Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0130/01309.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 33KB | 536 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01309}
$Pretitle{367}
$Title{Finland
Chapter 2A.   Historical Setting}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Theodore L. Stoddard}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{finland
finnish
russian
swedish
finland's
church
estates-general
political
tsar
century}
$Date{1974}
$Log{}
Country:     Finland
Book:        Finland, A Country Study
Author:      Theodore L. Stoddard
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1974

Chapter 2A.   Historical Setting

     Finland's history as a nation relates the passage from Swedish to Russian
domination, then from Russian domination to independence. That history has
been significantly shaped by Finland's geopolitical position with regard to
Scandinavia, Imperial Russia, and the Soviet Union. Modern Finland has arrived
at a political accommodation with the Soviet Union and has managed to
safeguard a Western cultural heritage that makes it Nordic in customs and
institutions.

     During this evolution, however, the economy and society of the Finns were
shaped more by the rough land of forest and water than by the neighboring
powers' centuries-long struggle for influence in the area. These natural
barriers to communication isolated the Finns and made them dependent upon
their own skills and ingenuity for survival. Then, as contact with the outer
world increased from the eighteenth century on, the resources provided by the
land became the raw material for industrial development and a medium of
exchange and contact. Both the political and the economic development of
Finland have been marked by an East-West orientation, so that despite the need
to consider East European interests and relationships, the country has been
able to maintain and extend close relations with the West European and
Scandinavian countries.

Swedish Union (1154-1809)

     Finnish recorded history only begins with development of Swedish-Russian
rivalry over the area that includes modern Finland, from about the twelfth
century. The country's earliest historical records are archaeological ones.
The scarcity of even these records precludes any definite knowledge of the
origins of the Finnish people, which has been a much debated topic.
Anthropological evidence suggests that their Finno-Ugrian ancestors migrated
from an area south of the Gulf of Finland between 200 B.C. and A.D. 400. These
migrants, whose ancestors had in turn come from the Volga River area of
Russia, absorbed indigenous peoples believed to have been in the territory
comprising modern Finland as early as 8000 B.C. The earliest Finns lived in
relative isolation until Viking raiders and traders initiated more contacts
after A.D. 800. Communication over the Baltic Sea was easier than through the
dense forest and swamp barrier to the east so that Finland was more open to
Scandinavian influence than to influence from Imperial Russia and Roman
Europe.

     In the eleventh century the Swedes sought to revive trade with Novgorod,
the ancient Russian city-republic situated on the shores of Lake Il'men, but
at the same time the Swedes were concerned about increased Russian forays and
influence in the area of modern Finland. To make the trade route across
Finland safe, the Swedes conducted a series of crusades that lasted over a
200-year period. Also, in this episode of Swedish contact with Russia lay the
origins of Finnish recorded history.

     According to popular legend, the crusade most critical in establishing
Swedish rule over Finland was that led by King Eric and the Roman Catholic
Bishop Henry of Uppsala. This crusade is thought to have occurred in 1154 or
1157. Eric's successors continued the conquest, and by the mid-thirteenth
century, a trail of forts secured the Swedish position. The Roman Catholic
Church was closely allied with the Swedish crown in the colonizing process and
established a diocese in Finland in 1216. Christianity, like Swedish rule,
however, did not appear after only one crusade, for a rough and inaccessible
hinterland and the tenacity of indigenous beliefs delayed the process (see ch.
6).

Administration

     At the time Swedish domination began, the only Finnish political
structure was clan based. In the clan an assembly called the ting regulated
kin affairs, and a lagman, or lawman, made rules. Consequently, the Swedes
were relatively free to set up their own administration, and Finland was ruled
by a provincial governor appointed by the king. The governor wielded
considerable autonomous power, especially when troubles in Sweden itself meant
little attention could be given to outlying provinces. Once the Swedish
administration was in place, the pitaja (local parish) was its most
significant element. Although it was actually a judicial district meant to
administer the law, the local parish officials often were responsible for
daily government action. The traditional ting council was retained at the
local parish level to provide a meeting ground for the local inhabitants and
allow participation in the governmental process. The ting participated in the
taxation process, for which a local crown appointee, the bailiff, was
responsible.

Middle Ages-Society and Economy

     After the thirteenth century, four distinct social classes (referred to
as estates) developed: nobles, clerics, burghers, and peasants. No native Finn
nobility really existed at the beginning of Swedish rule so, as a governing
class of Finnish nobles grew, it became closely tied to Sweden and spoke
Swedish. Most nobles lived on rent from large estates. Later the class
increased in size as prominent soldiers, diplomats, and civil servants were
included. Their privileged status provided them freedom from crown taxes and
allowed them to dominate the political institutions in Stockholm.

     The predominant position of the noble class led to a number of political
conflicts between it and the crown. From the 1400s the Swedish kings gradually
transformed the monarchy from an elected to a hereditary one and steadily
centralized their governing power. The nobles resisted this process because of
the loss of their power, and as late as the 1780s the struggle continued.

     The predominantly Finnish clergy in Finland was affected by these power
struggles as well. The Roman Catholic Church was fully established in Finland
by the fourteenth century, and after 1385 the head bishops, located at Turku,
the administrative capital of Finland, were Finns. The church was wealthy,
holding a great deal of property and land, and influential because of its role
in education and its voice in politics. However, as the crown sought to
increase its own power, the Swedish kings encroached upon the church,
especially for financial reasons.

     Finally, the 1527 Vasteras Edict of King Gustavas Vasa (1496-1560)
transferred church property to the crown, severed relations with Rome, and
made the king head of the church. The church lost its independent wealth and
influence and was no longer able to affect state politics as it had in the
past. Moreover, the crown control and restrictions on religious activity and
ceremony opened the door for new ideas and change so that the Protestant
Reformation began in Sweden-Finland about 1540. King John III's Church
Ordinance of 1571 led to official acceptance of Lutheranism in 1593.

     Outstanding Finnish clerics who brought their country into the mainstream
of the Reformation were Pietari Sarkilahti, Paavali Juusten, and Mikael
Agricola. The Lutheran Church continued to grow and became an important force
in the social arena. Its efforts to teach were responsible for the large
degree of literacy of the population, and when Turku University was founded in
1640, the church had an important part in it. The church also helped bring
some organization to the frontier settlements through its administration of
the interior parishes, provided employment for artisans, and promoted trade
and communications with its religious holidays, fairs, and festivals.
Moreover, the church conducted its affairs in Finland in Finnish,