Thoughts of the Professor: 1700s

Showing posts with label 1700s. Show all posts

17 May 2025

Finns Fiercely Defend Their Homeland Because of Their History and Trauma

Finland was occupied by Russia from 1713 to 1721. Already during the war, Russian soldiers and Cossacks looted everything of value they could get their hands on from the local population.

In addition, officers and soldiers would capture women and children they encountered on the streets, use them for service in their homes, and send them to their estates in Inner Russia. The Cossacks transported women and children to St. Petersburg to be sold at very low prices.

During the occupation, the reign of terror continued. Even though, for example, Northern Ostrobothnia was not occupied, about a quarter of its population perished.

The single most horrific massacre took place on the island of Hailuoto on September 29, 1714, when 200 Cossacks killed around 800 people in one night using axes. This atrocity was driven by direct orders from Tsar Peter the Great himself, who twice commanded the total destruction of Northern Ostrobothnia, turning it into a wasteland where life could not be sustained.

Finns were treated with incredibly brutal methods elsewhere as well. One such method was to torture mothers and fathers in front of their small children — and vice versa. Victims were suspended painfully by the wrists with hands tied behind their backs, left to freeze in snowbanks, scorched with fire, or even roasted in ovens. The aim was to force them to reveal any hidden valuables—and if they did, the victims were usually killed anyway.

A large part of the population was also captured and sent into forced labor in Russia. Over 20,000 people were taken to help build the newly founded city of St. Petersburg, and almost none of them ever returned to Finland. At least five percent of all Finns were taken as slaves — a staggering number, given that Finland’s population in the early 1700s was under 400,000.

Not all of the enslaved ended up in Russia—some were also sold to places like the slave markets in Persia, where fair-skinned Finns were considered exotic. All in all, the destruction wrought by the Russians resulted in at least a quarter of Finnish peasant homes standing abandoned by the end of the war.

I wrote this text for two reasons. First, I wanted to support the Ukrainians’ will to defend their country against Russian brutality and to motivate Europeans to support them in every possible way. Second, I wanted to explain to you—my esteemed international readers—why Finns are more ready than most nations to fight for the independence of their homeland. Especially against the Russians.

Previous thoughts on the same topic:
Bless Ukrainian Soldiers With the Spirit That Once Defined the Celebrated Finnish Veterans
Finally, Finland Speaks the Truth Without Fear!
Finns Feel Sympathy for Ukrainians Because They Share a Similar Experience

5 June 2023

History of Finland VII: The dictator of the era of Enlightenment promoted capitalist economy

This is the seventh part of a blog post series where I go through the most significant periods in the history of Finland. In the sixth post, I described how the military state of the Swedish kingdom, which had fallen into a shortage of men and an economic crisis, led to liberal economic reforms that resulted in a long-term growth trend in the state's economy and the standard of living of its people.

During this period, the state was characterized by a democracy of Estates, where lower-class people had more power than ever since the Middle Ages. However, Sweden faced an unexpected turn when King Gustav III, who had adopted the ideas of the Enlightenment, seized power in 1772 with the support of the officer corps, France, and the high aristocracy.

However, the coup d'état did not stop the growth of wealth among the lower classes and the resulting increase in political influence. Therefore, the king faced difficulties with the lower nobility, clergy, and peasants.

To solve this, Gustav III resorted to an ancient method by initiating a war of aggression first against Russia and later against Denmark. The latter resulted in a clear victory, which gave Gustav the momentum to push a new constitution through.

As a result, the king's support base changed from the nobility to the bourgeoisie and the peasants. This was because although the king gained a lot of power, the imposition of new taxes was still subject to the approval of the Assembly of the Estates, and the lower two estates also had the opportunity to influence it.

At the same time, the people's, i.e. the peasants', ownership of their land was strengthened, and even the children of the Crown's tenant farmers were able to become legal inheritors of their farms, which increased the purchasing of inherited estates. This way, the people became even more committed to their land and, as their ownership rights were reinforced, also to promoting their own economy. The entire kingdom benefited from this economic activity.

