Colonization attempts by Poland
Poland has never had any formal colonial territories, but over its history the acquisition of such territories has at times been contemplated, though never attempted. The closest Poland came to acquiring such territories was indirectly through the actions of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a fief of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish nobility was interested in colonies as early as the mid-16th century. In a contractual agreement, signed with king Henri de Valois (see also Henrician Articles), the nobles secured permission to settle in some overseas territories of the Kingdom of France, but after de Valois's decision to opt for the crown of France and return to his homeland, the idea was abandoned. Duchy of Courland and Semigallia 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. It was a vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Soon afterward, by the Union of Lublin (1 July 1569), the Grand Duchy became the part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Some colonial territories for the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia were acquired by