Abstract
This article discusses the period of Prince Charles of Saxony's rule in Courland. It analyzes the conditions that Charles of Saxony had to fulfil in order to be chosen to be the next Duke of Courland, and with his relationship with the Courland aristocracy and Russian potentates.
Great emphasis is also placed on the influence of the Courland question on Russian and Polish foreign policy, because both states had made claims to Courland and wanted to gradually take possession of the Duchy. For the Polish king August III., his son Charles represented a means through which he would be able to achieve this goal.
The Russian Tsarina Elizabeth Petrovna had to give up her plans for a while when the Seven Years' War broke out, during which Russia needed to cooperate with Poland. Although Charles' government had been fairly successful, he did remain in power, because after the end of the Seven Years' War Russia was able to return to its original policy.
The military conflict had strengthened Russia to such an extent that it no longer had to consider the wishes or demands of its neighboring states. This article's research was conducted on the basis of archival sources stored in facilities in Germany and Latvia.