Wilhelm Kettler [SEP] father
Wilhelm Kettler
Wilhelm Kettler (20 June 1574 – 7 April 1640) was the Duke of Courland, a region of Latvia. Wilhelm ruled the western Courland portion of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, while his brother Friedrich ruled the eastern Semigallia portion.
Life and family.
Born in Mitau in 1574, Wilhelm Kettler was the youngest son of Gotthard Kettler and his wife, Anna of Mecklenburg. After their father's death in 1587, Wilhelm and his brother Friedrich inherited the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. The
between 1658 and 1660.
After the death of his father, Jacob Kettler, in 1682, the duchy passed to Ferdinand's older brother, Frederick Casimir Kettler. Frederick was in the Polish army, where he reached the rank of Lieutenant-General and participated in many battles against the Ottoman Empire. After Frederick's death in 1698, his widow and Ferdinand became guardians of the minor heir, Friedrich Wilhelm Kettler, and ruled the duchy in his name.
Later life.
When the Great Northern War started in