1. ISMA Secondary School “Premjers”
Form 11 “A”
Oleg Kanashkov
Riga, 2013

2. Prehistoric period
The proto-Baltic forefathers of the Latvian people have
lived on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea since the
third millennium BC.
At the beginning of this era the territory known today
as Latvia became famous as a trading crossroads. The
famous "route from the Vikings to the Greeks"
mentioned in ancient chronicles stretched
from Scandinavia through Latvian territory via
the Daugava River to the ancient Rus and Byzantine
Empire.
The ancient Balts of this time actively participated in the
trading network. Across the European
continent, Latvia's coast was known as a place for
obtaining amber. Up to and into the Middle Ages amber
was more valuable than gold in many places. Latvian
amber was known in places as far away as Ancient
Greece and the Roman Empire and the Amber
Road was intensively used for the transfer of amber to
the south of Europe. In the 10th century, the ancient
Balts started to form specific tribal realms.

3. Gradually, five individual Baltic tribal cultures
developed: Curonians, Livonians, Latgalians, Selonians,
Semigallians (Latvian: kurši, līvi, latgaļi, sēļi, zemgaļi). The
largest of them was the Latgalian tribe, which was the
most advanced in its socio-political development. The
main Latgalian principality was Jersika, ruled by the Greek
Orthodox princes from Latgalian-Polotsk branch
of Rurik dynasty. The last ruler of Jersika, mentioned in
the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia was prince Visvaldis.
During dividing of his realm in 1211 part of the country was
called "Latvia“, probably the first time this name was
mentioned in written sources. In contrast, the Curonians
maintained a lifestyle of intensive invasions that included
looting and pillaging. On the west coast of the Baltic Sea,
they became known as the "Baltic Vikings". But Selonians
and Semigallians, closely related
to Lithuanians, were known as peace-
loving and prosperous farmers. Livonians lived along the
shores of the Gulf of Riga and were fishers and traders.

5. Early historical period
In the 8th century, the territory of West Latvia
became a Scandinavian colony.
Approximately at the same time, the inhabitants
of Latvia started exploring the technology of a
potter's wheel. Latvia started developing as the
significant point for international trade. From
medieval chronicles we can get information that
Finnish tribes, Livs, Slavics and Baltic were
living on Latvian territory.
Up to the 12th century there were attempts to
make a principality and states on Latvian
territory but they weren’t successful.

6. German period (1207-1561)
Because of its strategic geographic location, Latvian
territory has always been invaded by other larger
nations, and this situation has defined the fate of Latvia
and its people.
At the end of the 12th century, Latvia was more often
visited by traders from Western Europe who set out on
trading journeys along Latvia's longest river, the
Daugava, to Russia. At the very end of the 12th
century, German traders arrived. Preachers of
the Christian faith who attempted to convert
the pagan Baltic and Finno-Ugric tribes to the Christian
faith came together with them. The Livs did not willingly
convert to the new and different beliefs and
practices, and particularly opposed the ritual
of baptism. News of this reached the Pope in Rome
and it was decided that Crusaders would be sent into
Latvia to influence the situation.

7. The Germans founded Riga in 1201, and gradually it
became the largest city in the Southern part of the Baltic
Sea. Order of the Sword Brothers was founded in 1202 to
subjugate the local people. The Livs were conquered by
1207 and the most of Latgalians by 1214. But the Sword
Brothers were defeated in Battle of Saule (1236) and its
remnants accepted incorporation into the Teutonic Order.
By the end of the 13th century also the Curonians and
Semigallians were subjugated and the development of
separate tribal realms of the ancient Latvians came to an
end.
In the 13th century, an ecclesiastical state
Livonia was established under the Germanic authorities
consisting of Latvia and Estonia. In 1282, Riga and
later Cēsis, Limbaži, Koknese and Valmiera were included
in the Northern German Trading Organisation, or
the Hanseatic League (Hansa). From this time, Riga
became an important point in west-east trading. Riga, being
the centre of the Eastern Baltic region, formed close cultural
contacts with Western Europe.
The reformation started in Germany and later reached
Livonia in 1521. It was supported in particular in the cities
and by the middle of the15th century the majority of the
population had already converted to Lutheranism.

