See also:

• COURLAND, or KURLAND

COURLAND, or KURLAND  , one of the Baltic provinces of See also:

• RUSSIA
• RUSSIA (Rossiya)

Russia, lying between 550 45' and 570 45' N. and 21° and 270 E . It is bounded on the N.E. by the See also:

• RIVER

river See also:

• DVINA

Dvina, separating it from the governments of See also:

• VITEBSK

Vitebsk and See also:

• LIVONIA, or LIVLAND (Russian, Liflandia)

Livonia, N. by the Gulf of See also:

• RIGA (Esth. Ria-Lin)

Riga, W. by the Baltic, and S. by the See also:

• PROVINCE
• PROVINCE (Lat. provincia; perhaps a contraction of providentia)

province of See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

East See also:

• PRUSSIA
• PRUSSIA (Ger. Preussen; Lat. Borussia)

Prussia and the See also:

• RUSSIAN

Russian See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

government of See also:

• KOVNO
• KOVNO (in Lithuanian Kauna)

Kovno . The See also:

• AREA

area is 10,535 sq. m., of which See also:

• LOT
• LOT (Lat. Oltis)

lot sq. m are occupied by lakes . The See also:

• SURFACE

surface is generally See also:

• LOW, SETH (1850- )
• LOW, WILL HICOK (1853- )

low and undulating, and the See also:

• COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast-lands See also:

• FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet)

flat and marshy . The interior is characterized by wooded See also:

• DUNES

dunes, covered with See also:

• PINE (Lat. Pinus, Gr. srlrur)

pine, See also:

• FIR

fir, See also:

• BIRCH
• BIRCH (Betula)
• BIRCH, SAMUEL (1813–1885)
• BIRCH, THOMAS (1705-1766)

birch and See also:

• OAK (O. Eng., (lc)

oak, with swamps and lakes, and fertile patches between . The surface nowhere rises more than 700 ft. above See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

sea-level . The See also:

• MITAU (Russian, Mitava; Lettish, Yelgava)

Mitau See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain divides it into two parts, of which the western is fertile and thickly inhabited, except in the See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

north, while the eastern is less fertile and thinly inhabited . One-third of the area is still See also:

• FOREST

forest . See also:

• COURLAND, or KURLAND

Courland is drained by nearly one See also:

• HUNDRED

hundred See also:

• RIVERS
• RIVERS, ANTHONY WOODVILLE, or WYDEVILLE, 2ND EARL (c. 1442—1483)
• RIVERS, EARL
• RIVERS, RICHARD SAVAGE, 4TH EARL (c. 1660—1712)

rivers, of which only three, the Dvina, the Aa and the See also:

• WINDAU (Russian V•indava, Lettish Wentepits)

Windau, are navigable . They all flow north-westwards and See also:

• DISCHARGE (adapted from the O. Fr. discharge, modern decharge, from a med. Lat. discargare, to unload, dis- and earn care, to load, cf. " charge ")

discharge into the Baltic Sea . Owing to the numerous lakes and marshes, the See also:

• CLIMATE

climate is See also:

• DAMP

damp and often foggy, as well as changeable, and the See also:

• WINTER, JOHN STRANGE
• WINTER, PETER (c. 1755-1825)

winter is severe . See also:

• AGRICULTURE
• AGRICULTURE (from Lat. ages, field, and colere, to cultivate)
• AGRICULTURE, BOARD OF

Agriculture is the See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief occupation, the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal crops being See also:

• RYE

rye, See also:

• BARLEY (Hordeum sativum)

barley, oats, See also:

• WHEAT
• WHEAT (Triticum)

wheat, See also:

• FLAX

flax and potatoes .

The See also:

• LAND

land is mostly owned by nobles of See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

German descent . In 1863 See also:

• LAWS

laws were issued to enable the Letts, who See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form the bulk of the See also:

• POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population, to acquire the farms which they held, and See also:

• SPECIAL

special See also:

• BANKS, GEORGE LINNAEUS (1821-1881)
• BANKS, NATHANIEL PRENTISS (1816–1894)
• BANKS, SIR JOSEPH
• BANKS, THOMAS (1735-1805)

banks were founded to help them . By this means some 12,000 farms were bought by their occupants; but the See also:

• GREAT

great See also:

• MASS (O.E. maesse; Fr. messe; Ger. Messe; Ital. messa; from eccl. Lat. missa)
• MASS, IN

mass of the population are still landless, and live as hired labourers, occupying a low position in the social See also:

• SCALE
• SCALE (1) A

scale . On the large estates agriculture is conducted with skill and scientific knowledge . See also:

• FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

Fruit grows well . Excellent breeds of See also:

• CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle, See also:

• SHEEP
• SHEEP (from the Anglo-Saxon sceap, a word common in various forms to Teutonic languages; e.g. the German Schaf)

sheep and pigs are kept . See also:

• LIBAU (Lettish, Leepaya)

Libau and 1k/Titan are the principal See also:

• INDUSTRIAL

industrial centres, with See also:

• IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron-See also:

• WORKS

works, agricultural machinery works, tanneries, See also:

• GLASS
• GLASS (O.E. glees, cf. Ger. Glas, perhaps derived from an old Teutonic root gla-, a variant of glo-, having the general sense of shining, cf. " glare," " glow ")
• GLASS, STAINED

glass and See also:

• SOAP

soap works . Flax See also:

• SPINNING (from O. Eng. spinnen, to spin, cf. Ger. spinnen, &c., the Teut. root is seen, to draw out, cf. span, spider)

spinning is mostly a domestic See also:

• INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry . Iron and See also:

• LIMESTONE

limestone are the chief minerals; a little See also:

• AMBER

amber is found on the coast . The only seaports are Libau, Windau and Polangen, there being none on the Courland coast of the Gulf of Riga . The population was 619,154 in 2870; 674,437 in 1897, of whom 345,756 were See also:

• WOMEN

women; 714,200 (estimate) in 1906 . Of the whole, 79 % are Letts, 84 % Germans, 1.7 % Russians, and 1 % each Poles and See also:

• LITHUANIANS

Lithuanians .

