Throughout almost the entire history of the duchy, until 1791, the rulers of Courland from the Kettler (1561-1711) and Biron (1737-1795) dynasties recognized themselves as vassals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that replaced it. The capital of the duchy was Mitava (now Jelgava in Latvia). During the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (March 1795), Courland was annexed to the Russian Empire, where the Courland Governorate was formed on its territory. For the attempt to recreate the Duchy of Courland in 1918, see "Baltic Duchy".
Formation of the Duchy
Duke Wilhelm
At the time of its formation, only three cities existed in the duchy: Hasenpot, Goldingen and Vindava. In 1566, the Poles and Lithuanians expelled Ketler from Riga, after which he was forced to settle in the castles of Goldingen and Mitau, thereby spurring the development of both cities. Mitau received the status of capital; the Courland Landtag met there twice a year. Later Bausk and Libava become cities.
From now on Russian influence significantly intensifies in Courland. The Dowager Duchess Anna lived in Mitau before her accession to the Russian throne in 1730, but all the affairs of the duchy were actually run by the Russian resident Pyotr Mikhailovich Bestuzhev. Friedrich Wilhelm's uncle, Ferdinand (-), was declared Duke. last representative from the Kettler family in the male line. Fearing the opposition of the nobility, Ferdinand did not come to Courland, but remained in Danzig, as a result of which at the congress in Mitau in 1717 it was decided to deprive Ferdinand of power and transfer government functions to the highest advisers of the duchy.
Peter laid down the signs of ducal dignity and died five years later. His daughters - Wilhelmina and Dorothea - led an extravagant lifestyle at the best courts of Europe; the first of them was the mistress of Metternich, the second of Talleyrand.
Napoleon's invasion
In 1812, during Napoleon's invasion, the duchy, occupied French troops, on August 1 it was restored under the name of the Duchy of Courland, Semigallia and Piltens, with Karl Johann Friedrich von Medem as its temporary head. However, in the same year, Napoleonic troops were forced to leave the territory of the duchy, and it was liquidated.
Dukes of Courland and Semigallia
| № | Name | Portrait (years of life) |
Years of reign | Ruler | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kettlers | |||||
| 1 | Gotthard |  |
( -) | In 1559-1561 - Landmaster of the Teutonic Order in Livonia. First Duke of Courland and Semigallia. | |
| 2 | Frederick (I) |  |
( - ) | Gotthard's son. In 1595 the duchy was divided into Courland ( western part) and Semigallia ( eastern part). In 1595-1616 - Duke of Courland. In 1616 - the unification of the duchy. | |
| 3 | William |  |
( -) | Gotthard's son. Co-ruler with his brother until 1595. In 1595-1616 - Duke of Semigalsky. | |
| 4 | Jacob |  |
( -) | Son of Wilhelm. | |
| 5 | Frederick (II) Casimir |  (1650-1698) | |||
Courland area that was part of the possessions Livonian Order; its borders almost coincided with the borders of the present Courland lips. This area was inhabited by Livs - along the Gulf of Riga, chickens - in the west. parts, salmon - in middle Kazakhstan; Lithuanian tribes lived in the south. Livs and chickens are of the Finnish tribe, salmon, lettas and others are of the Lithuanian tribe. With the appearance in Baltic region German colonists, in the 12th century, the natives began to fight against them. At the end of the XII table. The first missionaries came with the merchant colonists. K. was subordinated to the Order of the Sword in 1230; V next year the inhabitants of K. accept Christianity and promise to fight against the pagans together with the Germans. Until 1662, the history of K. was closely connected with the history of the Livonian Order (see). In 1561, with the collapse of the order's lands, the former master of the order, Ketler (see), retained K., in fief dependence on Poland; he took the title of Duke. Having abandoned stadtholdership in Livonia in 1568, Ketler focused all his attention on internal reforms in his duchy: he took care of the widespread dissemination of reformation teachings, established common church visits, raised education, and contributed to the restoration of trade relations with Livonia and Poland. After Ketler's death (1587), discord began between his sons, Friedrich and Wilhelm. Wilhelm turned the entire nobility against himself; in 1618, the Polish government insisted on his removal from K. Frederick ruled alone until his death in 1642, having adopted his father’s peaceful policy. After him Duke was William's son, James (1642-82). He received good education , traveled a lot, was interested in the colonization policy of large European states, made a number of attempts to establish himself on the Guinea coast, acquired the West Indian island of Tabago from England (after his death returned to England), designed the expansion of the Mitau harbor by lowering the Aa River into the sea. Under Jacob, the Swedes invaded K., suspecting him of friendly relations with Tsar Alexei. The Duke was captured and taken to Riga (1658). The appearance of Sapieha stopped the progress of the Swedes. According to the Peace of Oliva (1660), the Swedes renounced all claims to K.; At the same time, Jacob also returned from captivity. His son, Friedrich Casimir (1682-98), surrounded himself with luxury and spent a lot of money on court splendor; he had to mortgage several ducal estates. He received Peter the Great in Mitau. After his death, the throne passed to his young son, Frederick William, whose guardian was his uncle, Ferdinand. With the outbreak of the Great Northern War, Canada again became a theater of military operations, passing from the hands of the Swedes to the hands of the Russians. The Swedes finally left K. after the Battle of Poltava; Sheremetev took it. In 1710, Friedrich Wilhelm returned to K. and married the niece of Peter the Great, Anna Ioannovna. Since then, Russian influence has been significantly increasing in K. On the way from St. Petersburg to K., the Duke fell ill and died in January. 1711 His widow, before her accession to the Russian throne, lived in K. Frederick William's uncle, Ferdinand (1711-37), the last representative of the Kettler house in the male line, became Duke. Fearing the opposition of the nobility, Ferdinand did not come to K., but remained in Danzig. Internal unrest prompted Poland's participation. At the congress in Mitau in 1717, it was decided to deprive Ferdinand of power and transfer government functions to the hands of the highest advisers of the duchy. Count Moritz of Saxony, as the adopted son of Augustus II of Poland, became a contender for the Courland throne in 1726; but Russia forced him to renounce his claims the very next year. When in 1733 the question arose about replacing the vacant Polish crown, Russia supported the candidacy of Augustus III, who agreed to recognize the favorite of the Russian Empress Biron as Duke of Courland. The latter was also recognized by the nobles. Biron was duke from 1737 to 1741. With Biron's exile to Siberia, K. was left without a duke; This continued until 1758. Augustus III again allowed the country's highest advisers to manage affairs. In 1758, with the permission of Russia, K. was ceded to Charles of Saxony, son of Augustus III; he ruled it from 1758 to 1763. In 1761 Biron returned from exile. Catherine II, dissatisfied with that that Duke Charles did not allow Russian troops participating in seven years war, to return to Russia through Courland, insisted on his removal, and Biron, who ruled K. until 1769, was recognized as duke for the second time. He pledged to allow Russian troops through K., not to enter into any relations with the enemies of Russia, to show religious tolerance to the Orthodox and to allow the construction of an Orthodox church in Mitau. In 1769, Biron abdicated the throne in favor of his son Peter, against whom a movement of disgruntled nobility immediately began; he remained on the throne only thanks to Russia. Having married Countess Anna von Medem, Peter spent several years abroad; returning to K. in 1787, he again had to endure internal struggle with the dissatisfied nobility. With the third partition of Poland (1795), Kazakhstan's fief dependence on Poland ceased, and at the Landtag in Mitau, in the same 1795, Poland was annexed to Russia. Peter laid down the insignia of ducal dignity (d. 1800). For the history of K. cf. the general works of Richter, Rutenberg and others on the history of the Baltic provinces, as well as the study of Ernst und August Seraphim, “Aus Kurlands herzoglicher Zeit, Gestalten und Bilder” (Mitava, 1892); theirs, "Aus der Kurländischen Vergangenheit" (1893); Theodor Schiemann, in Oncken's collection, "Russland, Polen und Livland bis ins XVII Jahrh." (Part P). In 1895, the 1st volume was published. popular history Estland, Livonia and Courland by Ernst Seraphim, reaching 1561. G. Forsten.
Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron. - S.-Pb.: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907 .
See what “Curland” is in other dictionaries:
Courland: Kurzeme (Kurland) is a historical region of Latvia. Courland and Semigallia was a duchy that existed in the western part of modern Latvia, on the territory historical areas Kurzeme (Courland) and Zemgale (Semigallia), from 1562 to ... Wikipedia
Kurland, official name Kurzeme until 1917... Modern encyclopedia
The official name of Kurzeme until 1917... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
The region, which was part of the possessions of the Livonian Order; its borders almost coincided with the borders of the present Courland Province. This region was inhabited by Livs along the Gulf of Riga, chickens in the west. parts, Semgalls in central Kazakhstan; Lithuanian tribes lived in the south. Liv trees and chickens... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron
Kurzeme Geographical names world: Toponymic dictionary. M: AST. Pospelov E.M. 2001... Geographical encyclopedia
Courland- KURLANDIA, the official name of Kurzeme until 1917. ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
The official name of Kurzeme until 1917. * * * KURLANDIA CURLANDIA (Latvian Kurzeme), a historical region in the western part of Latvia. In ancient times, this territory was called Kursa (see KURSA) and was inhabited by the Baltic tribes of the Curonians (see KURSHI). At 13... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary
Polish Kurlandja from it. Kurland, similar to the names of countries in Yiya; Kurlyandets – neoplasm; old Kurlyanchik, from Peter I; see Smirnov 171; from Polish Kurlandczyk is a Kurlander. German name from ltsh. Kùrzeme from *Kurszeme; see M.–E. 2, 326.… … Etymological dictionary Russian language by Max Vasmer
Kurzeme, the old name of the region of Latvia to the west and southwest of the Gulf of Riga, has been inhabited by Curonian and Baltic Finnish tribes since ancient times. In the 13th century captured by the Livonian Order (See Livonian Order). In 1561 1795 most of K... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
See Duchy of Courland... Soviet historical encyclopedia
Books
- Review of Russia's foreign relations (up to 1800). Part 3. (Courland, Livland, Estland, Finland, Poland and Portugal), D. N. Bantysh-Kamensky. Publication by the Commission for Printing State Charters and Treaties at the Moscow Main Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Reproduced in the original author’s spelling.…
Courland- a duchy that existed in the western part of modern Latvia, on the territory of the historical regions of Kurzeme (Courland) and Zemgale (Semigallia), from 1562 to 1795. Throughout almost the entire history of the duchy, until 1791, the rulers of Courland from the Kettler (1562-1711) and Biron (1737-95) dynasties recognized themselves as vassals of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that replaced it. The capital of the duchy was Mitava (now Jelgava in Latvia). During the third partition of Poland (March 1795), Courland was annexed to Russian Empire, where the Courland province was formed on its territory.
You can find a detailed history of Courland in the section History of the Baltic States. For example, all the circumstances of the appearance of Courland are described in the chapter Courland in the 16th century. And the decline and entry into Russia are described in the chapter Courland in the 18th century, entry into Russia.
Until 1562, the history of Courland was closely connected with the history of the Livonian Order. In 1559, the Grand Master of the Order, Gotthard Ketler, recognized the protectorate Polish king Sigismund II Augustus over Livonia. Thanks to this, in 1561, with the collapse of the order's lands, the former master of the order, Gotthard Ketler, retained Courland and took the title of duke. Secularized Courland became feudally dependent, first on the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and eight years later, after the Union of Lublin, on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, but it protected itself from the expansion of Ivan the Terrible.
At the time of its formation, there were only three cities in the duchy: Hasenpot, Goldingen and Vindava. In 1566, the Poles ousted Ketler from Riga, after which he was forced to settle in the castles of Goldingen and Mitau, thereby spurring the development of both cities. Mitau received the status of capital; the Courland Landtag met there twice a year. Later Bausk and Libava became cities.
Having abandoned stadtholdership in Livonia in 1568, Ketler focused all his attention on internal reforms in the duchy: he took care of the widespread dissemination of reformation teachings, established general church visits, raised education, and contributed to the restoration of trade relations with Livonia and Poland. Aware of the fragility of the current situation, and in order to ensure hereditary continuity, in 1570 Ketler issues to newly-minted landowners - former Livonian knights - the “Gotthard privilege”, according to which they become the owners of their possessions and universal serfdom. A third of the Courland lands remained at the disposal of Ketler himself.
