Swedish Livonia ( sv, Svenska Livland) was a
dominion
The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire.
"Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...
of the
Swedish Empire from 1629 until 1721. The territory, which constituted the southern part of modern
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
(including the island of
Ösel ceded by
Denmark
)
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark
, establish ...
after the
Treaty of Brömsebro) and the northern part of modern
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
(the
Vidzeme
Vidzeme (; Old Latvian orthography: ''Widda-semme'', liv, Vidūmō) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. The capital of Latvia, Riga, is situated in the southwestern part of the region. Literally meaning "the Middle Land", it is situated in ...
region), represented the conquest of the major part of the Polish-Lithuanian
Duchy of Livonia during the 1600–1629
Polish-Swedish War. Parts of Livonia and the city of
Riga were under Swedish control as early as 1621 and the situation was formalized in the
Truce of Altmark 1629, but the whole territory was not ceded formally until the
Treaty of Oliva in 1660. The minority part of the
Wenden Voivodeship retained by the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
was renamed the
Inflanty Voivodeship ("''Livonian Principality''"), which today corresponds to the
Latgale
Latgale ( ltg, Latgola; ; ger, Lettgallen; be, Латгалія, Łathalija; pl, Łatgalia; la, Lettgallia), also known as Latgalia is one of the Historical Latvian Lands. It is the easternmost region and is north of the Daugava River. While ...
region of Latvia.
Riga was the second largest city in the Swedish Empire at the time. Together with other Baltic Sea dominions, Livonia served to secure the Swedish ''
dominium maris baltici''. In contrast to
Swedish Estonia
Estonia under Swedish rule (1561–1710) signifies the period of time when large parts of the country, and after 1645, entire present-day Estonia, were under Swedish rule. In the wake of the breakup of the State of the Teutonic Order, the Ba ...
, which had submitted to Swedish rule voluntarily in 1561 and where traditional local laws remained largely untouched, the
uniformity policy was applied in Swedish Livonia under
Karl XI of Sweden: serfdom was abolished, peasants were offered education as well as military, administrative or ecclesiastical careers, and nobles had to transfer domains to the king in the
Great Reduction
In the Great Reduction of 1680, by which the ancient landed nobility lost its power base, the Swedish Crown recaptured lands earlier granted to the nobility. ''Reductions'' ( sv, reduktion) in Sweden and its dominions were the return to the Crown ...
.
The territory in turn was conquered by the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
during the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swe ...
and, following the
Capitulation of Estonia and Livonia in 1710, formed the
Governorate of Livonia. Formally, it was ceded to Russia in the
Treaty of Nystad in 1721, together with Swedish Estonia and
Swedish Ingria.
Governors-general
The dominion was ruled by appointed
governors-general, but retained its own
diet.
*
Jacob De la Gardie (1622–1628)
*
Gustaf Horn (1628–1629)
*
Johan Skytte
Johan Skytte (1577, in Nyköping – 15 March 1645, in Söderåkra, Sweden) was a Swedish statesman, and the founder of the ''Academia Gustaviana'' (today's University of Tartu in Estonia), in 1632.
He was a son of the mayor of Nyköping, Beng ...
(1629–1633)
*
Nils Assersson Mannersköld (1633–1634)
*
Bengt Oxenstierna (1634–1643)
*
Herman Wrangel
Herman Wrangel (born 1584/1587 – 10 December 1643) was a Swedish military officer and politician of Baltic German extraction.
Biography
Herman von Wrangel was born in Livonia. He came to Sweden around 1608. In 1612, he participated in th ...
(1643)
*
Erik Eriksson Ryning (1644)
*
Gabriel Bengtsson Oxenstierna (1645–1647)
*
Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie (1649–1651)
*
Gustaf Horn (1652–1653)
*
Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie (1655–1657)
*
Axel Lillie
Count Axel Lillie, also spelled Lillje (23 July 1603 – 20 December 1662) was a Swedish soldier and politician. He was appointed Lieutenant Governor General of Pomerania in 1643, Privy Councilor in 1648, Governor General of Pomerania in 1 ...
(1661)
*
Bengt Oxenstierna (1662–1665)
*
Clas Åkesson Tott (the younger) (1665–1671)
*
Fabian von Fersen
Baron Fabian von Fersen (February 7, 1626 – July 30, 1677) was a Swedish general, freelord, field-marshal and governor general of Skåne, Halland and Blekinge. He served the Swedish Empire in multiple wars and received appointments Field ...
