation; polonizacja) is the acquisition or imposition of elements of Polish culture, in particular the Polish language. This happened in some historic periods among non-Polish populations of territories controlled or substantially under the influence of Poland.
Like other examples of cultural assimilation, Polonization could be either voluntary or forced. It was most visible in cases of territories where the Polish language or culture was dominant or where their adoption could result in increased prestige or social status, as was the case with the nobilities of Ruthenia and Lithuania. To a certain extent, political authorities have administratively promoted Polonization, particularly during the Second Polish Republic and in the period following World War II.
Polonization can be seen as an example of cultural assimilation. Such a view is widely considered applicable to the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1569–1795) when the Ruthenian and Lithuanian upper classes were drawn towards the more Westernized Polish culture and the political and financial benefits of such a transition, as well as, sometimes, by the administrative pressure exerted on their own cultural institutions, primarily the Orthodox Church. Conversion to the Roman Catholic (and to a lesser extent, Protestant) faith was often the single most important part of the process. For Ruthenians of that time, being Polish culturally and Roman Catholic by religion was almost the same. This diminishing of the Orthodox Church was the part most resented by the Belarusian and Ukrainian masses. In contrast, the Lithuanians, who were mostly Catholic, were in danger of losing their cultural identity as a nation, but that was not realised by the wide masses of Lithuanians until the Lithuanian national renaissance in the middle of the 19th century.
On the other hand, the Polonization policies of the Polish government in the interwar years of the 20th century were again twofold.
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Intermarium (Międzymorze, mjɛnd͡zɨˈmɔʐɛ) was a post-World War I geopolitical plan conceived by Józef Piłsudski to unite former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth lands within a single polity. The plan went through several iterations, some of which anticipated the inclusion as well of other, neighboring states. The proposed multinational polity would have incorporated territories lying between the Baltic, Black and Adriatic Seas, hence the name Intermarium (Latin for "Between-Seas").
Folwark is a Polish word for a primarily serfdom-based farm and agricultural enterprise (a type of latifundium), often very large. Folwarks ( folwarki) were operated in the Crown of Poland from the 14th century, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the 15th century and in the joint Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from the second half of the 16th century. Folwarks also developed in the Commonwealth-controlled Ukrainian lands. The institution survived after the 18th-century Partitions of Poland until the early-20th century.
A sejmik (ˈsɛjmjik, diminutive of sejm, occasionally translated as a dietine; seimelis) was one of various local parliaments in the history of Poland and history of Lithuania. The first sejmiks were regional assemblies in the Kingdom of Poland (before 1572), though they gained significantly more influence in the later era of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (18th century). Sejmiks arose around the late 14th and early 15th centuries and existed until the end of the Commonwealth in 1795, following the partitions of the Commonwealth.