Duchy of Courland and Semigallia

Duchy of Courland and Semigallia
*Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ* (
Latin)
*Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste* (Latvian)
*Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii* (Polish)
*Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė* (Lithuanian)
*Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen* (German)
*Hertigdömet Kurland och Semgallen* (Swedish
)
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia Ducatus Curlandiæ et Semigalliæ ( Latin); Kurzemes un Zemgales hercogiste (Latvian); Księstwo Kurlandii i Semigalii (Polish); Kuršo ir Žiemgalos kunigaikštystė (Lithuanian); Herzogtum Kurland und Semgallen (German); Hertigdömet Kurland och Semgallen (Swedish)
1561–1795
	Flag Coat of arms
	Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in 1714 Duchy of Courland and Semigallia; Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth;
Status	Duke
• 1561–1587	Gotthard Kettler (first)
• 1769–1795	Peter von Biron (last)
Legislature	Colonial acquisitions
• Third Partition of Poland	28 March 1795
Area
• Total	27,290 km2 (10,540 sq mi)
Population
• Estimate	~200,000 (17th century)
Currency	Thaler
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Bishopric of Courland
	Livonian Order
Courland Governorate
Today part of	Latvia

The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (

Crown of the Polish Kingdom from 1569 to 1726^[1] and incorporated into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1726.^[2] On March 28, 1795, it was annexed by the Russian Empire in the Third Partition of Poland

.

There was also a

First World War.^[3] The area became a part of Latvia

at the end of World War I.

History

In 1561, during the

House of Kettler with the exception of Ernst Johann Biron and his son Peter von Biron

.

Mitau (Jelgava) was designated as the new capital and a Landtag

was to meet there twice a year.

Several parts of the Courish area did not belong to the Duchy. The Order of Livonia had already loaned the Grobiņa district (on the coast of Baltic Sea) to the

Magnus, son of the king of Denmark. He promised to transfer it to the Duchy of Courland after his death, but this plan failed and only later did Wilhelm Kettler

regain this district.

Like the other members of the Order, Kettler was German and set about establishing the Duchy along the lines of similar German states. In 1570, he issued the Privilegium Gotthardinum, which allowed the landholders to

enserf the native peasantry on their lands.^[5]

When Gotthard Kettler died in 1587, his sons,

metalworking and shipyards

, and the new ships delivered the goods of Courland to other countries.

However, relations between the duke and the landowners were quite hostile. In addition, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which was the overlord of the Duchy of Courland, supported the landowners. Wilhelm expressed his disappointment with the landowners, but this ended with his removal from the duke's seat in 1616. Finally, Wilhelm left Courland and spent the rest of his life abroad. Thus, Friedrich became the only duke of Courland after 1616.

From 1600 to 1629, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and

Swedish Livonia. The Commonwealth retained the eastern part of the Duchy of Livonia, thereafter called Inflanty Voivodeship

in Polish. Courland was also involved in this war, but did not suffer severe damage.

Under the next duke,

France, the Netherlands and Portugal. Jacob established the merchant fleet of the Duchy of Courland, with its main harbours in Ventspils and Libau

.

Colonization

In 1651 the Duchy established its first

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, starting the

Treaty of Oliwa (1660). 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.^[6]

18th century

When Jacob died in 1682, his son,

Friedrich Casimir, became the next duke. During his reign production continued to decrease. The duke himself was more interested in glamorous celebrations and spent more money than he had. This forced him to sell Tobago to the British. During this period, the Commonwealth increased its influence in the political and economic life of the Duchy. Additionally, Russia

showed an interest in this area.

Friedrich Casimir died in 1698. His successor,

St Petersburg

, he took ill and died. Anna ruled as the duchess of Courland from 1711 to 1730.

After the death of Friedrich Wilhelm, the next candidate for the seat of duke was

Anna Ioannovna, Duchess of Courland at that time.^[7]

He was elected duke in 1726, but only managed to maintain himself by force of arms till the next year. Russia disliked him and sent an army to western Courland to destroy Maurice's base. When Catherine was Empress Peter Lacy was given responsibility for removing Maurice de Saxe from Courland.^[7] As the result Maurice de Saxe had to leave Courland, and Russia increased its influence. This was achieved in good measure due to service of Peter Lacy who was

Elector of Saxony, in his successful bid to succeed his father on the Polish throne in the 1730s, agreed to grant Anna of Russia her choice of successor to the Courish duchy in exchange for Russian support in the War of the Polish Succession. (Because of the duchy's position as a vassal of the Commonwealth and Ferdinand Kettler's lack of issue, the duchy would otherwise formally have devolved onto the Polish throne.) Anna appointed Ernst Johann von Biron

duke of Courland in 1737.

Von Biron received remarkable financial support from Russia and invested it in construction – for example, the castle of

Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Anna Ivanovna died in 1740, resulting in von Biron's exile to Siberia

the following year. From there, through the Council of the Duke, he continued to control the Duchy, with the agreement of the king of Poland. However, the landowners of Courland disliked the agreement and even refused to follow the regulations of the Council of the Duke.

St Petersburg to get this title ratified, Elizabeth of Russia

carried out a coup on December 6, 1741, and he lost the title.

