history of Baltic states
TITLE: Baltic states: The early modern age
SECTION: The early modern age
The internal strength of the Confederation of Livonia diminished during the 16th century, though trade with Russia by the Hanseatic League (an organization of German merchants) brought prosperity to the towns. The Reformation rendered the ecclesiastical states anachronisms. The Confederation was unable to withstand the onslaughts of the Russian tsar Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible), who in 1558 had...
TITLE: Latvia: German rule
SECTION: German rule
After the conquest, the Germans formed a so-called Livonian confederation, which lasted more than three centuries. This feudalistic organization was not a happy one, as its three components—the Teutonic Order, the archbishopric of Riga, and the free city of Riga—were in constant dispute with one another. Moreover, the vulnerability of its land frontiers forced the confederation into...