Attempts by non-Germans to obtain burgher rights in Riga in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries

Anita Čerpinska

Journal of Baltic Studies, 2020, vol. 51, issue 4, 569-586

Abstract: The article deals with two unsuccessful attempts by non-German craftsmen to gain burgher rights in Riga, which would have entitled them to trade freely and keep taverns. In the early modern period, burghers and non-Germans belonged to two linguistically and legally distinct groups. People who applied for burgher rights represented the wealthy segment of the non-German group. Riga Town Council and the influential German merchants were opposed to the idea of non-Germans joining the ranks of the burghers. Their arguments for preventing it included damage to the burghers’ reputation, the origins of non-Germans, and their lack of trading skills. The situation was also influenced by issues relating to the consolidation of Baltic German society and attempts by the Russian government to improve the integration of the Baltic provinces.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1080/01629778.2020.1814366

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