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A Short History of Latvia

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The Finno-Ugrian people, ancestors of the present-day Finns, Estonians and Livs, are the first inhabitants of Latvia. The Baltic people, ancestors of the present-day Lithuanians and Latvians, came to the land in 2000 B.C. and settled there. After many centuries, the Latvian people formed 5 tribes: (1) the Livs (only a few survived among the 12 villages of the Livonian coast; (2) the Couronians (kurši) in the west; (3) the Semigallians in the central Lielupe River basin; (4) the Selonians (sēli) in the southeast; and (5) the Latgalians (latgali) in the east.

In the 12th century, German merchants and Christian missionaries arrived in the country whose goal is to Christianize the whole Baltic region. At that, the Semigallians, Selonians, and Latgalians opposed the foreign invaders.

In 1201, the City of Riga was founded on the Ridzene and Daugava rivers and became a major trade center after more than 80 years. Several years later, Latvia and Estonia became Livonia where the northern part is ruled by the Danish. However, in 1561 the Livonian Confederation was abolished, and territorial wars in Latvia started in 1583.

Riga was conquered by the Swedish in 1621 though eastern Latvia is under the Polish rulers. After almost a hundred years, northern Latvia became under the Russian rule and became known as the Russian Province of Livonia. The Russian occupation continued until the World War II where half of the country was occupied by the Germans. The 20th century has been full of wars and battles in Latvia’s history until 1918 when the Latvia’s independence was declared.