History of Riga, Latvia's capital city

History Of Riga, Latvia

The city of Riga, capital of Latvia, has long been known to be a strategic center linking Eastern and Western civilizations ("History," December 2008, par. 1). Owing to the fact that it has a long history of colonization by its stronger neighboring countries, Riga's history is aptly described by one author as, "... forming a rich tapestry of wars, sieges, blockades, and armistices" (ibid., par.1).

Pre-Historic Riga

As early as 9,000 BC, ancient, unidentified settlers have already inhabited Latvia. During 3,000 BC, the Finns had set foot and eventually inhabited the area. After a millennium, pre-Baltic tribes arrived and were later on subdivided into the Baltic Couranian, Latgallian, Selonian, and Semigallian groups. These tribes instituted their own local governments ("History of Latvia," December 2008, par. 1).

The Daugava River, the major waterway of Riga, can be considered a focal point of this city's history. At the onset of 9th century, Daugava has already been serving an important function for traders -- it links the route from the Baltic Sea Region to the Black Sea ("History," December 2008, par.3). In 1054, the wreckage of a ship in the Daugava River resulted to the settlement of German sailors in Riga - this event heralded the period of increasing German influence in the country ("Background Note: Latvia" December 2008, par. 8).

Historic Riga: Its Institutionalization

According to historians, the founding of Riga is heralded by the arrival of the German traders, mercenaries, and religious crusaders. Regarding to these peoples' migration to Riga, what can be considered as the pull factors of this city are as follows: it is a low-populated region, it is a potential and promising new market for merchants, and the city also presented missionary opportunities for the Christian crusaders ("Riga, Latvia," 2008, par.8).These Germans renamed their inhabited territory, which frontiers the Gulf of Riga, Livonia ("History of Latvia," December 2008, par. 1).

Bishop Albert, a representative of the religious crusaders, was proclaimed Bishop of Livonia by his uncle Hartwig, Bishop of Bremen and Hamburg in 1199. By 1201, he arrived at Riga with 23 ships and 15,000 armed crusaders. In this same year, he instituted the Order of Livonian Brothers of the Sword and granted Riga its city rights. In 1282, Riga joined the Hanseatic League, an association of merchants from North German and Baltic cities and towns. The league's protectionist policies provided economic and political stability to the city. When the clout of the Hanseatic League dwindled, Riga fell prey to foreign military, political, and religious aspirations. In 1522, Riga accepted the Reformation which marked the demise of religious hegemony ("Riga, Latvia," 2008, par. 9-11).

Wars

In 1621, Riga came under the rule of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus who declared Riga the second capital of Sweden. During the Russian-Swedish War, Russia failed to colonize Riga as it remained to be the, "second largest city under Swedish control until 1720 during a period in which the city retained a great deal of self-government autonomy" (ibid., par. 13). In 1720, Tsar Peter the Great of Russia became successful in its invasion to Riga. As a result, "Riga was annexed by Russia and became an industrialized port city of the Russian empire" (ibid., par. 13). By 1900, Riga was already holding the third spot in terms of Russia's most industrialized cities. This massive industrialization led to the rise of Latvian bourgeoisie which made Riga the center of National Awakening. This particular social phenomenon entailed a string of nationalist movements (ibid., par.15).

German occupation in Riga during World War I was met by countered measures of the Latvians commanded by Czarist generals as Riga was still under Russian control. As a defensive measure, Russia dismantled and relocated around five hundred Latvian industries to central Russia. At this point, movement towards freedom for Latvia and freedom for Russia intensified. Latvian Provisional National Council and the Riga Democratic Bloc were then created. These two parties together with other political parties formed the Latvian People's Council on November 18, 1918. This momentous date marked the declaration of Latvian independence and the formation of its army ("History of Latvia" Dec. 2008, par. 6).