Page 408 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 408
integr ated peasant economy in a compar ative perspective
Even though much linen was sold to burghers in the towns of Hu-
diksvall and Härnösand, peasants largely kept control of the marketing.
There emerged a vibrant, long distance peasant trading in the area, often
in conflict with burghers from the towns. Officially, peasant traders trad-
ed on commission, but it has been made clear that some more specialised
trading peasants, in the early 19th century at the latest, bought up linen from
smallholder producers. Others established contacts with Sami villagers and
bought reindeer meat and other Sami products for resale in the Stockholm
and Uppsala markets. They also made contacts with hunting peasants in
the forest area further inland and transported frozen game to Stockholm.
Transports were at first undertaken by sledges in caravans to the mid-
Swedish markets and Stockholm. The trip took about three weeks. Most-
ly these peasant traders brought consumables – coffee, sugar, salt, and to-
bacco – on the way back, for resale in their home parishes. Later on some of
these peasant tradesmen developed into full-scale traders, bought up and
eventually started to deliver goods in summer, using steamboats, but later
rail transports. Grain became an important import item from the south de-
livered by them, particularly in the 1860s (Morell 1982). Were these diverse
activities to be labelled as formal proto-industry? No. Were they import-
ant to foster industrial and economic development? Most likely they were.
Various forms of domestic trades developed in many more areas in
Sweden. Often the market was found in nearby more specialised farming
communities. The list of non-agricultural market related activities per-
formed by Scandinavian peasant households could be much extended. Do-
mestic crafts for sale were more developed in Sweden than in the other
Scandinavian countries (Denmark was already mentioned).
Peasant households combining subsistence (or indeed market) agri-
culture with various for-sale crafts were found in several regions. Indeed,
the skilled smiths, the iron masters of the pre-industrial Swedish ironwork
complexes also combined their iron working with (sub-) subsistence agri-
culture (Montelius 1959, 128). The iron making was certainly focusing on
exports to far away markets, while most of the crafts for sale carried out
by peasant households in specialised regions or localities were directed to-
wards the domestic market and formed a part of the regional intra-Swed-
ish (or intra-Scandinavian) market. Parish craftsmen (shoemakers, tailors,
millers, blacksmiths, carpenters and masons) on the other hand worked for
a very local, intra-parish market and usually combined it with subsistence
agriculture (Gadd 1991). Coastal fishing – certainly directed to far away
406
Even though much linen was sold to burghers in the towns of Hu-
diksvall and Härnösand, peasants largely kept control of the marketing.
There emerged a vibrant, long distance peasant trading in the area, often
in conflict with burghers from the towns. Officially, peasant traders trad-
ed on commission, but it has been made clear that some more specialised
trading peasants, in the early 19th century at the latest, bought up linen from
smallholder producers. Others established contacts with Sami villagers and
bought reindeer meat and other Sami products for resale in the Stockholm
and Uppsala markets. They also made contacts with hunting peasants in
the forest area further inland and transported frozen game to Stockholm.
Transports were at first undertaken by sledges in caravans to the mid-
Swedish markets and Stockholm. The trip took about three weeks. Most-
ly these peasant traders brought consumables – coffee, sugar, salt, and to-
bacco – on the way back, for resale in their home parishes. Later on some of
these peasant tradesmen developed into full-scale traders, bought up and
eventually started to deliver goods in summer, using steamboats, but later
rail transports. Grain became an important import item from the south de-
livered by them, particularly in the 1860s (Morell 1982). Were these diverse
activities to be labelled as formal proto-industry? No. Were they import-
ant to foster industrial and economic development? Most likely they were.
Various forms of domestic trades developed in many more areas in
Sweden. Often the market was found in nearby more specialised farming
communities. The list of non-agricultural market related activities per-
formed by Scandinavian peasant households could be much extended. Do-
mestic crafts for sale were more developed in Sweden than in the other
Scandinavian countries (Denmark was already mentioned).
Peasant households combining subsistence (or indeed market) agri-
culture with various for-sale crafts were found in several regions. Indeed,
the skilled smiths, the iron masters of the pre-industrial Swedish ironwork
complexes also combined their iron working with (sub-) subsistence agri-
culture (Montelius 1959, 128). The iron making was certainly focusing on
exports to far away markets, while most of the crafts for sale carried out
by peasant households in specialised regions or localities were directed to-
wards the domestic market and formed a part of the regional intra-Swed-
ish (or intra-Scandinavian) market. Parish craftsmen (shoemakers, tailors,
millers, blacksmiths, carpenters and masons) on the other hand worked for
a very local, intra-parish market and usually combined it with subsistence
agriculture (Gadd 1991). Coastal fishing – certainly directed to far away
406
