European Kingdoms

Estonia (Eesti)

The first inhabitants arrived in the territory of the present Estonia about 10,000 years ago, following the migrating reindeer after the continental glacier had retreated. The ethnic origin of the first settlers has not yet been established but they were most likely of European origin.

At the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC Finno-Ugric tribes migrated from the east and soon became dominant. At the end of the 3rd millennium BC, a new wave of migrant tribes arrived in Estonia. They were probably the ancestors of the Baltic tribes and they brought with them cattle breeding and tillage skills. The cultivation of fields, however, only started to flourish in the sixth or fifth century BC when iron was brought into use and it became easier to clear the land.

The fifth to ninth centuries AD were witness to less settled times. Three important cultural regions had emerged - North Estonia, South Estonia and Western Estonia, together with the islands. Baltic tribes threatened from the south and Scandinavian seafarers threatened from the west. Estonian counties were formed, and these maintained their own security and looked after their own interests. The main county in the north was Rävala, and it's main settlement was near a castle used mainly as a defensive refuge called Lindanise (Kolyvan in Russian sources). The settlement may have traded with Scandinavian and Russian states from around AD 1000 onwards.

(Overview and main dates taken from Life in Estonia. Lithuanian corrections provided by Gediminas Kiveris. Estonian corrections by Merit Pai.)

1st Century AD

The Roman historian Tacitus mentions the Aesti.

1201

Bishop Albert from Bremen in Germany lands with his followers at the mouth of the River Väina and founds the town of Riga (in modern Latvia). Europeans are becoming hungry for land at this point, and others follow the lead set by the German bishops in invading the pagan Baltic territories.

1202

Bishop Albert founds the Livonian Order of Knights, a branch of the Teutonic Knights, for the purposes of conquest and Christianisation in the Baltics.

1208 - 1210

The Estonian counties fight various battles to regain lost land from invading forces, ending in their biggest victory at the River Ümera.

1219

A Danish fleet arrives, led by King Waldemar II. He attacks the trading town of Reval (which will later become Tallinn, or " Danish City") on 15 June. The battle is a hard-fought one and the Danes are close to retreating and admitting defeat when, according to tradition, a red cloth with a white cross falls from the sky, inspiring them to fight on and conquer the town. The Danes adopt the flag as their own, and it remains the world's oldest national flag. They also establish a stone castle on Toompea, the dome of rock overlooking Tallinn, and Waldemar appoints Bishop Andreas Sunesen as the first regent of Tallinn.

1219 - 1227

Over the course of the following eight years, North Estonia is slowly taken by force under Danish control. The rest of the country is governed by German bishops and the Livonian Order of Knights from modern Latvia.

1227 - 1238

The Danes are temporarily eclipsed in North Estonia by the Livonian Order of Knights.

1248

North Estonia is returned to the Danes under the terms of the Stensby Treaty, which is mediated by the Pope.

1343

The St George's Day Uprising. An Estonian revolt is beaten by the Livonian Knights, using a mixture of treachery and battle. Three years later, the Danish king sells North Estonia to the Knights. All of Estonia is now ruled by a German nobility class.

1410

The Battle of Tannenberg. Polish and Lithuanian forces under Ladislaus II (Ladislaus Jagiello) halt the eastward expansion of the Teutonic Knights. After this defeat, the Livonian Order begins to weaken and disintegrate.

1558 - 1583

The Livonian Wars.

1561

The Livonian Knights are dissolved. North Estonia surrenders voluntarily to the Swedish. The southern regions of Estonia become part of Lithuania which, in 1569, is effectively merged with Poland to form a united monarchy.

1562

The German bishops sell off the last of their land.

1629

The First Polish-Swedish War ends with the Treaty of Altmark, which sees the Swedish take all of Poland-Lithuania's southern Estonian territories.

1645

The Swedish gain all of modern Estonia under their control when the Danes hand over the island of Saaremaa.

1700 - 1721

The Great Northern War. Sweden fights Russia, Poland and Denmark and loses control of Estonia to the Russians in 1710.

1905

Estonia suffers bloody reprisals for its important role in a major revolt.

1917

Following the Russian Revolution, a new puppet Communist regime is appointed in Tallinn, but its authority fails to extend beyond the city.

1918

On 23rd February, Estonia declares itself independent from Russia. The announcement is made public on 24th February - Independence Day. The country is soon occupied by the Germans but, following the November armistice, and with assistance from the Finns and the British Royal Navy, Estonian forces are able to repel Bolshevik troops who try to re-occupy the country.

1920

Estonian independence is formalised in the Treaty of Tartu, signed with the post-revolution Moscow government.

1920 - 1939

Political stability eludes the new republic, and it has twenty short-lived coalition regimes before 1933, when a new constitution gives the president sweeping authority. Political parties are abolished in 1934, and President Konstantin Päts institutes an authoritarian regime. A more democratic constitution comes into force in 1938, but the Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 1939 places the Baltic States under Soviet control, and the following month the USSR secure military bases in Estonia.

1940

Following a rigged election, an Estonian Parliament declares Estonia a constituent part of the Soviet Union in August 1940. The German army occupies Estonia until 1944 when the Soviet army repels the German forces and re-establishes control in Estonia. Society and industry are modelled along Soviet lines and absolute control rests with the Soviet Communist Party. The UK and most other western countries never recognise de jure the Baltic States' incorporation into the USSR.

1987 - 1990

Estonians, defiant against Russian rule, sing traditional folk songs, culminating with one-third of the entire country holding hands in an unbroken chain which connects similar chains in Latvia and Lithuania. In March 1990 liberation groups assume control of government.

1991

The restoration of Estonian independence takes place on 20th August 1991, when Estonia breaks from the USSR, catalyzing its swift disintegration. Restored independence is first recognised by Iceland, with a swiftly changing Russia being the second. The UK, with the rest of the European Community, follow on 27th August, and Lennart Meri is the country's first elected president.