Editing History of Latvia (section)

==German period, 1184–1561==
{{Campaignbox Livonian Crusade}}
{{Main|Terra Mariana|Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights|Archbishopric of Riga|Bishopric of Courland}}
[[File:Ikšķiles katoļu baznīcas drupas 2001-08-19.jpg|thumbnail|right|Church of Ikšķile, the first stone building in Latvia built by [[Saint Meinhard]] in 1185]]
[[File:Medieval Livonia 1260.svg|thumb|[[Terra Mariana|Medieval Livonia]] in 1260.]]
By the end of the 12th century, Latvia was increasingly often visited by traders from Western Europe who set out on trading journeys along Latvia's longest river, the Daugava, to [[Kievan Rus']]. Among them were [[Germans|German]] traders who came with Christian preachers who attempted to convert the [[paganism|pagan]] Baltic and [[Baltic Finnic peoples|Finnic]] nations to the [[Christianity|Christian faith]].

In early 1180s [[Saint Meinhard]] began his mission among Daugava [[Livonians]]. They did not willingly convert to the new beliefs and practices, they particularly opposed the ritual of [[baptism]]. News of this reached Pope [[Celestine III]] in Rome, and it was decided in 1195 that [[Livonian Crusade]] would be undertaken to convert pagans by force. Meinhard was followed by [[Berthold of Hanover]], who was killed in 1198 near the present-day Riga by Livonians.

Berthold's successor, Bishop [[Albert of Riga]], who spent almost 30 years conquering local rulers, established the German hegemony which lasted until 20th century independence. Much of Albert's rule is described in the [[Livonian Chronicle of Henry]]. While Riga had been a trading port since ancient times, Albert is credited with its founding in 1201 when he established it as his seat of power. Riga gradually became the largest city in the southern part of the Baltic Sea.

A state known as [[Terra Mariana]], later [[Livonian Confederation]], was established in 1207. It consisted of various territories that belonged to the Church and Order in what is now Latvia and [[Estonia]] and was under the direct authority of the Pope of Rome. In 1228 the [[Livonian Confederation]] was established.

The Order of the [[Livonian Brothers of the Sword]] was founded in 1202 to subjugate the local population. The Livonians were conquered by 1207 and most of the Latgalians by 1214. When Brothers of the Sword were decimated at the [[Battle of Saule]] in 1236, they asked for incorporation into the [[Teutonic Order]] as the [[Livonian Order]]. In 1260, the [[Battle of Durbe]] destroyed Teuton hopes for a wide land bridge between their territories in Prussia and Courland.

By the end of the 13th century, the Curonians and Semigallians were subjugated (in 1290 the majority of Semigallians left German-conquered areas and moved to Lithuania), and the development of the separate tribal realms of the ancient Latvians came to an end as Germans introduced direct rule over subjected peoples.

In 1282, Riga (and later [[Cēsis]], [[Limbaži]], [[Koknese]] and [[Valmiera]]) were included in the Northern German Trading Organisation, better known as the [[Hanseatic League]] (Hansa). From this time, Riga became an important point in west–east trading, and it formed closer cultural contacts with [[Western Europe]].

Between 1297 and 1330 the [[Livonian Civil War]] raged, which started as a conflict between the Bishop of Riga and the Livonian Order.

Native people initially retained much of their personal freedoms as the number of Germans was too small to implement a total control beyond the requirements to follow Christian rites, pay the required taxes and participate as soldier in wars. In case of [[Curonian Kings]] the former tribal nobility retained a privileged status until the proclamation of independent Latvia. During the 14th century peasants had to pay 10% to the Church and work 4 days of [[socage]] per year.

In the 15th–16th centuries, the hereditary landed class of [[Baltic nobility]] gradually evolved from the German vassals of the Order and bishops. In time, their descendants came to own vast estates over which they exercised absolute rights. At the end of the Middle Ages this [[Baltic Germans|Baltic German minority]] had established themselves as the governing elite, partly as an urban trading population in the cities, and partly as rural landowners, via a vast [[Manorialism|manorial]] network of [[List of palaces and manor houses in Latvia|estates in Latvia]]. The titled landowners wielded economic and political power; they had a duty to care for the peasants dependent on them, however in practice the latter were forced into [[serfdom]].

By 16th century [[sockage]] had increased to 4 – 6 days per week and various taxes to 25%. Peasants increasingly tried to escape to freedom, either by moving to Riga (they could gain freedom if they lived there for one year and one day) or another manor. In 1494 a law was passed which forbade peasants to leave their land, virtually enslaving them.

The [[Reformation]] reached Livonia in 1521 with Luther's follower Andreas Knöpken. During the Protestant riot of 1524 Catholic churches were attacked and in 1525 freedom of religion was allowed. First Latvian parishes were established and services were held in Latvian. Protestants gained support in the cities, and by the middle of the 16th century, the majority of the population had converted to [[Lutheranism]].

The Livonian Confederation ceased to exist during the long [[Livonian War]] of 1558–82. The Livonian Order was dissolved by the [[Treaty of Vilnius (1561)|Treaty of Vilnius]] in 1561. The following year, the Livonian Landtag decided to ask protection from King [[Sigismund II of Poland]] and [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]. With the end of government by the last Archbishop of Riga, [[William of Brandenburg]], [[Riga]] became a [[Free Imperial City]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Recollections of a tour in the north of Europe in 1836–1837 |last=Vane |first=Charles William |year=1838 |page=[https://archive.org/details/recollectionsat01unkngoog/page/n190 178] |url=https://archive.org/details/recollectionsat01unkngoog }}</ref> and the rest of the territory was divided into Polish-Lithuanian [[vassal state]]s - [[Duchy of Courland and Semigallia]] (Polish vassal) and the [[Duchy of Livonia (1561–1621)|Duchy of Livonia]] (Lithuanian vassal).<ref>{{cite book |title=Trade, diplomacy and cultural exchange: continuity and change in the North Sea area and the Baltic, c. 1350–1750 |last=Brand |first=Hanno |year=2005 |publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren |isbn=90-6550-881-3 |page=17 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7wSnyGP1KQQC&pg=PA17 |access-date=May 16, 2016 |archive-date=November 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103040746/https://books.google.com/books?id=7wSnyGP1KQQC&pg=PA17 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=A Concise History of the Baltic States |last=Plakans |first=Andrejs |year=2011 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-54155-8 |page=95 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6W2cHgJE2sC&pg=PA95 }}</ref>

<gallery widths=180>
LivonianOrder.svg|The seal of Livonian order
Teutonic Order 1260.png|Conquest of the Baltic lands
Teutonic Order 1410.png|Lands of the Teutonic Order in 1410
Cesis ruins.jpg|[[Cēsis Castle]] ruins
Bauskas pils.JPG|[[Bauska Castle]] ruins
Turaida Castle 2014-03-22 (3).jpg|[[Turaida Castle]]
Riga Dom Cathedral1.jpg|[[Riga Cathedral|Riga Dom]] construction began under Archbishop Albert
Haupthandelsroute Hanse.png|Hansa trading routes
LivonianLady.jpg|Livonian lady by Albrecht Dürer, 1521
DurerLivonianLadies.jpg|Livonian ladies by Albrecht Dürer, 1521
Livonia in 1534 (English).png|Livonia in 1534
</gallery>