Banknotes from Estonia. 

The territory of modern Estonia was originally inhabited by Finnic peoples and had no unified state until the 13th century, when it was conquered during the Northern Crusades and divided into medieval entities: Danish Estonia in the north, and the Livonian Confederation in the south and west under the Teutonic Order and allied bishoprics. In 1346, Denmark sold its part to the Teutonic Order, integrating it into the Germanic crusader system referred to as Livonia.

Following the collapse of this order during the Livonian War in the 16th century, the North became Swedish Estonia, while the South formed part of Livonia under Polish–Lithuanian rule before Sweden consolidated control over most of the territory in the 17th century. After Sweden’s defeat in the Great Northern War, Estonia was absorbed into the Russian Empire in 1721, where it was organized as the Governorates of Estonia (north) and Livonia (south), both of which preserved extensive autonomy for the Baltic German elite, who dominated administration, landholding, education, and urban life—the urban elite in Reval (Tallinn, the capital) was almost entirely Baltic German, around 30–40%, with disproportionate control far exceeding their numbers. Estonians the majority but living mostly in the countryside were largely excluded from power until national awakening movements in the 19th century.

With the collapse of imperial Russia during World War I, Estonia declared independence in 1918, which significantly reduced German political dominance through land reforms. 1940 saw annexation by the Soviet Union, followed by German occupation (1941–1944), during which German policy caused most remaining Baltic Germans to emigrate i.e. be resettled in or closer to Germany itself. This ended centuries of German presence as a ruling class. Estonia was then reabsorbed into the Soviet Union as the Estonian S.S.R. (ЭССР) until 1991, when it regained independence. Estonia joined NATO and the European Union in 2004 and adopted the euro in 2011.