Origin and understanding of the geographical term “Baltics”: historical evidence from the 19th and 20th century

Raimonds Ceruzis

University of Latvia, Faculty of History and Philosophy, Department of History and Archaeology

DOI: 10.22364/fg.20.2.10

Keywords: Baltic, Baltics, identity, toponym, ethnonym, history

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explain the historical origin, development and understanding of the geographical term “Baltic” or “Baltics”. A wide range of local and foreign historical sources have been used for the study. Applied historical sources show the use of term by different ethnic groups in local society as well as abroad. Events of two centuries are marking a different trend in the semantical content of the term. The results of the study show that period of the rule of Russian Empire over the Baltics is closely connected with a rather narrow understanding of the concept, which was formed by the elite of local German-speakers, and related to areas inhabited by Baltic Germans, Estonians and Latvians. Later periods were marked by changes related to the period of independent Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the period of their occupation, and the period after the restoration of their independence. These periods of history strengthened a broader understanding of the term associated with the three Baltic States.