502 
establishing fortresses and defensive posts 
upon the points most exposed to lova- 
sion, ever entered into the policy of the 
Poles of the 17th century. The establish- 
ment of the Russians in Livonia, placed 
Courland and Lithuania wholly in a si- 
tuation which rendered the defence of 
them almost impossible. We will, in the 
first instance, take a glance at the history 
of these countries. 
The Esthonians and the Lieves or 
Livonians, are of Finnish origin; they ap- 
pear to have been the most ancient in- 
habitants of maritime Livonia and Cour- 
Jand Proper. The Lettons are evidently 
the same nation as. the Lithuanians, 
their language and manners prove it in- 
contestibly, but their origin is uncertain: 
it is, however, afact, that the Lettons, as 
well in Livonia as in Courland, were 
constantly at variance with the Lieves, 
whom by degrees they oppressed and 
compelled to adopt the Lettonian lan- 
guage in their divine worship. At 
present, there are very few of the 
‘Lieves; they are confounded with the 
Lettons. 
From these two races is Ba the 
mass of the people in the. provinces of 
Courland, Livonia, and Esthonia. Bent 
under the same yoke, they yet preserve, 
on both sides, their national pride and 
their hereditary hatred : 
tract marriages together, ‘Their mutual 
aversion is manifest even in the colour 
of their clothes: an Esthonian always 
wears brown, and a Lettoni never 
leaves off grey. 
Five nations successively have con- 
quered and ruled over these provinces 
either wholly or in part: there still re. 
main some colonies more or less nume- 
rous, according to the periods they re- 
mained in tranquil pussession. © The 
Danes, Swedes, Germans, Poles, and 
Russians, are established here; the Ger- 
man language prevails in the cities ; ; the 
nobility almost wholly derive their ori- 
gin from the north of Germany; they 
conceive themselves far above the Rus- 
sians and the Poles, whom they have, as 
it were, adopted; for this reason itis, that, 
in the) provinces, every free individual 
of whatever nation he may be, is inva- 
yiably called. Deutsche, or German; and, 
on the contrary, all the, peasants and 
serfs or ywvassals, are styled ee 
not Germans. 
Tt is to: the Bremeners. we are in 
debited for the first certain in gation 
yelative to Livonia. In the year 1158, a 
vessel from Bremen, bound to Wisby, in 
Account of the Duchy of Courland. 
they rarely con- . 
[Jan. 1, 
the island of Gothland, was driven by a 
storm into the gulf of Livonia, and to 
wards the estuary of the Dwina they dis- 
covered the country imhabited by the 
Lieves. That nation, in a state of halfs 
savage barbarism, permitted them to 
trafic; and it is to a colony which the 
Bremeners established, that the town of 
Riga owes its origin. In 1186, an eccle- 
siastic of Holstein began to preach the 
doctrine of christianity. 
It is, however, positively proved, that 
the Scandinavians had a long time pre- 
viously visited these countries, sometimes - 
as friends, sometimes as enemies; they 
were known to them under the name of 
Oest-land. or the Eastern-land, from 
whence Estland. 
In 1196, Canute VI. King of Den- 
mark, after having subdued the Wendes 
of Pomerania, fitted out an expedition 
to reduce Esthonia; it appears that his 
great general Absalon, who at the same 
time was an archbishop, gave his name 
to the city of Habsal. Canute VI. 
only conquered the islands, and a part of 
the coast. Waldemar II. surnamed the 
Victorious, resolved to connect these . 
conquests with those which the Danes 
had made in Pomerania; and, asa pre= 
text, he formed the plan of converting 
the Livunians to the Christian religion, 
the Pope sent him the celebrated red- 
and-white standard, called Danebrog, 
which, in consequence, became the palla- 
dium of Denmark: in short, it was a re- 
gular crusade. A fleet of four hundred 
vessels carried the Danish army; the 
largest of these vessels contained about 
aul hundred and twenty men, the smallest 
about fourteen. The battle fought near 
Wolmar in 1220, laid all Livonia at the 
feet of the conqueror; the Livonians 
were converted, that is-to say, were 
compelled to suffer baptism: The Prus- 
sians were next converted in a no less © 
expeditious manner. Waldemar founded 
the cities of Narva, Revel, and some 
others; but after the three 3 ‘years capti- 
vity of this monarch, the conquered 
countries recovered chai liberty. — ~The 
Danes, however, still rved some 
possessions in them remained 
e towns did: 
faitbful to them n 
hb ndoned the last, 
erusade begun by Ne Wavleds» Ine 4201 
was formed Sad instituted the order of 
DEMME 
i! the TN his of Christ,” which?in the 
commencement had the same i pr 
the 
