Estonians are among the world’s oldest peoples, having continuously inhabited their land for thousands of years. Experts estimate that Estonians have lived on their land for between 5,000 and 8,000 years.

From approximately 6,000 B.C. until 1208 A.D., Estonians were independent, successfully fending off attacks from outsiders while building wealth. Their long coastline was a defensive advantage.

In 1201, German merchants and missionaries established a trading post in Riga, south of Estonia, in the land of the ethnically kindred Livonians. They noted the region’s wealth and saw vast opportunities.

With the blessing of Pope Innocent III, the German bishop Albert assembled a mercenary army to conquer the region. “The Baltic Crusade” was launched on the pretext of bringing Christianity to the heathens.

Attacks on Estonia began in 1208, a time when Estonia’s population was around 175,000. The invasion lasted nineteen years, with Estonia assaulted by German mercenaries from the south, Danes from the north, Swedes from the west, and Slavs from the east. Primarily farmers and fishermen who assembled militias only when needed, the Estonians were no match for four professional armies with superior weaponry.

“Baltic Germans”, the descendants of these original occupiers, controlled the land for centuries, even though Estonian rule passed from Germans and Danes to Swedes and Poles, and finally to the Russians in 1721. Throughout these occupations, the Baltic Germans formed the local ruling bureaucracy, while native Estonians essentially remained serfs.

By the 1860s, Estonia’s “Great Awakening” had begun. This period marked a time of increased interest in Estonia’s language, literature, art, and music. During this decade, the national epic "Kalevipoeg" was published, and the poet and playwright Lydia Koidula penned numerous works honoring Estonia. The first song festival (Laulupidu) was held in 1869.

"The Great Awakening" expressed an increasing desire among Estonians for national self-determination. That desire built until Estonia declared independence in 1918.

(Acknowledgment: The history presented here draws from Ago Koerv’s "An Introduction to Estonia".)