Swedish estland

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Swedish monarchy reached its highest power. In an effort to turn the Baltic Sea into an internal “Swedish lake”, in 1561 the Swedish army landed in Revel and took control of the northern part of medieval Livonia ; at the same time, the Swedes occupied approximately the same territory that the Danes had at one time subjugated. Thus, in the approximate borders of Danish Estonia (1219–1346), Swedish Estland (1561–1721) arose. In 1581, the Swedes also captured the mainland of the former Ezel-Vick bishopric (modern Estonian county of Läänemaa ).

The Swedes began to infringe on the rights of the old Ostsee (German) aristocracy that had developed in Estonia since Danish rule. The province was supposed to pay significant taxes, contain Swedish troops, build roads and fortifications. The decision of the Riksdag on land reduction (1680) deprived the possessions of many local nobles who could not confirm their rights with documents.

The area where Swedish rule had a favorable influence on Estonia was education. The first gymnasiums were opened in Riga , Revel , Derpt . In 1632, 4 years earlier than Harvard , the University of Derpt (Tartu) was founded. In 1684, with the support of the Swedish royal authorities, a teacher seminary was opened near Dorpat, where Bengt Gottfried Forselius taught . Since the end of the 17th century, schooling in the Estonian language has spread, the publication of books in Estonian has expanded ^[3] .

During the Great Famine (1695–1697), due to lean years, the population declined by about 70,000. The largest cities were Revel, Derpt, Narva , Arensburg , Pernau , Fellin .

Until the 17th century, the basis of the Estonian economy was trade. Due to the advantageous territorial location, goods passed from Europe to Russia and back through Tallinn and Narva. The Narva River provided communication with the Russian cities of Pskov , Novgorod , and Moscow .

The majority of landowner aristocrats in Estonia were Germans and Swedes. In 1671, a law was passed authorizing the return of escaped peasants, as well as their entry in serf books. In the Middle Ages, Estonia was a major supplier of grain to the northern countries. Only in the 17th century did the industrialization of extractive industries and woodworking begin. Discussion of the alleged abolition of serfdom aroused concern for large German landowners ^[4] .

The main population of Swedish Estonia was ests (80%), who inhabited mainly rural areas. The basis of the ruling class in the cities was mostly made up of Baltic Germans , to a lesser extent already Danish by them Danes . In addition, over 160 years of Swedish rule in the coastal regions of the northeast and on the islands, Swedes and partly Finns settled. The number of Baltic Swedes peaked at 12,000 at the end of Swedish rule (about 10% of the population). After these lands became part of the Russian Empire, German minorities retained their economic and social privileges, but due to a reduction in immigration, as then in Finland, a slow but sure decline in their relative share began.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Russia's interests in the Baltic region clashed with the interests of Sweden. During the Northern War (1700-1721), Estonia and Livonia were conquered by the Russian army and surrendered in 1710. The war ended in 1721 with the signing of the Nystadt Peace Treaty , which secured the annexation of the Baltic provinces to Russia.

It is noteworthy that after the signing of the Nystad Peace Treaty, Peter I restored the rights of the German aristocracy lost under Swedish rule, but the position of the Estonian peasantry was still ignored, although the cultural and linguistic pressure on the Estonians from the Germans, Danes and Swedes was weakened precisely thanks to the intervention of the Russian authorities.

• Danish Estonia
• Swedish Livonia
• Swedish Ingermanland

• Rain of Taagepera . Estonia: Return to Independence. - Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1993 .-- 288 p. - (Post-Soviet Republics Series). - ISBN 9780813317038 .

• 558-1710 As part of the Kingdom of Sweden (neopr.) . estonica.org. Date of appeal September 30, 2013.