County of East Frisia

County of East-Frisia
Graafschap Oost-Friesland
County of East-Frisia Graafschap Oost-Friesland
1464–1744
	Coat of arms Coat of arms
	Calvinism in the west
Government	County
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Established	1464
• Disestablished	1744
Area
c. 1800	1,800 km2 (690 sq mi)
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	East Frisian chieftains
	Frisian freedom
Kingdom of Prussia

The County of East-Frisia (

Dutch: Graafschap Oost-Friesland) was a county (though ruled by a prince after 1662) in the region of East Frisia in the northwest of the present-day German state of Lower Saxony

.

County

Originally East Frisia was part of the larger

Ulrich I of East Frisia was raised to the status of Count by Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and East Frisia became a county

.

Origin of the county

In 1430, led by chieftain

imperial count

. The emperor gave to Ulrich I the Imperial County in Norden, Emden, Emisgonien in East Frisia.

Consolidation of the County

After the death of Ulrich I, his widow Theda ruled in the name of their children, who were still minors. Theda managed to withstand the threats of Duke

Münster and the Hansa-city of Hamburg

. Jeverland and Harlingerland remained independent, but Butjadingen became subject to East Frisian authority.

The struggle for the Frisian lands

A new situation was created with the appointment of

Groningen instead. Edzard was now recognised by the Groninger Ommelanden as its ruler. In 1512, primogeniture was introduced to preserve the newly created unity. In 1515 the successors of George of Saxony relinquished their rights to Friesland to Duke Charles of Burgundy, the later emperor Charles V

. The conflict ended in 1517 in a treaty between Edzard and Charles, in which Charles recognised the possessions of Edzard as an imperial county.

The Reformation

After 1519 the

Calvinists

.

Marriage-politics and territorial size

In 1517 an agreement was signed in which the marriage between Enno II and Maria of Jever was planned. But Enno II broke the agreement and instead married Anna of Oldenburg in 1529. In this marriage, Butjadingen was given to Oldenburg, and in return, Oldenburg relinquished its claims to Jever. In response, Maria of Jever drove out the East Frisian occupiers of Jever in 1531, and in 1532 she recognised the Duke of Burgundy, Charles V as her feudal lord. The Harlingerland was loaned to the Duchy of Guelders.

Dutch intervention

The power of the count was put under pressure in the 16th century, partially because of the

Reformed Church. Dutch troops were stationed in Emden and Leer

.

In 1602, count Enno attempted to drive out the Dutch with support from the Emperor and the Spanish king, but he was rebuffed. In a new treaty in 1603 he was forced to accept the Dutch occupation and religious consequences for an undetermined amount of time. In the

Eems

valley.