The Centre conducts interdisciplinary research on the social and economic structures of pre-industrial East-Central Europe. Our work integrates historical methods, quantitative analysis, and comparative approaches to better understand long-term demographic, economic, and regional transformations.
Research in economic history has been conducted in Białystok since the very beginning of historical studies in the city. During the period when Białystok functioned as a branch of the University of Warsaw, the academic staff included such eminent scholars as Prof. Elżbieta Kaczyńska, Prof. Andrzej Wyrobisz, Prof. Andrzej Wyczański, and Prof. Andrzej Jezierski. The research carried out by these scholars, as well as by their students and collaborators (including Prof. Jan Kofman, Prof. Adam Manikowski, Prof. Józef Maroszek, among others), constitutes an important part of the achievements of Polish economic history.
At present, research conducted by historians in Białystok focuses primarily on the economic history of the Middle Ages and the early modern period. This emphasis distinguishes the Białystok centre from other research institutions, which tend to concentrate mainly on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The Białystok approach to economic history is also characterised by a strong comparative perspective, close engagement with international scholarship, a willingness to draw on theories from the social sciences, the use of statistical methods, and the construction of analytical models. This research profile has resulted in a strong institutional position of the Białystok centre—Dr Piotr Guzowski and Prof. Cezary Kuklo serve as members of the editorial board of Roczniki Dziejów Społecznych i Gospodarczych, the leading Polish journal in the field of economic history—as well as in significant scholarly outcomes.
Dr Piotr Guzowski conducts research on the peasant economy, Dr hab. Krzysztof Boroda has published an important monograph on the economic geography of the Kingdom of Poland, and Dr Piotr Łozowski studies the economic activity of the inhabitants of Warsaw in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The Białystok centre is also involved in an international grant project on the financial resources of the Jagiellonian states, as well as in projects devoted to the economic aspects of the military revolution, economic inequalities, and the relationships between religion and economic life. Many of these studies are funded by the National Science Centre (NCN). The results of this research are presented at international conferences—often organised or chaired by Białystok scholars—and published in the form of monographs or articles in leading academic journals.
In recent years, economic historians in Białystok have increasingly employed tools such as GIS, explored the links between economy, demography and environmental history, and analysed the economic dimensions of military history.
Research in historical demography has a long tradition in Białystok. Its origins can be traced back to the 1970s, when, within the seminar led by Prof. Andrzej Wyczański, the first master’s theses were produced on topics such as the functioning of the peasant family and the social structure of early modern Polish society. One of the scholars emerging from this academic milieu was Prof. Cezary Kuklo, who in his subsequent publications analysed the functioning of the family in eighteenth-century Warsaw—a topic addressed in his doctoral dissertation, which was awarded in 1990 by the Association Internationale d’Histoire Économique—as well as the situation of single women and the elderly in early modern society.
Over time, demographic research was also taken up by other scholars based in Białystok, leading to the formation of a large research team of international significance. Prof. Marzena Liedke studies the demography of elites in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish Crown; Dr Piotr Guzowski focuses on the demography of the nobility and peasantry; Dr Radosław Poniat examines the functioning of lower social strata in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; and Dr Piotr Łozowski researches the urban family at the turn of the Middle Ages and the early modern period. This research community also includes scholars not formally employed at the university but actively participating in research projects and academic seminars, as well as doctoral candidates preparing dissertations on demographic topics.
The achievements of the Białystok group are reflected both in its strong institutional position and in its scholarly output. Prof. Kuklo has for many years served as Chair of the Historical Demography Section of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and both he and several other members of the group have been or continue to be members of the editorial board of Przeszłość Demograficzna Polski, the leading Polish journal in the field. Cezary Kuklo’s book Demography of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth before the Partitions constitutes a foundational academic textbook in historical demography and is frequently cited both in Poland and internationally. Members of the group publish in leading journals such as History of the Family, Journal of Family History, Historická demografie, and the European Journal of Population, obtain research funding from the National Science Centre (NCN) and the National Programme for the Development of the Humanities (NPRH), and present their findings at international conferences.
A defining feature of research conducted in Białystok is its broad chronological scope—from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century—as well as its wide geographical range, encompassing not only Podlasie and Mazovia, but also the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Lesser Poland, and Volhynia. In addition to the classic topics of historical demography—population structures, demographic processes, and the functioning of families and households—particular attention is devoted to the interrelations between demography, the economy, geography, and the natural environment.
Due to its geographical location and historical development, Białystok is closely connected with the heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. For many years, eminent scholars specialising in Lithuanian studies, such as Stanisław Alexandrowicz and Jan Tęgowski, conducted research in Białystok on the cartography of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, its urban network, patterns of settlement, and dynastic genealogy. The Lithuanian-Ruthenian magnate elite has been a central research interest of Ewa Dubas-Urwanowicz, Jerzy Urwanowicz, and Prof. Marzena Liedke. Both in the past and today, many scholars have also focused on religious relations within the territories of the Lithuanian state. For many years, research on the Roman Catholic parish network was carried out by Prof. Józef Maroszek; studies on the Reformed (Calvinist) communities have been conducted by Prof. Marzena Liedke and Dr Piotr Guzowski; and the history of the Orthodox Church has been explored by Prof. Piotr Chomik.
In recent years, the economy and military transformations of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania have attracted increasing attention from historians in Białystok (Prof. Karol Łopatecki, Prof. Marzena Liedke, Dr Piotr Guzowski, Dr Radosław Poniat). The results of this research are closely linked to projects funded by the National Programme for the Development of the Humanities (NPRH) and the National Science Centre (NCN). Polish–Lithuanian international cooperation has been developing dynamically, particularly with Vytautas Magnus University and the Lithuanian Institute of History, while scholars from Białystok have for many years been active participants in the work of the Lithuanian Studies Commission of the Committee of Historical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
The Centre welcomes cooperation with international scholars and research institutions. We are open to joint research projects, visiting scholar programmes, workshops and conferences, as well as collaborative grant applications.
Academic Secretary
dr hab. Piotr Guzowski, prof. UwB
Faculty of History, University of Białystok
E-mail: p.guzowski@uwb.edu.pl
For enquiries related to research collaboration and academic exchange, please contact the Centre directly or visit the Research section of the Faculty website.
