Duchy of Courland, Semigallia and Pilten | |||||||||
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| 1812–1812 | |||||||||
.svg) Coat of arms | |||||||||
 Map of Courland from 1820. | |||||||||
| Status | Short-lived unrecognizedclient state of theFrench Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Jelgava | ||||||||
| Common languages | German,Latvian,French | ||||||||
| Demonym | Curonian | ||||||||
| Governor-General | |||||||||
• 1812 | Jacques David Martin de Campredon | ||||||||
| Head of Government | |||||||||
• 1812 | Karl Johann Friedrich von Medem | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early modern period | ||||||||
• Established | 1 August 1812 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 20 December 1812 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Latvia | ||||||||
TheDuchy of Courland, Semigallia and Pilten[a] was a short-lived unrecognizedclient state of theFirst French Empire in theBaltics, mostly comprisingCourland andSemigallia in modern-dayLatvia. It was founded on 1 August 1812, during theFrench invasion of Russia, from the territory of theCourland Governorate, and existed until 20 December 1812. Its capital was set inJelgava.
On 19 June 1812, during theFrench invasion of Russia, on the territories of modern-dayBelarus andLithuania occupied by the French troops, was founded the client state of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania. On 9 July 1812, emperorNapoleon Bonaparte declared inVilnius his intention of restoring historicalDuchy of Courland and Semigallia and theDuchy of Livonia. On 18 July, the10th Corps of theGrand Army, commanded by marshalÉtienne Macdonald, have occupied the town ofBauska, and the next day, it have deafted the Russian troops in thebattle of Ekau. On 20 July, the administration of theCourland Governorate, including its governorFriedrich Wilhelm von Sivers, had fled the territory.[1][2]
On 1 August 1812, a decree was issued, announcing the formation of the Duchy of Courland, Semigallia and Pilten, with the capital inJelgava, and the boundaries of the former governorate.Karl Johann Friedrich von Medem was elected as the head of government, withDiedrich Ernst von Schöppingk and Wilhelm Rüdiger becoming his advisers, and Georg Benedict von Engelhardt being appointed theprosecutor. On 26 August, by the order of dukeHugues-Bernard Maret, in Jelgava andLiepāja were established French consulates. On 8 October, generalJacques David Martin de Campredon was appointed as theGovernor-General of Courland.[1][2]
On 28 November, marshal Macdonald received news of the retreat of Napoleon's main forces from Russia and ordered his troops to withdraw from Courland. He himself left on 5 December, while the French-appointed officials left on 7 December. The state ceased to exist on 20 December, with the departure of the French forces. Its territory was reincorporated into Russia as the Courland Governorate.[1][2]
| Sister republics |
|  Europe at the height of Napoleon's Empire | |||||||||||
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| Napoleonic creations |
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