The legal system also progressed with the establishment of the Supreme Court, the banning of torture, and the mitigation of sentences. The development of the justice system, along with the crucial economic reform of allowing factory privileges for ordinary people, promoted the capitalist economic system and created unprecedented prosperity in the kingdom.

On the other hand, the growth of new tax-exempt noble lands was completely prohibited. The abolishment of the Council of State, a symbol of the old rulers' defeat, was another change, although the highest positions were still reserved for the nobility. However, they too were required to have education for their duties.

At this stage, Sweden's rule in Finland also ended when Russia took control of the eastern part of the state as a side-show of the Napoleonic Wars. However, this did not change the fact that Finland was rapidly moving towards a society based on competence and economic activity, where the significance of birth and special privileges was disappearing.

The original blog post in Finnish: Valistusajan diktaattori edisti kapitalistista taloutta

29 May 2023

History of Finland VI: Age of freedom and utility

This is the sixth part of a blog series where I go through the significant stages of Finland's history. In the fifth post, I described how the country transitioned from the rule of the highest nobility to a pre-capitalist society governed by the clerical nobility, where the living conditions of ordinary people also began to gradually improve.

Professor Heikki Ylikangas considers the above-mentioned turning point as the most significant in Finnish history. Equally important, following closely after that, is the subject of this post - the mid-18th century.

At that time - amidst the political strife between the "Caps" and "Hats" factions vying for leadership positions - a number of extremely significant decrees were issued that allowed the division of farms into several parts. Prior to this, it was not possible because the state apparatus feared that the farms would become unable to pay taxes as a result.

Similarly, the establishment of tenant farms or rental farms was permitted for peasants: this right had previously only applied to noble and cavalry estates. And as the icing on the cake, the redistribution of land was decided, meaning that each farm's land was located in larger blocks rather than the narrow strips previously required for communal planting and harvesting. This enabled peasants to develop their own land independently of others.

However, initially the peasants were not at all eager to seize the opportunity. The reason was the common forests, which they did not want to divide among the founders of the new farms but rather keep as a resource for profitable tar production. The situation changed only when the crown announced that the state would no longer interfere in the division of land, even forests, and that it would be left to the responsibility of independent landowners after the land reform.

The fourth reform was population registration, which was needed for drafting soldiers into the army, as many families had previously cheated the authorities, for example by giving multiple sons the same name to avoid being drafted. Especially in the 1600s, this had practically meant a death sentence, not so much because of battles but due to diseases that heavily taxed military units.

However, dividing farms was only allowed if the applicant intended to get married. In other words, the ultimate motive behind the reforms was that the Swedish state wanted to increase its population because there was a chronic shortage of labor in the country - in ironworks, manufactories, and manors. Perhaps increasing the economic opportunities of peasants would help to increase the labor force?

As a result of this expanded private ownership, people became more interested in economic entrepreneurship and profit-seeking. In other words, in the mid-1700s, Sweden and thus Finland entered the age of utility.

Also the university system participated in promoting economic prosperity, as in 1747 the position of professor of poetry at the University of Turku was changed to a professorship in economics - the same fate befell the legal department at Uppsala. One of the inventors of economic liberalism, Antti Chydenius, graduated from the Turku Academy, presenting his theories a decade before Adam Smith wrote similar ideas that would be recorded in the world's economic history.

At the same time, the judicial system began to change and the pressure to lighten punishments increased. Municipal power began to be transferred back to parish meetings from the crown bureaucracy. Even the church began to view different revival movements more favorably.

Thus, the societal trend that began in the 1500s towards growing aristocratic power and an extremely unequal society had irreversibly turned towards raising the standard of living for the entire population and democracy. And through this, the economic foundation was gradually laid that would eventually allow for the creation of the modern Nordic welfare state, although this development was not direct or straightforward.

The original blog post in Finnish: Hyödyn aika

23 May 2023

History of Finland V: The pursuit of economic profit saved the country

This blog post is the fifth installment of a series that delves into the significant phases of Finnish history. In the previous post, I discussed how the ascendancy of the highest aristocracy led to the deterioration of living conditions for the common people.

