Esthonia

Esthonia, called by the natives Wiroma, the most northerly of the Baltic provinces of Russia, is bounded E. by the river Narova, S. by Livonia, W. and N. by the Baltic, with an area of 7818 sq. m. It constitutes a broad flat ridge extending from west to east, with a very gentle slope towards Livonia, but a terrace-like steeper declivity next the Gulf of Finland. A large part of the surface is covered with forests, moors, and small lakes; rivers are numerous, but mostly small and sluggish in flow; erratic boulders of granite are common everywhere. The climate is changeable, and often very hot in summer and very cold in winter. Agriculture is the chief occupation of the people, the principal crops being rye, oats, barley, and potatoes. The coastal waters are rich in fish, especially anchovies. A large quantity of brandy is made, and some cotton spun and wool woven. The chief town is Revel (q.v.), the principal port. The population (404,709 in 1895) consists of two divisions, the Esths and the Esthlanders. The latter are a mixed race of immigrants, the German element strongly preponderating. German, which was until quite recently the official language and the language of the educated classes, is now being superseded by Russian, the use of the latter tongue having been made compulsory in all places of instruction by a decree of May 1887. The Esths, a people of Finnish race, constitute the peasantry, some 290,000 in number, and the original possessors of the soil. About 440,000 of this people are also found in Livonia, and 11,500 more in the governments of St Petersburg, Pskov, and Vitebsk. In spite of six centuries of slavery to their German lords, the Esths have preserved their national characteristics almost unaltered—language, customs, clothing, dwelling, physical attributes. There are two principal dialects, Dorpat and Revel Estonian, which differ considerably. The people have a well-supported newspaper press, and excellent national songs, closely resembling those of the Kalevala. See Neuss, Esthnische Volkslieder (Revel, 1850-52, and St Petersburg, 1854); Kalewi Poëg, edited by Kreutzwald (Dorpat, 1857); and Jannsen's Esthnische Märchen (1881-88). In religion they are mostly Lutherans, though the Russians are making strenuous efforts to bring them over to the Greek Church; superstitious beliefs are widely prevalent. Esthonia was conquered by Waldemar II. of Denmark in 1219; but in 1346 it was sold to the Teutonic Knights, and incorporated with Livonia. From 1561 it belonged to Sweden, until in 1710 it was seized by Peter the Great, who definitively united it to his own dominions by the treaty of Nystad in 1721. Serfdom was abolished in Livonia in 1816, and in Esthonia in 1819.