CHAPTER 6. Upheavals: The Livonian War and the Polish Interlude

Abstract

This chapter examines the tumultuous era that began with the failed Muscovite advance toward Riga. It continues through four decades of Polish rule (1581–1621). By this time, the demise of the archbishopric and of the Livonian Order during the Livonian War (1558–1582) left Riga and the territory of Livonia vulnerable to the ambitions of aggressive regional powers. Whatever the disagreements among the great powers of the Baltic Sea, all understood that a secure and prosperous Riga would add considerably to the fortunes of whomever controlled it. This era of alien occupation and of religious and political strife is illustrated by a close examination of Riga's unique “Calendar Upheavals” of the 1590s.