After Ketler's death (1587), his sons divided the duchy - Frederick received Semigallia with its capital in Mitau, and Wilhelm remained the ruler of Courland with his residence in Goldingen. The brothers managed to increase their father’s possessions by buying out the bishopric of Pilten from the heirs of Magnus of Livonia and acquiring the order’s castle of Grobina and its neighborhood through a marriage (they were mortgaged by the knights to the Duke of Prussia). Wilhelm, however, quarreled with his brother and waged a fight against free spirits in his domains. The landowners were supported by the king and, after the murder of opposition leaders during a meeting of the Landtag, Duke William was deprived of the throne in 1616. Frederick ruled alone until his death in 1642, adopting his father's peaceful policies.
After Frederick's death, William's son, Jacob Kettler (1642-1682), became Duke. He received a good education, traveled a lot, was fond of the ideas of mercantilism, patronized the development of ports (Vindava and Libau) and trade with other countries. Duke Jacob's initiative was also the development of metallurgical production in the territory of the duchy. The export of products (in particular, weapons) made a significant contribution to the development of the economy of the duchy.
Jacob Kettler even made a number of attempts to establish himself on James Island off the Guinea coast. A West Indian colony was founded on the island of Tobago on 20 May 1654, when Captain Willem Mollens declared the island "New Courland". It was also planned to expand the Mitavskaya harbor by lowering the Aa River into the sea.
With the outbreak of the First Northern War, the Swedes invaded Courland, suspecting him of having friendly relations with Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The Duke was captured and taken to Riga (1658), his overseas possessions were captured by the Dutch. The appearance of Sapieha stopped the progress of the Swedes. According to the Peace of Oliwa (1660), the Swedes renounced all claims to Courland; At the same time, Jacob also returned from captivity.
Jacob's son, Friedrich Casimir (1682-1698), surrounded himself with luxury, lavished the entire treasury on court splendor; he had to mortgage several ducal estates and sell New Courland to the British. He received Peter the Great in Mitau. After his death, the throne passed to his young son, Frederick William, whose guardian was his uncle, Ferdinand.
With the outbreak of the Great Northern War, Courland again became a theater of military operations, passing from the hands of the Swedes to the hands of the Russians. The Swedes finally left Courland after the Battle of Poltava; Sheremetev took it. In 1710, Friedrich Wilhelm returned to Courland and married the niece of Peter the Great, Anna Ioannovna. On the way from St. Petersburg to Courland, the Duke fell ill and died in January 1711.
Since then, Russian influence has increased significantly in Courland. The Dowager Duchess Anna lived in Mitau before her accession to the Russian throne in 1730, but all the affairs of the duchy were actually run by the Russian resident Pyotr Mikhailovich Bestuzhev. Friedrich-Wilhelm's uncle, Ferdinand (1711-1737), the last representative of the Kettler house in the male line, was declared Duke. Fearing the opposition of the nobility, Ferdinand did not come to Courland, but remained in Danzig, as a result of which at the congress in Mitau in 1717 it was decided to deprive Ferdinand of power and transfer government functions to the hands of the highest advisers of the duchy.
When the imminent suppression of the Kettler family became completely obvious, numerous contenders appeared for the Courland throne. On the Russian side, Menshikov sought the ducal title for himself. In 1726, Poland and France nominated Count Moritz of Saxony, the illegitimate son of the Polish King Augustus. During Blitz War for the Courland inheritance, Russia forced him the next year to leave Courland and renounce his claims to the throne.
When in 1733 the question arose about replacing the vacant Polish crown, Russia supported the candidacy of Augustus III, who agreed to recognize the favorite of the Russian Empress Anna Ioannovna, Ernst Johann Biron, as Duke of Courland. The latter was also recognized by the nobles of Courland. Biron ruled in Mitau from 1737 to 1741, leading at the expense of the Russian treasury, to which he had access unlimited access, extensive construction. In particular, he rebuilt the Mitau Palace of his predecessors.
With Biron's exile to Siberia, Anna Leopoldovna enlisted the support of Austria to make her brother-in-law Ludwig-Ernst of Brunswick a duke. Before the Landtag had time to legitimize the election of a new duke, Anna Leopoldovna herself lost power in Russia, as a result of which Courland was left without a duke; This continued until 1758. Augustus III again allowed the country's highest advisers to manage affairs.
In 1758, with the permission of Russia, Courland was ceded to Charles of Saxony, son of Augustus III. He ruled it from 1758 to 1763 more in words than in deeds, for a significant part of the nobility remained faithful to the oath given to Biron. In 1761 he returned from exile. Catherine II, dissatisfied with the fact that Duke Charles did not allow the Russian troops who participated in the Seven Years' War to return to Russia through Courland, insisted on his removal, and Biron, who ruled until 1769, was recognized as Duke for the second time. He undertook to allow Russian troops to pass through Courland without enter into no relations with the enemies of Russia, provide religious tolerance to the Orthodox and allow the construction of an Orthodox church in Mitau.
In 1769 Biron, exhausted by the struggle between the pro-Polish and pro-Russian parties, abdicated the throne in favor of his son Peter Biron, against whom a movement of dissatisfied nobility immediately began; he remained on the throne only thanks to Russia. Having married Countess Anna von Medem, Peter spent several years abroad; Having returned to Courland in 1787, he again had to endure an internal struggle with the disgruntled nobility.
With the third partition of Poland (1795), Courland's fief dependence on Poland ceased, and at the Landtag in Mitau, in the same 1795, Courland was annexed to Russia. Peter laid down the insignia of ducal dignity (d. 1800). His daughters - Wilhelmina and Dorothea - led an extravagant lifestyle at the best courts of Europe; the first of them was Metternich's mistress, the second - Talleyrand.
You can read the text of the Petition of the Courland knighthood and zemstvo to accept Courland under the protection of the Russian Empire.
Courland Governorate
Courland Governorate(1796-1920) - a province that was part of the Russian Empire. And along with the Estland and Livonia provinces, it was an outpost of the empire in the Baltic states. It had borders with the Livonia, Vitebsk and Kovno provinces, and in the west with Baltic Sea. Provincial city - Mitava (Jelgava).
Formed on the territory of Courland after its annexation to Russia during the third partition of Poland (1795). 
In the 19th century, the province was predominantly agricultural. In 1817, serfdom was abolished in the province, the peasants received personal freedom, but all the land remained the property of the landowners. In 1863, peasants received the right to buy land as personal property, and a layer of kulaks began to form. The kulaks, along with the German landowners, are the main suppliers of commercial agricultural products. The main crops grown in the province are rye, wheat, barley, peas, oats, and potatoes. Gardening and horticulture are developed.
