Why were ethnic Germans *much* more successful at colonizing East Prussia than they were at colonizing Latvia & Estonia?

[Futurist]

I previously asked this question on Historum. However, I feel that this question should be asked here as well:

Why were ethnic Germans *much* more successful at colonizing East Prussia than they were at colonizing present-day Latvia and Estonia?

After all, by 1900, central East Prussia appears to have become overwhelmingly German-majority for both the cities and the countryside:



Meanwhile, other than in large cities such as Riga and Reval/Tallinn (where ethnic Germans made up more than one-third of the total population in the mid-19th century), I don't think that ethnic Germans ever made up those kinds of percentages among the total rural population of present-day Latvia and Estonia.

Anyway, what exactly do you think are the causes of this difference between East Prussia and both Latvia and Estonia in regards to this?

Any thoughts on this?

[Futurist]

Also, it is worth noting that the ethnically German Teutonic Knights did, in fact, control both Latvia and Estonia for several centuries during the Middle Ages:



Indeed, the ethnic Germans in both Latvia and Estonia simply failed to Germanize the local population there to anywhere near the same extent that the local population (specifically the Baltic Prussians) in East Prussia were Germanized.

[ManfredV]

Im not a historian. But my explanation is:
"Germanization" or with other words mixing of population and "victory" of german language and culture in East Prussia lasted many centuries. At least in 19th centrury and even till 1945 masurian and polish speaking people lived there. In East Prussia much more settlers from HRR / Western parts of Germany immigrated than in Latvia and Estonia. They settled as farmes all over the country. In the Baltic Germans were f.e.merchands, urban dwellers, upper classes etc. but not so many ruralists, farmers etc. Migration from Germany came from west to east, so they settled first in Pommeria, East Prussia etc., not so many went more eastward to Latvia and Estonia.
And: in 16th century East Prussia first became a Hohenzollern duchy and later was corportated with Brandenburg. Although it was not part of HRR it was part of "german" area. In the Baltic Teutonic Order lost control and these area fell to Sweden and later Russia. So there was no more chance or need for a germanization.
Who were "ethnic Germans"? In medieval times Germans were established as a mixture of germanics, slavs, celtic etc. So the question could be: why were german language, culture and policy mure successful in East Prussia than in the Baltic?

[Piotr Kapuscinski]

Between the 1400s and the 1800s large parts of East Prussia had ethnically Lithuanian and Polish majorities.

1) This area was known as Lithuania Minor (Kleinlitauen) and had Lutheran Lithuanian-speaking majority:

Counties: Gumbinnen, Insterburg, Niederung, Heydekrug, Tilsit, Ragnit, Darkehmen, Stallupönen, Memel, Labiau and Pillkallen

2) This area had Lutheran Polish-speaking majority and was known as Masuria (Masuren):

Counties: Ortelsburg, Johannisburg, Neidenburg, Lyck, Lötzen, Sensburg, Oletzko, Osterode, Angerburg

In counties Rosenberg, Rastenburg and Mohrungen Polish-speakers were in minority.

The county of Goldap was ethnically mixed Lithuanian-Polish (and later also Germanization occured there).

3) This area had Catholic Polish-speaking majority, Southern Warmia (Ermland):

Counties: Allenstein, Rössel

4) The remaining areas had German-speaking majority already before the 19th century, those were:

a) Catholic Germans:

Northern Warmia (Ermland), counties of Braunsberg and Heilsberg

b) Protestant Germans:

Pr. Holland, Mohrungen, Heiligenbeil, Pr. Eylau, Friedland, Gerdauen, Wehlau, Königsberg, Fischhausen

The Kurische Nehrung (Curonian Spit) was inhabited by Latvian-speaking people (Kuršininkai).

As for the original, Old Prussian population:

Old Prussian language got extinct at the beginning of the 18th century. The last speakers of Old Prussian lived in the Sambia Peninsula (Samland), which is roughly the same region as county Fischhausen, plus northern and eastern parts of county Königsberg.

====================================================

Year - number and percent of Lithuanian-speakers in East Prussia:

late 1810s - 200,000 (18,52% of the population of East Prussia)
1825 - 139,268 (12,13% of the total population of East Prussia)
1837 - 148,301 (11,49%)
1848 - 150,580 (10,26%)
1871 - 139,450 (7,65%)
1878 - 131,415 (6,91%)
1890 - 121,345 (6,19% of the total population of East Prussia)

Figure for the 1810s is an estimate published in year 1825. Other figures are from official German census data.

Year - number and percent of Polish-speakers in East Prussia:

late 1810s - 280,000 (25,93% of the population of East Prussia)
1825 - 252,824 (22,02%)
1837 - 264,559 (20,49% of the total population of East Prussia)

As with Lithuanians, the first figure is an 1825 estimate, other figures are official census data.

It seems that before 1861 in census data bilinguals (Polish-German or Lithuanian-German) were counted as Germans.

I have also numbers for other years, but for each county separately, and I haven't added them together yet.

Data on Polish-speakers in Masuria (but not in Catholic Warmia) can be found here (in German):

http://www.zfo-online.de/index.php/zfo/ ... le/134/134

As for Warmia (Ermland):

According to German author von Haxthausen (who quoted census data), there were 32,311 Polish-speakers in Warmia in 1825. According to "Gazeta Olsztyńska" (published in Allenstein) from 14.05.1886, there were 60,000 Poles in Warmia at that time.

masurian and polish speaking people lived there.

Masurian = Polish. It the same dialect of Polish which is spoken in Mazovia (hence the name Mazovian/Masurian).

The difference was that Poles in Masuria were Lutheran (since the late 16th and 17th centuries), not Catholic.

Prussian Lithuanians in Klein Litauen were also Lutheran. Poles in Warmia, however, have been Catholic.

[Piotr Kapuscinski]

Here a map illustrating what I wrote in my previous post (it shows majority groups by county):

(but I forgot to show Latvian-speakers in the Curonian Spit while making this map):

Click the map to enlarge it:

However, the Polish Party (Polenpartei) managed to win elections only in Catholic Warmia, not in Evangelical Masuria:



Compare the map of election results in 1893 (above) with the map of religious groups in 1910 (below):

[Piotr Kapuscinski]

I have recently bought these two books and found the answer for your question there:

- D. Leśniewska, "German Colonization and Colonization on the German Law in Medieval Bohemia & Moravia in the Light of Historiography"
- Jan M. Piskorski, "The Rural Colonization of Western Pomerania in the 13th Century and at the Beginning of the 14th Century..."

Piskorski on page 223 writes, that no German peasants settled in Latvia and Estonia.

[Futurist]

Piskorski on page 223 writes, that no German peasants settled in Latvia and Estonia.

OK. However, why exactly was this the case?

[Piotr Kapuscinski]

Piskorski on page 223 writes, that no German peasants settled in Latvia and Estonia.

OK. However, why exactly was this the case?

He doesn't write why, but in footnote he gives references to four German books, maybe some of them explain why?:

- Johansen, "Siedlungsforschung", p. 217+
- Hellmann, "Lettenland", p. 90, p. 236+
- Hubatsch, "Dt. Siedlung", p. 117+
- Wittram, "Gesch.", p. 22