By a law known as the "Execution" the assembly of nobles finally got control of the executive as well as of the legislative branch of the government.
At the same time they, with the cordial assistance of the king, bound the country together in a closer bond known as the Union of Lublin.
[Sidenote: 1569] Though Lithuania and Prussia struggled against incorporation with Poland, both were forced to submit to a measure that added power to the state and opened to the Polish nobility great opportunity for political and economic exploitation of these lands.
Not only the king, but the magnates and the cities were put under the heel of the ruling caste.

This was an evolution opposite to that of most European states, in which crown and bourgeoisie subdued the once proud position of the baronage.

But even here in Poland one sees the rising influence of commerce and the money-power, in that the Polish nobility was largely composed of small {142} gentry eager and able to exploit the new opportunities offered by capitalism.

In other countries the old privilege of the sword gave way to the new privilege of gold; in Poland the sword itself turned golden, at least in part; the blade kept its keen, steel edge, but the hilt by which it was wielded glittered yellow.
[Sidenote: Protestantism] Unchecked though they were by laws, the Protestants soon developed a weakness that finally proved fatal to their cause, lack of organization and division into many mutually hostile sects.

[Sidenote: 1537] The Anabaptists of course arrived, preached, gained adherents, and were suppressed.