Commerce in Sweden, Part 1

 From Market to Supermarket

Kiviks market

Today, most people buy what they need in malls, nearby stores or online. But there was a time when trading was a much more complicated business. Join in the shopping in old-time Sweden!

The law governed the trade

Lawbook

Rules and prohibitions made trade in the past often required long journeys to cities and markets.

It is difficult to imagine how cumbersome the trade was until the second half of the 19th century. Selling the surplus of the farm's production, and buying what you needed yourself, could require weekly, sometimes month-long trips to cities and marketplaces.

It was a consequence of Sweden's large land area and sparsely populated population, but above all of the royal regulations and ordinances that forbade most trade in the countryside.

The motive for the ban, which was introduced as early as the 13th century and survived until the middle of the 19th century, was major political- The government, usually the king, wanted to prevent foreign merchants from gaining control of important parts of Swedish trade.

Instead, they wanted to create thriving Swedish trading cities, with merchants who were strong enough to be able to assert themselves in the competition. It was demanded, it was believed, that the merchants in the cities gained a monopoly on domestic trade.

It is easy to believe that the farmers went to the nearest town and there sold products and made their purchases. But that was far from always the case. Homeowners calculated where they could get the best prices for their goods, and at the same time get the cheapest purchases.

It was sometimes long journeys. Time was not, as it is today, a scarce commodity. And most city trips were made in the winter, when the agricultural spirit was down and sledding on frozen roads and streams made transportation easier than in other seasons.

From Lapland, Jämtland and Ångermanland, the "sörkörarna" to take an extreme example - could go all the way to Stockholm with butter and meat from game, a journey of seventy miles or more in each direction, Otherwise, the population in the provinces bordering Norway did Lapland, Jämtland and Härjedalen like to do their business there. For the western parts of Dalsland, southwestern Värmland and northernmost Bohuslän, Halden in Norway was a trade center. Västgötar (people from the region of Västergätland) and Smålänningar (people from the region of Småland) gladly traveled to Gothenburg.

The most affluent and spendable farmers could spend the night in taverns and inns. More common, however, were simple sleeping places for the travelers, and stables for the horses, with crofters and small farmers along the road. In undeveloped areas there were special "cabins" with a fireplace, bunks to sleep on and stables for the horses.

In the cities, as a rule, the merchants kept lodging with the peasants with whom they did business.

The markets, which were held at the same time each year, also played an important role as a trading place for the farmers. Most large markets were held in the winter, and many were connected to the church weekends when the people on the farms still took time off and had time for market visits. Hence the many market names for "fair" such as Eriks- and Larsmässan in Uppsala, Eskilmässan in Eskilstuna, Pedersmässan in Linköping, Olovsmässan in Skänninge, Sigfridsmässan in Växjö and Hindersmässan in Örebro.

Animals such as horses, oxen, cows and pigs were bought and sold in most large markets, but most importantly the special cattle markets. Large ones were held in Skänninge and Värnamo, in Hova and svenljungai västergötland, in Vrestorp in Närke and in Filipstad.

In addition to the markets, and to butchers in nearby towns, the farmers sold animals to itinerant cattle traders. These gathered the animals in herds and drove them to the slaughterhouses. Most talked about are the ox drives all the way from Småland to Stockholm. Big-eyed viewers on the Östgöta and Sörmland plains could witness scenes similar to those we see today in Wild West films.

The ban on rural trade was lifted in two stages around the middle of the 19th century. By the trade order of 1846, it was allowed to conduct rural trade in places that were at least 30 km from the nearest town. With the business freedom reform of 1864, it was free to establish trade movements anywhere.

Free stores in the countryside no longer posed a threat to urban merchants. The increased purchasing power, the supply of new goods and products and the influx to the cities, which followed the industrialization, meant that urban trade could flourish, while rural trade developed.

//Daniel