THE CITY OF SHUMSK IN THE COMPLEX OF VOLYN PROPERTIES OF RADZIWILL FAMILY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY

Abstract

The article analyzes the demographic aspects and economic potential of the city of Shumsk as one of the structural elements of the Volyn properties of the princely house of the Radziwills in the second half of the 18th century. The inventory of this privately owned city and its informative potential was used as a basis for understanding the socio-economic aspects of the everyday life in the cities of Volyn at the time. In 1747 the Malynsky family sold Shumsk to the Radziwills. At the time of the acquisition of the property, the new owners gained a leading position among the magnates of the Ukrainian lands. The Radziwills significantly developed the city plan, expanded its infrastructure, and took care of its cultural and religious landscape. Overall, the new owners seemingly wanted to increase the significance of the settlement in terms of trade, economy and spiritual importance. Despite their large-scale efforts, the city continued to be under the influence of notably more powerful Volyn estates of the representatives of this princely house. At the time, the city and its citizens were considerably involved in the agricultural sector and did not have the opportunity to significantly strengthen the craft component. In fact, they often had to combine the former and the latter since the craft did not yet allow completely abandoning agricultural activities. In the second half of the 18th century, being an estate and economic unit of the Volyn estates of the Radziwills, Shumsk was closely connected with the neighboring town of Rokhmanov.