Partnership. Integration. Incorporation. To The Question Of Livonia And Lithuania Economic Relations

Abstract

The struggle for control over the Baltic Sea, which flared up in the 16th century, left a contradictory trace in the history of the Baltic states. On the one hand, it launched the processes of the formation of new state models, and on the other hand, the decline to an internal crisis and the decline of states, one of which was the so-called Old Livonia. In addition to Russia, Sweden and Denmark, the Polish-Lithuanian state, which had a long and rich history of relations with the Livonian Confederation, took a special part in the division of the Livonian heritage. The Lithuanian and Polish markets organically supplemented the Baltic transit trade, acting as a raw material supplier in exchange for access to imported goods from other countries. The desire to secure the best sales conditions for ourselves, as well as the desire to establish control over trade with hostile Russia, de facto lead to the introduction of the Livonian lands into the sphere of influence of the Polish-Lithuanian sovereigns and a safe economic merger, which took place even before the start of the Livonian War. The economic relations of Livonia and Poland-Lithuania have a noticeable impact on the development of economic relations of foreign policy, which adopted integration, coupled with the above offensive at the local level, which led to the inclusion of the lands of the Livonian Order in the Jagiellonian possessions.