| Provinz von Lettland (de) | |||||
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| Provinces Latvija (lv) | |||||
| Province of the Duchy of Brunswick | |||||
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| Capital | Riga | ||||
| Official language | German (de facto), Latvian | ||||
| Demonym | Latvian | ||||
| Government Type - Monarch - Statthalter |
Constitutional Monarchy Princess Victoria Hasso Klee |
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| Total Area | 24,938 sq. mi. | ||||
| Time Zone | EET | ||||
The Province of Latvia (German: Provinz von Lettland) is a province of the Duchy of Brunswick. The province is made up of the former Republic of Latvia. It is bordered by the provinces of Estonia, Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia. It is bordered by the Baltic Sea. Its capital is Riga.
History[]
The Baltic tribespeople were settlers of early Latvia. These tribespeople were without a central government which left them vulnerable to more powerful forces. The German order of knights known as the Livonian Brothers of the Sword came to Christianize the Baltic region and Latvian land became part of Livonia until 1561. Livonia was ruled by Germans and the peasantry was mostly Baltic. Poland conquered Livonia in 1562 and remained there until Sweden conquered in 1629 and ruled until 1721. After Sweden relinquished control over Livonia, the territory fell into Russian hands until 1918. Latvia proclaimed itself a republic in 1918. Latvia became a dictatorship until the republic was conquered by the USSR in 1939 and absorbed into Soviet territory in 1940. Latvia was occupied by German troops from 1941 to 1944. Latvia lost almost all of its Jewish population during World War II. Russia gained control in 1944 until Latvia declared independence in 1991.
Latvia became a part of the Duchy in 2009.