Jacob Kettler
Jacob Kettler (German: Jakob von Kettler, Latvian: Hercogs Jēkabs Ketlers; 28 October 1610 – 1 January 1682) was a Baltic German Duke of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1642–1682). Under his rule, Courland and Semigallia became more independent of its Polish suzerain, reached its peak in wealth, and even engaged in its own overseas colonization, making it one of the smallest, but fastest growing states in the world at that time.
| Jacob Kettler | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Courland and Semigallia | |
| Reign | 17 August 1642 – 1 January 1682 |
| Predecessor | Frederick Kettler |
| Successor | Frederick Casimir Kettler |
| Born | 28 October 1610 Goldingen (Kuldīga) |
| Died | 1 January 1682 (aged 71) Mitau (Jelgava) |
| Burial | Ducal crypt in the Jelgava Palace |
| Spouse | Margravine Louise Charlotte of Brandenburg |
| Issue | Ladislaus Louis Frederick Kettler Frederick Casimir Kettler Charles Jacob Kettler Ferdinand Kettler Alexander Kettler Louise Elisabeth, Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg Christina Sophia Kettler Charlotte Sophia Kettler, Abbess of Herford Maria Amalia, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel |
| House | Kettler |
| Father | Wilhelm Kettler |
| Mother | Duchess Sophie of Prussia |
| Religion | Lutheranism |
Yet, in the end the results of his rule failed in the confrontation with much stronger powers both directly in the Baltic (Sweden) and overseas (Dutch Republic). A ruler "too rich and powerful to be a duke but too small and poor to be a king" could not, with his small ancestral territory and very limited resources, play the powerful role he sought in European politics of that time.