Voivodato de Podolia

El Voivodato de Podolia ^{[ a ]} o Palatinado de Podolia ^{[ b ]} fue una unidad de división administrativa y gobierno local en el Reino de Polonia , desde 1434 hasta 1793, excepto durante el período de ocupación otomana (1672-1699), cuando la región se organizó como el Eyalato de Podolia . Junto con el Voivodato de Bracław, formó la región de Podolia , que en el Reino de Polonia era parte de la Provincia de Pequeña Polonia . Su capital estaba en Kamieniec Podolski , donde se celebraban los sejmiks locales y donde también se encontraba la sede del starosta .

El voivodato se creó en 1434 a partir del antiguo ducado de Podolia , que había pasado a formar parte del Reino de Polonia en la segunda mitad del siglo XIV. Tras el Segundo Reparto de Polonia , fue anexionado por el Imperio ruso , que en 1793 creó la gobernación de Podolia . Actualmente, la región pertenece a Ucrania.

Zygmunt Gloger, en su monumental libro Geografía histórica de las tierras de la antigua Polonia, ofrece una descripción detallada del voivodato de Podole:

In ancient times, Podole was a borderland of permanent Slavic settlements, behind which were steppes, inhabited by nomadic tribes. Proximity of these Barbaric tribes made it impossible for the Slavs to take full advantage of Podole, which is the most beautiful and the richest of all Slavic lands (...) For many years borders of Podole were not defined. The province was captured by the Tatars in the 13th century. They in return were chased away by the Lithuanians, who in the mid-14th century clashed here with Poland. Podole was in 1352 captured by Algirdas, and in 1396 King Wladyslaw Jagiello placed this land under Spytek of Melsztyn. Later on, Podole was ruled by Svitrigaila, and finally in 1434 the Sejm created Podole Voivodeship, naming Piotr Odrowaz the first voivode. Still, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania continued to claim this land, and the conflict was ended by the 1569 Union of Lublin (...) If it had not been for thousands of Polish szlachta families, who since the 14th century settled here, Podole would remain a deserted steppe (...)
Boundaries of the new voivodeship were as follows: in northwest it bordered Trembowla County of Ruthenian Voivodeship, in the north it bordered Volhynian Voivodeship, while in the east it touched Braclaw Voivodeship. Whole southern and southwestern border went along the Dniestr and the Stypa rivers (...) In its early years, Podole Voivodeship had a number of small counties, which were located around royal castles. In the 15th century, there were counties of Skala Podolska, Smotrycz, Bakota, Latyczow, Miedzyboz, Chmielnik, Zinkow, and Bar. Finally, in 1542 only three counties were established, at Czerwonogrod, Kamieniec and Latyczow (...)
In the 16th century, Podole Voivodeship had 37 towns, and according to the 1578 census, there were 650 villages. By 1583, the number of villages was reduced to only 434, due to constant Crimean Tatar raids. The voivodeship also had 35 castles and forts (...)
El voivodato de Podole tenía tres senadores: el obispo, el voivoda y el castellano de Kamieniec. El starosta local , que también usaba el título de "General de las Tierras Podolianas", gobernaba dos ciudades, las de Kamieniec y Latyczow. También había starostas en Czerwonogrod, Bar, Chmielnik, Kopajgrod, Mukarow, Ploskirow y otras. Los sejmiks se celebraban en Kamieniec, donde se elegían seis diputados al Sejm , así como dos diputados al Tribunal de la Pequeña Polonia en Lublin (...) El voivodato de Podole tenía dos jueces fronterizos, que cooperaban con funcionarios de la Sublime Puerta , resolviendo conflictos fronterizos.