Economic history of Sweden's Age of Liberty
The economic history of Sweden's Age of Liberty examine the changes to the Swedish economy between 1718 and 1772. The economic factors that contributed to the fall of the Swedish Empire and the shift away from absolutism, as well as the legacy of the era in terms of the nation's economic history after 1772 are also noted.
The
Aftermath of the Great Northern War (pre 1718)
The Great Northern War spelled the end of Sweden's "Era of Great Power". Sweden's warrior-king was shot dead. Its empire waned as its many enemies pounced on the opportunity to attack it after Charles’ decisive defeat at Poltava.[4] Its once strong military was weakened.[5] The humbled nation stepped into the 18th century firmly on the back foot.
Charles XII would be remembered as a tactician with a strong aptitude for warfare. It could be argued, however, that this trait is what brought the eventual downfall of the Swedish Empire. From an early age, he was taught to be wary of an aggressive war, but to never back down if Sweden were attacked. The young king took this advice to heart. When the coalition of Peter I, Frederick IV, and Augustus II attacked Sweden in 1700, Charles refused any and all peace offers after his initial string of victories in the first half of the war. Even after the failure at Poltava and consequent defeats, he refused peace deals that could have yet saved his empire.[6] Between 1709 and 1716, Sweden's population had fallen from around 1,550,000 to under 1,400,000.[3] Most of these losses were able bodied young men, leaving the population back home mostly women, children, and elderly. The constant levying of taxes for Charles’ unyielding war effort, combined with bad harvests, meant a population that was perishing from hunger.[1][7] To add to these issues, Charles’ methods of paying for the war caused further strife. Georg Heinrich von Görtz, a Holstein statesman, was the minister of Sweden and a trusted advisor to the king. His monetary policy consisted of minting copper tokens which could be used to cheaply buy supplies and arms. The thought was that once the war was over, these tokens could be redeemed in silver,[8] however, Charles went too far and flushed the economy with tokens to the point there was no chance they would be redeemable in silver once the time came. Merchants began demanding more for goods if they were paid in copper than in silver. This led to the king banning silver outright, demanding that all of it be handed into the government in exchange for copper.[1]
These policies were largely unpopular with the
Age of Liberty (1718 - 1772)
Political Background
To understand the economics of the Age of Liberty it first necessary to understand how the new Riksdag worked, the different political parties that held power during the age, and their economic policies. Under the new constitution, the RIksdag alone had true executive and judicial power. The RIksdag elected council members and these members answered to the Riksdag. In this new system, all matters of importance were handled by a vote. Each of the 17 councillors had one vote, and the monarch had two. This mean the monarch had little in the way of real power.[1]
The Old Caps under Arvid Horn wanted peace and neutrality to help rebuild the nation. Horn was a statesman and diplomat who had previously served as a confidant and trusted general of the late king Charles.[9] He was elected President of the Privy Council, a role akin to a prime-minister, and served from 1710 to 1719 and then again from 1720 to 1738.[1] Horn's economic policy sought moderate protectionism insofar as to secure Sweden's Baltic trade. He was opposed to the more robust tariffs and trade restrictions that occurred in the later part of his tenure, for he feared these policies would upset the foreign relations he wished to maintain.[9] The Hats, who held power from 1738 to 1765 and then again from 1769 to 1772, were heavily in favour of mercantilist policy. The Younger Caps, who held power briefly between 1765 and 1769, represented the interests of smaller businesses who were in favour of free trade.[2]
Agricultural Reform
In the early 18th century, Sweden's agriculture was based on a strip farming system where, in tiny villages, each farmer would have his own narrow strip to cultivate with his neighbour's strips beside him. This was inefficient as farmers would have to travel long distances from one strip to another to collect their crops. This also meant they had less time to attend to their animals. The demands of a rising population and the political push towards self-sufficiency meant this inefficiency was not feasible.[1][7]
