Mestwin II, Duke of Pomerania

Mestwin II of Pomerania
Image of Mestwin at the cloister in Oliwa
Duke of Pomerania
Reign	1271–1294
Predecessor	Swietopelk II
Successor	Przemysł II of Poland
Duke of Świecie
Reign	from around 1250 until 1294
Born	around 1220
Died	29 December 1294 Gdańsk
House	Samborides
Father	Swietopelk II
Mother	Eufrozyna of Bohemia

Mestwin II (Polish: Mściwój II or Mszczuj II) (c. 1220 – December 25, 1294) was a Duke of Pomerelia, member of the Samborides dynasty. He ruled Pomerelia as a sole ruler from 1273 to 1294.

Mestwin II was the son of Swietopelk II and the Přemyslid dynasty princess Eufrozyna. As a young man, in 1243 he was taken into the Teutonic Order custody as a hostage, part of the ceasefire agreement between his father and the Order, but the Order did not keep their part of this agreement and failed to return Mestwin II who was held by them until 1248 (for some time in the Order castle in Austria) when finally released.

Most likely upon returning from Teutonic Order captivity his father made Mestwin II the Duke of Świecie (Schwetz) province circa 1250, and upon his father's death he began his challenge against his younger brother for Gdańsk (Danzig) in 1266, starting the so-called Pomerelian Civil War that lasted until 1273. He fought his younger brother and uncles until he emerged victorious and finally became the principal Pomerelia prince and sole ruler in 1273. He united all the lands of Pomerelia (after the death of his uncles, Sambor II, prince of Lubiszewo (Lübschau) and Racibor Białogardzki, prince of Białogarda.

In 1269, while searching for allies, Mestwin II entered into an alliance with expanding at the cost of Slavic lands and ever aggressive Brandenburg margraves, Treaty of Choszczno, and most likely in return for military and financial help he gave oath of fealty and paid homage over a couple Pomeralian towns (Świecie and Białogard) to these dukes.