Lithuania proper

Evolution of the term

Before the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

A few Baltic confederations from the second half of the 12th century and the 13th century are known.

Historians designate Lithuania proper (or the Land of Lithuania in a narrow sense) as a Lithuanian land that existed prior to Grand Duchy of Lithuania, near other lands: Land of Nalšia, Land of Deltuva, Land of Upytė. According to Henryk Łowmiański, Lithuania proper was in the nucleus of future Trakai Voivodeship between rivers: Nemunas, Neris and Merkys. Tomas Baranauskas suggests that Lithuania proper was around Ašmena area, ethnic Lithuanian lands in modern Belarus. According to Belarusian writer Mikola Yermalovich (although his reliability is questioned by scholars) Lithuania (, literary: Lithuania of chronicles) was in the upper Nemunas region, now in modern Belarus.

In the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Scholars often use the term Lithuania proper to refer to lands inhabited by ethnic Lithuanians as opposed to lands controlled by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania inhabited by Ruthenians (ancestors of modern Belarusians and Ukrainians), Poles, Lithuanian Jews or many other nationalities. Already during the Grand Duchy times, Lithuania proper was a term designated to land where Lithuanians live. Administratively, it consisted of Vilnius Voivodeship, Trakai Voivodeship and the Duchy of Samogitia. This division continued even after the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was partitioned. Thus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was divided into the historical regions Samogitia (literally Lower Lithuania), Lithuania proper and Ruthenia.

Eastern part of Lithuania Propria

For centuries, eastern and southern lands of this territory, that had direct contacts with Ruthenia and Poland, initially inhabited by ethnic Lithuanians were slowly Ruthenised, Polonised and Russified, and the Lithuanian-speaking territory shrunk. Eastern parts of Lithuania Propria suffered heavy population losses during the Deluge, and further on during the Great Northern War and following plague epidemic in 1710–1711. Subsequent immigration of Ruthenians and Poles into these territories accelerated the process. A significant push to the de-Lithuanisation ensued when Lithuania became a part of the Russian Empire, and especially, after Lithuanian language books were forbidden to print in Latin letters in 1864. The process continued at the time of Polish rule, as Lithuanian language schools and libraries were closed, and later under Soviet rule, as no Lithuanian schools were in these territories at all. Nowadays significant "islands" of Lithuanian-speaking people remain in eastern and southern parts of Lithuania proper (modern Belarus (see and in Grodno Region) and Poland (see Punskas in Podlaskie Voivodeship). Many people of these territories now speaking Belarusian still refer to themselves as Lithuanians.

File:LithuaniaHistory.png|Map showing territorial changes of Lithuania from the 13th century to the present day File:Lithuanian language in the 16th century.png|Area of the Lithuanian language in the 16th century File:Litvania map 1570.png|Lithuania on a 1570 map File:Carte des Estats de Suede, de Dannemarq, et de Pologne; sur la Mer Baltique.jpg|Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1700 with Samogitia (Samogitie), Lithuania proper (Vraye Lithuanie) and Lithuanian White Ruthenia (Russie Blanche ou Lituanique) File:Nicolas de Fer, Les êtates de la couronne de Pologne (FL35472138 2572223).jpg|1716 map of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with Lithuania proper (Vraye Lithuanie) File:Regni Poloniae Magnique Ducatus Lithuaniae (3741150) (cropped).jpg|Map of Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1720 with Lithuania proper File:Karta över Polen, från 1700-talet - Skoklosters slott - 97979.tif|18th century map of Poland–Lithuania with Lithuania proper File:Polonia and Lithuania at the time of Augustus II the Strong.jpg|1733 map of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the time of Augustus II the Strong with Lithuania proper File:Nicolas de Fer, Carte pour l'inteligence des affaires presente des Turcs des Tartares, de Hongrois, des Polonois, des Suedois, et des Moscovites (FL36380653 2622070).jpg|Map of northern, central and eastern Europe in 1737 with Lithuania proper (Lithuanie Particuliere) File:Mappa Geographica Regni Poloniae ex novissimis quotquot sunt mappis specialibus composita et al L.L. Stereographicae projectionis revocata a Tob. Mayero. . . . MDCCLXXIII.jpg|1773 map of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with Lithuania proper File:Poland map (1814).jpg|1814 map of the partitioned Commonwealth with Lithuania proper (Duchy of Lithuania) File:Mapa Polski za panowania Jana III Sobieskiego wydana z okazji 200 rocznicy odsieczy wiedenskiej.jpg|1883 map of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth with Lithuania proper (Litwa) File:Poland at the end of the 14th century.jpg|1886 map of Poland and Lithuania during the 14th century with Lithuania proper (Litauen) File:C. 1560 Poland and Lithuania.jpg|1888 map of Poland and Lithuania circa 1560, before the Union of Lublin (1569) with Lithuania proper File:Borders of Poland before 1660 (128904766).jpg|1890 map of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1660 and 1667 with Lithuania proper File:439 of 'Geografija arba Żemēs Apraszymas. Pagal Geikie, Nalkowskį ir kitus. Sutaise szernas' (11290675693).jpg|1899 map of Lithuania Proper (Lietuva tikroji) from a Lithuanian language atlas "Geografija arba Żemēs Apraszymas. Pagal Geikie, Nalkowskį ir kitus. Sutaise szernas". File:Poland in 1770s-1790s (partitions).jpg|1910 map from the Historical Atlas of Poland with Lithuania proper (Litwa) File:Litauen BV044875323.jpg|1918 ethnographic map of Balts by the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies with Lithuania proper and Lithuanian Ruthenia File:Lithuanian state - project - 1920 AD.jpg|A territorial project of Lithuania in 1920 with Vilnius Voivodeship, Trakai Voivodeship and Samogitian Eldership listed under Lithuania Proper

