Baltic Governorates
The Baltic Governorates, originally the Ostsee Governorates, was a collective name for the administrative units of the Russian Empire set up in the territories of Swedish Estonia, Swedish Livonia (1721) and, afterwards, of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1795). History The Treaty of Vilnius of 1561 included the '' Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti'' by which the Polish King Sigismund II Augustus guaranteed the Livonian estates several privileges, including religious freedom with respect to the Augsburg Confession, the '' Indigenat'' (), and continuation of the traditional German jurisdiction and administration. The terms regarding religious freedom forbade any regulation of the traditional Protestant order by religious or secular authorities, and ruled that cases of disagreements be judged only by Protestant scholars. When in 1710 Estonia and Livonia capitulated to Russia during the Great Northern War, the capitulations explicitly referred to the ''Privilegium Sigismundi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughly one-sixth of the world's landmass, making it the list of largest empires, third-largest empire in history, behind only the British Empire, British and Mongol Empire, Mongol empires. It also Russian colonization of North America, colonized Alaska between 1799 and 1867. The empire's 1897 census, the only one it conducted, found a population of 125.6 million with considerable ethnic, linguistic, religious, and socioeconomic diversity. From the 10th to 17th centuries, the Russians had been ruled by a noble class known as the boyars, above whom was the tsar, an absolute monarch. The groundwork of the Russian Empire was laid by Ivan III (), who greatly expanded his domain, established a centralized Russian national state, and secured inde ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to the southeast, and shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of , with a population of 1.9million. The country has a Temperate climate, temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city is Riga. Latvians, who are the titular nation and comprise 65.5% of the country's population, belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Latvian language, Latvian. Russians in Latvia, Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population; 37.7% of the population speak Russian language, Russian as their native tongue. After centuries of State of the Teutonic Order, Teutonic, Swedish Livonia, Swedish, Inflanty Voi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reval Governorate
Reval Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, which existed from 1719 to 1783. Its capital was in Reval (Tallinn). History Reval Governorate was originally formed in 1719 by Tsar Peter the Great of Russia, under a decree issued on 29 May 1719. It encompassed four North-Estonian counties: Läänemaa, Harjumaa, Järvamaa, and Virumaa. At that time, the Narva region was merged with Saint Petersburg Governorate. These territories were conquered from Sweden during the Great Northern War by Russian troops, with Vyborg falling on 24 June 1710, Riga on 15 July, Pärnu on 23 August, followed by Paide, Haapsalu, Kuressaare on 26 September, and Tallinn on 10 October. Earlier in the Great Northern War, in 1708, the Russian troops had already taken control of Virumaa (then known as Narva Uyezd) and Tartumaa (then known as Tartu Uyezd), which were incorporated into Saint Petersburg Governorate. Sweden ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dominions Of Sweden
The Dominions of Sweden or ''Svenska besittningar'' ("Swedish possessions") were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated with Sweden. This generally meant that they were ruled by Governors-General under the Swedish monarch, but within certain limits retained their own established political systems, essentially their diets. Finland was not a dominion, but a land of Sweden. The dominions had no representation in the Swedish Riksdag as stipulated by the 1634 Instrument of Government paragraph 46: ''"No one, who is not living inside the separate and old borders of Sweden and Finland, have anything to say at Riksdags and other meetings..."'' Baltic Dominions Between 1561 and 1629 Sweden made conquests in the Eastern Baltic. All of them were lost in accordance with the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, which concluded the Great Northern War. Estonia Estonia placed itself under Swedish rule in 1561 to receive protecti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Great Northern War
In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter the Great, Peter I of Russia, Frederick IV of Denmark, Frederick IV of Denmark–Norway and Augustus II the Strong of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony–Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Poland–Lithuania. Frederick IV and Augustus II were defeated by Sweden, under Charles XII, and forced out of the alliance in 1700 and 1706 respectively, but rejoined it in 1709 after the defeat of Charles XII at the Battle of Poltava. George I of Great Britain and the Electorate of Hanover joined the coalition in 1714 for Hanover and in 1717 for Britain, and Frederick William I of Prussia, Frederick William I of Brandenburg-Prussia joined it in 1715. Charles XII led the Swedish army. Swedish allies included Holstein-Gottorp, sev ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Indygenat
''Indygenat'' or ' naturalization' in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was the grant of nobility to foreign nobles. To grant ''indygenat'', a foreign noble had to submit proof of their service to the Republic, together with proof of nobility issued by a foreign court, swear an oath of allegiance, and buy land. Grants of ''indygenat'' were limited in the history of Poland to just over 400 foreign nobles. It was granted by the King; after 1641 it was only valid with approval of the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Bibliography * Norman Davies, God's Playground A History of Poland: The Origins to 1795 (Vol. I), Oxford 2005, pp. 183-184 See also * Indigenat (other) * Ennoblement * Heraldic adoption Heraldic adoption () was in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland a legal form of ennoblement and adoption into an existing heraldic clan along with assuming the coat of arms of that clan. It took place as a result of an act issue ... * Skart ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Augsburg Confession
