The rule of Duke James (Jacob) Kettler, lasting almost forty years, is perceived as the Duchy’s “golden age”, but there are, as yet, only a very few academic studies of this period which utilize the historical sources. It would be hard to find any other theme in the portrayal of Latvia’s history where the truth has become so closely interwoven with fantasy.
Duke James of Courland and Semigallia (in short the Duke of Courland) was born in Goldingen/Kuldīga on 28 October 1610. After his mother Sophie (1582–1610), daughter of the Duke of Prussia, died in childbirth, his father William (Wilhelm, 1574–1640), who was the younger son of Gotthard, the first Duke of Courland, never re-married, and in 1612 sent his only son to live with his mother’s relatives in Germany. James returned to Courland in 1624, at the invitation of his uncle Frederick (Friedrich, 1569–1642). Meanwhile, William was living in exile in Pomerania, having lost his right to the throne in 1616, because of a conflict with the duchy’s nobility. Since Frederick’s marriage to Elisabeth Magdalena (1580–1649), Princess of Pomerania-Wolgast, produced no children, in 1633 he achieved the recognition by Poland-Lithuania of James as heir to his throne. In 1638, James became co-ruler with Duke Frederick, and after Frederick’s death in 1642 he obtained full powers as ruler of the duchy.
James sought to consolidate his power as duke by economic means. Accordingly, from the first years of his rule, he purposefully involved himself in international commerce, engaging in trade with the produce of his estates and striving to direct through Courland a large section of the transit trade coming from regions further to the east. James was untiring in his efforts to build up a fleet, establish various manufactories and join the process of world colonization. However, all of his plans and endeavours fell to ruin in 1658–1660, when the lands of the duchy suffered from warfare, and James himself was taken prisoner by the Swedes. On his release, the duke recommenced his activities, but the pre-war level was never re-attained. James died on 31 December 1681, leaving to his son Frederick Casimir (Friedrich Casimir, 1650–1698) a rather challenging political and economic legacy.
The rich corpus of historical evidence held at the Latvian State Historical Archives (LVVA) not only makes it possible to trace the various spheres of activity of Duke James as ruler but also provides an insight into the duke’s family life and reveals aspects of his personality. The exhibition presents, in the form of scanned documents, sources that have previously been available to researchers as well as new discoveries that reveal hitherto unknown historical facts.
Historical Sources
Latvian State Historical Archives (LNA LVVA)
- Documents on the history of the Baltic (collection 7363)
- Archive of the Courland Nobility (collection 640)
- Archive of the Dukes of Courland (collection 554)
- Collection of the Courland Society for Literature and Art (collection 5759)
- Documents collection of the Institute of Latvian History (collection 4060)
- Archives of the noble families (collection 1100)
- Parchment and paper documents (collection 5561)
- Collection of the Riga Historical and Antiquarian Society (collection 4038)
- External archive of the Riga Magistracy (collection 673)
- Map and plan collection (collection 6828)
- Documents of the estates of Livonia, Courland and Estonia (collection 6999)
Prussian Secret State Archives, Berlin (Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz)
Military Archives in Stockholm (Krigsarkivet i Stockholm)
Bauska Castle Museum collections
Internet resources