1.
Elizabeth of Russia
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Elizabeth Petrovna, also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, was the Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death. She led the country into the two major European conflicts of her time, the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War, on the eve of her death Russia spanned almost 16,200,000 square kilometres. Her domestic policies allowed the nobles to gain dominance in government while shortening their terms of service to the state. She encouraged Mikhail Lomonosovs establishment of the University of Moscow and Ivan Shuvalovs foundation of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg and she also spent exorbitant sums of money on the grandiose baroque projects of her favourite architect, Bartolomeo Rastrelli, particularly in Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo. The Winter Palace and the Smolny Cathedral in Saint Petersburg are among the monuments of her reign. She remains one of the most popular Russian monarchs due to her opposition to Prussian policies. Elizabeth was born at Kolomenskoye, near Moscow, on 18 December 1709, Peter valued Catherine and married her again at Saint Isaacs Cathedral in St. Petersburg on 9 February 1712. On this day his two surviving children by Catherine were legitimized by their father and this circumstance would later be used by Elizabeths political opponents to challenge her right to the throne on grounds of illegitimacy. Of the twelve children born to Peter and Catherine only two daughters, Anna and Elizabeth survived to adulthood, both of them were given the title of Tsarevna on 6 March 1711, and of Tsesarevna on 23 December 1721. They had one surviving sibling, crown prince Alexei Petrovich, who was their fathers son by his first wife Eudoxia Lopukhina. As a child Elizabeth was the favorite of her father. She resembled him both physically and temperamentally and she was a bright girl, if not brilliant, but received only an imperfect and desultory formal education. Even though he adored his daughter Peter did not devote time or attention to her education and he had a son from his first marriage to a noblewoman and did not anticipate that a daughter born to his second wife might one day inherit the throne. Indeed, no woman had ever sat upon the throne of Russia yet and it was therefore left to Catherine to raise the girls, but she was herself too uneducated to be able to superintend the formal education of her daughters. Elizabeth had a French governess and grew fluent in Italian, German and she was also an excellent dancer and rider. Like her father Elizabeth was physically active and loved riding, hunting, sledging, skating, from her earliest years she delighted everyone with her extraordinary beauty and vivacity, and was regarded as the leading beauty of the Russian Empire. The wife of the British minister described Elizabeth as fair, with brown hair, large sprightly blue eyes, fine teeth. She is inclinable to be fat, but is very genteel and she speaks German, French and Italian, is extremely gay and talks to everyone
2.
Catherine the Great
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Catherine II of Russia, also known as Catherine the Great, was a Russian monarch. She was the female leader of Russia, reigning from 1762 until her death in 1796 at the age of 67. She came to following a coup détat when her husband. Russia was revitalised under her reign, growing larger and stronger than ever, in both her accession to power and in rule of her empire, Catherine often relied on her noble favourites, most notably Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin. In the west, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ruled by Catherines former lover, king Stanisław August Poniatowski, was eventually partitioned, in the east, Russia started to colonise Alaska, establishing Russian America. Catherine reformed the administration of Russian guberniyas, and many new cities, an admirer of Peter the Great, Catherine continued to modernise Russia along Western European lines. However, military conscription and the continued to depend on serfdom. This was one of the reasons behind several rebellions, including the large-scale Pugachevs Rebellion of cossacks. The period of Catherine the Greats rule, the Catherinian Era, is considered the Golden Age of the Russian Empire. The Manifesto on Freedom of the Nobility, issued during the reign of Peter III and confirmed by Catherine. Construction of many mansions of the nobility, in the classical style endorsed by the Empress and she enthusiastically supported the ideals of The Enlightenment, thus earning the status of an enlightened despot. Catherine was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Kingdom of Prussia as Princess Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, she was nicknamed Figchen. Her father, Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, belonged to the ruling German family of Anhalt, two of her first cousins became Kings of Sweden, Gustav III and Charles XIII. In accordance with the then prevailing in the ruling dynasties of Germany, she received her education chiefly from a French governess. She once wrote to her correspondent Baron Grimm, I see nothing of interest in it, although Catherine was born a princess, her family had very little money. Catherines rise to power was supported by her mothers relatives who were both wealthy nobles and royal relations. Catherine first met Peter III at the age of 10, based on her writings, she found Peter detestable upon meeting him. She disliked his pale complexion and his fondness for alcohol at such a young age, Peter also still played with toy soldiers
3.
Kiel
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Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 240,832. Kiel lies approximately 90 kilometres north of Hamburg, for instance, the city is known for a variety of international sailing events, including the annual Kiel Week, which is the biggest sailing event in the world. The Olympic sailing competitions of the 1936 and the 1972 Summer Olympics were held in Kiel, Kiel has also been one of the traditional homes of the German Navys Baltic fleet, and continues to be a major high-tech shipbuilding centre. Located in Kiel is the GEOMAR - Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel at the University of Kiel, Kiel is an important sea transport hub, thanks to its location on the Kiel Fjord and the busiest artificial waterway in the world, Kiel Canal. A number of ferries to Sweden, Norway, Russia. Moreover, today Kiel harbour is an important port of call for cruise ships touring the Baltic Sea, Kiel was one of the founding cities of original European Green Capital Award in 2006. In 2005 Kiels GDP per capita was €35,618, which is well above Germanys national average, within Germany and parts of Europe, the city is known for its leading handball team, THW Kiel. The city is home to the University of Kiel, Kiel Fjord was probably first settled by Normans or Vikings who wanted to colonize the land which they had raided, and for many years they settled in German villages. This is evidenced by the geography and architecture of the fjord, the city of Kiel was founded in 1233 as Holstenstadt tom Kyle by Count Adolf IV of Holstein, and granted Lübeck city rights in 1242 by Adolfs eldest son, John I of Schauenburg. Being a part of Holstein, Kiel belonged to the Holy Roman Empire and was situated only a few south of the Danish border. Kiel, the capital of the county of Holstein, was a member of the Hanseatic League from 1284 until it was expelled in 1518 for harbouring pirates, the University of Kiel was founded on 29 September 1665, by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. A number of important scholars, including Theodor Mommsen, Felix Jacoby, Hans Geiger and Max Planck, from 1773 to 1864, the town belonged to the King of Denmark. However, because the king ruled Holstein as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire only through a personal union, thus Kiel belonged to Germany, but it was ruled by the Danish king. Even though the Empire was abolished in 1806, the Danish king continued to rule Kiel only through his position as Duke of Holstein, when Schleswig and Holstein rebelled against Denmark in 1848, Kiel became the capital of Schleswig-Holstein until the Danish victory in 1850. On 24 March 1865 King William I based Prussias Baltic Sea fleet in Kiel instead of Danzig, the Imperial shipyard Kiel was established in 1867 in the town. When William I of Prussia became Emperor William I of the German Empire in 1871, he designated Kiel, the prestigious Kiel Yacht Club was established in 1887 with Prince Henry of Prussia as its patron. Emperor Wilhelm II became its commodore in 1891, because of its new role as Germanys main naval base, Kiel very quickly increased in size in the following years, from 18,770 in 1864 to about 200,000 in 1910. Much of the old centre and other surroundings were levelled and redeveloped to provide for the growing city
4.
Duchy of Holstein
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The Duchy of Holstein was the northernmost state of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the present German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It was established when King Christian I of Denmark had his County of Holstein-Rendsburg elevated to a duchy by Emperor Frederick III in 1474, Holstein was ruled jointly with the Duchy of Schleswig by members of the Danish House of Oldenburg for its entire existence. From 1490 to 1523 and again from 1544 to 1773 the Duchy was partitioned between various Oldenburg branches, most notably the dukes of Holstein-Glückstadt and Holstein-Gottorp, the Duchy ceased to exist when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866 after the Second Schleswig War. The lands of Schleswig beyond the river remained a fief of the Danish Crown, while Holstein became a part of East Francia, the Kingdom of Germany. Adolf VIII, the last Count of Holstein-Rendsburg and Duke of Schleswig had died without heirs in 1459. As Schleswig had been a Danish fief, it had to back to King Christian I of Denmark. He was backed by the nobility, who supported the continued common administration of both lands and by the 1460 Treaty of Ribe proclaimed him as the new Count of Holstein. Nevertheless, the comital Holstein lands south of the Eider River officially remained a fief held by the Ascanian dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg. In 1474 Emperor Frederick III conferred Imperial immediacy to Christian by elevating him to a Duke of Holstein, from 1648 the royal parts of Schleswig and Holstein were administered out of Glückstadt and became known as the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein-Glückstadt. Before 1773 its Holstein territory consisted of the following Ämter, Rendsburg, South Dithmarschen, Steinburg, Segeberg, the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein in Haderslev, held by Duke Hans the Elder. Hans had no issue and after his death in 1580, his territories were divided among his brothers, the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein in Gottorp, held by Duke Adolf and his successors. In addition, significant parts of Holstein were jointly administered by the Dukes of Holstein-Glückstadt, in 1640, the County of Holstein-Pinneberg, whose ruling house was extinct, was merged in the royal part of the Duchy of Holstein. In 1713, during the Great Northern War, the estates of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp in Schleswig including Schloss Gottorf were conquered by royal Danish troops, in the 1720 Treaty of Frederiksborg, Duke Charles Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp ceded them to his liege lord the Danish crown. His remaining territories formed the Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp, administered from Kiel, with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Duchy of Holstein gained sovereignty. Denmark defended its rule over Holstein in the First Schleswig War of 1848-51 against the Kingdom of Prussia, however, in Second Schleswig War Prussian and Austrian troops conquered Schleswig. Christian IX of Denmark had to renounce both Schleswig and Holstein in the Treaty of Vienna, Holstein was put under Austrian administration, until annexed by Prussia in 1866 after the Austro-Prussian War. The Danish king in his function as duke of Holstein, and duke of Schleswig, 1523/45–1550, Johan Rantzau 1550–1556, Count Bertram von Ahlefeldt 1556–1598, Heinrich Rantzau 1598–1600, vacancy. Peace of Prague List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein at Worldstatesmen
5.
