Birkarls
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The Birkarls (birkarlar in Swedish, unhistorical pirkkamiehet or pirkkalaiset in Finnish; bircharlaboa[dubious ], bergcharl etc. in historical sources) were a small, unofficially organized group that controlled taxation and commerce in central Lappmarken in Sweden from the 13th to the 17th century.[1]
Background
Birkarls (bircharlaboa) are first mentioned in 1328, when they are listed as one of the settler groups in northern
The name birkarl probably originates from an ancient Scandinavian word birk that has been used in reference to commerce in various contexts.
In the late 16th century, claims about birkarls coming from
In total, some twenty theories are estimated to exist to explain the origin and name of the birkarls.
Sami trade and tax monopoly
The main purpose of the birkarl organization was to control the trade with
It seems that birkarls' privileges were more de facto, than de jure. No document has survived granting them official right to the tax and trade monopoly in the north, even though the state first supported and later tolerated the situation for centuries.
Area of influence
Birkarls were active in the Tornio, Luleå and Piteå River valleys, Tornio being their main area. Each of the valleys formed a separate "lappmark" with its own birkarls.[1] Sami people south of Piteå were "Crown Samis" that paid their taxes directly to the king.
The birkarls living in each area of influence were very few, totalling only about 50 men still in the early 16th century.[1]
In the 16th century, towards the end of their existence, the
Decline and end
Birkarls remained useful to the king as long as the state's hold on the north was weak. After the disintegration of the
The Birkarls' trade monopoly did not last much longer and was in the line of fire from 1570s. The state wanted to concentrate trade into towns that were easier to control, making the need for birkarls obsolete. Having no official status, birkarl organizations had little means of fighting back, and they silently eroded away in the 17th century after administrative changes initiated by king Charles IX. Tornio, Luleå and Piteå all received their town charters in 1621 marking an official end to birkarls.[1]
Further reading
- Samu Sarviaho (2020) "The elusive Finn: ethnic identities, source criticism and the early history of Northern Sweden in seventeenth-century Swedish historiography." Scandinavian Journal of History