The Augsburg Confession (), also known as the Augustan Confession or the Augustana from its Latin name, ''Confessio Augustana'', is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church and one of the most important documents of the Protestant Reformation. The Augsburg Confession was written in both Early New High German, German and Ecclesiastical Latin, Latin and was presented by a number of German Imperial State, rulers and free-cities at the Diet of Augsburg on 25 June 1530. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, had called on the Princes and Free Territories in Holy Roman Empire, Germany to explain their religious convictions in an attempt to restore religious and political unity in the Holy Roman Empire and rally support against the Ottoman wars in Europe, Ottoman invasion in the 16th-century Siege of Vienna (1529), Siege of Vienna. It is the fourth document contained in the Lutheran ''Book of Concord''. Background Philipp Melanch ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Livonian Confederation
Terra Mariana (Medieval Latin for 'Land of Mary') was the formal name for Medieval Livonia or Old Livonia. It was formed in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade, and its territories were composed of present-day Estonia and Latvia. It was established on 2 February 1207, as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire, and lost this status in 1215 when Pope Innocent III proclaimed it as directly subject to the Holy See. The papal legate William of Modena divided Terra Mariana into feudal principalities: the Duchy of Estonia (dominum directum to the king of Denmark); the Archbishopric of Riga; the Bishopric of Courland; the Bishopric of Dorpat; the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek; and territories under the military administration of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. After the 1236 Battle of Saule, the surviving members of the Brothers merged in 1237 with the Teutonic Order of Prussia and became known as the Livonian Order. In 1346 the Livonian Order bought the Duchy of Estonia from Denm ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the last male monarch from the Jagiellonian dynasty. Sigismund was elder of two sons of Italian-born Bona Sforza and Sigismund the Old, and the only one to survive infancy. From the beginning he was groomed and extensively educated as a successor. In 1529 he was chosen as king in '' vivente rege'' election while his father was still alive. Sigismund Augustus continued a tolerance policy towards minorities and maintained peaceful relations with neighbouring countries, with the exception of the Northern Seven Years' War which aimed to secure Baltic trade. Under his patronage, culture flourished in Poland; he was a collector of tapestries from the Low Countries and collected military memorabilia as well as swords, armours and jewellery. Sigism ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti
was established on 28 November 1561 in the Treaty of Vilnius between the Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus and the last Landmeister in Livonia Gotthard Kettler, contractually negotiated and granted privilege, which sets the ratio of the Livland Estates Order on the Polish crown and sealed the end of the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Confederation. For the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia the ''Pacta Subiectionis'' was additionally signed, which in addition to the privileges governed the relationship of the nobility to the duke, the Polish king and the Reichstag. The privileges Gotthard Kettler was the last national champion of the Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei .... He subordinated himself to the remains of the Orde ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Treaty Of Vilnius (1561)
The Treaty of Vilnius was concluded on 28 November 1561, during the Livonian War, between the Livonian Confederation and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Vilnius. With the treaty, the non-Danish and non-Swedish part of Livonia, with the exception of the Free imperial city of Riga, subjected itself to the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Sigismund II Augustus with the ''Pacta subiectionis (Provisio ducalis)''. In turn, Sigismund granted protection from the Tsardom of Russia and confirmed the Livonian estates' traditional privileges, laid out in the ''Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti''. The secularization of the Livonian Order was the "final act" in Livonia's transition from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern era. The territories were re-organized in the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and the Duchy of Livonia, the latter competing with the Kingdom of Livonia during the war. After its reconquest, Sigismund's successor Stephen Báthory (Batory) ignored the privileges of 1561, granted a ne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Duchy Of Courland And Semigallia
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was a duchy in the Baltic states, Baltic region, then known as Livonia, that existed from 1561 to 1569 as a nominal vassal state of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently made part of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom from 1569 to 1726 and incorporated into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1726. On October 24, 1795, it was annexed by the Russian Empire in the Third Partition of Poland. There was also a Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1918), short-lived wartime state with the same name that existed from March 8 to September 22, 1918. Plans for it to become part of the United Baltic Duchy, subject to the German Empire, were thwarted by Germany's surrender of the Baltic region at the end of the First World War. The area became a part of Latvia at the end of World War I. History In 1561, during the Livonian Wars, the Livonian Confederation was dismantled and the Livonian Order was disbanded. On the basis of the Treaty of Vilnius ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |