A3 Book section, Chapters in research books
Farming Craftsmen? Access to Land and the Socio-Economic Position of Rural Artisans in Early Modern Finland (2022)
Uotila, M. (2022). Farming Craftsmen? Access to Land and the Socio-Economic Position of Rural Artisans in Early Modern Finland. In C. Fertig, R. Paping, & H. French (Eds.), Landless Households in Rural Europe, 1600-1900 (pp. 220-242). Boydell & Brewer. Boydell Studies in Rural History. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781800106031.011
JYU authors or editors
Publication details
All authors or editors: Uotila, Merja
Parent publication: Landless Households in Rural Europe, 1600-1900
Parent publication editors: Fertig, Christine; Paping, Richard; French, Henry
ISBN: 978-1-80010-603-1
Journal or series: Boydell Studies in Rural History
Publication year: 2022
Publication date: 19/07/2022
Pages range: 220-242
Number of pages in the book: 272
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Publication country: United Kingdom
Publication language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781800106031.011
Publication open access: Not open
Publication channel open access:
Abstract
Most craftsmen in rural Finland were so-called parish artisans like Jacob Sahlsted. Formal recognition of their status required a licence to work (granted by the provincial governor) and the obligation to pay a special craft tax. There were also other kinds of artisans in the countryside, such as village blacksmiths and craftsmen working in manor houses. Some of these people lacked an officially acknowledged status, but they made handicraft products all the same. Some peasants also plied a trade, but they were registered as peasants rather than artisans, because it was considered more prestigious to be a landowning farmer. As a result, Finnish artisans were by no means a homogeneous group and their esteem varied according to their position within this group. However, the special skills possessed by some craftsmen meant that they were held in higher regard than other non-landed households, and often had access to land. This chapter will examine artisans’ opportunities to engage in agriculture: discussing which of them had access to land and in what circumstances. Next, it will review the general position of artisans in local society, especially by looking at the marriage markets and godparent relations.
In early modern Finland, the ownership of land was legally restricted and connected to villages and the possession of whole estates or farms because the Crown did not want landownership to be divided into small parts.
Keywords: craftspeople; handicraft sector; occupations (professions); history; countryside; land ownership; farming; societal status; socioeconomic status
Free keywords: Suomi; Suomen historia
Contributing organizations
Ministry reporting: Yes
Reporting Year: 2022
JUFO rating: 2