Swedification refers to the spread and/or imposition of the Swedish language , people and culture or policies which introduced these changes. In the context of Swedish expansion within Scandinavia, Swedification can refer to both the integration of Scania , Jemtland and Bohuslen in the 1600s and governmental policies regarding Sámi , Tornedalians and Finns during the 1800s and 1900s.
41-864: As part of the Treaty of Roskilde at the end of the Second Northern War , all areas in the historical region of Skåneland were ceded by Denmark-Norway to the Swedish Empire in early 1658. For the Swedish Empire, it was important to integrate these new subjects and to make the Scanians feel Swedish, rather than Danish. On 16 April 1658, representatives of Scania , Blekinge and Halland 's nobility, citizens, clergy and peasants gathered in Malmö to swear fealty to Charles X Gustav . The king
82-402: A Tornedalian woman supposedly said when the border was being drawn: " The summer-blue sky, you cannot cut in two; Nor the white winter field can you part; And neither can you divide the clear yellow sun! That which you cannot cut in twain shall forever remain. " or alternatively " You may gladly draw a line in the earth, but the air, sun and land - that you can never cut in two. " The Nordic cross
123-540: A film in 2004. The first feature length movie in Meänkieli is set to premier in 2025. Titled Liikheitä in Meänkieli (Swedish: Rörelser ; Finnish: Valitut ), it follows the rise and fall of the Korpela movement. It is directed by [1] Jon Blåhed [ sv ] and based on Bengt Pohjanen's book Dagning; Röd! . The flag is a horizontal tricolour of yellow, white and blue, in reference to something
164-503: A portal to the land of the dead. The jänkkäsilmä (lit. 'eye of the bog') was a similarly holy feature in nature, which could likewise transport a person to the other life or through time. A significant religious shift would come to Meänmaa in the mid-1800s when the Swedish priest Lars Levi Læstadius began preaching his beliefs in the area. Læstadius, while largely Swedish, had during his childhood learned Sámi (primarily Lulesámi as
205-498: A proper foothold in the region in the 1400s and by the 1600s had come to be the dominant religion, largely displacing earlier pagan beliefs . However many pagan beliefs still lived on long after. Jopmel/Jobmel was a key figure in Tornedalian beliefs, along with figures such as Hiisi, Perhana, Veen neiti, Jatuni, and others. According to traditonal beliefs, a saivo is a special kind of holy "double-bottomed" lake which can act as
246-468: A sort of boarding school where the children from the sparsely populated region could be provided with food, lodging and education, however they worked to forcefully assimilate Tornedalian children and abuse was rampant. In the early- to mid-1900s, Herman Lundborg and others from the State Institute for Racial Biology performed skull measurements on Tornedalians, with Lundborg performing
287-559: A third of its territory to save the rest, the ceded lands comprising Blekinge , Bornholm , Bohuslän (Båhuslen) , Scania (Skåne) and Trøndelag , as well as her claims to Halland . After the treaty entered into force, Swedish forces continued to campaign in the remainder of Denmark–Norway, but had to withdraw from the Danish isles and Trøndelag in the face of a Dano–Norwegian and Dutch alliance. The Treaty of Copenhagen restored Bornholm to Denmark and Trøndelag to Norway in 1660, while
328-465: A whole, though there is no consensus on the use of any one term. Historically the term Finn has been used to denote all Tornedalians. While some Tornedalians will sometimes use the term Finn and Finnish, especially in contexts where them being Tornedalians is implied, the term is otherwise somewhat deprecated and can be seen as offensive to some. In a historical context the terms Finn/Finnish may sometimes still be used. Christianity first gained
369-647: Is a Tornedalian author who has written the first novel in Meänkieli, the language of the Meänmaa . He has written dramas, screenplays, songs and opera. He is trilingual in his writing. The novel Popular Music from Vittula (2000) by the Tornedalian author Mikael Niemi became very popular both in Sweden and in Finland. It is composed of colourful stories of everyday life in the Tornedalian town of Pajala . The novel has been adapted for several stage productions, and as
410-426: Is an important practice of Tornedalian/Kven Læstadianism. The word roughly translates as 'movements' or 'ecstasy' and involves moving about within the church in a state of religious ecstasy often involving hopping, clapping, dancing, shouting praise, singing and similar activities. Sweden does not distinguish minority groups in population censuses , but the number of people who identify themselves as "Tornedalians"
