Latvia is one of the three Baltic countries located on the Eastern Shore of the Baltic Sea. The country has a population of about 2.7 million people, of which about 54% are native speakers of Latvian. Latvia, together with its Baltic neighbors, was brought into the fold of Western Civilization starting in the 13th century, when the Germans took up the noble cause of using the sword to bring Christianity to the last heathen outpost in Europe. Besides bringing religion, they also brought colonization, and begun what amounted to more than 700 years of foreign occupation. The German monks who wrote the religious texts created the Latvian writing system present at that time. It was based heavily on German, and did not reflect spoken Latvian very well. Later it was replaced by Latin script.

While the local lords remained mostly German during this time, the overlords were alternately German, Swedish, Polish, and Russian. It was not until the end of the First World War, in 1918, that Latvia was finally able to declare its independence. This was temporarily cut short for another fifty years after the end of the Second World War, when the Soviet Union annexed the country. As a result, many Latvians fled their country and settled in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, and elsewhere. Some Latvians chose North Eastern Ohio as their second home. These Latvians, as well as others around the world have continued to preserve their Latvian culture and helped Latvia regain its independence that Latvia is once again enjoying since 1991.