What is History of Estonia?
The first known settlement in [[Estonia]] of hunters and fishermen is the Bull settlement by the [[Pärnu river]] about 11,000 years ago. During the [[Bronze Age]] there were larger permanent settlements, some with fortifications and there was local metal working. Long distance trade by sea was happening by the second half of the [[1st millennium]]. Northern Estonia belonged to [[Denmark]] in the 14th century. The cities belonged to the [[Hanseatic League]]. Richer people spoke [[Low German language|Low German]], but people in the country spoke Estonian. Wars swept over the country at the end of the Middle Ages: * [[Livonian War]] (1558–1583) * Swedish-Polish Wars (1600–1629) * Russo-Swedish War (1656–1661) * [[Great Northern War|Northern War]] (1700–1721) From 1720 to 1917 Estonia was part of the [[Russian Empire]], but it was mostly run by [[Baltic Germans]]. They owned most of the land and businesses, controlled the [[serfs]], and dominated all the cities. There was a brief independence in 1917 after the start of the [[Russian revolution]]. In 1918 the [[Red Army]] invaded. The [[Estonian War of Independence]] was ended in February 1920. The [[Treaty of Tartu (Estonia–Russia)|Treaty of Tartu]] was signed by the Republic of Estonia and the [[Russian SFSR]]. {{History of Europe by country}} [[Category:History of Estonia| ]]