8. Lithuanian-Polish and Swedish period
(1561—1721)
One of the decisive factors of the fall of the Livonian Order
was the Reformation. The Order was in subordinate to the
Roman Catholic Church, but most of its members were the
Germans, who were inspired by sermon of their
countryman Luther. After the transition of knights to
Lutheranism, the value of Order was lost.
At the same time Poland declared itself as a bastion of
Catholicism and the Counter-Reformation. King of Sweden
declared himself to be the protector of the Lutherans.
Thus, the Counter-Reformation in Latvia resulted in the
Polish-Swedish War (1617-1629). As a result, Latvian
territory was divided between 2 countries: Riga belonged
to Sweden, but Courland, Zemgalia and Latgale belonged
to Poland.
The Russian Empire put the end to the opposition. During
the Great Northern War the Russian Empire occupied the
territory of Estonia and Livonia. In 1721, according to the
Nystad peace treaty the territory of modern Latvia,
including Riga which belonged to Sweden, became part of
the Russian Empire.

9. Gotthard Kettler, the last Master of the Order of Livonia,
became the first duke of Courland. Other members of the
Order became the Couronian nobility. In all, Kettler received
nearly one-third of the land in the new duchy. Mitau (Jelgava)
was designated as the new capital.
Like the other members of the Order, Kettler was German
and set about establishing the Duchy along the lines of
similar German states. When Gotthard Kettler died in 1587,
his sons, Friedrich and Wilhelm, became the dukes of
Courland. They divided the Duchy into two parts in 1596.
Friedrich controlled the eastern part, Semigalia (Zemgale),
with his residence in Mitau. Wilhelm owned the western part,
Courland (Kurzeme), with his residence in Goldingen
(Kuldīga). In Piltene he developed metalworking, shipyards,
and the new ships delivered the goods of Courland to other
Countries.
Duchy of Courland and
Semigallia

10. Colonization and prosperity of
duchy
Under the next duke, Jacob Kettler, the Duchy reached the peak of its prosperity. During his travels
in Western Europe, Jacob became the eager proponent of mercantilist ideas. Metalworking and ship
building became much more developed, and powder mills began producing gunpowder. Trading
relations developed not only with nearby countries, but also
with Britain, France, the Netherlands and Portugal. Jacob
established the merchant fleet of the Duchy of Courland,
with its main ports in Ventspils and Libau.
In 1651 the Duchy established its first colony in Africa,
St. Andrews Island at the Gambia River and founded Jacob
Fort there. The main export goods included ivory, gold, furs
and spices. Soon afterwards, in 1652, Courlanders
established another colony, in Tobago in the West Indies.
There the main export goods included sugar, tobacco,
coffee and spices. However, during this time, the Duchy of Courland remained an object of interest
for both Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1655 the Swedish army entered the
territory of the Duchy and the Swedish–Polish war had begun. The Swedish army captured Duke
Jacob. During this period, the Dutch took over both of Courland's colonies, and the merchant fleet
and factories suffered destruction. This war ended with the peace Treaty of Oliwa
Courland regained Tobago on the basis of the treaty and held it until 1689. Duke
Jacob set about restoring the fleet and factories, but the Duchy of
Courland never again reached its pre-war level of prosperity.

11. Latvia as part of the Russian
Empire (1721-1917)
In 1700, the Great Northern War broke out. The course of this war
was directly linked with today's Latvian territory and the territorial
claims of the Russian Empire. One of its goals was to secure the
famous and rich town of Riga. In 1710, the Russian Tsar, Peter I,
managed to secure Vidzeme. Through Vidzeme to Riga, Russia
obtained a clear passage to Europe. By the end of the 18th century,
due to the Partitions of Poland, all of Latvia's territory was under
Russian rule.
In 1812 Napoleon's troops invaded Russia and the Prussian units under the leadership of the field
marshal Yorck occupied Courland and approached Riga. The governor-general of Riga Ivan Essen
set the wooden houses of the Riga suburbs on fire to deflect the invaders and thousands of city
residents were left homeless. However , Yorck did not attack Riga and in December the Napoleon's
army retreated. Serfdom was abolished in Courland Governorate in 1818 and Governorate of
Livonia in 1819. However , all the land stayed in the hands of the German nobility. Only in 1849,
a law granted a legal basis for the creation of peasant-owned farms. In the middle of the19th
century industry developed quickly and the number of the inhabitants grew. Courland and
Vidzeme became one of Russia's most developed provinces.

