another connection!

This time Latvia can be compared to the Spanish Netherlands! Who knew? In Laura's post, she talks about how there was a Protestant revolt against Spain in the Netherlands, which was possible because of Spain's weakening empire but was met, nonetheless, by a Spanish army and was somewhat successful. At first I thought, "Wow, people would never have been so brave in Latvia under soviet rule to act in such a way as the Dutch", but, after some research into the matter, it turns out that a very similar situation occurred in Latvia. This source outlines this very well. Essentially what happened was that Germany finally became free of soviet rule completely thus influencing other nations under soviet rule, including the Baltic states, to make moves towards independence by following reformist leaders. However, the soviet union, not wanting to lose control completely, sent in troops to quell these rebellions, if you will, and were also somewhat successful. However, it was clear that these nations wanted independence and once the USSR collapsed due to internal conflicts and an inability to control all occupied nations, the Latvians did gain their independence and immediately instituted reforms.

I see another connection between Latvia and the Spanish Netherlands in the way they gained their independence. Neither of them really caused their own independence, though both sides fought for it and desperately wanted it. Rather, it was the weakening of the empires that occupied these two countries that allowed them to gain independence. This is kind of a scary position to be in because who is to stop from going into these small, defenseless nations now and just take over them? America gained independence because it proved to be stronger than the opposition, but such is not the case for Latvia or the Spanish Netherlands. These countries, although protected now in many ways, are thus ideal to be occupied by bigger powers, which is probably why they were occupied in the first place. I know that Latvia still lives in fear of another Russian occupation (more on that later), and I don't think that the EU would really do anything to help Latvia if Russia decided to come in. That is the downside of an independence gained in the way it was with Latvia: the constant fear that the same thing can happen again.

I ask Mia, why did Ireland finally gain independence? (If you have already addressed this, my apologies. Link me?)