Estophilia

Estophilia (from Greek: φίλος, filos - "dear, loving") refers to the ideas and activities of people not of Estonian descent who are sympathetic to or interested in Estonian language, Estonian literature or Estonian culture, the history of Estonia and Estonia in general. Such people are known as Estophiles. The opposite of Estophilia is Estophobia. The term particularly refers to the activities of the Estophile Movement of the late 18th to early 19th century, when Baltic German scholars began documenting and promoting Estonian culture and language. This movement played a crucial role triggering the Estonian Age of Awakening almost 100 years later, which eventually led to the Estonian Declaration of Independence in 1918, the Estonian War of Independence (1918–1920) and the foundation of the Republic of Estonia. Since the Northern Crusades, Estonian culture had been rather suppressed in society, and the ruling culture – the one that governed cities, partook in the Hanseatic league, and organised trade – was Germanic, Indigenous Estonian culture was largely restricted to the peasants. While vertical mobility was not impossible, the ethnic Estonians that became citizens or landlords tended to Germanise voluntarily. However, while this suppression largely isolated the Germanic administrators from Estonian lower classes, it did not destroy the native culture. The relatively long time of peace from Swedish rule onwards gave the upper classes an opportunity to take up hobbies, and some of them ended up learning about the native Estonian culture, in the process, contributing to systematic understanding of it. The Enlightenment era brought with it greater tolerance and spread the desire to educate the uneducated. For example, the very first Estonian language periodical publication, the Lühhike öppetus (Estonian for Brief Instruction), concerned medical techniques. Educated German immigrants and local Baltic Germans in Estonia, educated at German universities introduced Enlightenment ideas that propagated freedom of thinking and brotherhood and equality.