The province's industry is predominantly manufacturing. In 1912, on the territory of the province there were about 200 factories and factories (flour mills, vodka mills, sawmills, leather, brick, flax spinning and others) and about 500 handicraft enterprises.
On the territory of the province it developed railway construction. In 1867 the Riga - Mitava railway was built, in 1871-76 the Libavo-Romenskaya section railway. The total length of the province's railway lines was over 560 miles.
Education in the province was better than the Russian average. In the 1910s, the province had 8 secondary educational institutions (over 3 thousand students), 13 special secondary schools (over 460 students), 790 lower educational institutions (36.9 thousand students). In the province in 1913 there were 33 hospitals with 1,300 beds
The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia was proclaimed on March 8, 1918 on the territory of the Courland province, occupied by German troops, by the Landesrat, consisting of Baltic Germans, who offered the ducal crown to Kaiser Wilhelm II. Although the Reichstag supported self-determination of the Baltic peoples, the German general staff continued the policy of annexing the Baltic states to the German Empire, relying on the Baltic Germans.
During the First World War German armies by the autumn of 1915 they occupied the territory of the Courland province of the Russian Empire. The front has stabilized along the Riga-Dvinsk-Baranovichi line.
On November 16, 1917, the People's Council of Latvia was formed, which on November 30, 1917 proclaimed the creation of an autonomous Latvian province with borders drawn along ethnographic lines, and on January 15, 1918 - the creation of an independent Latvian Republic.
After the revolution in Russia, German troops launched an offensive from Courland, and by the end of February 1918 occupied the territories of the Russian Livonia Governorate and the Estonian Autonomous Governorate, where the power of the German military administration was also established. March 3, 1918 Soviet Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, recognizing the loss of the Courland province, and the agreements signed in Berlin on August 27, 1918 also deprived it of the Livonia province and the Estonian autonomous province.
In parallel with this, in September 1917, the Baltic Germans began to form political structures, taking advantage of the patronage of the occupation administration, and on March 8, 1918, the Landesrat, consisting of Baltic Germans, proclaimed the creation of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, and offered the ducal crown to Kaiser Wilhelm II.
Kaiser Wilhelm II recognized the creation of Courland as a vassal state of the German Empire in a message to the Courland Landesrat on March 8, 1918.
In the autumn of 1918, a united Baltic Duchy was created throughout the Baltic states, which was formally recognized by the Kaiser on September 22, 1918; the territory of the Duchy of Courland became part of it.
On January 30, 1918, the Latvian Provisional National Council decided to create a sovereign and democratic Latvia, which should include all regions populated by Latvians. After the November Revolution that began in Germany on November 9, 1918, the cause of which was the defeat Kaiser's Empire In the First World War, the Minister of Defense of the Weimar Republic proclaimed by the German revolutionaries gave the order to withdraw the divisions of the German Imperial Army from the Baltic states that supported the Baltic Duchy. The Baltic Duchy ceased to exist, and already on November 18, 1918. People's Council led by Karlis Ulmanis and Janis Čakste, representing a number of Latvian parties and public organizations The independence of the Republic of Latvia was proclaimed.
Kurland, one of historical territories Russian state. Borders of ancient Courland in the 11th century. coincided with the borders of the Courland lips. Russia n. XX century Southern part Courland was inhabited by Lithuanian-Latvian tribes, of which the Letts settled to the north of the others. Finnish tribes moved here from the north, and the Semgalls penetrated to the south. The appearance of German colonists in the Baltic region in the 12th century. caused resistance local population, which in 1290 led to the victory of the Livonian Order. Since that time, the history of Courland has been closely connected with the history of the Livonian Order. When in mid. XVI century The order collapsed, then its last master, G. Ketler, managed to retain Courland as duke. In 1562 it became fief dependent on Poland. In 1570, Ketler issued a church charter and in the same year granted the Courland nobility a statute that contained the basic laws of the Courland state law. In the war with Poland, started by King Charles X Gustav of Sweden, Courland could not remain neutral; the duchy was devastated by the Swedes, the Courland fleet was destroyed, and the colonies were taken by the Dutch. Only gradually was the Duke able to restore part of what was destroyed. His son, Friedrich Casimir (1683-98), due to excessive expenses, led the country's finances to final ruin. Upon the death of Friedrich Casimir in 1698, his son and successor was only 5 years old. In 1709 the young Duke was declared an adult. In 1710, the Duke married the Tsar’s niece, Anna Ivanovna, in St. Petersburg, but already on January 21. He died in 1711, but his widow, at the request of Peter I, remained in Courland. After the death of Peter I, a contender for Duchy of Courland spoke by gr. Moritz of Saxony, but Catherine I forced him to renounce his claims. In 1730 Anna Ivanovna ascended the Russian throne. The Empress's favorite, Count, became Duke in 1737. E.I. Biron. After the death of the empress and Biron's exile, Courland remained without a duke until 1758 and the highest advisers of the duchy ruled the country. In 1758 Courland was ceded to Charles of Saxony, son of Augustus III, who ruled it until 1763. After Biron's return from exile, he was again recognized as Duke of Courland and ruled the country for seven years. Biron's son was the last Duke of Courland. After the pacification of the Polish uprising of 1794 in St. Petersburg, negotiations took place between representatives of Russia, Austria and Prussia on the final division of Poland. On Sept. In the same year, O. G. von Gauwen, the head of the party hostile to the Duke in Courland, invited the Courlanders to join Russia. 23 Jan 1795 Austria and Russia entered into a secret agreement, according to which Courland went to Russia. On March 17, 1795, the Courland nobility decided to abandon the fief dependence of Courland on Poland; in the same year, Courland was annexed to Russia and became the Courland Province.
