and the
coat of arms of Lithuania, minted in
Mitau, 1578 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, the southern part of
Estonia and the northern part of
Latvia were ceded to the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania. On 25 December 1566, the
Union of Grodno established a
real union between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the
Duchy of Livonia. The part of Latvia between the west bank of the
Daugava River and the
Baltic Sea became the Duchy of
Courland and
Semigallia. It was ruled by the
dukes from the
House of Kettler with the exception of
Ernst Johann von Biron and his son
Peter von Biron.
Gotthard Kettler, the last Master of the
Livonian Order, became the first
duke of Courland. Other members of the Order became the
Couronian nobility, with the fiefdoms they had hitherto held becoming their estates. In all, Kettler received nearly one-third of the land in the new duchy.
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 the Baltic Sea) to the
Duke of Prussia. Another district, the former
Bishopric of Courland, belonged to
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. When Gotthard Kettler died in 1587, his sons,
Friedrich and
Wilhelm, became the dukes of Courland. They divided the Duchy into two parts in 1596. Friedrich controlled the eastern part,
Semigalia (
Zemgale), with his residence in Mitau (
Jelgava). Wilhelm owned the western part, Courland (
Kurzeme), with his residence in Goldingen (
Kuldīga). Wilhelm regained the Grobiņa district when he married the daughter of the Duke of Prussia. He also paid out and regained control over the
District of Pilten, but eventually, it fell to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Here he developed
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
Sweden conducted a war with its main battlefields around
Riga. As a result, Sweden gained control of what is today central and northern
Latvia, which became
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,
Jacob Kettler, the Duchy reached the peak of its prosperity. During his travels in Western Europe, Jacob became an eager proponent of
mercantilist ideas. Metalworking and shipbuilding became much more developed, and powder mills began producing gunpowder. Trading relations developed not only with nearby countries but also with
Britain,
France, the
Netherlands and
Portugal. Jacob established the merchant fleet of the Duchy of Courland, with its main harbours in
Ventspils and
Libau.
Colonisation In 1651, the Duchy established its first
colony in Africa,
Saint Andrews Island at the
Gambia River, and founded
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. 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
Swedish–Polish war (1655–1660). The Swedish army captured Duke Jacob (1658–1660). During this period, the Dutch took over both of Courland's colonies that lacked supplies and manpower, and the merchant fleet and factories suffered destruction. This war ended with the peace
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.
18th century ,
coat of arms of Poland and the
coat of arms of Lithuania, 1764 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,
Friedrich Wilhelm Kettler, was only six years old and was under the
regency of his uncle Ferdinand – a Polish general. During this time, the
Great Northern War (1700–1721) began between
Sweden and Russia with its allies – the Commonwealth,
Saxony and
Denmark. As a result of the war, Russia took control of Swedish
Livonia starting in 1710. In Courland, Russia also had such a strong influence that its ambassador,
Pyotr Bestuzhev, became the most powerful man in the duchy. The
Tsar of Russia,
Peter the Great, received a promise from Friedrich Wilhelm that he would marry one of the daughters of the tsar's brother. By having this promise, Peter the Great wished to increase the influence of Russia in Courland. In 1710, Friedrich Wilhelm married
Anna Ioannovna (later Empress of Russia), but on his way back from
Saint 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
Ferdinand Kettler, who, at the time, lived in
Danzig. Because the law required the duke to reside within the Duchy, the Diet did not recognise him. Because Ferdinand was the last representative of Kettler's family, a remarkable number of candidates tried to gain the dukedom during this period. One favourite was
Maurice de Saxe, natural son of
Augustus II the Strong,
King of Poland. Saxe had managed to gain support and was even mentioned as a potential husband for
Anna Ioannovna, Duchess of Courland at that time. 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 I was Empress,
Peter Lacy was given responsibility for removing Maurice de Saxe from Courland. As a result, Maurice de Saxe had to leave Courland, and Russia increased its influence. This was achieved in good measure due to the service of Peter Lacy, who was
governor of Livonia from 1727 until his death in 1751. Russian influence increased further when
Frederick August III, the
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 Ruhenthal projected by the distinguished Italian architect
Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
Anna of Russia 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.
Duke Louis Ernest of Brunswick-Lüneburg was selected as Biron's successor on 27 June 1741, with the support of his cousin
Maria Theresa of Austria, but while he was in
Saint Petersburg to get this title ratified,
Elizabeth of Russia carried out a coup on 6 December 1741, and he lost the title. King
Augustus III of Poland proclaimed his son,
Carl Christian Joseph of Saxony, the next duke. Thus, the Duchy of Courland had two dukes simultaneously thereafter. The situation became extremely tense – one part of the Landtag of Courland accepted von Biron, the other, Carl of Saxony. The Empress
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 von Biron, and he turned the seat of the 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 24 October 1795, the Duchy of Courland was incorporated into the
Russian Empire and the title of Duke of Courland was added to the
title of Russian emperors. == List of dukes ==