(1671–1674)
*
Krister Klasson Horn (1674–1686)
*
Jacob Johan Hastfer
Jacob Johan Hastfer (11 December 1647 Tallinn – 24 December 1695 Riga) was a Swedish officer and governor of the Livonia province between 1687 and 1695.
References
*
1647 births
1695 deaths
Politicians from Tallinn
Baltic-German peo ...
(1687–1695)
*
Erik Dahlberg
''
Count Erik Jönsson Dahlbergh (10 October 162516 January 1703) was a Swedish military engineer, Governor-general and Field marshal. He rose to the level of nobility through his military competence. As an architect and draftsman, he was reno ...
(1696–1702)
*
Carl Gustaf Frölich (1702–1706)
*
Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt (1706–1709)
*
Henrik Otto Albedyll (1709)
*
Niels Jonsson Stromberg af Clastorp Niels Jonsson Stromberg af Clastorp (March 25, 1646 – August 16, 1723) was a Swedish soldier and Governor-General of Swedish Estonia from 1706 to 1709.
He was born with the family name Brattman which was ennobled to Strömberg in 1674, and aft ...
(1709–1710)
Military
Swedish infantry and cavalry regiments
;Infantry regiments:
* ''
Garnisonsregementet i Riga'' (Garrison Regiment in Riga)
* ''
Guvenörsregementet i Riga'' (Governor's Regiment in Riga)
* ''
Livländsk infanteribataljon I'' (Livonian Infantry Battalion I)
* ''
Livländsk infanteribataljon II'' (Livonian Infantry Battalion II)
* ''
Livländsk infanteribataljon III'' (Livonian Infantry Battalion III)
* ''
Livländsk infanteribataljon IV'' (Livonian Infantry Battalion IV)
* ''
Livländskt infanteriregemente I'' (Livonian Infantry Regiment I)
* ''
Livländskt infanteriregemente II'' (Livonian Infantry Regiment II)
* ''
Livländskt infanteriregemente III'' (Livonian Infantry Regiment III)
* ''
Livländskt infanteriregemente IV'' (Livonian Infantry Regiment IV)
* ''
Livländskt infanteriregemente V'' (Livonian Infantry Regiment V)
;Cavalry regiments:
* ''
Laurentzens fridragoner'' (
Wolter Wolfgang von Laurentzen's Free Dragoons)
* ''
Lewenhaupts frikompani'' (
Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt's
Free Company)
* ''
Adelsfanan i Livland och Ösel'' (Livonian and Öselian Banner of Nobles)
* ''
Livländsk dragonskvadron I'' (Livonian Dragoon Squadron I)
* ''
Livländsk dragonskvadron II'' (Livonian Dragoon Squadron II)
* ''
Livländskt dragonregemente I'' (Livonian Dragoon Regiment I)
* ''
Livländskt dragonregemente II'' (Livonian Dragoon Regiment II)
* ''
Öselska lantdragonskvadronen'' (
Öselian County Dragoon Squadron)
Temporary cavalry regiments:
* ''
Livländska ståndsdragonbataljonen'' (Livonian Rank Dragoon Battalion)
* ''
Öselska ståndsdragonbataljonen'' (
Ösel Rank Dragoon Battalion)
See also
*
Rise of Sweden as a Great Power
Rise or RISE may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities
* '' Rise: The Vieneo Province'', an internet-based virtual world
* Rise FM, a fictional radio station in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto 3''
* Rise Kujikawa, a vide ...
*
Swedish Empire
*
Realm of Sweden
*
Duchy of Estonia (1561–1721)
The Duchy of Estonia ( sv, Hertigdömet Estland, et, Eestimaa hertsogkond, german: Herzogtum Estland), also known as Swedish Estonia, ( sv, Svenska Estland, italic=no) was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1561 until 1721 during the time ...
*
Estonia under Swedish rule
*
Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek
References
* Andrejs Plakans, ''A Concise History of the Baltic States'', Cambridge University Press, 2011, pp. 105ff
Further reading
* Heikki Pihlajamäki. Conquest and the Law in Swedish Livonia, ca. 1630–1710: A Case of Legal Pluralism in Early Modern Europe. Northern World Series. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2017
{{Authority control
States and territories disestablished in 1721
States and territories established in 1629
Livonia
Estonia–Sweden relations
Latvia–Sweden relations
1629 establishments in Sweden
1721 disestablishments in Europe