In addition there are about 8 % See also:

• JEWS
• JEWS (Heb. Y8hudi, man of Judah; Gr. 'Iovbaiot; Lat. Judaei)

Jews and some Lives . The chief towns of the ten districts are Mitau (Doblenskiy See also:

• DISTRICT

district), See also:

• CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
• CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

capital of the government (pop . 35,011 in 1897), Bauske (6543), Friedrichstadt (5223), See also:

• GOLDINGEN (Lettish, Kuldiga)

Goldingen (9733), Grobin (1489), Hasenpoth (3338), Illuxt (2340), Talsen (6215), Tuckum (7542) and Windau (7132) . The prevailing See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion is the Lutheran, to which 76 c of the population belong; the See also:

• REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest belong to the Orthodox Eastern and the See also:

• ROMAN

Roman See also:

• CATHOLIC (Gr. KcaBoXuK6s, general, universal)

Catholic churches . Anciently Courland was inhabited by the Cours or Kurs, a Lettish tribe, who were subdued and converted to See also:

• CHRISTIANITY

Christianity by the Brethren of the See also:

• SWORD (0. Eng. sweord; ultimately from an Indo-European root meaning to wound)

Sword, a German military See also:

• ORDER
• ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
• ORDER, HOLY

order, in the first See also:

• QUARTER (through Fr. from Lat. quartarius, fourth part)

quarter of the 13th See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century . In 1237 it passed under the See also:

• RULE

rule of the See also:

• TEUTONIC
• TEUTONIC (GERMANIC) LANGUAGES

Teutonic Knights owing to the amalgamation of this order with that of the Brethren of the Sword . At that See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time it comprised the two duchies of Courland and Semgallen . Under the increasing pressure of Russia (Muscovy) the Teutonic Knights in 1561 found it expedient to put themselves under the See also:

• SUZERAINTY

suzerainty of See also:

• POLAND (Polish Polska, Ger. Polen), (see POLAND, RUSSIAN, below)
• POLAND, RUSSIAN

Poland, the grandmaster Gotthard Kettler (d . 1587) becoming the first See also:

• DUKE (corresponding to Fr. duc, Ital. duca, Ger. Herzog)

duke of Courland . The duchy suffered severely in the Russo-See also:

• SWEDISH

Swedish See also:

• WARS

wars of 1700–9 . But by the See also:

• MARRIAGE

marriage in 1710 of Kettler's descendant, Duke See also:

• FREDERICK
• FREDERICK (Mod. Ger. Friedrich; Ital. Federigo; Fr. Frederic and Federic; M.H.G. Friderich; O.H.G. Fridurih, " king or lord of peace," from O.H.G. fridu, A.S. frith, " peace," and rfh " rich," " a ruler," for derivation of which see HENRY)

Frederick See also:

• WILLIAM
• WILLIAM (1143-1214)
• WILLIAM (1227-1256)
• WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
• WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
• WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
• WILLIAM, 13TH

William (d . 1711), to the princess See also:

• ANNE (1665-1714)
• ANNE (1693-1740)

Anne, niece of See also:

• PETER
• PETER (Lat. Petrus from Gr. irfpos, a rock, Ital. Pietro, Piero, Pier, Fr. Pierre, Span. Pedro, Ger. Peter, Russ. Petr)
• PETER (PEDRO)
• PETER, EPISTLES OF
• PETER, ST

Peter the Great and afterwards empress of Russia, Courland came into See also:

• CLOSE
• CLOSE (from Lat. clausum, shut)
• CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903)

close relation with the latter See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state Anne being duchess of Courland from 1711 to 1730 .

The celebrated See also:

• MARSHAL (med. Lat. marescalcus, from O.H.Ger. marah, horse, and scalc, servant)

Marshal See also:

• SAXE, JOHN GODFREY (1816-1887)
• SAXE, MAURICE, COMTE DE (1696-1750)

Saxe was elected duke in 1726, but only managed to maintain himself by force of arms till the next See also:

• YEAR

year . The last Kettler, William, titular duke of Courland, died in 1737, and the empress Anne now bestowed the dignity on her favourite See also:

• BIREN (or BUHREN), ERNST JOHANN (16go-1772)

Biren, who held it from 1737 to 1740 and again from 1763 till his See also:

• DEATH

death in 1772 . During nearly the whole of the 18th century Courland, devastated by continual wars, was a shuttlecock between Russia and Poland; until eventually in 1795 the See also:

• ASSEMBLY, UNLAWFUL

assembly of the nobles placed it under the Russian See also:

• SCEPTRE

sceptre . The Baltic provinces—See also:

• ESTHONIA (Ger. Ehstland and Ehshland, Esthonian Eestimae and Meie-maa, also Viroma and Rahvama; Lettish Iggaun Senna)

Esthonia, Livonia and Courland—ceased to form collectively one See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general government in 1876 . See H . Hollmann, Kurlands Agrarverheiltnisse (Riga, 1893), and E . See also:

• SERAPHIM

Seraphim, Geschichte Liv-, Esth-, and Kurlands (2 vols., See also:

• REVAL, or REVEL (Russ. Revel, formerly Kolyvan; Esthonian, Tallina and Tannilin)

Reval, 1895–1896) .