Ropsha
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The palace and park ensemble of Ropsha are included in the World Heritage list as a constituent of Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. The settlement was first mentioned in the documents of the Novgorod Republic in the 15th century and it passed to Sweden following the Treaty of Stolbovo but was recaptured by Peter the Great during the Great Northern War. Upon hearing about the properties of Ropshas mineral springs, the tsar planned to make it his summer retreat. Prince Romodanovsky was an old man of harsh disposition, who kept bears in his palace to scare infrequent visitors. Being in charge of Peters secret police, he would bring political prisoners to a torture chamber arranged in Ropsha Palace, despite macabre stories of his cruelty and misdeeds, a neighbour, Chancellor Golovkin, found it prudent to arrange the marriage of his son to Romodanovskys daughter. After the 1722 wedding, Ropsha Palace was overhauled and expanded under the supervision of Golovkins friend, as Rastrelli was busy with other projects, his designs for Ropsha were never executed. Towards the end of her reign, Empress granted the estate to her nephew and heir and it was there that he was brought under guard after the coup détat of 1762, and it was there that Peter III was allegedly murdered under shady circumstances. Later the same year, Catherine the Great resolved that Ropsha is not to be mentioned again and presented the ill-famed place to her lover and it is widely believed that Lazarev was just a figurehead who acted at the behest of Catherines son Paul. The latter, unable to acquire the grounds for fear of his mothers ire, was still drawn to the place where his father had been murdered. It was only after Catherines death that Tsar Paul took over Ropsha from Lazarev, during the Pauls reign, the Ropsha palace was rebuilt in a Neoclassical style to a design by Georg von Veldten. A large paper factory was nearby and the English gardener Thomas Gray laid out an English park with a mosaic of ponds full of fish. Paul apparently planned to rename Ropsha, in commemoration of the events of 1762. Although the ponds of Ropsha remained a fishing ground under his sons. It was more popular with anglers who even named a special breed of scaly carp after Ropsha. When Alexandre Dumas, père visited the estate in 1858, the palace belonged to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, in the ensuing decades, it was seldom inhabited, though Grand Duchess Xenia, the last tsars sister, chose to spend her wedding night there. Nicholas II turned Ropsha Palace and parks into his favorite hunting and fishing retreat, the Tsar was seen here surrounded by aristocratic milieu coming from all over Europe for hunting, fishing, and dining in Russian style. Ropsha also had a military garrison, imperial cavalry division was stationed here until 1918. During the Russian Civil War Ropsha saw some fighting, as General Yudenich wrested it from the Bolsheviks on two occasions
6.
Russian Empire
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The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until it was overthrown by the short-lived February Revolution in 1917. One of the largest empires in history, stretching over three continents, the Russian Empire was surpassed in landmass only by the British and Mongol empires. The rise of the Russian Empire happened in association with the decline of neighboring powers, the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Persia. It played a role in 1812–14 in defeating Napoleons ambitions to control Europe. The House of Romanov ruled the Russian Empire from 1721 until 1762, and its German-descended cadet branch, with 125.6 million subjects registered by the 1897 census, it had the third-largest population in the world at the time, after Qing China and India. Like all empires, it included a large disparity in terms of economics, ethnicity, there were numerous dissident elements, who launched numerous rebellions and assassination attempts, they were closely watched by the secret police, with thousands exiled to Siberia. Economically, the empire had an agricultural base, with low productivity on large estates worked by serfs. The economy slowly industrialized with the help of foreign investments in railways, the land was ruled by a nobility from the 10th through the 17th centuries, and subsequently by an emperor. Tsar Ivan III laid the groundwork for the empire that later emerged and he tripled the territory of his state, ended the dominance of the Golden Horde, renovated the Moscow Kremlin, and laid the foundations of the Russian state. Tsar Peter the Great fought numerous wars and expanded an already huge empire into a major European power, Catherine the Great presided over a golden age. She expanded the state by conquest, colonization and diplomacy, continuing Peter the Greats policy of modernisation along West European lines, Tsar Alexander II promoted numerous reforms, most dramatically the emancipation of all 23 million serfs in 1861. His policy in Eastern Europe involved protecting the Orthodox Christians under the rule of the Ottoman Empire and that connection by 1914 led to Russias entry into the First World War on the side of France, Britain, and Serbia, against the German, Austrian and Ottoman empires. The Russian Empire functioned as a monarchy until the Revolution of 1905. The empire collapsed during the February Revolution of 1917, largely as a result of failures in its participation in the First World War. Perhaps the latter was done to make Europe recognize Russia as more of a European country, Poland was divided in the 1790-1815 era, with much of the land and population going to Russia. Most of the 19th century growth came from adding territory in Asia, Peter I the Great introduced autocracy in Russia and played a major role in introducing his country to the European state system. However, this vast land had a population of 14 million, grain yields trailed behind those of agriculture in the West, compelling nearly the entire population to farm. Only a small percentage lived in towns, the class of kholops, close to the one of slavery, remained a major institution in Russia until 1723, when Peter I converted household kholops into house serfs, thus including them in poll taxation
7.
Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, Saint Petersburg
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The Peter and Paul Cathedral is a Russian Orthodox cathedral located inside the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is the first and oldest landmark in St. Petersburg, both the cathedral and the fortress were originally built under Peter the Great and designed by Domenico Trezzini. The cathedrals bell tower is the worlds tallest Orthodox bell tower, since the belfry is not standalone, but an integral part of the main building, the cathedral is sometimes considered the highest Orthodox Church in the world. There is another Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul Church in St. Petersburg, the current building, the first stone church in St. Petersburg, was designed by Trezzini and built between 1712 and 1733. Its gold-painted spire reaches a height of 123 metres and features at its top an angel holding a cross and this angel is one of the most important symbols of St. Petersburg. The cathedrals architecture also features a unique iconostasis, however, at St. Peter and Paul, the iconostasis rises to form a sort of tower over the sanctuary. The cathedral has a typical Flemish carillon, a gift of the Flemish city of Mechelen, the cathedral is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, the patron saints of the fortress. The current cathedral is the one on the site. The first, built soon after Peters founding of the city, was consecrated by Archbishop Iov of Novgorod the Great in April 1704, the cathedral was the cathedral church of the city until 1859 The current cathedral church of St. Petersburg is the Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky Prospect. The cathedral was closed in 1919 and turned into a museum in 1924 and it is still officially a museum, religious services, however, resumed in 2000. The cathedral houses the remains of almost all the Russian emperors and empresses from Peter the Great to Nicholas II and his family, among the emperors and empresses buried here was Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia for 34 years. Of the post-Petrine rulers, only Peter II and Ivan VI are not buried here, Peter II is buried in the Cathedral of Michael the Archangel in the Moscow Kremlin, Ivan VI was executed and buried in the fortress of Shlisselburg or Kholmogory. On September 28,2006,78 years after her death, Maria Feodorovna, Empress of Russia, was reinterred in the Cathedral of St Peter and Paul. Wife of Tsar Alexander III, and mother of Nicholas II, in 2005, the governments of Denmark and Russia agreed that the empresss remains should be returned to Saint Petersburg in accordance with her wish to be interred next to her husband. The bell tower is the dominant feature of cathedral and the fortress. It serves several functions as part of the structure, It is an architectural symbol and it is a part of the imperial tomb - the tombs are on the ground floor. It is a lightning rod protecting the cathedral and it is a viewing platform upon which excursions meet each hour from 12,00 till 18,00. It houses a carillon upon which concerts are periodically performed, when renovators were cleaning the angel on the spire in 1997, they found a note in a bottle left in one of the folds of the angels gown
8.
Paul I of Russia
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Paul I reigned as Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. His reign lasted five years, ending with his assassination by conspirators and his most important achievement was the adoption of the laws of succession to the Russian throne - rules that lasted until the end of the Romanov dynasty and of the Russian Empire. He became de facto Grand Master of the Order of Hospitallers, Paul was born in the Palace of Empress Elizabeth in Saint Petersburg. He was the son of the Grand Duchess Catherine, later Empress Catherine the Great, who was the wife of Elizabeths heir and nephew, the Grand Duke Peter, later Emperor Peter III. During his infancy, Paul was taken immediately from his mother by the Empress Elizabeth, as a boy, he was reported to be intelligent and good-looking. His pug-nosed facial features in later life are attributed to an attack of typhus, some claim that his mother Catherine hated him, and was restrained from putting him to death. Paul was put in the charge of a governor, Nikita Ivanovich Panin. It is interesting to note that Panins nephew went on to one of Pauls assassins. The Russian Imperial court, first of Elizabeth and then of Catherine, was not a home for a lonely, needy. His tutor, Poroshin, complained that he was always in a hurry, the use made of his name by the rebel Yemelyan Pugachev, who impersonated his father Peter, tended no doubt to render Pauls position more difficult. On the birth of his first child in 1777 the Empress gave him an estate, Paul and his wife gained leave to travel through western Europe in 1781–1782. In 1783 the Empress granted him another estate at Gatchina, where he was allowed to maintain a brigade of soldiers whom he drilled on the Prussian model, an unpopular stance at the time. Catherine the Great and her son and heir, the future Paul I, the aunt of Catherines husband, Empress Elizabeth, took up the child as a passing fancy. Elizabeth proved an obsessive but incapable caretaker, as she had raised no children of her own, Paul was supervised by a variety of caregivers. Roderick McGrew briefly relates the neglect to which the infant heir was sometimes subject, On one occasion he fell out of his crib, even after Elizabeths death, relations with Catherine hardly improved. Paul was often jealous of the favours she would shower upon her lovers, in one instance the empress gave to one of her court favourites fifty thousand Rubles on her birthday, while Paul received a cheap watch. Pauls early isolation from his mother created a distance between them which later events would reinforce and she never considered inviting him to share her power in governing Russia. And once Pauls son Alexander was born, it appeared that she had found a suitable heir
9.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
10.
House of Romanov
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The Romanovs achieved prominence as boyars of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, later the Tsardom of Russia. In 1613, following years of interregnum, the zemsky sobor offered the Russian crown to Mikhail Romanov and he acceded to the throne as Michael I, becoming the first Tsar of Russia from the House of Romanov. His grandson Peter I established the Russian Empire and transformed the country into a continental power through a series of wars, the direct male line of the Romanovs came to an end when Elizabeth of Russia died in 1762. After an era of crisis, the House of Holstein-Gottorp, a cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg which reigned in Denmark, ascended the throne in 1762 with Peter III. All rulers from the middle of the 18th century to the revolution of 1917 were descended from that branch, though officially known as the House of Romanov, these descendants of the Romanov and Oldenburg dynasties are sometimes referred to as Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. In early 1917 the Romanov dynasty had 65 members,18 of whom were killed by the Bolsheviks, the remaining 47 members went into exile abroad. In 1924, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, the senior, surviving male-line descendant of Alexander II of Russia by primogeniture, since 1991, the succession to the former Russian throne has been in dispute, largely due to disagreements over the validity of dynasts marriages. Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia claims to hold the title of empress in pretense with her child, George Mikhailovich. There is also a rival non-Romanov claim put forth by Prince Karl Emich of the House of Leiningen supported by the Monarchist Party, according to the Almanach de Gotha, the name of Russias ruling dynasty from the time of Peter III was Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov. However, the name Romanov and House of Romanov were often used in references to the Russian imperial family. The coat of arms of the Romanov boyars was included in legislation on the imperial dynasty, after the February Revolution all members of the imperial family were given the surname Romanov by special decree of the Provisional Government of Russia. Their earliest common ancestor is one Andrei Kobyla, attested around 1347 as a boyar in the service of Semyon I of Moscow, later generations assigned to Kobyla an illustrious pedigree. An 18th-century genealogy claimed that he was the son of the Prussian prince Glanda Kambila, indeed, one of the leaders of the Old Prussian rebellion of 1260–1274 against the Teutonic order was named Glande. His actual origin may have been less spectacular, not only is Kobyla Russian for mare, some of his relatives also had as nicknames the terms for horses and other domestic animals, thus suggesting descent from one of the royal equerries. One of Kobylas sons, Feodor, a member of the boyar Duma of Dmitri Donskoi, was nicknamed Koshka and his descendants took the surname Koshkin, then changed it to Zakharin, which family later split into two branches, Zakharin-Yakovlev and Zakharin-Yuriev. During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the family became known as Yakovlev. The family fortunes soared when Romans daughter, Anastasia Zakharyina, married Ivan IV, since her husband had assumed the title of tsar, which literally means Caesar, on 16 January 1547, she was crowned the very first tsaritsa of Russia. Her mysterious death in 1560 changed Ivans character for the worse, suspecting the boyars of having poisoned his beloved, Tsar Ivan started a reign of terror against them
11.
Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
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Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp was the son of Frederick IV of Holstein-Gottorp and his consort, Hedvig Sophia, daughter of King Charles XI of Sweden. He became reigning duke in infancy, upon his fathers death in 1702, and all his life was a claimant to the throne of Sweden, as pro forma heir to Charles XII. He is the father of Peter III of Russia, and as such he was an ancestor of all Russian emperors after Catherine II. Charles Frederick was born in Sweden, where his parents had been offered safety during the outbreak of the Great Northern war by his maternal uncle and he succeeded to the duchy at the age of two after the death of his father. Duke Charles Frederick was under the regency of his mother, with whom he resided in Stockholm, actual daily rule of the duchy was left to administrators. Danish troops had ravaged the lands during the Great Northern War and conquered its northern portions. His mother is said to have raised him tenderly but firmly and his mother, and later Hedwig Eleonora, both supported and worked for his right to be considered heir of Sweden after his childless uncle. Charles Frederick met his uncle Charles XII for the first time in 1716 and he was declared of legal majority in 1717, and was then given some military responsibility. Upon the death in 1718 of his uncle and second cousin, Charles XII of Sweden. The dukes party asserted that the monarchy in Sweden, which his grandfather King Charles XI had created. Upon the news of the death of his uncle, he was reportedly too grief-stricken to take any action, Ulrika Eleonoras husband Frederick, however, who was also present with him in Tistedalen, rushed to assist her in claiming the throne. When Charles Frederick was confronted with Ulrika Eleonora, he was forced by Arvid Horn to greet her as queen. He asked to be granted the title Royal Highness and to be recognized as her heir, Charles Frederick withdrew from Sweden, eventually settling in Russia. Afterward, the so-called Holsteiner Party in Sweden continued to advance Charles Fredericks claims, the party made preparations and awaited the childless Ulrika Eleonoras death, but Charles Frederick died before his aunt and left his claims to his infant son. By that time Sweden had enacted new laws of succession, however and his first cousin Adolph Frederick, of his same Oldenburg dynasty, was elected Crown Prince of Sweden. In 1723, he was granted the title Royal Highness in his absence, Charles Frederick left for Hamburg, as Holstein-Gottorp had been occupied by Denmark since 1713. He succeeded to have the occupation removed by application to the German-Roman Emperor, in 1720, Sweden and Denmark-Norway concluded the Treaty of Frederiksborg, in which Sweden pledged to cease its support of Holstein-Gottorp. Duke Charles Frederick was married to Anna Petrovna, Tsesarevna of Russia and elder daughter of Tsar Peter I and his peasant wife, as Charles was the Swedish heir, Peter saw the marriage as politically useful
12.
Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia
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Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia, Tsesarevna of Russia was the elder daughter of Emperor Peter I of Russia and Empress Catherine I of Russia. Her sister, Elizabeth of Russia, ruled as Empress between 1741 and 1762, while a potential heir in the reign of her father and her mother, she never acceded to the throne due to political reasons. However, her son Peter would rule as Emperor in 1762 and she was the Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp by marriage. Anna was born out of wedlock, although her parents were married in 1712 and her earlier illegitimacy would pose great challenges for her marriage. Anna grew up in the houses of Peter’s younger sister Natalia, although born illegitimate, she and her younger sister Elizabeth were awarded the titles of “princess” on 6 March 1711 and “crown princess” on 23 December 1721. Peter planned to marry his daughters to princes in order to gain European allies for the Russian Empire. The two girls were educated with this aim in mind, learning literature, writing, embroidery, dancing, Anna developed into an intelligent, well-read girl who spoke four foreign languages – French, German, Italian and Swedish. Anna’s modesty and shyness were evident at an early age, one witness describes the amusing hitch that once occurred during the traditional exchanging of Easter kisses. When the duke of Holstein-Gottorp tried to kiss the fourteen-year-old Anna, she turned bright red in embarrassment, the dark-eyed Anna looked more like her father and was considered more level-headed and intelligent than her younger sister, the fair-haired Elizabeth. A contemporary described Anna, “She was a soul in a beautiful body. Both in appearance and in manners, she was complete likeness, particularly in her character, set off by her kind heart. ”On 17 March 1721, Karl Friedrich arrived in Imperial Russia to get acquainted with his future wife and father-in-law. He aspired to use the marriage in order to ensure Russias support for his plans of retrieving Schleswig from Denmark and he also entertained hopes of being backed up by Russia in his claims to the Swedish throne. Under the terms of the Treaty of Nystad Russia promised not to interfere in the affairs of Sweden. Another possible candidate as a husband was a grandson of Louis XIV of France and Madame de Montespan, the marriage proposal was ignored due to a difference in style of address. Anna was addressed as Her Imperial Highness and Louis was as His Serene Highness, as a favorite child of Peter the Great Annas name day was taken to be a national holiday in 1724. On 22 November 1724, the contract was signed between Karl Friedrich and Peter. By this contract, Anna and Karl Friedrich renounced all rights and claims to the crown of the Russian Empire on behalf of themselves, however a secret clause allow the Emperor to name a successor out of any sons from the marriage. As a result of this clause, the Emperor secured the right to any of his descendants as his successor on the Russian throne
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Russian Orthodox Church
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The Russian Orthodox Church, alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches, in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox patriarchates. The Primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus and it also exercises ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the autonomous Church of Japan and the Orthodox Christians resident in the Peoples Republic of China. The ROC branches in Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova and Ukraine since the 1990s enjoy various degrees of self-government, in Ukraine, ROC has tensions with schismatic groups supported by the current government, while it enjoys the position of numerically dominant religious organisation. The ROC should also not be confused with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, headquartered in New York, New York, the two Churches reconciled on May 17,2007, the ROCOR is now a self-governing part of the Russian Orthodox Church. According to one of the legends, Andrew reached the location of Kiev. The spot where he erected a cross is now marked by St. Andrews Cathedral. By the end of the first millennium AD, eastern Slavic lands started to come under the influence of the Eastern Roman Empire. There is evidence that the first Christian bishop was sent to Novgorod from Constantinople either by Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios, by the mid-10th century, there was already a Christian community among Kievan nobility, under the leadership of Byzantine Greek priests, although paganism remained the dominant religion. Princess Olga of Kiev was the first ruler of Kievan Rus′ to convert to Christianity and her grandson, Vladimir of Kiev, made Rus officially a Christian state. The Kievan church was a metropolitanate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ecumenical patriarch appointed the metropolitan, who usually was a Greek. The Metropolitans residence was located in Kiev itself, the capital of the medieval Rus state. Following the tribulations of the Mongol invasion, the Russian Church was pivotal in the survival, despite the politically motivated murders of Mikhail of Chernigov and Mikhail of Tver, the Mongols were generally tolerant and even granted tax exemption to the Church. Such holy figures as Sergius of Radonezh and Metropolitan Alexis helped the country to withstand years of Tatar oppression, the Trinity monastery founded by Sergius of Radonezh became the setting for the flourishing of spiritual art, exemplified by the work of Andrey Rublev, among others. The followers of Sergius founded four hundred monasteries, thus extending the geographical extent of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. However, the Moscow Prince Vasili II rejected the act of the Council of Florence brought to Moscow by Isidore in March 1441, Isidore was in the same year removed from his position as an apostate and expelled from Moscow. The Russian metropolitanate remained effectively vacant for the few years due largely to the dominance of Uniates in Constantinople then. In December 1448, Jonas, a Russian bishop, was installed by the Council of Russian bishops in Moscow as Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia without the consent from Constantinople. Subsequently, there developed a theory in Moscow that saw Moscow as the Third Rome, the successor to Constantinople
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Russian language
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Russian is an East Slavic language and an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and many minor or unrecognised territories. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of the four living members of the East Slavic languages, written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century and beyond. It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages and it is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, the language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the second most widespread language on the Internet after English, Russian distinguishes between consonant phonemes with palatal secondary articulation and those without, the so-called soft and hard sounds. This distinction is found between pairs of almost all consonants and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language, another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Russian is a Slavic language of the Indo-European family and it is a lineal descendant of the language used in Kievan Rus. From the point of view of the language, its closest relatives are Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Rusyn. An East Slavic Old Novgorod dialect, although vanished during the 15th or 16th century, is considered to have played a significant role in the formation of modern Russian. In the 19th century, the language was often called Great Russian to distinguish it from Belarusian, then called White Russian and Ukrainian, however, the East Slavic forms have tended to be used exclusively in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with different meanings. For details, see Russian phonology and History of the Russian language and it is also regarded by the United States Intelligence Community as a hard target language, due to both its difficulty to master for English speakers and its critical role in American world policy. The standard form of Russian is generally regarded as the modern Russian literary language, mikhail Lomonosov first compiled a normalizing grammar book in 1755, in 1783 the Russian Academys first explanatory Russian dictionary appeared. By the mid-20th century, such dialects were forced out with the introduction of the education system that was established by the Soviet government. Despite the formalization of Standard Russian, some nonstandard dialectal features are observed in colloquial speech. Thus, the Russian language is the 6th largest in the world by number of speakers, after English, Mandarin, Hindi/Urdu, Spanish, Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a choice for both Russian as a second language and native speakers in Russia as well as many of the former Soviet republics. Russian is still seen as an important language for children to learn in most of the former Soviet republics, samuel P. Huntington wrote in the Clash of Civilizations, During the heyday of the Soviet Union, Russian was the lingua franca from Prague to Hanoi
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Emperor of All Russia
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Emperor of All Russia, Empress of All Russia was the title of the ruler of the Russian Empire from 1721 to 1917. It was created in connection with the victory in the Great Northern War, the suffix of All Russia was transformed from the previous version of All Rus. Article 1 of the Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire stated that Emperor of All Russia is an autocratic, to obey his supreme authority, not only out of fear but out of conscience as well, God himself commands. The article points to the fact that Russia had an unrestricted monarchy, the full title of the emperor in the 20th century, The title of the Emperor of All Russia was introduced to Peter the Great. On November 2,1721 Peter I accepted the title, since then the Russian State was referred to as the Russian Empire
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Hedvig Sophia of Sweden
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Princess Hedvig Sophia Augusta of Sweden, was a Swedish princess and a Duchess Consort of Holstein-Gottorp, the eldest child of King Charles XI of Sweden, and his spouse Queen Ulrica Eleanor. She was heir presumptive to the Swedish throne until her death, some sources refer to her as Sofia. Hedvig Sophia spent the majority of her upbringing at Karlberg Palace, after the death of her mother in 1693, she and her siblings were placed under the custody of her grandmother Hedvig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp. At the same time, she was taken care of by Juliana Schierberg. Hedvig Sophia was, and continued to be, the favorite of her grandmother, due to her grandmothers influence, she came to harbor anti-Danish views. She was described as beautiful, passionate but dignified, and as a good student, particularly in painting. She was also noted to be cheerful in the otherwise strict Swedish court, jens Juel are known to have engaged Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck to promote the matches. However, none of the marriages was materialized, on 12 May 1698 at Karlberg she married her cousin, Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. The marriage, which had decided upon during her childhood. She did not like the life of Frederick IV, for which he was known even before their marriage. She visited Holstein-Gottorp in 1698 and remained there for about a year, during Hedvig Sophias stay in Gottorp, Frederick regularly visited his lovers in Hamburg and also brought some of them to Gottorp. In 1699 she returned to Sweden, where she was second in line to the Swedish throne and presumptive heir. Hedvig Sophia was a participant in the frequent partying that dominated her brothers court for a few years before the Great Northern War. On 18 October 1702, Hedvig Sofia became a widow and formal Regent for her minor son and she did have plans to visit Holstein-Gottorp in 1705, but her brother asked her to remain in Sweden, which she consented to do. As Regent, Hedvig Sophia made sure that the old policy of Holstein-Gottorp was kept, as a widow, she was the object of plans to arrange a new political marriage. Among the candidates were the Crown Prince of Hanover, that is the future King George II of Great Britain, however she refused a new arranged marriage. She was by then involved with the young courtier count Olof Gyllenborg and that relationship was open public knowledge at court and seems to have been accepted, though much disliked by her grandmother, Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp. She was a singer, during the Great Northern war, she appeared as a singer at concerts at court, while her sister, Ulrika Eleonora
17.
