Editing Klaipėda (section)

=== Kingdom of Prussia ===
[[File:Lietuvos juru muziejus9.JPG|thumb|Spit fortress]]
By the beginning of the 18th century, Memel was one of the strongest fortresses (''Memelfestung'') in Prussia, and the town became part of the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] in 1701. Despite its fortifications, it was captured by Russian troops during the [[Seven Years' War]] in 1757.{{cn|date=September 2024}} Consequently, from 1757 to 1762 the town, along with the rest of eastern Prussia, was dependent on the [[Russian Empire]]. After this war ended, the maintenance of the fortress was neglected, but the town's growth continued.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Memel became part of the newly formed province of [[East Prussia]] within the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773. In the second half of the 18th century, Memel's lax customs and [[Riga]]'s high duties enticed English traders, who established the first industrial sawmills in the town.{{cn|date=September 2024}} In 1784, 996 ships arrived in Memel, 500 of which were English. The specialisation in wood manufacturing guaranteed Memel's merchants income and stability for more than a hundred years. During this era, it also normalised its trade relations with [[Königsberg]]; regional instability had degraded relations since the 16th century.{{cn|date=September 2024}}
[[File:Klaipedos Rotuse (02).JPG|thumb|right|Klaipėda Town Hall was the temporary residence of the King [[Frederick William III of Prussia]], his wife Queen [[Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Louise]] and their children.<ref name="fred"/>]]

Memel prospered during the second half of the 18th century by exporting timber to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] for use by the [[Royal Navy]].{{cn|date=September 2024}} In 1792, 756 British ships visited the town to transport lumber from forests near Memel.{{cn|date=September 2024}} In 1800, its imports consisted chiefly of salt, iron and herrings; the exports, which greatly exceeded the imports, were corn, hemp, flax, and, particularly, timber. The 1815 ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' stated that Memel was "provided with the finest harbour in the Baltic".{{cn|date=September 2024}}

During the [[Napoleonic Wars]], Memel became the temporary capital of the Kingdom of Prussia. Between 1807 and 1808, the town was the residence of King [[Frederick William III of Prussia|Frederick William III]], his consort [[Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz|Louise]], his court, and the government.<ref name="fred">{{cite web |title=Karalienės Luizės žingsnius primena medžiai ir pastatai |url=https://kultura.lrytas.lt/istorija/2015/11/27/news/karalienes-luizes-zingsnius-primena-medziai-ir-pastatai-2758138/ |website=[[Lrytas.lt]] |date=27 November 2015 |access-date=27 November 2015 |language=lt-LT |archive-date=30 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171030004139/https://kultura.lrytas.lt/istorija/2015/11/27/news/karalienes-luizes-zingsnius-primena-medziai-ir-pastatai-2758138/ |url-status=live}}</ref> On 9 October 1807 the king signed a document in Memel, later called the [[October Edict]], which abolished [[serfdom]] in Prussia.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dirsytė |first1=Rima |title=Apie baudžiavos panaikinimą Lietuvoje |url=https://blog.lnb.lt/lituanistika/2021/03/08/apie-baudziavos-panaikinima-lietuvoje/ |website=Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania |access-date=9 September 2024 |language=lt}}</ref> It originated the reforms of [[Heinrich Friedrich Karl, Reichsfreiherr vom und zum Stein|Karl Freiherr vom und zum Stein]] and [[Karl August von Hardenberg]]. The land around Memel suffered major economic setbacks under [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon Bonaparte]]'s [[Continental System]]. During Napoleon's retreat from Moscow after the failed [[Napoleon's invasion of Russia|invasion of Russia]] in 1812, General [[Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg|Yorck]] refused Marshal [[Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald|MacDonald]]'s orders to fortify Memel at Prussia's expense.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

During the [[January Uprising]], in June 1863, Polish insurgents made an unsuccessful attempt at a naval landing near the city's harbor.<ref>{{cite book |last=Zieliński |first=Stanisław |title=Bitwy i potyczki 1863–1864. Na podstawie materyałów drukowanych i rękopiśmiennych Muzeum Narodowego w Rapperswilu |year=1913 |language=pl |publisher=Fundusz Wydawniczy [[Polish Museum, Rapperswil|Muzeum Narodowego w Rapperswilu]] |location=Rapperswil |page=299}}</ref>