Livonia (Livonian: Līvõmō, Estonian: Liivimaa, German and Scandinavian languages: Livland, Latvian and Lithuanian: Livonija, Polish: Inflanty, archaic English Livland,Liwlandia; Russian: Лифляндия / Liflyandiya) is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida. The most prominent ruler of ancient Livonia was Caupo of Turaida (died 1217).

During the Livonian Crusade, ancient Livonia was colonized by the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, later called the Livonian Order, and the name Livonia came to designate a much broader territory: Terra Mariana on the eastern coasts of the Baltic Sea, in present-day Northern part of Latvia and Southern part of Estonia. Its frontiers were the Gulf of Riga and the Gulf of Finland in the north-west, Lake Peipus and Russia to the east, and Lithuania to the south.

Livonia was inhabited by various Baltic and Finnic peoples, ruled by an upper class of Baltic Germans. Over the course of time, some nobles were Polonized into the Polish–Lithuanian nobility (szlachta) or became part of the Swedish nobility during Swedish Livonia or Russified into the Russian nobility (dvoryanstvo).

Livonia is a genus of medium-sized Indo-Pacific predatory sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Volutidae, the volutes.

The genus belongs to its own clade Livoniini, which is usually placed in the subfamily Cymbiinae (but sometimes in the Fulgorariinae instead).

Species

Species within the genus Livonia include:

References

Livonia was the second, though unsuccessful, challenger attempting to lift the America's Cup from the New York Yacht Club.

Design

Having unsuccessfully challenged for the America's Cup in Cambria in 1868, James Lloyd Ashbury again commissioned Michael Ratsey of Cowes to build a new yacht. Livonia was based on the lines of Sappho, and was launched on 6 April 1871. Ashbury took his new yacht across the Atlantic to once again challenge for the America's Cup, this time on behalf of the Royal Harwich Yacht Club.

Career

The 1871 America's Cup race was involved in controversy. There was disagreement over the format of the competition, with Ashbury seeking legal advice. Eventually it was agreed that the first yacht to win four races would be the victor. Livonia was opposed by Franklin Osgood's Columbia. Columbia won the first two races, although Ashbury claimed the second on a technicality. Livonia won the third race with the Columbia being damaged. Sappho was chosen to replace the Columbia to continue the challenge and subsequently won the next two races and thus defended the cup for the New York Club.