Charles XII of Sweden
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Charles XII, also Carl, Latinized to Carolus Rex, was the King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a line of the House of Wittelsbach. Charles was the surviving son of Charles XI and Ulrika Eleonora the Elder. He assumed power, after a caretaker government, at the age of fifteen. Leading the Swedish army against the alliance Charles won multiple victories despite being usually significantly outnumbered, a major victory over a Russian army some three times the size in 1700 at the Battle of Narva compelled Peter the Great to sue for peace which Charles then rejected. Russia was now the remaining hostile power. The defeat was followed by Surrender at Perevolochna, two campaigns met with frustration and ultimate failure, concluding with his death at the Siege of Fredriksten in 1718. At the time, most of the Swedish Empire was under military occupation. This situation was later formalized, albeit moderated in the subsequent Treaty of Nystad, Charles was an exceptionally skilled military leader and tactician as well as an able politician, credited with introducing important tax and legal reforms. With the war consuming more than half his life and nearly all his reign, Charles, like all kings, was styled by a royal title, which combined all his titles into one single phrase. The fact that Charles was crowned as Charles XII does not mean that he was the 12th king of Sweden by that name, Swedish kings Erik XIV and Charles IX gave themselves numerals after studying a mythological history of Sweden. He was actually the 6th King Charles, the non-mathematic numbering tradition continues with the current King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, being counted as the equivalent of Charles XVI. In late 1699 Charles sent a detachment to reinforce his brother-in-law Duke Frederick IV of Holstein-Gottorp. A Saxon army simultaneously invaded Swedish Livonia and in February 1700 invested Riga, Russia also declared war, but stopped short of an attack on Swedish Ingria until September 1700. Leading a force of 8,000 and 43 ships in an invasion of Zealand, Charles rapidly compelled the Danes to submit to the Peace of Travendal in August 1700, Russia had opened their part of the war by invading the Swedish-held territories of Livonia and Estonia. Charles countered this by attacking the Russian besiegers at the Battle of Narva, the Russians outnumbered the Swedish army of ten thousand men by almost four to one. Charles attacked under cover of a blizzard, effectively split the Russian army in two and won the battle, many of Peters troops who fled the battlefield drowned in the Narva River. The total number of Russian fatalities reached about 10,000 at the end of the battle, while the Swedish forces lost 667 men, Charles did not pursue the Russian army
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Peter the Great
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Peter the Great, Peter I or Peter Alexeyevich ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May 1682 until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his elder half-brother, Ivan V. Through a number of successful wars he expanded the Tsardom into a larger empire that became a major European power. He led a revolution that replaced some of the traditionalist and medieval social and political systems with ones that were modern, scientific, westernized. Peters reforms made an impact on Russia and many institutions of Russian government trace their origins to his reign. From an early age, Peters education was put in the hands of tutors, most notably Nikita Zotov, Patrick Gordon. On 29 January 1676, Tsar Alexis died, leaving the sovereignty to Peters elder half-brother and this position changed when Feodor died in 1682. As Feodor did not leave any children, a dispute arose between the Miloslavsky family and Naryshkin family over who should inherit the throne, Peters other half-brother, Ivan V, was next in line for the throne, but he was chronically ill and of infirm mind. Consequently, the Boyar Duma chose the 10-year-old Peter to become Tsar with his mother as regent and this arrangement was brought before the people of Moscow, as ancient tradition demanded, and was ratified. Sophia Alekseyevna, one of Alexis daughters from his first marriage, in the subsequent conflict some of Peters relatives and friends were murdered, including Matveev, and Peter witnessed some of these acts of political violence. The Streltsy made it possible for Sophia, the Miloslavskys and their allies, to insist that Peter and Ivan be proclaimed joint Tsars, Sophia acted as regent during the minority of the sovereigns and exercised all power. For seven years, she ruled as an autocrat, a large hole was cut in the back of the dual-seated throne used by Ivan and Peter. Sophia would sit behind the throne and listen as Peter conversed with nobles, while feeding him information and giving him responses to questions and this throne can be seen in the Kremlin Armoury in Moscow. Peter was not particularly concerned that others ruled in his name and he engaged in such pastimes as shipbuilding and sailing, as well as mock battles with his toy army. Peters mother sought to force him to adopt a conventional approach. The marriage was a failure, and ten years later Peter forced his wife to become a nun, by the summer of 1689, Peter planned to take power from his half-sister Sophia, whose position had been weakened by two unsuccessful Crimean campaigns. When she learned of his designs, Sophia conspired with the leaders of the Streltsy, Sophia was eventually overthrown, with Peter I and Ivan V continuing to act as co-tsars. Peter forced Sophia to enter a convent, where she gave up her name, still, Peter could not acquire actual control over Russian affairs. Power was instead exercised by his mother, Natalya Naryshkina and it was only when Nataliya died in 1694 that Peter became an independent sovereign
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Germans
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Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe, who share a common German ancestry, culture and history. German is the mother tongue of a substantial majority of ethnic Germans. The English term Germans has historically referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages, before the collapse of communism and the reunification of Germany in 1990, Germans constituted the largest divided nation in Europe by far. Ever since the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation within the Holy Roman Empire, of approximately 100 million native speakers of German in the world, roughly 80 million consider themselves Germans. Thus, the number of Germans lies somewhere between 100 and more than 150 million, depending on the criteria applied. Today, people from countries with German-speaking majorities most often subscribe to their own national identities, the German term Deutsche originates from the Old High German word diutisc, referring to the Germanic language of the people. It is not clear how commonly, if at all, the word was used as an ethnonym in Old High German, used as a noun, ein diutscher in the sense of a German emerges in Middle High German, attested from the second half of the 12th century. The Old French term alemans is taken from the name of the Alamanni and it was loaned into Middle English as almains in the early 14th century. The word Dutch is attested in English from the 14th century, denoting continental West Germanic dialects, while in most Romance languages the Germans have been named from the Alamanni, the Old Norse, Finnish and Estonian names for the Germans were taken from that of the Saxons. In Slavic languages, the Germans were given the name of němьci, originally with a meaning foreigner, the English term Germans is only attested from the mid-16th century, based on the classical Latin term Germani used by Julius Caesar and later Tacitus. It gradually replaced Dutch and Almains, the latter becoming mostly obsolete by the early 18th century, the Germans are a Germanic people, who as an ethnicity emerged during the Middle Ages. Originally part of the Holy Roman Empire, around 300 independent German states emerged during its decline after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ending the Thirty Years War and these states eventually formed into modern Germany in the 19th century. The concept of a German ethnicity is linked to Germanic tribes of antiquity in central Europe, the early Germans originated on the North German Plain as well as southern Scandinavia. By the 2nd century BC, the number of Germans was significantly increasing and they began expanding into eastern Europe, during antiquity these Germanic tribes remained separate from each other and did not have writing systems at that time. In the European Iron Age the area that is now Germany was divided into the La Tène horizon in Southern Germany and the Jastorf culture in Northern Germany. By 55 BC, the Germans had reached the Danube river and had either assimilated or otherwise driven out the Celts who had lived there, and had spread west into what is now Belgium and France. Conflict between the Germanic tribes and the forces of Rome under Julius Caesar forced major Germanic tribes to retreat to the east bank of the Rhine, in Roman-held territories with Germanic populations, the Germanic and Roman peoples intermarried, and Roman, Germanic, and Christian traditions intermingled. The adoption of Christianity would later become an influence in the development of a common German identity
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Prussia
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Prussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and centred on the region of Prussia. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised, Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 in Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire under Prussian leadership, in November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the German Revolution of 1918–19. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic—the Free State of Prussia, from 1933, Prussia lost its independence as a result of the Prussian coup, when the Nazi regime was successfully establishing its Gleichschaltung laws in pursuit of a unitary state. Prussia existed de jure until its liquidation by the Allied Control Council Enactment No.46 of 25 February 1947. The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians, in the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights—an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders—conquered the lands inhabited by them. In 1308, the Teutonic Knights conquered the region of Pomerelia with Gdańsk and their monastic state was mostly Germanised through immigration from central and western Germany and in the south, it was Polonised by settlers from Masovia. The Second Peace of Thorn split Prussia into the western Royal Prussia, a province of Poland, and the part, from 1525 called the Duchy of Prussia. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Prussia entered the ranks of the great powers shortly after becoming a kingdom, and exercised most influence in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century it had a say in many international affairs under the reign of Frederick the Great. During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck united the German principalities into a Lesser Germany which excluded the Austrian Empire. At the Congress of Vienna, which redrew the map of Europe following Napoleons defeat, Prussia acquired a section of north western Germany. The country then grew rapidly in influence economically and politically, and became the core of the North German Confederation in 1867, and then of the German Empire in 1871. The Kingdom of Prussia was now so large and so dominant in the new Germany that Junkers and other Prussian élites identified more and more as Germans and less as Prussians. In the Weimar Republic, the state of Prussia lost nearly all of its legal and political importance following the 1932 coup led by Franz von Papen. East Prussia lost all of its German population after 1945, as Poland, the main coat of arms of Prussia, as well as the flag of Prussia, depicted a black eagle on a white background. The black and white colours were already used by the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Order wore a white coat embroidered with a cross with gold insert
21.
Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
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Other parts of the duchies were ruled by the kings of Denmark. The territories of Gottorp are located in present-day Denmark and Germany, the main seat of the dukes was Gottorf Castle in the city of Schleswig in the duchy of Schleswig. It is also the name of the house, which ascended to several thrones. For this reason genealogists and historians use the name of Holstein-Gottorp for related dynasties of other countries. The Gottorp branch held Landeshoheit over the duchy of Holstein in the Holy Roman Empire, the name Holstein-Gottorp is for the sake of convenience used instead of the technically more correct Duke of Schleswig and Holstein in/at Gottorp. The kings of Denmark were granted Holstein as a fief by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III from 1474. In 1544 the so-called one-third duchy was ceded to Adolf, third son of King Frederick I of Denmark, thus the surviving House of Holstein-Gottorp is a cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg. The Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp shared the rule of Schleswig and Holstein with the Kings of Denmark. As such, they were allies of the Swedes, enemies of the Danes. By the Treaty of Roskilde and the Treaty of Copenhagen, Denmark released Gottorp from its feudal bonds, in fact, these Schleswigers had been relatively independent already for more than a century. Although the duchy of Holstein remained officially a fief of the Empire, in the Great Northern War the duchy sided with Sweden and was defeated after Danish troops occupied the northern portions of Holstein-Gottorp. Charles Frederick himself was married to Grand Duchess Anna, Peters daughter, Peters successors abandoned his policy of backing the claims of the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp. But from this marriage was born Charles Peter Ulrich, who succeeded to Holstein-Gottorp in 1739, Charles Peter Ulrich, who acceded to the Russian throne as Peter III in 1762, was determined to conquer Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark–Norway. When he became emperor in 1762, he signed a generous peace with Prussia. This move angered Russian opinion, since it was considered a betrayal of Russias sacrifices in the war, at the same time, the Danish army had hastily moved across the border into Mecklenburg, to avoid an invasion of Holstein, and prepared for battle. One of her first actions was to call off the war against Denmark, Peter IIIs son, Paul, the new Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, was a minor under the regency of his mother, the empress. The duchy was given to Pauls grandfathers cousin, the aged Prince-Bishop of Lübeck and this put an end to the Gottorp question, which had generated so many conflicts between the Nordic powers. The House of Holstein-Gottorp acceded to several European thrones, the dynastic policy of the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp resulted in its cadet branch, the Swedish line, ruling Sweden from 1751 until 1818 and Norway from 1814 to 1818
22.
Catherine I of Russia
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Catherine I was the second wife of Peter the Great and Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death. The life of Catherine I was said by Voltaire to be nearly as extraordinary as that of Peter the Great himself, there are no documents that confirm her origins. Said to have born on 15 April 1684, she was originally named Marta Helena Skowrońska. Marta was the daughter of Samuel Skowroński, later spelt Samuil Skavronsky, a Roman Catholic peasant from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and her mother is named in at least one source as Elisabeth Moritz, and there is debate as to whether her father was a Swedish officer. It is likely that two stories were conflated, and Swedish sources suggest that the Elizabeth Moritz story is probably incorrect, some biographies state that Martas father was a gravedigger and handyman, while others speculate that he was a runaway landless serf. Martas parents died of the plague around 1689, leaving five children, in his household she served as a lowly servant, likely either a scullery maid or washerwoman. No effort was made to teach her to read and write, Marta was considered a very beautiful young girl, and there are accounts that Frau Glück became fearful that she would become involved with her son. When Russian forces captured the town, Pastor Glück offered to work as a translator and she may have worked in the household of his superior, Sheremetev. It is not known whether she was his mistress, or household maid and she travelled back to the Russian court with Sheremetevs army. Afterwards she became part of the household of Prince Alexander Menshikov, anecdotal sources suggest that she was purchased by him. Whether the two of them were lovers is disputed, as Menshikov was already engaged to Darya Arsenyeva and it is clear that Menshikov and Marta formed a lifetime alliance. It is possible that Menshikov, who was jealous of Peters attentions and knew his tastes. In any case, in 1703, while visiting Menshikov at his home, in 1704, she was well established in the Tsars household as his mistress, and gave birth to a son, Peter. In 1705, she converted to Orthodoxy and took the new name of Catherine Alexeyevna and she and Darya Menshikova accompanied Peter and Menshikov on their military excursions. Though no record exists, Catherine and Peter are described as having married secretly between 23 Oct and 1 Dec 1707 in St. Petersburg and they had twelve children, two of whom survived into adulthood, Anna and Yelizaveta. Peter had moved the capital to St Petersburg in 1703, while the city was being built he lived in a three-room log cabin with Catherine, where she did the cooking and caring for the children, and he tended a garden as though they were an ordinary couple. The relationship was the most successful of Peters life and a number of letters exist demonstrating the strong affection between Catherine and Peter. As a person she was energetic, compassionate, charming
23.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
24.
Kingdom of Finland (1742)
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The attempt to create a Kingdom of Finland in 1742 is a little-known chapter in the history of Finland. Following the Russian occupation in the Russo-Swedish War and vague promises of making the country independent, however, the political situation had outgrown the idea of Finnish independence and it quickly evaporated. In the imperial court of St. Petersburg, he grew up in a specifically Holsteinian separate sub-culture, when the Russian counter-offensive started in March 1742, Chancellor Bestuzhev probably toyed with the idea of making a buffer state in between Sweden and Russia. Tsarina Elizabeth presented Finns — then still a part of the Kingdom of Sweden — with a declaration wherein she promised to make Finland independent if they did not resist her troops. Each city and hundred was to one from nobility and two from clergy, bourgeoisie and peasants to discuss matters important for the cities and the whole country. Names of peasants have not survived, but they were probably best represented, preparations to form a delegation to present the Empress with the request started. According to Sjöström Keith summoned the Diet of Finland to convene in October 1742 at Turku and this Diet soon proclaimed duke Kaarle Petteri Ulrik as King of Finland. At the same time, the riksdag of Sweden had gathered in Stockholm, trying to find a way out of the military and political situation generated by the Hats hasty and ill-advised war. As King Frederick I was without an apparent, the Swedish estates decided to use the future crown in negotiations. Events were however developing at a fast pace, Russian troops had taken over Finland with much ease, and Elizabeth decided to make Duke Charles Peter her own heir to the Imperial throne, as she was without an heir apparent herself. The Swedish parliament was unaware of this, and when their envoy arrived in Saint Petersburg, the underage Charles Peters succession rights to Sweden were renounced on his behalf. According to Sjöström the Swedes managed to repossess much of Finland in the Treaty of Turku, elisabeth and Kaarle Petteri Ulrik kept the Finnish lands east of the River Kymi. Those lands were known as “Old Finland”. Long unaware of the procedures elsewhere, the Finnish delegation was still preparing for its trip to Saint Petersburg. Russians effectively stopped the process there, and the Diet lantdag representatives left for their homes, most probably the duke never got to know about his election to the ephemeral throne of Finland. In late 1742, general Keith was succeeded in the leadership of civil administration of Finland by the new Governor-General, disappointment in the results of the Turku Diet lantdag generated some plans to rebel against the Russian occupation, but no actions came of these sentiments. In general, the events of the Turku Diet lantdag in 1742 had no consequences after the Russian occupation ended the following year, Elizabeths new candidate was elected as the next King of Sweden, and some Finnish territory was ceded to Russia. Interestingly, Alexander was the grandson of the Duke Charles Peter, Sjöström mentions that those lands of “Old Finland” were in a sense the surviving continuation of the Kingdom of Finland from 1742
25.
Grand Duke of Finland
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Grand Duke of Finland or the Grand Prince of Finland was from around 1580 to 1809 a title in use by most Swedish monarchs. Between 1809 and 1917, it was the title of the head of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. The anachronistic female form of the title in English is usually Grand Princess of Finland, the only women to have used the title were the Swedish Queens regnant Christina and Ulrika Eleonora. A few crown princes of Sweden also were called Grand Prince of Finland, the use of Grand Prince on Johns behalf was a countermeasure to signify his mighty position as sovereign of Sweden, also a multinational or multi-country realm, and equal to a Tsardom. Not only was Finland added, but Karelia, Ingria, and it is said that the first use of the new title was in an occasion to contact Tsar Ivan. As the title had only subsidiary nature without any concrete meaning, the last Swedish monarch to use the title was Ulrika Eleonora who abdicated in 1720. However, in 1802, King Gustav IV Adolf gave the title to his son, Prince Carl Gustaf. The Imperial Grand Prince ruled Finland through his governor and a native Senate appointed by him, although no Grand Prince ever explicitly recognized Finland as separate state in its own right, the country nevertheless enjoyed a high degree of autonomy, until its independence in 1917. Finland was declared an independent nation state on 6 December 1917, after the Civil War in 1918, there was a brief attempt to make Finland a kingdom from 9 October to 14 December 1918. In 1919, Finland was declared a republic, since then, all titles of monarchs are obsolete in the country. Today, there are no pretenders to the title of the Grand Prince of Finland, anjala conspiracy Dukes of Swedish Provinces Finnish Declaration of Independence Governor-General of Finland History of Finland List of Finnish monarchs Monarchy of Finland
26.
Riksdag of the Estates
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Riksdag of the Estates was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the king, the actual first meeting is likely the one that took place at Uppsala in 1436 after the death of rebel leader Engelbrekt. At the Riksdag in 1517, regent Sten Sture the Younger, at Västerås in 1527 Lutheranism was adopted as the new state religion instead of Roman Catholicism. At Arboga in 1561, the term Riksdag was used for the first time, at Söderköping in 1595, duke Charles was elected regent of Sweden instead of king Sigismund, who was a Catholic and the king of both Sweden and Poland. In 1612 the Riksdag gave the nobility the privilege and right to all higher offices of government. The first open conflict between the different estates happened in 1650, at the Riksdag in 1680 a large scale reduction was enacted, and Sweden became an absolute monarchy. In 1719, the Riksdag elected Ulrika Eleonora as heir in place of her sisters son. In 1809, the Riksdag elected Charles XIII king after his nephew Gustav IV Adolf had been deposed, at the sessions in 1634,1719,1720,1772 and 1809 new constitutions were adopted. The constitution of 1809 divided the powers of government between the monarch and the Riksdag of the Estates, and after 1866 between the monarch and the new Riksdag. In 1866 all the Estates voted in favor of dissolution and at the time to constitute a new assembly. The four former estates were abolished, the House of Nobility, Swedish, Riddarhuset, remains as a quasi-official representation of the Swedish nobility. The modern Centre Party which grew out of the Swedish farmers movement, following the Finnish War in 1809, Sweden ceded its eastmost provinces to the Russian Empire. Comprising much of present-day Finland, these became a Grand Duchy under the Emperor, the Finnish estates assembled in 1809 at Porvoo to confirm the change in their allegiance. This Diet of Finland followed the forms of the Swedish Riksdag, however, during the reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I it was not assembled and no new legislation was enacted. The diet was next assembled by tsar Alexander II in 1863, after this the Diet met regularly until 1905, when it passed an act forming a new unicameral parliament. That assembly has been Finlands legislative body since then, the Finnish House of Nobility — Finnish, Ritarihuone, Swedish, Riddarhuset — carries on the tradition of the Estate of Nobility, but no new families have been ennobled since 1906. History of Sweden History of Finland History of the Riksdag Riksdagsmusiken
27.
Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
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Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst was a German prince of the House of Ascania. He was a ruler of the Principality of Anhalt-Dornburg, then, from 1742 and he was also a Prussian Generalfeldmarschall, but is best known for being the father of Catherine the Great of Russia. Christian August was the son of John Louis I, Prince of Anhalt-Dornburg. After the death of his father in 1704, Christian August inherited Anhalt-Dornburg jointly with his brothers John Louis II, John Augustus, Christian Louis and John Frederick. In 1711 Christian August was awarded the Order De la Générosité, later renamed in Pour le Mérite, on 22 January 1729 he became commander of Stettin, after having been chosen there on 24 May 1725 as a knight of Order of the Black Eagle. Christian August was designated on 28 May 1732 lieutenant-general and on 8 April 1741 infantry general, on 5 June of that year he was designated Governor of Stettin. On 16 May 1742 King Frederick II of Prussia awarded him the highest military dignity, Christian August remained in Stettin and his brother took full charge of the government, but he died only four years later, unmarried and childless. For this reason, Christian August had to leave Stettin and return to Zerbst and they had five children, Sophie Auguste Fredericka, who later became Catherine II the Great, Empress of Russia. Band 4, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, S. 157–159
28.
Paul of Russia
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Paul I reigned as Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. His reign lasted five years, ending with his assassination by conspirators and his most important achievement was the adoption of the laws of succession to the Russian throne - rules that lasted until the end of the Romanov dynasty and of the Russian Empire. He became de facto Grand Master of the Order of Hospitallers, Paul was born in the Palace of Empress Elizabeth in Saint Petersburg. He was the son of the Grand Duchess Catherine, later Empress Catherine the Great, who was the wife of Elizabeths heir and nephew, the Grand Duke Peter, later Emperor Peter III. During his infancy, Paul was taken immediately from his mother by the Empress Elizabeth, as a boy, he was reported to be intelligent and good-looking. His pug-nosed facial features in later life are attributed to an attack of typhus, some claim that his mother Catherine hated him, and was restrained from putting him to death. Paul was put in the charge of a governor, Nikita Ivanovich Panin. It is interesting to note that Panins nephew went on to one of Pauls assassins. The Russian Imperial court, first of Elizabeth and then of Catherine, was not a home for a lonely, needy. His tutor, Poroshin, complained that he was always in a hurry, the use made of his name by the rebel Yemelyan Pugachev, who impersonated his father Peter, tended no doubt to render Pauls position more difficult. On the birth of his first child in 1777 the Empress gave him an estate, Paul and his wife gained leave to travel through western Europe in 1781–1782. In 1783 the Empress granted him another estate at Gatchina, where he was allowed to maintain a brigade of soldiers whom he drilled on the Prussian model, an unpopular stance at the time. Catherine the Great and her son and heir, the future Paul I, the aunt of Catherines husband, Empress Elizabeth, took up the child as a passing fancy. Elizabeth proved an obsessive but incapable caretaker, as she had raised no children of her own, Paul was supervised by a variety of caregivers. Roderick McGrew briefly relates the neglect to which the infant heir was sometimes subject, On one occasion he fell out of his crib, even after Elizabeths death, relations with Catherine hardly improved. Paul was often jealous of the favours she would shower upon her lovers, in one instance the empress gave to one of her court favourites fifty thousand Rubles on her birthday, while Paul received a cheap watch. Pauls early isolation from his mother created a distance between them which later events would reinforce and she never considered inviting him to share her power in governing Russia. And once Pauls son Alexander was born, it appeared that she had found a suitable heir
29.
Oranienbaum, Russia
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Oranienbaum is a Russian royal residence, located on the Gulf of Finland west of St. Petersburg. The Palace ensemble and the city centre are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, in 1707, four years after he founded Saint Petersburg, Peter the Great gave the grounds near the seaside to his right-hand man, Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov. Menshikov commissioned the architects Giovanni Maria Fontana and Gottfried Schädel, who built his residence, the central part of the Palace is connected by two galleries with the two domed Japanese and Church Pavilions. The Lower Garden, decorated with fountains and sculptures, and the Upper Garden were laid out at the same time, the Palace is located near the Lower Park, whose composite axis is a channel leading to the sea. This channel is in imitation of one designed by Peter himself at his residence of Peterhof Palace. Menshikov was deposed shortly after Peters death, and died in exile, in 1743, Oranienbaum became the summer residence of Grand Duke Peter Fedorovitch, the heir of Empress Elizabeth. Over the last ten years of Elizabeths reign, Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli reconstructed the Grand Palace, from 1756 to 1762, the architect Antonio Rinaldi built the Peterstadt Fortress ensemble on the bank of the Karost River for Grand Duke Peter Fedorovitch. In 1762 Empress Catherine II ordered the construction of the suburb residence called My Own Countryside House, from the outside, the Chinese palace is a relatively simple building, single-storey except for the small central pavilion, painted in a mellow combination of ochre and yellow. The seventeen rooms inside, decorated by Rinaldi and other leading artists and craftsmen of the day, feature pink, blue and green scagliola, painted silks, rinaldis parquet floors are wonderfully ornate, using several types of rare Russian and imported wood. Among the highlights of the Chinese Palace interiors are the Glass Beaded Salon, the room also contains an English-made billiard table with superb wood carving. The Upper Park was laid out from 1750 to 1770, the palace was the site of two opera premieres to libretti by Metastasio in the middle of the eighteenth century, Amor prigioniero, and Semiramide riconosciuta. In the 19th century Oranienbaum became a noble manor, during World War II only Oranienbaum and Kronstadt were not occupied and destroyed by the Nazis and remain pristine. Restoration to Oranienbaum has been a slow process, tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof restorations were given higher priority, and that is one reason Oranienbaum is a less-visited attraction. For the city grew up around the palace see Lomonosov. List of Baroque residences Lomonosov, Russia Oranienbaum - History, details and visiting information
30.
Seven Years' War
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The Seven Years War was a war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France on the other. Meanwhile, in India, the Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with Prussia, in a series of political manoeuvres known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754–1756 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America, meanwhile, rising power Prussia was struggling with Austria for dominance within and outside the Holy Roman Empire in central Europe. In 1756, the major powers switched partners, realizing that war was imminent, Prussia preemptively struck Saxony and quickly overran it. The result caused uproar across Europe, because of Austrias alliance with France to recapture Silesia, which had been lost in a previous war, Prussia formed an alliance with Britain. Reluctantly, by following the diet, most of the states of the empire joined Austrias cause. The Anglo-Prussian alliance was joined by smaller German states, Sweden, seeking to re-gain Pomerania joined the coalition, seeing its chance when virtually all of Europe opposed Prussia. Spain, bound by the Pacte de Famille, intervened on behalf of France, the Russian Empire was originally aligned with Austria, fearing Prussias ambition on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but switched sides upon the succession of Tsar Peter III in 1762. Naples, Sicily, and Savoy, although sided with the Franco-Spanish alliance, like Sweden, Russia concluded a separate peace with Prussia. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain and the Treaty of Hubertusburg between Saxony, Austria and Prussia, in 1763. The Native American tribes were excluded from the settlement, a subsequent conflict, Prussia emerged as a new European great power. Although Austria failed to retrieve the territory of Silesia from Prussia its military prowess was noted by the other powers. The involvement of Portugal, Spain and Sweden did not return them to their status as great powers. France was deprived of many of its colonies and had saddled itself with heavy war debts that its inefficient financial system could barely handle. Spain lost Florida but gained French Louisiana and regained control of its colonies, e. g. Cuba and the Philippines, France and Spain avenged their defeat in 1778 when the American Revolutionary War broke out, with hopes of destroying Britains dominance once and for all. The Seven Years War was perhaps the first true world war, having taken place almost 160 years before World War I and it was characterized in Europe by sieges and the arson of towns as well as open battles with heavy losses
31.
Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1762)
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The Treaty of Saint Petersburg was concluded on May 5,1762, and ended the fighting in the Seven Years War between Prussia and Russia. The treaty followed the accession of Emperor Peter III, who admired the Prussian king Frederick the Great and it allowed the latter to concentrate on his other enemies, Austria and Saxony, in what became known as the Miracle of the House of Brandenburg. The treaty was signed on by Chancellor Vorontsov for Russia and for Prussia by its envoy, Russia pledged to assist in concluding peace among the individual participants in the Seven Years War and to return to Prussia all lands occupied by Russian troops during the war. Furthermore, it was agreed that Russia would help Prussia in negotiating a peace with Sweden, Frederick II was so overjoyed, that he ordered Te Deum and fêtes after the signing of the Treaty on May 5. His reason for rejoicing was well merited, for the Tsar promised him assistance of a force of 18,000 men to be used against the Austrian army. The subsequent Treaty of Hubertusburg made peace between Prussia, Austria and Saxony, but though it restored the status quo, marked the ascendancy of Prussia as a leading European power. Two years after the treaty, Prussia and Russia would enter into a defensive alliance
32.
Miracle of the House of Brandenburg
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After the Battle of Kunersdorf, Frederick thought Prussia faced certain defeat. He wrote that it was a cruel reverse, Prussia had lost 19,000 soldiers and was left with 18,000. That day the Russian Field Marshal Saltykov and his army crossed the Oder, Field Marshal Daun was marching the rest of the Austrian army north from Saxony. All three forces aimed to march on Berlin, Frederick massed 33,000 men to defend Berlin against enemy forces which he estimated totalled 90,000. However now came what Frederick called the Miracle of the House of Brandenburg, the Austrians and the Russians proved reluctant to follow through their victory by occupying Berlin, and in September began withdrawing their forces. The Austrians and Russians had lost 20,000 men at Kunersdorf, also, one of Fredericks generals, his brother Prince Henry, was not involved in Kunersdorf and still posed a threat to the Austrians and Russians. By December 1761, after five years of war, the situation for Prussia turned bleak despite several tactical successes. Austrians controlling the hills in Saxony, the Imperials the same in Thuringia, all our fortresses vulnerable in Silesia, in Pomerania, Stettin, Kustrin, even Berlin, during the war the Prussians had lost 120 generals,1,500 officers and over 100,000 men. Most Prussians now supported peace and Frederick was trying to bring the Ottoman Empire into the war and her ally England was pressuring for a peace that would diminish Prussia. Then, in January 1762, Frederick received the news that the Empress Elizabeth of Russia had died on 5 January, morta la Bestia, wrote Frederick on 22 January. Her nephew Peter succeeded her and was an admirer of Frederick the Great. He therefore reversed Elizabeths anti-Prussian policy and negotiated peace with Prussia, with an armistice in March, near the end of World War II in April 1945, Berlin was again encircled, this time by Soviet armies. Says Carlyle, “wait ye a little while, and the days of good fortune stands behind the clouds, and soon will rise upon you. ”On 12 February the Czarina died. After reading this to Hitler, tears stood in the Führers eyes, however Krosigk misquotes Carlyle for the minister was the Count dArgenson rather than Finckenstein. Merely a few later, on April 12th,1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt. Krosigk wrote that We felt the wings of the Angel of History rustle through the room, could this be the long-desired change of fortune. Krosigk records Goebbels as saying that. for reasons of Historical Necessity and Justice, one of the staff officers had somewhat skeptically and ironically asked, What Czarina will die this time. That, Goebbels had replied, he could not say, then he had driven home, and had heard the news of Roosevelts death
33.