Postcard of Courland. 1856
Livs and chickens are of the Finnish tribe, salmon, lettas and others are of Lithuanian tribe. With the appearance of German colonists in the Baltic region in the 12th century, the natives began to fight against them. At the end of the XII table. The first missionaries came with the merchant colonists. K. was subordinated to the Order of the Sword in 1230; next year, the residents of K. accept Christianity and promise to fight against the pagans together with the Germans. Until 1562, the history of K. was closely connected with the history of the Livonian Order. In 1561, with the collapse of the order's lands, the former master of the order, Ketler, retained K., in fief dependence on Poland; he took the title of Duke. Having abandoned stadtholdership in Livonia in 1568, Ketler focused all his attention on internal reforms in his duchy: he took care of the widespread dissemination of reformation teachings, established common church visits, raised education, and contributed to the restoration of trade relations with Livonia and Poland. After Ketler's death (1587), discord began between his sons, Friedrich and Wilhelm. Wilhelm turned the entire nobility against himself; in 1618, the Polish government insisted on his removal from K. Frederick ruled alone until his death in 1642, having adopted his father’s peaceful policy. After him, William's son, James (1642 - 82), was Duke. He received a good education, traveled a lot, was interested in the colonization policy of large European states, made a number of attempts to establish himself on the Guinea coast, acquired the West Indian island of Tabago from England (after his death, returned to England), and designed the expansion of the Mitau harbor by lowering the Aa River into the sea. Under Jacob, the Swedes invaded K., suspecting him of friendly relations with Tsar Alexei. The Duke was captured and taken to Riga (1658). The appearance of Sapieha stopped the progress of the Swedes. According to the Peace of Oliva (1660), the Swedes renounced all claims to K.; At the same time, Jacob also returned from captivity. His son, Friedrich Casimir (1682 - 98), surrounded himself with luxury, spent a lot of money on court splendor; he had to mortgage several ducal estates. He received Peter the Great in Mitau. After his death, the throne passed to his young son, Frederick William, whose guardian was his uncle, Ferdinand. With the outbreak of the Great Northern War, Canada again became a theater of military operations, passing from the hands of the Swedes to the hands of the Russians. The Swedes finally left K. after the Battle of Poltava; Sheremetev took it.
Rundāle Palace is the country residence of the Duke of Courland.
In 1710, Friedrich Wilhelm returned to K. and married the niece of Peter the Great, Anna Ioannovna. Since then, Russian influence has been significantly increasing in K. On the way from St. Petersburg to K., the Duke fell ill and died in January. 1711 His widow, before her accession to the Russian throne, lived in K. Frederick William's uncle, Ferdinand (1711 - 37), the last representative of the Kettler house in the male line, became Duke. Fearing the opposition of the nobility, Ferdinand did not come to K., but remained in Danzig. Internal unrest prompted Poland's participation. At the congress in Mitau in 1717, it was decided to deprive Ferdinand of power and transfer government functions to the hands of the highest advisers of the duchy. Count Moritz of Saxony, as the adopted son of Augustus II of Poland, became a contender for the Courland throne in 1726; but Russia forced him to renounce his claims the very next year. When in 1733 the question arose about replacing the vacant Polish crown, Russia supported the candidacy of Augustus III, who agreed to recognize the favorite of the Russian Empress, Biron, as the Duke of Courland. The latter was also recognized by the nobles. Biron was duke from 1737 to 1741. With Biron’s exile to Siberia, K. was left without a duke; This continued until 1758. Augustus III again allowed the country's highest advisers to manage affairs. In 1758, with the permission of Russia, K. was ceded to Charles of Saxony, son of Augustus III; he ruled it from 1758 to 1763. In 1761, Biron returned from exile. Catherine II, dissatisfied with the fact that Duke Charles did not allow the Russian troops who participated in the Seven Years' War to return to Russia through Courland, insisted on his removal, and Biron, who ruled K. until 1769, was recognized as duke for the second time. He pledged to allow Russian troops through K., not to enter into any relations with the enemies of Russia, to show religious tolerance to the Orthodox and to allow the construction of an Orthodox church in Mitau. In 1769, Biron abdicated the throne in favor of his son Peter, against whom a movement of disgruntled nobility immediately began; he remained on the throne only thanks to Russia. Having married Countess Anna von Medem, Peter spent several years abroad; Having returned to K. in 1787, he again had to endure an internal struggle with the dissatisfied nobility. With the third partition of Poland (1795), Kazakhstan's fief dependence on Poland ceased, and at the Landtag in Mitau, in the same 1795, Poland was annexed to Russia. Peter laid down the insignia of ducal dignity (d. 1800).
The annexation of the Duchy of Courland to Russia was carried out during the third partition of Poland. According to this division, Prussia captured most of the Polish lands with Warsaw. The rest of the Polish-populated territory with Lublin went to Austria. Western Volyn, Western Belarus, Lithuania and Courland were annexed to Russia.
Courland province (1796-1920) is a province that is part of the Russian Empire. And along with the Estland and Livonia provinces, it was an outpost of the empire in the Baltic states. It had borders with the Livonia, Vitebsk and Kovno provinces, and in the west with the Baltic Sea. Provincial city - Mitava (Jelgava).
The Baltic provinces and the Baltic provinces are administrative-territorial units of the Russian Empire, created starting in 1713 in the Baltic states as a result of the victory over Sweden in Northern War, fixed Peace of Nystadt and as a result of the third partition of Poland (Courland province). Until the middle of the 19th century, the provinces had significant autonomy and until the end of their existence they retained a part separate from the general imperial legal system. In 1915-1918 the provinces were occupied by German troops; on their former territory independent Latvian and Estonian states arose, and a small part of the Courland province ( extreme southwest its territory with the city of Palanga) went to Lithuania.
The Duchy of Courland was annexed to the Russian Empire based on the request of the Courland Landtag, supreme body power in the duchy. Long before the annexation, agitation began in Courland in favor of joining Russia. In Mitau, the head of a group of nobles with a pro-Russian orientation was the Oberburggrave of Courland, Otto Hermann von der Hoeven.
Otto von der Hoven
But Catherine II was in no hurry to annex the Duchy of Courland to Russia. In June 1792, she officially, through her resident, declared that she would “support any resolution that the Courland Sejm recognizes as necessary to do for the good of the country.”
However, the adoption of such a resolution was complicated by the fact that Duke Peter was in a state of constant conflict with the local German nobility. Reconciliation took place only at the beginning of 1793, when Duke Peter and the German nobility signed the “Act of Agreement between His Highness the Duke and the Noble Knights and the Zemstvo.” But this reconciliation was of a purely formal nature, since the mentioned Act seriously limited the power of Duke Peter.
In 1794, Catherine II signed the Act of Guarantee of the Courland Constitution, which suggests that at that time she had not yet thought about annexing Courland. But her attitude to this issue changed after the uprising in Poland led by Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a hero of the American Revolutionary War who rose to the rank of brigadier general.
On April 6 (17), residents of Warsaw attacked the Russian garrison stationed in the Polish capital. In total, more than 2,200 Russian soldiers and officers were killed in Warsaw on that day, most of whom were not even armed at the time of the attack. The rest managed to escape from the city with great difficulty.