451-897: Is spoken in Kvikkjokk ) however had no knowledge of Meänkieli when he first came to the area in the 1820s. While he first attempted to communicate via the Finnish he had learnt from a book, though he soon found that the local speech was rather different from "proper Finnish" and thus resolved to learn the language first-hand, travelling between different homes and villages and inviting people to talk to him about theological matters and correct him when he made errors in his speech. Lars Levi Læstadius gained great popularity in Meänmaa, though especially in his earlier years his devout belief in temperance caused trouble. When Lars Levi Læstadius died in 1861, preacher Johan Raattamaa [ sv ] took up
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#1732772125563492-530: Is usually estimated to be between 30,000 and 150,000. Estimates are complicated by the fact that the remote and sparsely-populated Tornedalen area has been particularly struck by the 20th-century urbanisation and unemployment . In 2006, a large radio survey about Finnish/ Meänkieli speakers was conducted in Sweden. The result was that 469,000 individuals in Sweden claimed to understand or speak Finnish and/or Meänkieli. Those who can speak or understand Meänkieli are estimated to be 150,000–175,000. Bengt Pohjanen
533-659: The Dutch , who honored their 1649 treaty to defend Denmark against unprovoked invasion by sending an expeditionary fleet and army, defeating the Swedish fleet in the Battle of the Sound and relieving the capital. His army partly trapped at Landskrona and partly isolated on the Danish islands by superior Danish and Dutch forces under Vice-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter , Charles was forced to withdraw in 1659. Sweden also invaded Romsdal in western Norway. The local farmers rebelled and defied
574-568: The Riksdag passed the Language Law ("Språklag" SFS 2009:600), which recognized Sámi languages and Meänkieli as official minority languages of Sweden , ensuring the right to use these languages in education and administrative proceedings. In 2020, Sweden funded the establishment of an independent truth commission to examine and document past abuse of Sámi by the Swedish state. A parallel commission to examine past treatment of Tornedalians
615-713: The Scanian War in the late 1670s, pro-Danish Snapphane fighters aided the Danish invasion. This led to a campaign to capture, torture and execute those who would not swear allegiance to the Swedish king. The policy was effective and by 1709 when Denmark again moved to invade Scania after the Battle of Poltava local militias resisted the effort. When the Scanian War began in 1675, some 180,000 people lived in Scania. By 1718, only 132,800 were left. Some snapphane fled to Denmark; some 30,000 Scanian boys were sent to
656-658: The Torne , Muonio and Könkämä rivers were ceded to Russia as the Grand Duchy of Finland . As a result, the Finnish -speaking communities on the western side were now officially separated from those on the eastern side of the border, which later also led to divergence of dialect and the language known as Meänkieli . Though the now split region continued to be culturally homogenous and the border had little impact on people's everyday life for some time after. Tornedalians were
697-559: The ancient Kvens , first mentioned by Ohthere of Hålogaland in 890, though recountings of Tornedalian history often begin with the birkarls who are first mentioned in 1328 in a legal hearing by the Swedish Drots Knut Jonsson over disputes with the Hälsings who the birkarls claimed were encroaching on their lands. The birkarls were through the 14th to the 17th century slowly incorporated into and replaced by
738-490: The 19th and 20th centuries, these definitions changed based on language, occupation, religion, paternal line, and name. For Sámi, different groups were segregated into reindeer herders, who continued a more nomadic life and were considered less developed, and farmers who were deemed by the government to be Swedes and not Sámi. This Lapp skall vara Lapp ( lit. ' Lapp shall be Lapp ' ) policy forced different schooling on settled children versus nomadic children. By
779-540: The Swedish army, many of whom were relocated to the Baltics. At the same time, Swedes were encouraged to take over Scanian farms and marry Scanian women. Beginning in 1846, Sweden adopted policies designed to define and control its northern region, and to integrate its Sámi , Finnish and Tornedalian (often simply called Finns in older sources) populations with the Swedish nation. Although censuses began delineating among Sámi, Finns, and Swedes as early as 1805, throughout
820-655: The Swedish government has denied to do so. Tornedalians generally divide themselves into three different groups: Tornedalians, Lantalaiset and Kvens. The term Tornedalian ( Tornionlaaksolainen , pl. Tornionlaaksolaiset ) originally refers specifically to someone living along the lower course of the Torne river , beginning roughly in Pajala municipality , though the term has also come to be widely used to denote all 'Tornedalians'. Lantalaiset (sl. Lantalainen ; lit. "fertiliser/settled people") typically live further inland in an area known as Lannanmaa , roughly corresponding to