Frederick the Great
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Frederick II was King of Prussia from 1740 until 1786, the longest reign of any Hohenzollern king. Frederick was the last titled King in Prussia and declared himself King of Prussia after achieving full sovereignty for all historical Prussian lands, Prussia had greatly increased its territories and became a leading military power in Europe under his rule. He became known as Frederick the Great and was affectionately nicknamed Der Alte Fritz by the Prussian, in his youth, Frederick was more interested in music and philosophy than the art of war. Upon ascending to the Prussian throne, he attacked Austria and claimed Silesia during the Silesian Wars, winning acclaim for himself. Near the end of his life, Frederick physically connected most of his realm by conquering Polish territories in the First Partition of Poland and he was an influential military theorist whose analysis emerged from his extensive personal battlefield experience and covered issues of strategy, tactics, mobility and logistics. Considering himself the first servant of the state, Frederick was a proponent of enlightened absolutism and he modernized the Prussian bureaucracy and civil service and pursued religious policies throughout his realm that ranged from tolerance to segregation. He reformed the system and made it possible for men not of noble stock to become judges. Frederick also encouraged immigrants of various nationalities and faiths to come to Prussia, some critics, however, point out his oppressive measures against conquered Polish subjects during the First Partition. Frederick supported arts and philosophers he favored, as well as allowing complete freedom of the press, Frederick is buried at his favorite residence, Sanssouci in Potsdam. Because he died childless, Frederick was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II, son of his brother, historian Leopold von Ranke was unstinting in his praise of Fredericks Heroic life, inspired by great ideas, filled with feats of arms. Immortalized by the raising of the Prussian state to the rank of a power, Johann Gustav Droysen was even more extolling. However, by the 21st century, a re-evaluation of his legacy as a great warrior, Frederick, the son of Frederick William I and his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, was born in Berlin on 24 January 1712. The birth of Frederick was welcomed by his grandfather, Frederick I, with more than usual pleasure, with the death of his father in 1713, Frederick William became King of Prussia, thus making young Frederick the crown prince. The new king wished for his sons and daughters to be educated not as royalty and he had been educated by a Frenchwoman, Madame de Montbail, who later became Madame de Rocoulle, and he wished that she educate his children. However, he possessed a violent temper and ruled Brandenburg-Prussia with absolute authority. As Frederick grew, his preference for music, literature and French culture clashed with his fathers militarism, in contrast, Fredericks mother Sophia was polite, charismatic and learned. Her father, George Louis of Brunswick-Lüneburg, succeeded to the British throne as King George I in 1714, Frederick was brought up by Huguenot governesses and tutors and learned French and German simultaneously. Although Frederick William I was raised a Calvinist, he feared he was not of the elect, to avoid the possibility of Frederick being motivated by the same concerns, the king ordered that his heir not be taught about predestination
34.
Balance of power (international relations)
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The balance of power theory in international relations suggests that national security is enhanced when military capability is distributed so that no one state is strong enough to dominate all others. Some realists maintain that this would be stable as aggression would appear unattractive. When confronted by a significant external threat, states that look to form alliances may balance or bandwagon, balancing is defined as allying with others against the prevailing threat, while states that have bandwagoned have aligned with the threat. States may also employ other alliance tactics, such as buck-passing and chain-ganging and it resurfaced in Renaissance among the Italian city-states in the 15th century. Discussion of the Florentine activity can be found in De Bello Italico, by Bernardo Rucellai and this was a history of the invasion of Italy by Charles VIII of France, and introduced the phrase balance of power to historical analysis. Universalism, which was the dominant direction of European international relations prior to the Peace of Westphalia, the term gained significance after the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, where it was specifically mentioned. This balance-of-power principle, once formulated, became an axiom of political science, fénelon, in his Instructions, impressed the axiom upon the young Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Burgundy. Frederick the Great, in his Anti-Machiavel, proclaimed the balance of principle to the world. In 1806 Friedrich von Gentz re-stated it with clarity, in Fragments on the Balance of Power. During the greater part of the 19th century, the series of upheavals which remodelled the map of Europe obscured the balance of power. Yet, it all the efforts of diplomacy to stay, or to direct. Regarding the era 1848–1914, English diplomatic historian A. J. P, taylor argued, Europe has known almost as much peace as war, and it has owed these periods of peace to the Balance of Power. No one state has ever been strong enough to eat up all the rest, and the jealousy of the Great Powers has preserved even the small states. However, Taylors argument for the 1848–1914 period did not hold for the period since 1945 and our choice is clear, we are going forward. It was to be pacific, mediating, favourable to a balance which should prevent any power from having a hegemony on the continent or controlling the Channel coasts, in 1579 the first English translation of Francesco Guicciardinis Storia dItalia popularised Italian balance of power theory in England. Statesman Richard Cobden labeled balance of power a chimera due to its meaning, It is not a fallacy, a mistake. The only point on which writers on the balance of power agree is in the delusion that such a system was ever acceded to by the nations of Europe. They imply long, uninterrupted, peaceful and prosperous co-existence, the question of the balance of power might be dismissed from further considerations
35.
Silesia
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Silesia is a region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is about 40,000 km2, and its population about 8,000,000, Silesia is located along the Oder River. It consists of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia, the region is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesias largest city and historical capital is Wrocław, the biggest metropolitan area is the Upper Silesian metropolitan area, the centre of which is Katowice. Parts of the Czech city of Ostrava fall within the borders of Silesia, Silesias borders and national affiliation have changed over time, both when it was a hereditary possession of noble houses and after the rise of modern nation-states. The first known states to hold there were probably those of Greater Moravia at the end of the 9th century. In the 10th century, Silesia was incorporated into the early Polish state, in the 14th century, it became a constituent part of the Bohemian Crown Lands under the Holy Roman Empire, which passed to the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in 1526. Most of Silesia was conquered by Prussia in 1742, later becoming part of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, the varied history with changing aristocratic possessions resulted in an abundance of castles in Silesia, especially in the Jelenia Góra valley. The remaining former Austrian parts of Silesia were partitioned to Czechoslovakia, in 1945, after World War II, the bulk of Silesia was transferred to Polish jurisdiction by the Potsdam Agreement of the victorious Allied Powers and became part of Poland. The small Lusatian strip west of the Oder-Neisse line, which had belonged to Silesia since 1815 and its centres are Görlitz and Bautzen. Most inhabitants of Silesia today speak the languages of their respective countries. The population of Upper Silesia is native, while Lower Silesia was settled by a German-speaking population before 1945, an ongoing debate exists whether Silesian speech should be considered a dialect of Polish or a separate language. Also, a Lower Silesian German dialect is used, although today it is almost extinct and it is used by expellees within Germany, as well as Germans who were left behind. The names all relate to the name of a river and mountain in mid-southern Silesia, the mountain served as a cultic place. Ślęża is listed as one of the numerous Pre-Indo-European topographic names in the region, according to some Polish Slavists, the name Ślęża or Ślęż is directly related to the Old Slavic words ślęg or śląg, which means dampness, moisture, or humidity. They disagree with the hypothesis of an origin for the name Śląsk from the name of the Silings tribe, in the fourth century BC, Celts entered Silesia, settling around Mount Ślęża near modern Wrocław, Oława, and Strzelin. Germanic Lugii tribes were first recorded within Silesia in the 1st century, Slavic peoples arrived in the region around the 7th century, and by the early ninth century, their settlements had stabilized. Local Slavs started to erect boundary structures like the Silesian Przesieka, the eastern border of Silesian settlement was situated to the west of the Bytom, and east from Racibórz and Cieszyn
36.
Treaty of Hubertusburg
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The Treaty of Hubertusburg was signed on 15 February 1763 at Hubertusburg by Prussia, Austria and Saxony. Together with the Treaty of Paris, it marked the end of the Seven Years War, the treaty ended the continental conflict with no significant changes in prewar borders. Silesia remained Prussian, and Prussia clearly stood among the ranks of the great powers, austrias resolve to repossess the rich province of Silesia, which had been lost to Prussia in 1748, was the major conflict leading to the Seven Years War. It was King Frederick the Great of Prussia, however, who initiated the hostilities with his attack, the Seven Years War started in 1756, with Prussia facing the allied forces of Austria, Russia, France, and Sweden. Although in January 1757 the majority of the colleges of the Imperial Diet voted against the move for war, Frederick succeeded in his quest for expanding Prussian influence, power, through the first half of the war, the Prussians continued victorious. In the Battle of Rossbach on 5 November 1757, the Prussian army not only defeated the French and they defeated the Austrians at Leuthen in 1757 and the Russians at Zorndorf in 1758. At this point, however, with Sweden entering the war and virtually all Europe opposing Frederick, by 1759 eastern Prussia was in the hands of the Russians, and Berlin was occupied for some weeks. Austrian forces had invaded Prussia from the south, now seriously running short of soldiers, Frederick II was in a desperate situation. In 1758 the Anglo-Hanoverian army, an ally of Prussia, commanded by Ferdinand of Brunswick, defeated the French, in 1759 Imperial troops invaded Saxony, expelling the Prussians. Two significant factors, however, led to the return of Prussian dominance in the war. One was the support of the British and Hanoverians, both, until this point ineffective combatants, now fought successfully against the French. The second, and more important, was the withdrawal in 1762 of Russia and this occurred as a result of the death of Empress Elizabeth of Russia, her successor, Peter III, an admirer of Frederick, quickly signed a peace treaty with the Prussian leader. By the Treaty of St. Petersburg in 1762 Russia made peace and restored all conquests, now fighting alone in the east, the Austrians were soundly defeated in the Battle of Burkersdorf. The French, too, had suffered severe reverses, the entry of Spain into the war under the terms of the Family Compact of 1761 was of little help to France, where the war had never been popular. After protracted negotiations between the powers, peace was made among Prussia, Austria, and Saxony at Hubertusburg, and among Great Britain, France. The Treaty of Hubertusburg, though it restored the status quo. Through the Treaty of Paris, Great Britain emerged as the chief colonial empire, which was its primary goal in the war. The phrase Hubertsburg Peace is sometimes used as a description for any Treaty which restores the situation existing before conflict broke out
37.
Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
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Duchy of Schleswig
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The region is also called Sleswick in English. Roman sources place the homeland of the Jute tribe north of the river Eider and that of the Angles to its south, who in turn abutted the neighbouring Saxons. During the early Viking Age, Haithabu - Scandinavias biggest trading centre - was located in this region and its construction, and in particular its great expansion around 737, has been interpreted as an indication of the emergence of a unified Danish state. In May 1931 scientists of the National Museum of Denmark announced the finding of eighteen Viking graves with the remains of eighteen men in them, the discovery came during excavations in Schleswig. The skeletons indicated that the men were bigger proportioned than twentieth-century Danish men, each of the graves was laid out from east to west. Researchers surmised that the bodies were entombed in wooden coffins originally, towards the end of the Early Middle Ages, Schleswig formed part of the historical Lands of Denmark as Denmark unified out of a number of petty chiefdoms in the 8th to 10th centuries. The southern boundary of Denmark in the region of the Eider River, the Treaty of Heiligen was signed in 811 between the Danish King Hemming and Charlemagne, by which the border was established at the Eider. During the 10th century there were wars between East Francia and Denmark. In 1027, Conrad II and Canute the Great again settled their mutual border at the Eider. In 1115, king Niels created his nephew Canute Lavard - a son of his predecessor Eric I - Earl of Schleswig, in the 1230s, Southern Jutland was allotted as an appanage to Abel Valdemarsen, Canutes great-grandson, a younger son of Valdemar II of Denmark. Feuds and marital alliances brought the Abel dynasty into a connection with the German Duchy of Holstein by the 15th century. The latter was a subordinate to the Holy Roman Empire. The title Duke of Schleswig was inherited in 1460 by the kings of Norway who were also regularly elected kings of Denmark simultaneously. This was an anomaly – a king holding a ducal title, the title and anomaly survived presumably because it was already co-regally held by the kings sons. Between 1544 and 1713/20 the ducal reign had become a condominium, with the royal House of Oldenburg, a third branch in the condominium, the short-lived House of Haderslev, was already extinct in 1580 by the time of John the Elder. On the west coast the Danish diocese of Ribe stopped about 5 km north of the present border and this line corresponds remarkably well with the present border. In the 17th century a series of wars between Denmark and Sweden—which Denmark lost—devastated the region economically, however the nobility responded with a new agricultural system that restored prosperity. In the period 1600 to 1800 the region experienced the growth of manorialism of the common in the rye-growing regions of eastern Germany
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Pomerania
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Pomerania is a region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. The name derives from the Slavic po more, meaning by the sea, Pomerania stretches roughly from the Recknitz river in the west to the Vistula river in the east. The largest Pomeranian islands are Rügen, Usedom/Uznam and Wolin, the largest Pomeranian city is Gdańsk, or, when using a narrower definition of the region, Szczecin. Outside its urban areas, Pomerania is characterized by farmland, dotted with lakes, forests. The region was affected by post–World War I and II border and population shifts. Pomerania is the area along the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea between the rivers Recknitz in the west and Vistula in the east and it formerly reached perhaps as far south as the Noteć river, but since the 13th century its southern boundary has been placed further north. Most of the region is coastal lowland, being part of the North European Plain, but its southern, hilly parts belong to the Baltic Ridge, within this ridge, a chain of moraine-dammed lakes constitutes the Pomeranian Lake District. The soil is rather poor, sometimes sandy or marshy. The western coastline is jagged, with many peninsulas and islands enclosing numerous bays, Łebsko and several other lakes were formerly bays, but have been cut off from the sea. The easternmost coastline along the Gdańsk Bay and Vistula Lagoon, has the Hel peninsula, the Pomeranian region has the following administrative divisions, Hither Pomerania in northeastern Germany, stretching from the Recknitz river to the Oder–Neisse line. This region is part of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The southernmost part of historical Vorpommern is now in Brandenburg, while its eastern parts are now in Poland. Vorpommern comprises the regions inhabited by Slavic tribes Rugians and Volinians, otherwise the Principality of Rügen. The West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland, stretching from the Oder–Neisse line to the Wieprza river, the Pomeranian Voivodeship, with similar borders to Pomerelia, stretching from the Wieprza river to the Vistula delta in the vicinity of Gdańsk. The northern half of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, comprising most of Chełmno Land, the bulk of Farther Pomerania is included within the modern West Pomeranian Voivodeship, but its easternmost parts now constitute the northwest of Pomeranian Voivodeship. Parts of Pomerania and surrounding regions have constituted a euroregion since 1995, the Pomerania euroregion comprises Hither Pomerania and Uckermark in Germany, West Pomerania in Poland, and Scania in Sweden. Pomerania was first mentioned in a document of 1046, referring to a Zemuzil dux Bomeranorum. Pomerania is mentioned repeatedly in the chronicles of Adam of Bremen, the term West Pomerania is ambiguous, since it may refer to either Hither Pomerania or to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship
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City-state
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A city-state is a sovereign state that consists of a city and its dependent territories. A great deal of consensus exists that the term applies to Singapore, Monaco. A number of small states share similar characteristics, and therefore are sometimes also cited as modern city-states. Occasionally, other states with high population densities, such as San Marino, are also cited. Several non-sovereign cities enjoy a degree of autonomy, and are sometimes considered city-states. Hong Kong and Macau, along with independent members of the United Arab Emirates, most notably Dubai, scholars have classed the Viking colonial cities in medieval Ireland, most importantly Dublin, as city-states. In Cyprus, the Phoenician settlement of Kition was a city-state that existed from around 800 BC until the end of the 4th century BC. The success of regional units coexisting as autonomous actors in loose geographical and cultural unity, as in Italy and Greece. However, such small political entities often survived only for short periods because they lacked the resources to defend themselves against incursions by larger states, thus they inevitably gave way to larger organisations of society, including the empire and the nation-state. In the history of Mainland Southeast Asia, aristocratic groups, Buddhist leaders, the system existed until the 19th century when colonization by European powers, and Thailands resulted in the adoption of the modern concept of statehood. In the Holy Roman Empire the Free Imperial Cities enjoyed a considerable autonomy, some, like the three Hanseatic cities of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, pooled their economic relations with foreign powers and were able to wield considerable diplomatic clout. Under Habsburg rule the city of Fiume had the status of a Corpus separatum, a later city-state, though lacking sovereignty, was West Berlin, being a state legally not belonging to any other state, but ruled by the Western Allies. They allowed – notwithstanding their overlordship as occupant powers – its internal organisation as one state simultaneously being a city, though West Berlin maintained close ties to the West German Federal Republic of Germany, it was legally never part of it. But the idea of leaving the United States proved too radical even in the turmoil of 1861 and was poorly received, the war, and especially conscription, was nevertheless often unpopular in the city, sparking the deadly New York Draft Riots. The neighboring City of Brooklyn, in contrast, was staunchly Unionist, the Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and nearly 200 towns in the surrounding areas. It was created on 15 November 1920 under the terms of Article 100 of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles after the end of World War I. Its territory of 28 km2 comprised the city of Fiume and rural areas to its north, with a corridor to its west connecting it to Italy, the Shanghai International Settlement was an international zone with its own legal system, postal service, and currency. The Klaipėda Region or Memel Territory was defined by the Treaty of Versailles in 1920 when it was put under the administration of the Council of Ambassadors
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Hamburg
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Hamburg, officially Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, is the second largest city in Germany and the eighth largest city in the European Union. It is the second smallest German state by area and its population is over 1.7 million people, and the wider Hamburg Metropolitan Region covers more than 5.1 million inhabitants. The city is situated on the river Elbe, the official long name reflects Hamburgs history as a member of the medieval Hanseatic League, a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire, a city-state, and one of the 16 states of Germany. Before the 1871 Unification of Germany, it was a sovereign state. Prior to the changes in 1919, the civic republic was ruled by a class of hereditary grand burghers or Hanseaten. Though repeatedly destroyed by the Great Fire of Hamburg, the floods and military conflicts including WW2 bombing raids, the city managed to recover and emerge wealthier after each catastrophe. On the river Elbe, Hamburg is a port and a global service, media, logistics and industrial hub, with headquarters and facilities of Airbus, Blohm + Voss, Aurubis, Beiersdorf. The radio and television broadcaster NDR, Europes largest printing and publishing firm Gruner + Jahr, Hamburg has been an important financial centre for centuries, and is the seat of Germanys oldest stock exchange and the worlds second oldest bank, Berenberg Bank. The city is a fast expanding tourist destination for domestic and international visitors. It ranked 16th in the world for livability in 2015, the ensemble Speicherstadt and Kontorhausviertel was declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO in 2015. Hamburg is a major European science, research and education hub with several universities and institutes and its creative industries and major cultural venues include the renowned Elbphilharmonie and Laeisz concert halls, various art venues, music producers and artists. It is regarded as a haven for artists, gave birth to movements like Hamburger Schule. Hamburg is also known for theatres and a variety of musical shows. St. Paulis Reeperbahn is among the best known European entertainment districts, Hamburg is on the southern point of the Jutland Peninsula, between Continental Europe to the south and Scandinavia to the north, with the North Sea to the west and the Baltic Sea to the north-east. It is on the River Elbe at its confluence with the Alster, the city centre is around the Binnenalster and Außenalster, both formed by damming the River Alster to create lakes. The island of Neuwerk and two neighbouring islands Scharhörn and Nigehörn, in the Hamburg Wadden Sea National Park, are also part of Hamburg. The neighbourhoods of Neuenfelde, Cranz, Francop and Finkenwerder are part of the Altes Land region, neugraben-Fischbek has Hamburgs highest elevation, the Hasselbrack at 116.2 metres AMSL. Hamburg has a climate, influenced by its proximity to the coast
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Casus belli
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Casus belli is a Latin expression meaning an act or event that provokes or is used to justify war. Either may be considered an act of war, the term is also used informally to refer to any just cause a nation may claim for entering into a conflict. It attempts to demonstrate that it is going to war only as a last resort, modern international law recognizes only three lawful justifications for waging war, self-defense, defense of an ally required by the terms of a treaty, and approval by the United Nations. Proschema is the equivalent Greek term, first popularized by Thucydides in his History of the Peloponnesian War, the proschemata are the stated reasons for waging war, which may or may not be the same as the real reasons, which Thucydides called prophasis. Thucydides argued that the three primary reasons for waging war are reasonable fear, honor, and interest, while the stated reasons involve appeals to nationalism or fearmongering. Countries need a public justification for attacking another country, both to galvanize support for the war and to gain the support of potential allies. The UN also reserves the right to ask member nations to intervene against non-signatory countries that embark on wars of aggression and this section outlines a number of the more famous and/or controversial cases of casus belli which have occurred in modern times. While slavery was the long term cause of the American Civil War, in the eyes of the United States, the sinking of the USS Maine provided casus belli for the Spanish–American War. There have been several alternative explanations for the explosion, such as proposed by Mr. Evans. Europeans had access to Chinese ports as outlined in the Treaty of Nanking from the First Opium War, France uses the execution of Auguste Chapdelaine as a casus belli for the Second Opium War. On February 29th,1856, Chapdelaine, a French missionary, was killed in the province of Guangxi, in response, British and French forces quickly take control of Guangzhou. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria provided the trigger that led to the outbreak of World War I, in June 1914, the refusal of two points of the July Ultimatum offered to Serbia was used by Austria-Hungary as a casus belli for declaring war on Serbia. The murder at Sarajevo in Bosnia by Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist, Austrian subject, the Russian Empire started to mobilize its troops in defense of its ally Serbia, which resulted in the German Empire declaring war on Russia in support of its ally Austria-Hungary. This telegram was intercepted by the British, then relayed to the U. S. which led to President Woodrow Wilson then using it to convince Congress to join World War I alongside the Allies. The Mexican president at the time, Venustiano Carranza, had a military commission assess the feasibility, in his autobiography Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler had in the 1920s advocated a policy of lebensraum for the German people, which in practical terms meant German territorial expansion into Eastern Europe. Polands allies, the UK and France, subsequently declared war on Germany in accord their alliance. In 1941, acting once again in accordance with the policy of lebensraum, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union also employed a manufactured casus belli against Finland during World War II on its part. In November 1939, shortly after the outbreak of hostilities between Germany, Britain and France, the Soviet Union staged the shelling of the Russian village of Mainila and this manufactured incident was then used as a casus belli for the Winter War
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