This event, which went down in history under the name “Warsaw Matins,” served as the beginning of a general uprising of Poles against Austria, Prussia and Russia - participants in the partitions of Poland in 1772 and 1793.
As V. A. Bilbasov writes, “a military fire spread throughout Greater Poland, covered Mitau, touched Courland.” Courland peasants refused to perform corvée, set fire to houses, and destroyed landowners' estates. The support of the peasants made it easier for Kosciuszko's troops to capture Libau (Liepaja). The uprising was a distraction feudal Europe from France and thereby, in the words of F. Engels, “saved the French revolution.”
On July 11, the Courland Sejm decided: in view of the Polish confusion, to ask the Russian Empress for special protection of Courland and its constitution.”
Prussian and Russian troops participated in the suppression of the Polish uprising.
By the beginning of September, Suvorov appeared at the main theater of war at the head of a 10,000-strong detachment. On September 4, he took Kobrin, and on September 8, near Brest-Litovsk, he defeated Sierakovsky’s troops, who retreated to Warsaw in complete disorder.
On September 29, the battle of Maciejowice followed, in which the main forces of the Poles were defeated by General Denisov, and Kosciuszko himself was captured.
Jan Bogumil Plersh. Wounding and capture of Tadeusz Kościuszko near Maciejowice on October 10, 1794
In mid-October 1794, Russian troops occupied Polangen (Palanga) and Libau (Liepaja).
Lieutenant General Prince Golitsyn, who commanded the troops during the capture of Polangen and Libau, was rescripted on October 26 awarded the order St. Vladimir 1st degree “for the cleansing of Courland and Samogitia ( Semigallia - V.G. ) from the Polish rebels and for restoring calm there."
November 19 (30), 1794, after the final suppression Polish uprising against Russia and the entry of Russian troops under the command of Suvorov into capitulated Warsaw, Catherine II awarded Suvorov the rank of Field Marshal
The defeat of the Kosciuszko uprising, directed against the divisions of the country, served as the reason for the final liquidation of the Polish-Lithuanian state.
At the same time, Prussia tried in every possible way to counteract the solution of the Courland issue in favor of Russia.
In June 1794, the Prussian envoy to the Russian court, Count Goltz, was recalled and Count Tauentsin was sent to St. Petersburg instead. The instructions given to the new envoy instructed him to “try in every possible way to prevent Russia from taking possession of Courland,” especially “the port of Libau on the Baltic Sea.”
Fulfilling the orders of his king, Count Tauentsin tried to get closer to Empress Catherine’s favorite Platon Zubov, offering him the Duchy of Courland in the king’s name, but he refused this offer.
In September 1794, throughout Courland, Otto Hermann von der Hoven’s proposal “to destroy the fief dependence of Courland on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and surrender to the protection of Russia, and ask the Russian Empress to preserve the special rights and privileges of the ducal family, knighthood and zemstvo,” was widely discussed throughout Courland.
Duke Peter categorically opposed this proposal from von der Hoeven. He sent an official letter to the Vice-Chancellor of the Russian Empire, Count Ivan Andreevich Osterman, the son of Andrei Ivanovich Osterman, in which he expressed protest against this initiative, “as inciting a revolutionary movement in the country against political system Courland, recognized and guaranteed by Russia."
Ivan Andreevich Osterman
Vice-Chancellor A.I. Osterman wrote in a response letter:
"Dear Sir! I presented the letter with which Your Grace deigned to honor me on September 30 to the Empress and am now responding to Her Majesty’s special orders.
The present state of Polish affairs fully justifies in the eyes of Her Majesty both the desire expressed in Your Lordship’s letter and the request made by the knighthood of Courland. Equally, Her Majesty, in her wisdom, deigned to recognize the urgent need to resolve, without wasting time, such important question and consult with Your Lordship about everything concerning the interests and welfare of Courland and Semigallia. At the same time, Her Majesty deigned to remember that Your Grace had already expressed a desire to visit the imperial court many times. As a result, Her Majesty invites Your Grace to come to St. Petersburg as soon as possible in order to directly discuss and resolve such an important issue with Your Grace.
The Governor-General of Livonia, Baron Palen, who will have the honor of presenting this letter to Your Lordship, has already received orders to take all necessary measures for Your Lordship’s comfortable travel, while I am preparing the premises for Your Lordship’s reception.”
While Duke Peter was getting ready for a trip to St. Petersburg, a message arrived that a conference had begun in St. Petersburg with the participation of plenipotentiary representatives of Austria, Prussia and Russia, at which the fate of Poland was being decided.
On October 13 (24), 1795, the conference participants signed a tripartite - Russian-Prussian-Austrian - convention on the third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The parties mutually guaranteed each other the new possessions they received during the division of Poland, up to the provision military support in the event of an attempt on these possessions by any third parties or attempts to return them to Poland.
The three countries agreed on a decision that the border of the Russian Empire would be pushed back to Polangen, and “all lands, possessions, provinces, cities, towns and villages contained within the said line will be annexed forever to the Russian Empire.”
The fate of the Duchy of Courland was not specified, although its territory was part of the lands annexed to Russia.
Map of the Courland province (enlarged).
In early November, Otto von der Hoeven sent out a new petition, this time signed by 33 Courland nobles, demanding that a Diet be convened to discuss and decide on the future status of the Duchy of Courland.
Soon Duke Peter received another petition, which also had the signatures of many noble families of Courland. The new petition implored all Courlanders to sever ties with Poland and “to completely submit to the Russian Empress and leave the fate of Courland to her generosity.”
Duke Peter arrived in St. Petersburg only on January 27, 1795. He was accompanied by a large retinue: Chancellor Wolf, Chief Burgrave of Schepping, High Councilor Firks, Oberforstmeister Derschau, Oberstalmeister Geiking, Lieutenant Colonel of the Ducal Guard Driesen (future governor of the Courland province), the Duke's personal secretary, many pages and a lot of servants.
The Duke and his retinue settled in the huge house of Vice-Chancellor Count I.A. Osterman. Empress Catherine and Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich invited Duke Peter to dinner. The ministers of Catherine II showed Duke Peter every respect. Duke Peter had already realized by this time that it was impossible to maintain the previous status of the Duchy of Courland as a vassal territory in relation to Poland.
