History of Latvia: a Brief Survey

The economy of Courland flourished,especially in ship-building andmetallurgy, under the rule of JacobKettler in the mid-1600s.Jacob Kettler (1610-1682), the Duke ofCourland (Kurzeme).A map of James Island in the GambiaRiver estuary and Tobago Island —colonies of Courland in the 17thcentury.The naval flag of the Duchy of Courlandwith the Duchy’s symbol — a lobster.Livonia experienced a notable economic boom. The most successful ruler in the Duchy was Duke Jacob Kettler (1610-1682). Duringthe period of his rule (1642-1682) Kurzeme became a regional power to be reckoned with. He established two colonies: an islandin the estuary of the Gambia River in Africa and Tobago Island in the Caribbean Sea. Both were successful ventures until the end ofJacob’s reign, when the Duchy’s navy fell apart, but the Couronian place names from this period are still evident there today.13