Modern developments

At the end of World War I, the Council of Lithuania declared an independent Lithuanian state re-established in the ethnic Lithuanian lands.

After negotiations with Bolshevik Russia, a large part of Lithuania proper was acknowledged by Soviets as part of the Lithuanian Republic by signing the Soviet-Lithuanian Treaty of 1920. Some of these territories were also claimed by the Second Republic of Poland. This led to series of military conflicts and eventually to war.

In 1943, Antanas Smetona (in exile at the time) began working on a study "Lithuania Propria". The book was dedicated to the history of Lithuanian lands before Polonisation, Russification, and Germanisation, hoping that it would help to substantiate a claim to unreturned territories in a peace conference after World War II. His work was left unfinished, and for a long time was available only as a manuscript and was virtually unknown.

Currently the Republic of Lithuania has no territorial claims.

Notes

References

Sources

References

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2. "Legacy of Medieval Lithuania".
3. "Baltų žemių konfederacijos".
4. "Lietuvių žemių konfederacija".
5. "Nalšia".
6. "Deltuva".
7. "Upytė".
8. "Lietuva".
9. Baranauskas, Tomas. (2002). "Kur buvo Lietuvos žemė?". Lituanistica.
10. Gudavičius, Edvardas. (1996). "Following the Tracks of a Myth". Lithuanian Historical Studies.
11. Насевіч В.Л. Працэс утварэння Вялікага княства Літоўскага (13-14 стст.) // Актуальныя пытанні гісторыі Беларусі ад старажытных часоў да нашых дзён. Мн., 1992. С. 54-63.
12. Виктор Верас. "Карта летапiснай Лiтвы".
13. Виктор Верас. "У истоков исторической правды / Летописи о местонахождении Литвы".
14. Venclova, Tomas. "Native Realm Revisited: Mickiewicz's Lithuania and Mickiewicz in Lithuania".
15. Ochmański, Jerzy. (1981). "Litewska granica etniczna na wschodzie od epoki plemiennej do XVI wieku". Wydawn. Nauk. Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza.
16. {{in lang. lt Viduramžių Lietuva {{usurped
17. (2005). "LDK idėjos likimas XX a. Lietuvos bei Baltarusijos valstybingumų dirvoje". Naujasis Židinys-Aidai.
18. "Poloniae Regnum ut et Magni Ducatus Lithuaniae Accuratiss".
19. Savukynas, Viriginijus. (2003). "Etnokonfesiniai santykiai Pietryčių Lietuvoje istorinės antropologijos aspektu". Kultūrologija.
20. Smetona, Antanas. "Lithuania Propria". Darbai ir dienos.
21. Aleksandravičius, Egidijus. "Istorija ir politika". Darbai ir dienos.
22. {{in lang. itClaudio Carpini, ''Storia della Lituania: identità europea e cristiana di un popolo'', Città Nuova, 2007, {{ISBN. 978-88-31-10341-1, p.199