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 The Battle of Narva in 1700. Unknown painter, early 18th c |
Despite a promising start for the Swedes,
the result of the Great Northern War
(1700-21) was predictable. Left alone
to fight against all the great powers
around the Baltic, Sweden could not
defend its overseas provinces against
their combined onslaught. With plague-ridden
Pärnu and Tallinn capitulating in
1710, Estonia was devastated to the
extent that a Russian Field Marshal
could declare bluntly to Peter the Great:
"My Lord, there is nothing left to
destroy."
The country, however, recovered quickly
and witnessed a boom in construction
of grand palaces in the late 18th century.
The Golden Age of the local landlords
whose privileges were even broadened
by the Tsars, meant the aggravation of
corvée and institution of serfdom for
the Estonian peasants. |
The Battle of Narva in 1700. Unknown painter, early 18th c
Rogosi manor in 1795, watercolour by Johann Wilhelm Krause (1757-1828)