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European colonizationof the Americas. The Curonian colonization of the Americas was performed by the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (now Latvia), which was the second-smallest state to colonise the Americas, after the Knights of Malta. It had a colony on the island of Tobago from 1654 to 1659 and intermittently from 1660 to 1689.
History of theGambia. Curonian colonisation refers to the colonisation efforts of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (today part of Latvia), a vassal duchy of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Small, but wealthy, the Duchy took a modest part in the European colonization settlement attempts of West Africa and the Caribbean.
The history of Latvia began around 9000 BC with the end of the last glacial period in northern Europe. Ancient Baltic peoples arrived in the area during the second millennium BC, and four distinct tribal realms in Latvia 's territory were identifiable towards the end of the first millennium AD.
When Gotthard Kettler died in 1587, his sons, Friedrich and Wilhelm, became the dukes of Courland. They divided the Duchy into two parts in 1596. Friedrich controlled the eastern part, Semigalia (Zemgale), with his residence in Mitau (Jelgava). Wilhelm owned the western part, Courland (Kurzeme), with his residence in Goldingen (Kuldīga).
The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania begun by the Soviet Union in 1940, continued for three years by Nazi Germany after it invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, and finally resumed by the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. The initial Soviet invasion and occupation of the Baltic ...
Courland. Courland[a] is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland [citation needed] as they were formerly held by the same duke.
Historical Latvian Lands (Latvian: Latviešu vēsturiskās zemes) or formerly Cultural regions of Latvia (Latvian: Latvijas kultūrvēsturiskie novadi) are several areas within Latvia formally recognised as distinct from the rest of the country. These are: Kurzeme (Courland), Zemgale (Semigallia), Latgale (Latgalia), Vidzeme, and Sēlija (Selonia).
Latvia is a member of the World Trade Organization (1999) and the European Union (2004). On 1 January 2014, the euro became the country's currency, superseding the Lats. According to statistics in late 2013, 45% of the population supported the introduction of the euro, while 52% opposed it. [196]