861-568: The Swedish state, with the establishing of Christianity beginning in the 1400s though some pagan burials continued until the early 1600s. Finnic settlement in the Bothnian Bay likely extended as far as the Lule River by the 11- and 1200s, though Swedish colonisation beginning in the 1300s displaced and assimilated these populations. Following the Treaty of Fredrikshamn between Sweden and Russia in 1809, all Swedish lands east of
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#1732772125563902-413: The Swedish taxes and military conscription vigorously. The Swedish governor was forced to send a full company of soldiers and 50 cavalry to collect taxes. The action was not successful, and the area remained largely autonomous. Meanwhile, Norwegian forces succeeded in expelling the Swedish occupiers from Trøndelag . Eventually, the resulting Treaty of Copenhagen in 1660 restored Trøndelag to Norway, and
943-632: The Swedish-forced conscription nearly emptied Trøndelag of males. The result was devastating, as the farms were left without enough hands to harvest the fields, and famine struck the region. Some local historians of Trøndelag have termed this the genocide of the Trønders. The few months of experience with Swedish taxation and conscription left such bitter sentiments, that it served to strengthen Dano-Norwegian unity and patriotism, making resistance to Swedish invasions of Denmark–Norway stronger over
984-672: The Torne Valley ( Meänmaa ) region in northern Sweden and Finland . Tornedalians are since year 2000 a recognized national minority in Sweden. Tornedalians generally divide themselves into three distinct groups: Tornedalians, Kvens, and Lantalaiset. Tornedalians are descended from Tavastians and Karelians who migrated to the region, as can be seen in local toponymy. This can be seen from some names such as Tornio and Kemi which follow Tavastian charecteristics, while names such as Seittenkari follows Karelian charecteristics. Tornedalians are generally thought to be descended from
1025-607: The Tornedalians as an official national minority and Meänkieli as an official minority language . A truth and reconciliation commission on historical discrimination against the population was appointed in 2020, and made its final report on 15 May 2023. In both 2020 and 2023, STR-T, the National Association of Swedish Tornedalians have demanded the Swedish government to investigate their status as an indigenous people in accordance with ILO 169 though both times
1066-620: The area known in Swedish as Malmfälten . The term Kven is also used and is connected to both the ancient Kvens and the Norwegian Kvens . The term is especially used in the Karesuando ( Karesuanto ) area. These different terms/groups are not necessarily exclusive, and some may identify with multiple. Terms such as meänmaalaiset (lit. people of our land ), meikäläiset (lit. people like us ) and also Kven (kvääni/kveeni) have been and are used natively to refer to Tornedalians as
1107-410: The first measurements in 1913. Bodily measurements in the name of scientific racism were being carried out as late as the 1950s. The ban on speaking Meänkieli in school was revoked by the Riksdag in 1957. No equivalent ban was ever instituted in Finland, however what is now called Meänkieli was heavily looked down upon and de facto forbidden in school. In 2000, a new law went into effect recognising
1148-636: The former was established under the name "Regia Academia Carolina", and its official opening ceremony took place in January 1668. About two decades after the Treaty of Roskilde, Sweden sought to more fully implement Scania, including enforcing changes to the church and local language . In 1681, local priests aligned with the Church of Sweden and court documents and ecclesiastical correspondence increasingly adopted more standard Swedish grammatical features. During
1189-588: The island of Bornholm to Denmark. The relinquishment of Trøndelag by the Treaty of Copenhagen reflects strong local resistance to the Swedish occupation. Although the Swedish invasion had been welcomed, or at least not resisted, the Swedes issued conscription orders in Trøndelag and forced 2,000 men and boys down to 15 years of age to join the Swedish armies fighting in Poland and Brandenburg. King Carl X Gustav
1230-516: The late 1800s, Swedish became the sole language of instruction in the Torne Valley , which was populated largely by Meänkieli speakers. In the 1930s, boarding schools were set up for Tornedalian and Sámi children, where they were barred from speaking their native languages and encouraged to adopt "civilized" norms. These Swedification policies ended in the late 1970s as Sweden officially recognized Sámi as an indigenous people of Sweden. In 2009,