It was also impossible to ensure the independence of the Duchy of Courland. The only question was under what conditions the changes should take place. Duke Peter wished to retain certain rights. Otto von der Hoven declared the need for unconditional submission to Russia, declaring Duke Peter only a vassal of the Polish crown and nothing more.
Catherine II opposed the forced annexation of the Duchy of Courland. Including for the reason that such an accession could entail claims from Austria and Prussia.
Count Ostermann, responding to Duke Peter in connection with his accusations by Otto von der Hoven, wrote that “Her Majesty harbors the hope that the measures that Courland will take will be unanimous, legal and fully consistent with the constitution of the country.”
The fate of the Duchy of Courland depended not on the will of Duke Peter, but on the will of the German nobility.
On March 5 (16), 1795, Monday, the Courland Sejm began its work in Mitau. And two days later, on Wednesday, von der Hoven’s party won complete victory- delegates unanimously adopted two documents: Manifesto of the Noble Knighthood and Zemstvo of the Duchies of Courland and Semigallia on the renunciation of fief dependence in Poland And The act of “voluntary submission under the Highly Glorious Scepter of Her Majesty Catherine II.”
The Manifesto stated, in particular:
“We, the Zemstvo Leader and the Zemstvo Ambassadors of the Noble Knighthood and Zemstvo of the Duchies of Courland and Semigalsk assembled at the Sejm, declare by our Manifesto that when in the half of the sixteenth century the Emperor and German Empire, under whose supreme power and patronage the Teutonic Order in Livonia was, left this Order and the so-called Livonia regions without protection and help, then the aforementioned Order was completely ( together - V.G. ) with the Nobility and cities stationed there, decided in 1561 to choose another Supreme Sovereign and patron. Sweden, Denmark and Poland, one before the other, sought this supreme power and patronage; celebrity ( fame - V.G. ), which Poland was then predominantly distinguished by, decided the free choice of our ancestors and was the reason that they preferred Poland to all its rivals. The resolutions, approved by the solemn oath of all contracting parties, determined the terms of the new alliance concluded with Poland. In these decrees, all of Livonia renounced the order's rule that existed before. The Transdvina part elected direct Polish rule, and Courland and Semigallia, as part of Livonia lying on the other side of the Dvina, preferred to be under Polish protection as a fief, retaining the last Hermeister Gottgard Ketler and his male descendants with the title of Duke, dependent on Poland.
The Lutheran law is recognized in the above-mentioned decrees as the faith dominant in Livonia and Courland, and those who profess it are granted quiet membership of all churches.
Likewise, in those decrees, the nobility, cities and all residents of Livonia and Courland were promised the preservation of the then rights, liberties, laws, privileges and customs, and the nobility, in addition, all the rights, liberties, privileges and advantages that the Polish Nobility then enjoyed. It was encouraged by the exemption from all duties and taxes, except those that it could impose on itself, and by the exemption from duties in all Polish lands. Compliance is also stated ( saving - V.G. ) of the German city government and that the Pilten district, sold without any right by the last Bishop Minchausen, was again annexed to Courland and was rightfully in the possession of the Dukes, like all of Courland and Semigallia.
No matter how prudent it was that our ancestors took refuge in Poland at that time and the condition on which, in order to establish the well-being of their descendants, they surrendered to Polish protection by popular decrees, but experience, unfortunately, clearly proved how little these things done with our ancestors were preserved the decrees in general, and especially the above-mentioned articles, were repeatedly violated on the Polish side in such a way that without the righteous and powerful intercession of Russia our entire constitution would have been overthrown.
If, in addition to all of the above, we also take into account the fact that without the strong and generous protection of Her Majesty, the gloriously reigning EMPRESS CATHERINE THE SECOND, our entire fatherland would have become a victim of the last Polish indignation ( we're talking about about the uprising in 1794 under the leadership of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, which also covered part of the territory of the Duchy of Courland - V.G. ) , then it is obvious that on the Polish side the decisions concluded with Our ancestors have long been violated and dissolved in various ways, and that we, following the rule, when one retreats from the agreement, the other can also retreat, all the more we have the right to renounce the Polish Supreme authorities that the ensuing destruction Polish Republic This decree itself was destroyed.
For this reason, we naturally and popular law, having equal circumstances with Our ancestors equal right, we declare and proclaim through this and by the power of this Manifesto of Ours in the most solemn manner before God and the light for ourselves and Our descendants, that the agreement concluded by Our ancestors in 1561 is broken and we recognize it as destroyed and that we also for this purpose and by the power of this Manifesto of ours for ourselves and our descendants forever and for all eternity, in the most solemn and legal manner, we wished to renounce and indeed renounce the above-mentioned decrees and from the patronage and supreme authority of Poland that exists to this day over us and these duchies, as well as from all connections, obligations and duties to which We and these duchies were still subject to Poland's considerations.
In assurance of which, this manifesto of ours and this denial of the oft-mentioned resolution and of all the existing obligations between Poland and us to this day were signed by our own hand, the zemstvo leader and the zemstvo ambassadors gathered in the discussion of this and on this subject at the current diet of the noble knighthood and zemstvo, also by us, by the supreme advisers and advisers, personally signed for us and in the rank of senior brethren, with the attachment of family seals and the addition of our knightly seals, approved.
Given in Mitau from the Zemstvo Assembly on March 18, 1795.».
The Courland Landtag elected a delegation, which, together with a delegation from the Pilten nobility, arrived in St. Petersburg on March 19.
Representatives of the Duchy of Courland were in the capital of the Russian Empire for almost a whole month - all this time they were preparing documents for the ceremonial meeting of the government Senate, at which the issue of annexing the Duchy of Courland to the Russian Empire was to be considered.
On April 10, Catherine II wrote to Friedrich Melchior Grimm (1723-1807), a German publicist of the Enlightenment, diplomat and her long-term correspondent:
“The gentlemen of Courland did not come here to offer any conditions - they only ask to equalize them with other regions of the empire, i.e. provincial institutions. I answered them that this was self-evident, and that preliminary orders would immediately begin - the determination of districts, the division of cases into four categories, the construction of buildings for the treasury and judicial places, their internal structure. All this usually takes at least a year...”
April 15, Friday, delegations of the Duchy of Courland and the Pilten district total number 17 people on court carriages in six in a train, accompanied by stable servants and guides, arrived at the Winter Palace.
According to a special ceremony, they were introduced into the Throne Room. Empress Catherine II was already here, her head adorned with a small imperial crown. The highest ranks of the Court, dignitaries and ministers stood around the Empress.
