ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book is concerned with the status of the subjected indigenous peoples and their relationships with the ruling powers and immigrant population. The acceptance of the Christian faith thus entailed an acceptance of Christian authority, in which the indigenous peoples were obliged to accept the overlordship of alien that is German, Swedish and Danish powers. A major difference between the colonisation of the Wendish territories and the Christianisation of north-eastern Europe is the key role played in the latter process by ecclesiastical institutions. The distribution of the indigenous populations on the eve of the conquest showed both similarities and significant differences from later periods. The Finnic language group in the region included the Finns of Finland and Karelia and two smaller ethnicities in the area east and south of the Gulf of Finland, the Izhorians and Votians.