1271-477: The mantle as spiritual leader of the movement. After his death in 1899 the movement splintered, though Læstadianism remains an important part of much of Tornedalian society. During the 1930s, the Korpela Movement gripped Meänmaa, promising that God would soon make a crystal bridge to Palestine where a utopia would be established. The Korpela movement, while originally branching from Læstadianism
Swedification - Misplaced Pages Continue
1312-587: The next 80 years. In the ninth article of the Treaty of Roskilde, which ceded Scania ( Skåne ), the inhabitants of the Scanian lands were assured of their privileges, old laws and customs. However the territories were gradually integrated in the Swedish realm. The nobility was soon amalgamated with the Swedish nobility and introduced into the Swedish House of Lords with the same rights and privileges as
1353-651: The original Swedish noble families. In 1676 Denmark attacked and conquered most of Scania in an attempt to take back the province, but Sweden reconquered it. The provincial Scanian Law was replaced by the national Swedish law in 1683. In the same year the national Danish law came into force in Denmark, also replacing provincial laws there. The Swedish Church Ordinance was introduced in 1686. Tornedalians Tornedalians ( Meänkieli : tornionlaaksolaiset ; Finnish : tornionjokilaaksolaiset ; Swedish : tornedalingar ) are an ethnic minority native to
1394-594: The other provinces transferred in Roskilde remained Swedish. As the Northern Wars progressed, Charles X Gustav of Sweden crossed the frozen straits from Jutland and occupied the Danish island of Zealand , with the invasion beginning on 11 February 1658. A preliminary treaty, the Treaty of Taastrup , was signed on 18 February 1658 with the final treaty, the Treaty of Roskilde, signed on 26 February 1658. The treaty's conditions included: The Swedish king
1435-519: The same time, inhabitants of Scania received representation in the Riksdag , unlike other areas that had been conquered by the Swedish Empire. When Charles X Gustav landed in Helsingborg in 1658, he met Bishop Peder Winstrup from Lund on the pier, who became a driving force for the establishment of the University of Lund as a Swedish counterweight to the University of Copenhagen . In 1666,
1476-539: The targets of extensive so-called " racial biology " and swedification policies. During the 1800s many Tornedalian and Sámi graves were plundered, with the priesthood often playing a large role. Lars Levi Læstadius himself participated in the process of plundering graves. In 1888 Swedish was made the sole language to be used and taught in schools. After the 1902 Norrbotten famine so called 'work cabins' (Swedish: arbetsstugor ) were established in Norrbotten as
1517-535: Was afraid that the Trønders would rise against their Swedish occupiers, and thought it wise to keep a large part of the men away. Only about one third of the men ever returned to their homes. Some of them were forced to settle in the Swedish province of Estonia , as the Swedes thought it would be easier to rule the Trønders there. Many of Trøndelag's men were already in the Dano-Norwegian army and navy, so
1558-454: Was also established. Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde was negotiated at Høje Taastrup Church and signed (concluded on 26 February ( OS ), or 8 March 1658) ( NS ) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde . After a devastating defeat , Denmark–Norway was forced to give up
1599-398: Was much more lenient with the consumption of alcohol, and extramarital sexual relations could be described as accepted, if not outright encouraged. The movement was especially popular among lantalaiset. While the movement's heyday came to an end in 1939/1940 when the last of its preachers were jailed the movement and its beliefs have had a lasting impact in Meänmaa. Liikutuksia/liikutukset
1640-477: Was not content with his stunning victory. At the Swedish Council held at Gottorp on 7 July, Charles X Gustav resolved to wipe his inconvenient rival from the map of Europe . Without any warning, in defiance of international treaty, he ordered his troops to attack Denmark–Norway a second time. There followed an attack on the capital Copenhagen . Residents successfully defended themselves with help from
1681-441: Was not present but was represented by an empty chair surrounded by Swedish soldiers. In 1662, Sweden aligned taxes and regulations in Scania with other parts of Sweden. Some of the new rules were very different from previous Danish practice; for example, the lilla tullen ("the small customs"), which charged a tax for all goods brought into cities. Other changes required each city council to have least two Swedish-born members. At