Ethnic Structure of Latvia and Estonia ca. 1800

[Peterski]

Scans from Stanisław Plater's "Geography of Eastern Europe", published in 1825:

Ethnic Structure of Livonian Governorate ca. 1820:

Germans, Nobles & Townsmen - 50,000
Russians, Townsmen - 10,000
Latvians, Peasants - 340,000
Estonians, Peasants - 300,000



Ethnic Structure of Estonian Governorate ca. 1820:

Germans, Nobles & Townsmen - 20,000
Russians, Townsmen - 10,000
Estonians, Peasants - 270,000



Ethnic structure of Pribaltika - Courland, Livonian & Estonian Governorates - in 1795:
(according to Kabuzan's "Nations of Russia..." published in Moscow in year 1990)

Numbers in thousands:



Ethnic structure of the Duchy of Courland with the District of Pilten (today Southern Latvia), which was Poland's fiefdom, in 1795 (estimates based on Kabuzan's 1990 "Nations of Russia..." and Stanisław Plater's 1825 "Geography of Eastern Europe..."):

- ca. 360,000 Latvians
- ca. 50,000 Germans (this is high estimate, I've seen lower ones too)
- up to 20,000 Poles (also high estimate, could be closer to 10,000)
- ca. 10,000 Jews (later during the 1800s percent of Jews increased)
- ca. 10,000 Lithuanians

Poles in Courland were mainly concentrated in its eastern part around Ilukste and Daugavpils.

Duchy of Courland later became Courland Governorate of the Russian Empire. Courland had the highest % of Germans out of all "Pribaltika" (which included also Livonian Governorate and Estonian Governorate). In late 1790s and early 1800s the capital of Courland - Mitawa (Mitau) - had about 9,000 - 12,000 inhabitants of which half were Germans, 1/4 - 1/3 Jews and the rest mostly Latvians.

Mitawa had 7 churches (3 German Lutheran, 1 Latvian Lutheran, 1 Calvinist, 1 Roman Catholic, 1 Greek Catholic ) and 2 synagogues:



^^^ According to Plater.

And Vitebsk Governorate (today divided between Belarus and Latvia) according to Plater:

Poles, Nobles & Townsmen - 30,000
Belarusians, Peasants - 500,000
Latvians, Peasants - 120,000
Russians, Peasants - 30,000
Jews - 120,000

By religion:

Roman Catholics - 150,000 (Poles & Latvians)
Greek Uniates - 400,000 (Belarusians)
Greek Orientalists - 100,000 (Belarusians)
Old Believers - 30,000 (Russians)
Israelites - 120,000 (Jews)

[Peterski]

About Poles in Latvia (they mainly live in Selonia - part of Courland - and in Latgale):

https://www.theapricity.com/forum/sh...Latvia-s-Poles

About estimated ethnic structure of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as a whole:

https://www.theapricity.com/forum/sh...n-Commonwealth

[Daugakrit]

Great find. Has Plater's work ever been translated?

[Peterski]

Great find. Has Plater's work ever been translated?

I don't know but the Polish language version is available online. I can send you the DjVu or PDF file.

Great find. Has Plater's work ever been translated?

Plater also gives the population size of Saaremaa - 30,000 people:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saaremaa

So this island had as many people in 1820 as it has today (2013)!

[Peterski]

German data: https://www.theapricity.com/forum/sh...61-German-data