Livland
Livland
the German name for Livonia. From the second half of the 16th century, after the collapse of the Livonian confederation, Livland encompassed the southern part of present-day Estonia and northern Latvia as far as the Daugava River. The country was a dependency of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
After the Truce of Altmark in 1629, southern Estonia and the contiguous part of Latvia as far south as the Daugava River and its tributary, the Aiviekste River, became a province under Swedish rule (Lettish, Vidzeme; Estonian, Liivimaa). By the Treaty of Nystadt in 1721, Livland was incorporated into Russia as the Province of Livonia. After the Great October Socialist Revolution, the southern part of the province became part of Latvia, and the northern part was incorporated into Estonia. The population of the region consists of Letts and Estonians.