12. In the 19th century, the first Latvian National Awakening began among ethnic Latvian
intellectuals, a movement that partly reflected similar nationalist trends elsewhere in
Europe. This revival was led by the "Young Latvians" (in Latvian: jaunlatvieši) from the
1850s to the 1880s. Primarily a literary and cultural movement with significant political
implications, the Young Latvians soon came into severe conflict with the Baltic
Germans. In the 1880s and 1890s the russification policy began by Alexander III was
aimed at reducing the autonomy of Baltic provinces and the introduction of the Russian
language in administration, court and education replacing German.
With increasing pauperization in rural areas and growing urbanization, a loose but
broad leftist movement called the "New Current" arose in the late 1880s. Led by Rainis
and Pēteris Stučka, editors of the newspaper Dienas Lapa, this movement was soon
influenced by Marxism and led to the creation of the Latvian Social Democratic
Labour Party. Latvia in the 20th century saw an explosion of
popular discontent in the 1905 Revolution.

13. World War I
On August 1, 1914 Germany declared war on Russia and
by 1915, the conflict reached Latvia. On May 7 the
Germans captured Liepāja and on May
18, Talsi, Tukums and Ventspils. On June 29 the Russian
Supreme Command ordered the whole population
of Kurzeme to evacuate, and around 400,000 refugees fled
to the east. Some of them settled in Vidzeme but most
continued their way to Russia. On July 19 the Russian War
Minister ordered the factories of Riga to evacuate together
with their workers. In the summer of 1915, 30,000 railway
wagons loaded with machines and equipment from factories
were taken away. In August the formation of Latvian
battalions known as Latvian Riflemen started. From 1915 to
1917, the Riflemen fought in the Russian army against the
Germans in positions along the Daugava River. In
December 1916 and January 1917, they suffered heavy
casualties in month-long Christmas Battles. In February
1917, Revolution broke out in Russia and in the summer the
Russian army collapsed. The German offensive was
successful and on 3 September 1917 they entered Riga.

14. Independence
The idea of an independent Latvia
became a reality at the beginning of the
20th century. The course of World War I
activated the idea of independence. The
post-war confusion was a suitable
opportunity for the development of an
independent nation. Latvia proclaimed
independence shortly after the end of
World War I – on November 18, 1918
which is now the Independence Day in
Latvia.

15. The Soviet Union guaranteed its interests in
the Baltics with the signing of the Molotov–
Ribbentrop Pact between the Soviet Union and
Third Reich on August 23, 1939. Under threat
of invasion, Latvia (along with Estonia and
Lithuania) signed a mutual assistance pact
with Soviet Union, providing for the stationing
of up to 25,000 Soviet troops on Latvian soil.
Latvia was incorporated into the Soviet Union
on August 5, 1940 .
The Third Reich troops occupied Riga on July
1, 1941. A large number of Latvians resisted
the German occupation.
World War II

16. Soviet era
In the post-war period, a lot of people arrived in
Latvia from other Soviet republics and the ethnic
composition of the population changed a lot. An
extensive programme to impose bilingualism was
initiated in Latvia.
There was well-developed infrastructure and lots
of educated specialists were sent to Latvia from
other Soviet republics. It was decided in Moscow
that some of the Soviet Union's most advanced
manufacturing factories were to be based in
Latvia. New industry was created in Latvia,
including a major machinery factory
RAF in Jelgava, electrotechnical factories
in Riga, chemical factories
in Daugavpils, Valmiera and Olaine, as well as
food and oil processing plants.

17. Restoration of
Independence
On the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-
Ribbentrop pact (August 23, 1989) to the
fate of the Baltic
nations, Latvians, Lithuanians and
Estonians joined hands in a human chain,
the Baltic Way, that stretched 600
kilometers from Tallinn, to Riga, to Vilnius. It
symbolically represented the united wish of
the Baltic States for independence.
Subsequent steps towards full
independence were taken on May 4, 1990.
On August 21, after unsuccessful attempt at
a coup in Moscow, parliament voted for an
end to the transition period, thus restoring
Latvia's pre-war independence.
On September 6, 1991 Latvian
independence was once again recognized
by the Soviet Union.

18. Modern history
Soon after reinstating independence, Latvia, which had
been a member of the League of Nations prior to World
War II, became a member of the United Nations. In
1992, Latvia became eligible for the International
Monetary Fund and in 1994 took part in
the NATO Partnership for Peace program in addition to
signing the free trade agreement with the European
Union. Latvia became a member of the European
Council as well as a candidate for the membership in the
European Union and NATO. Latvia was the first of the
three Baltic nations to be accepted into the World Trade
Organization.
At the end of 1999 in Helsinki, the heads of the
European Union governments invited Latvia to begin
negotiations regarding accession to the European Union.
In 2004, Latvia's most important foreign policy goals,
membership of the European Union and NATO, were
fulfilled. On April 2, Latvia became a member of NATO
and on May 1, Latvia, along with the other two Baltic
States, became a member of the European Union.