Otto von der Hoven addressed Catherine II with words of greeting on behalf of the Courland knighthood, after which the Secretary of the Courland Sejm Nergerius handed over the Sejm acts on the annexation of Courland to the Russian Empire to Vice-Chancellor Count Ivan Andreevich Osterman.
Baron von Korff then did the same on behalf of the Pilten district. (Probably this was the Courland dignitary Friedrich-Sigismund von Korff, who, after the annexation of Courland to Russia, was renamed Fyodor Nikolaevich, promoted to privy councilor, but soon died (1797) with the rank of (the first to establish a convention of the Belarusian nobility) Belarusian provincial Marshal. Of his sons, the eldest (Fyodor Fedorovich, 1760-1813) was the chief commandant in Mitau, and the youngest, Andrei, headed the justice college in Russia.)
In response to the speeches of Otto von der Hoven and Baron von Korff, Vice-Chancellor of the Russian Empire I.A. Osterman, on behalf of Catherine II, said that
“Her Majesty the Empress deigns to view with favor the solemn act just performed by the knighthoods of Courland, Semigallia and Pilten. Her Majesty sees in it the free expression of boundless confidence in the constant and unshakable, constantly shown concern for the happiness and well-being of these areas ... "
The celebration ended with the kissing of the hand of Empress Catherine II. After this, delegates from Courland and Semigallia and the Pilten district were presented with printed copies of the manifesto in Russian and German languages, which stated, in part:
“We declare by Our Imperial Word that not only the free confession of the faith inherited from your ancestors, the rights, advantages and property legally belonging to everyone will be fully respected; but that from now on, every state of the people of the above-mentioned regions has the opportunity to enjoy all those rights, liberties, benefits and advantages that the ancient Russian subjects, by the grace of Our ancestors and Ours, enjoy.”
On the same day, the Manifesto of Empress Catherine II on the annexation of the duchies of Courland and Semigal and Pilten districts to Russia was published, which stated that
“...not only the free confession of the faith inherited from your ancestors, the rights, advantages and property that legally belongs to everyone will be fully respected, but that from now on every state of the people of the above-mentioned regions has the enjoyment of all those rights, liberties, benefits and the benefits that the ancient Russian subjects, by the grace of our ancestors and ours, enjoy.”
At the same time, the Decree of Catherine II was promulgated to the Senate on taking the oath of eternal Russian citizenship from representatives of the principalities of Courland, Semigal and Pilten districts. The population of these territories was to be sworn in by Lieutenant General Baron von der Palen.
On Wednesday, April 20, the delegations of the Duchy of Courland and the Pilten District were invited to the general meeting of the Governing Senate, where they solemnly took the oath of allegiance to the Russian Empire.
The text of the oath was read by Pastor Wolf. Four days later, in Mitau, members of the government of the Duchy of Courland swore allegiance to the Russian Empire, and on April 27, nobles, townspeople and freemen swore allegiance to the Russian Empire.
By May 1, all residents of Courland, Semigallia and the Piltene district swore allegiance to the Russian Empire.
Only one person did not swear allegiance to Russia - Duke Peter, who continued to remain in St. Petersburg all this time. Back on March 17 (28), Duke Peter signed a document abdicating the throne.
Was formed special commission to resolve property and other issues arising in connection with the acceptance of the Duchies of Courland and Semigallia and the Pilten District into the citizenship of the Russian Empire.
This commission included: actual privy councilor, Vice-Chancellor, Senator and the Orders of St. Andrew the First-Called, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Prince Equal to the Apostles Vladimir Grand Cross first degree and St. Anne's cavalier Count Ivan Andreevich Osterman; Acting Privy Councilor, Chief Chamberlain, Chief Director of Posts and the Orders of St. Andrew the First-Called, St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, Grand Cross of the First Degree, Knight Count Alexander Andreevich Bezborodko; Acting Privy Councilor Prosecutor General, Acting Chamberlain and the orders of St. Andrew the First-Called, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir Grand Cross of the first degree, St. Victorious George of the second class, White Eagle and St. Stanislav, Knight Count Alexander Nikolaevich Samoilov; Lieutenant General, acting as Governor General of Courland and the orders of St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir of the second degree and St. Victorious George of the third class and St. Anne Cavalier Baron Peter Alekseevich von der Palen, and Privy Councilor, State Collegium of Foreign Affairs, member of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky and St. Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, Grand Cross, First Class, Knight Arkady Ivanovich Morkov.
The government commission and Duke Peter agreed on the following:
1. The total value of Duke Peter's property is estimated at one million seven hundred and fifty thousand Albert Thalers. This assessment “excludes movable estates, livestock, horses and distillery vessels, which are not included in the estimated price, but remain in the special ... location” of Duke Peter.
2. Empress Catherine II “from the characteristic H.I.V. generosity and as a sign of her precious goodwill towards “Duke Peter”, adds to the above-determined million seven hundred and fifty thousand Albert Thalers another two hundred sixty-one thousand of the same, which will amount to two million eleven thousand Albert Thalers.”
3. Of the above amount, one million eleven thousand Reichsthalers are withdrawn for the debts of the Duchy of Courland.
4. Duke Peter receives one million Albert Thalers and, in addition, 100 thousand Albert Thalers per year for living expenses. Of the mentioned 100 thousand, Duke Peter undertakes to continue to pay “the annual pensions determined from us for some time, namely: to our brother Prince Charles, six thousand each; his wife Princess Apollonia two thousand each; their children, and our nephews, twenty-four thousand each, and our sister Baroness Cherkasova, ten thousand each, and in total, and all of the above, forty-two thousand Albert thalers per year.”
On June 6, 1795, Catherine II signed a Decree on the annexation of the Duchy of Courland to Russia with its simultaneous transformation into a province with its center in Mitau.
Coat of arms of the Courland province
On June 12, Duke Peter returned to Mitau, where he remained until August 30, after which he went abroad. Long before the third partition of Poland, he began to buy estates in Prussia, where he transported all his property, including details of the interior of the palace, for example, the altar of the palace church.
By January 28, 1796, the administrative-territorial reform in the Courland province was completed.
Lieutenant General Baron Peter Alekseevich von der Palen, ruler of the Riga governorship in 1792-1795, was appointed the first governor of the Courland province on May 2, 1795.
Victor Gushchin, historian from Latvia
