Baltic: A New History of the Region

A vivid and fascinating history of the Baltic Region for the general reader

In this long-needed history of the people and nations surrounding the Baltic Sea, we pass through the legendary castles of Elsinore and Halsingborg to enter a unique landscape and culture. Alan Palmer traces the history of the Baltic region from its early Viking days and its time under the Byzantine Empire through its medieval prime when the Baltic Sea served as one of Europe's central trading grounds. Palmer addresses both the strong nationalist sentiments that have driven Baltic culture and the early attempts at Baltic unification by Sweden and Russia. "The Baltic" also dissects the politics and culture of the region in the twentieth century, when it played multiple historic roles: it was the Eastern Front in the First World War; the setting of early uprisings in the Russian Revolution; a land occupied by the Nazis during the Second World War; and, until very recently, a region dominated by the Soviets. In the twenty-first century, increasing attention has been focused on the Baltic states as they grow into their own in spite of growing neo-imperialist pressure from post-Soviet Russia. In "The Baltic" Alan Palmer provides readers with a detailed history of the nations and people that are now poised to emerge as some of Europe's most vital democracies.

Preface		vii
Maps		ix
Author's Note		xiv
Alternative Place Names		xv
1 Sentinels Above the Sound		1	(14)
2 Peoples on the Move		15	(5)
3 The Viking East		20	(10)
4 Pagans and Piasts		30	(8)
5 Holy Warriors and Hanse Merchants		38	(13)
6 The Rise and Fall of Marienburg		51	(7)
7 Ships, Pirates and Adventurers		58	(7)
8 The Chimera of Kalmar		65	(12)
9 Muscovy and Wittenberg		77	(19)
10 Lion of the North		96	(19)
11 Nemesis at Poltava		115	(22)
12 Imperial Russia in the Ascendant		137	(20)
13 Thunder from the South		157	(26)
14 Peaceful Change?		183	(15)
15 Black, Red and Gold		198	(8)
16 Bombarding Bomarsund		206	(9)
17 Finns, Poles and Danes		215	(10)
18 Towards Democracy		225	(5)
19 National Pride		230	(11)
20 The Last Years of the Long Peace		241	(11)
21 Emperors at War, 1914--17		252	(19)
22 Revolution and Independence		271	(22)
23 Nine Nations and a Free City		293	(17)
24 Hitler's Challenge		310	(16)
25 Nazi-Soviet Partnership		326	(23)
26 Nazi-Soviet War		349	(26)
27 Tragedy of Victory		375	(18)
28 Baltic Way		393	(14)
Royal Chronology		407	(5)
Notes and Select Bibliography		412	(17)
Index		429

Alan Palmer was educated at Oriel College, Oxford, and is the author of 'The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire', 'The Dictionary of the British Empire and Commonwealth', and 'Victory 1918'. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1980.