King

Catherine II of Russia (reigned 1762–1796) solved this situation by recalling Ernst von Biron from exile in 1763. By doing this, she avoided the possible increase of influence of the Commonwealth in Courland. However, political fighting had exhausted Ernst Biron, and he turned the seat of duke over to his son, Peter von Biron, in 1769. But political tumult continued in Courland. Some landowners supported the Commonwealth, some Russia. Ultimately, Russia determined the further fate of Courland when with its allies it began the third division of Poland (1795). Given a "nice recommendation" by Russia, Duke Peter von Biron gave up his rights to Russia in 1795. With the signing of the final document on March 28, 1795, the Duchy of Courland was incorporated into the Russian Empire and title of Duke of Courland was added to the title of Russian emperors

.

Dukes of Courland and Semigallia

Name	Lifespan	Reign	Consorts	Succession
Gotthard Kettler	February 2, 1517 – May 17, 1587	November 28, 1561 – May 17, 1587	Anna of Mecklenburg March 11, 1566 Königsberg 3 children	First
Friedrich Kettler	November 25, 1569 – August 17, 1642	May 17, 1587 – August 17, 1642	Elisabeth Magdalena of Pomerania March 14, 1600 no issue	Son of Gotthard Kettler
Jacob Kettler	October 28, 1610 – January 1, 1682	August 17, 1642 – January 1, 1682	Louise Charlotte of Brandenburg October 9, 1645 9 children	Nephew of Friedrich Kettler
Friedrich Casimir Kettler	July 6, 1650 – January 22, 1698	January 1, 1682 – January 22, 1698	(1) Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg April 29, 1691 2 children	Son of Jacob Kettler
Friedrich Wilhelm Kettler	July 19, 1692 – January 21, 1711	January 22, 1698 – January 21, 1711	St. Petersburg no issue	Son of Frederick Casimir Kettler
Ferdinand Kettler	November 1, 1655 – May 4, 1737	January 21, 1711 – May 4, 1737	Danzig no issue	Uncle of Frederick William Kettler
Ernst Johann von Biron	November 23, 1690 – December 29, 1772	June 1737 – 1740	Benigna Gottlieb von Trotha gt Treyden 1723 3 children	Elected
Louis Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg	September 25, 1718 – May 12, 1788	June 27, 1741 – December 6, 1741	Never married	Elected
Karl of Saxony	July 13, 1733 – June 16, 1796	November 10, 1758 – 1763	Franciszka Krasińska March 25, 1760 Warsaw 2 daughters	Appointed by Augustus III, King of Poland
Ernst Johann von Biron	November 23, 1690 – December 29, 1772	1763–1769	Benigna Gottlieb von Trotha gt Treyden 1723 3 children	Reappointed by Catherine the Great
Peter von Biron	February 15, 1724 – January 13, 1800	1769 – March 28, 1795	(1) Yevdokiya Borisovna Yusupova March 6, 1774 Jelgava no issue (3) Dorothea von Medem November 6, 1779 6 children	Son of Ernst Johann von Biron

Gallery

Greater coat of arms of the Dukes of Courland of the Kettler family
Naval Flag of Courland and Semigallia
German map of Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (about 1600)
Jelgava Palace, the main residence of the dukes
Sigismund Augustus King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania incorporates fiefdoms, Duchies of Courland and Semigalia into the Crown in 1569

References

^ Volumina Legum, t. II, Petersburg 1859, p. 106
^ Volumina Legum, t. VI, Petersburg 1860, p. 209.
^ "How the Duchy of Courland was briefly resurrected in 1918". eng.lsm.lv. Retrieved February 8, 2023.
^ "Duke Gotthard". archiv.org.lv.
^ Palkans, p. 50.
^ "The Fall of Curonian Colonization". History & Culture Academy of Latgale.
^ ^a ^b McGee, James E. (1873). Sketches of Irish soldiers in every land. New York: Lang, Little & Hillman. p. 106.

Bibliography

Ceaser, Ray A., Duchy of Courland, University of Washington, June 2001.
Plakans, Andrejs (1995) The Latvians: A Short History, Hoover Institution Press.

External links

56°38′11″N 23°42′55″E / 56.63639°N 23.71528°E / 56.63639; 23.71528

[1] Volumina Legum, t. II, Petersburg 1859, p. 106

[2] Volumina Legum, t. VI, Petersburg 1860, p. 209.

[3] "How the Duchy of Courland was briefly resurrected in 1918". eng.lsm.lv. Retrieved February 8, 2023.

[archiv.org.lv-4] "Duke Gotthard". archiv.org.lv.

[5] Palkans, p. 50.

[latgale.academy-6] "The Fall of Curonian Colonization". History & Culture Academy of Latgale.

[McGee-7] McGee, James E. (1873). Sketches of Irish soldiers in every land. New York: Lang, Little & Hillman. p. 106.

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Province of Greater Poland		Brześć Kujawski Chełmno Gniezno Inowrocław Kalisz Łęczyca Malbork Masovian Płock Pomeranian Poznań Rawa Sieradz Prince-Bishopric of Warmia	Province of Lesser Poland	Bełz Bracław Chernihów Kiev Kraków Lublin Podlaskie Podolian Ruthenian Sandomierz Volhynia Duchy of Siewierz Duchy of Siveria (1619–1635)
Grand Duchy of Lithuania	Brest Litovsk Minsk Mstsislaw Nowogródek Połock Smolensk Trakai Vilnius Vitebsk Duchy of Samogitia
Polish Livonia	Duchy of Livonia (1561–1621): Dorpat, Parnawa, Wenden Inflanty (1621–1772)
Fiefs	Lauenburg and Bütow Land Duchy of Prussia Duchy of Courland and Semigallia