One of the main figures of early agricultural reform was Jacob Faggot, a scientist who served as director of the Land Survey Office. In his 1746 publication “Swedish Agriculture’s Obstacles and Assistance” (Svenska landtbrukets hinder ock hjälp), he advocated for redivision of crop fields so each worker would have his own fields consolidated in one space. The reformation came slowly, and for the most part, it occurred only in the province of Skåne. During this age, the consolidation was rarely more than 43 strips to 6 or 30 strips to 6, but efficiency did increase.[7] Faggot also advocated for abolition of domestic harvesting restrictions, better field maintenance, and establishment of state warehouses for stockpiling grain during good harvest seasons. Some of the laissez-faire ideas he promoted in this book preceded future free-trade advocates, such as Anders Chydenius.[10] These pioneering efforts, along with the liberalization and commercialization of land plots, laid the groundwork for the nationwide agricultural reform that would follow in the 19th century.[3]
Another key innovation was the introduction of the potato, which was partly responsible for population growth. Jonas Alströmer was responsible for popularizing the potato in Sweden. While farmers were initially unconvinced of the new crop's value, failure of other crops in 1771-1773 eventually persuaded them. Eva Ekeblad should also be credited for the rise of the new crop. In 1748 she discovered a method of creating flour and distilling akvavit from potatoes, reducing the risk of famine in Sweden.[1][7]
Industrial Development
The
Economic Policies
The Commodity Act
Like other European states the during the early 18th century, Sweden followed a
Hats in power - Government subsidized manufacturing industries
Once the Hats came into power, there was a stronger push towards mercantilism. Prime among their goals was establishing a strong Swedish manufacturing industry. The Riksdag established a Manufacturing Office in 1739. They also legislated free land for factories, tariff exemptions of specific imported raw materials and machines, and tax exemptions for factory owners and employees. For instance, in 1741 they wrote off a loan worth 413000 myntsedlar (equivalent to approximately 10,000,000 US Dollars in 2015)[13] for Jonas Alströmer's Alingsås factory.[11] They also encouraged home production, as merchants co-ordinated with peddlers to organize merchandise of homemade products.[7] This push for manufacturing came at a cost, however, mostly to the consumers who were paying higher taxes to receive goods that were of lower quality than imported ones.[1]
Anders Chydenius
There were opponents to
Chydenius’ assertions line up with statistics on foreign trade from the period. Between 1738 and 1809, Sweden's total trade doubled, but exports slightly decreased due to a decrease in price of
Year | Sweden | Russia | Other Countries |
---|---|---|---|
1699 | 80 | - | 20 |
1700-1709 | 88 | - | 12 |
1710-1719 | 65 | - | 35 |
1720-1729 | 76 | 2 | 22 |
1730-1739 | 74 | 13 | 13 |
1740-1749 | 75 | 16 | 9 |
1750-1759 | 64 | 27.5 | 8.5 |
1760-1769 | 49 | 44 | 7 |
1770-1779 | 38 | 57 | 5 |
1780-1789 | 34.5 | 63 | 2.5 |
1790-1799 | 40 | 58 | 2 |
Caps in power - Cancellation and collection of all state loans to industries
The
The Return of Absolutism (post 1772)
After
See also
- Economic History of Sweden
- History of Sweden
- Age of Liberty
- Absolute Monarchy
- Riksdag of the Estates
- Anders Chydenius
- Enlightenment
- Industrial Revolution
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Grimberg, Carl (1935). A History of Sweden. Augustana Book Concern. pp. 237–246, 249–250, 260–261, 278, 282, 284–285.
- ^ ISSN 0358-5522.
- ^ a b c d e Schön, Krantz, Lennart, Olle (2015). "New Swedish Historical National Accounts since the 16th Century in Constant and Current Prices" (PDF). Lund Papers in Economic History. No. 140: 5, 11, 14, 16.
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has extra text (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Cronholm, Neander Nicolas (1902). A History of Sweden from the Earliest Times to Present Day. Cornell University Library. pp. 80, 95, 132.
- ^ "The Carolean death march - Armfeldts Karoliner" (in Swedish). Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- OCLC 21596037.
- ^ )
- ^ Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 262. . In
- ^ a b c "Arvid B Horn - Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon". sok.riksarkivet.se. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Jacob Faggot - Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon". sok.riksarkivet.se. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ a b "Jonas Alströmer - Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon". sok.riksarkivet.se. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "The Swedish realm in the eighteenth century / Chydenius". Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Historical Currency Converter". www.historicalstatistics.org. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "Life and career up to 1765 / Chydenius". Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ^ "The Source of Our Country's Weakness / Chydenius". 20 April 1765. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
- ISSN 0358-5522.