Abstract
The name Latvia derives from latvis, a ‘forest clearer’. Human inhabitation dates from around 9000 BC and the Balts (or proto-Balts) probably arrived around 2000 BC. In addition to the Finnic predecessors of the Estonians and Livs, four Baltic tribal groups emerged during the Iron Age: the Couronians (Kurši), Selonians (Sēļi), Semigallians (Zemgaļi) and Latgallians (Latgaļi). Linguistic evidence points to the habitation of central Latvia by Latgallians and Lithuanians while coastal areas were populated by Couronians, Semigallians, Selonians and Prussians. The north of the country, occupied mainly by Finnic Livs, was separated by sparsely inhabited areas, which accounts for the lack of cultural mixing between the ethnic groupings.
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Further Reading
Central Statistical Bureau. Statistical Yearbook of Latvia.—Latvia in Figures. Annual.
Dreifeld, J., Latvia in Transition. Riga, 1997
Lieven, A., The Baltic Revolution: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Path to Independence. 2nd ed. Yale Univ. Press, 1994
Misiunas, R. J. and Taagepera, R., The Baltic States: the Years of Dependence, 1940–91. 2nd ed. Farnborough, 1993
O’Connor, Kevin, The History of the Baltic States. Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport, Connecticut, 2003
Smith, David J., Purs, Aldis, Pabriks, Artis and Lane, Thomas, (eds.) The Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Routledge, London, 2002
Who is Who in Latvia. Riga, 1996
National Statistical Office: Central Statistical Bureau, Lācplēša ielā l, 1301 Riga.
Website: http://www.csb.lv/
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© 2008 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Turner, B. (2008). Latvia. In: Turner, B. (eds) The Statesman’s Yearbook. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-74027-7_204
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-74027-7_204
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