However, this trend eventually came to a halt through a transformative process that culminated in the triumph of the official aristocracy over the highest aristocracy. The catalyst behind this shift was the economic collapse of the great power.

The recruitment of military personnel faced hindrances due to the landed estates owned by the upper nobility. These estates posed obstacles to enlisting individuals from their own ranks into military service. Moreover, the state lacked sufficient funds to pay its officials, as a significant portion of the income generated from land ownership predominantly benefited the upper nobility. To illustrate the magnitude of this disparity, consider the fact that Count Magnus de la Gardie's annual income in 1679 amounted to approximately five percent of Sweden's entire revenue and expenditure budget.

The conflicts of the late 1600s, which relied on France's assistance to maintain Sweden's great power status, played a crucial role in driving forward societal development. The noble-dominated council of state was held responsible for the situation and was compelled to cede its authority to King Charles XI, who implemented the decision of the Estates to reclaim the landed property in order to rescue the state from bankruptcy. As a result, former landowners were left with a mere tenth of their previous tax-exempt fiefs.

In practice, power became concentrated in the hands of a single individual, as the king possessed the right to pose questions to the Council of State, but the council lacked the authority to advise the monarch unless specifically solicited. This effectively dismantled the most potent tool of aristocratic governance with a single decree. To ensure the success of this transition, a law was passed a few years later in 1682, affirming that legislative power resided solely with the king.

Of particular significance to us Finns in this progression was the nearly unanimous support of our representatives in the Estates, including the nobility, for the king's absolute power, which placed them in opposition to the Swedish nobility. It is possible that it was during this time that the Finnish people's subsequent yearning for a strong monarchy, their belief in the righteousness of the Tsar, and ultimately the potent authority of the independent country's president originated.

Alongside the establishment of absolute monarchy in the late 1600s, there were additional significant developments. The administration of justice underwent a redirection towards the "law of nature", which was widely viewed as being largely consistent with the traditional Swedish law.

Previously, the nobility had exploited the flexibility of the old Swedish law, particularly drawing upon interpretations rooted in Roman law, enabling them to interpret it according to their own discretion. The recruitment of military personnel transitioned to a more stable conscription system, and civil servants' salaries were secured through the use of designated official positions.

Following the defeat of young King Charles XII in the Great Northern War, and ultimately his demise, the influence of the civil service serving the state did not waver. On the contrary, it continued to exert its power while the king lost much of his own authority. The Estates Assembly became the instrument through which the civil-service nobility wielded their power.

A notable change in public administration was the shift from hereditary status to formal education and other qualifications as the basis for filling positions. Furthermore, social changes enabled a commoner to marry a noblewoman without her family having the ability to disinherit her—an aspect not to be overlooked.

Simultaneously, Sweden's mercantilist policy also suffered a collapse. In this regard, the country followed a trajectory akin to the pre-capitalist development observed in England and the Netherlands, where exportation became an increasingly vital driving force. Sweden's primary export commodities included iron, copper, timber, and tar.

As a result, decisions and practices were instituted that favored the protection of private property rights, the freedom to engage in contractual agreements, the application of rationality in legal proceedings, and enhanced autonomy for citizens. The driving force behind this progression was particularly the pursuit of profit, which stemmed from the recognition and enforcement of private property rights.

For Finland and its people, these changes marked a gradual improvement in the status of the (lower) nobility, bourgeoisie, and peasants, filling the void left by the upper nobility. However, this transformation faced further challenges during the subsequent period of the Great Famine and the Great Northern War, which represented the lowest point for the upper nobility. The ascent of the eastern regions within the Swedish kingdom also became apparent through the emergence of notable Finnish figures who achieved prominence.

Notable examples include Fabian Wrede, a member of the lower nobility from Elimäki, who rose to become the chairman of the Reduction Commission, and Heikki Vaanila, a peasant estate owner from Lohja, who assumed leadership of the peasant estate in the Estates of the Realm. These Finnish individuals found themselves at the core of the kingdom's power structure, serving as compelling illustrations of Finland's growing influence within the realm.

The original blog post in Finnish: Voiton tavoittelu pelasti maan

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