Industry and the Local Economy: Changing Contact Patterns within the Luleå District during the Nineteenth Century Author(s): Ian G. Layton Source: Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography, Vol. 70, No. 1, Landscape History (1988), pp. 205-218 Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/490756 Accessed: 27-06-2016 09:16 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography, Wiley are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Geografiska Annaler. Series B, Human Geography This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 09:16:19 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms INDUSTRY AND THE LOCAL ECONOMY: CHANGING CONTACT PATTERNS WITHIN THE LULEA DISTRICT DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY By Ian G. Layton Layton, lan G., 1988: Industry and the local economy: Changing 100--- HUNTING contact patterns within the Lulei district during the nineteenth century. Geogr. Ann. 70 B (1): 205-218 FISHING REINDEERHRN WORKING OIIRON- IORE ON ARMING TIMBER- Landscape changes have been studied in great o-"-- 1550 A 1600 R i160,N 1700IN 17;0WORKING 1800 1850 1900 detail at the level of the agricultural village, taking up changes in the local agrarian organization, land Fig. 1. A model of the sequence of long-term changes in the trade use and settlement patterns. At a wider regional economy of the Lule valley. level, however, the landscape has usually been affected by a variety of other factors, over and above those of agricultural methods and organiza- tion. This is particularly true in northern Sweden zone where conditions were best for agriculture, during the nineteenth century, when industry set fishing and maritime trade contacts. The primate its imprint on the landscape and economy both settlement was (and still is) the town of Luleat, within and beyond the domains of the agrarian- controlling the mouth of the river and serving as a based communities near the coast and in the lower typical gateway port and administrative centre for valleys of the major rivers. The extensive forested the vast interior. In these latitudes, agriculture territories of the interior, hitherto less accessible alone has rarely been able to provide sufficient and largely devoid of permanent settlement or income for subsistence and taxes, so that subsi- pronounced culturAl impact, began to be marked- diary means of livelihood have traditionally play- ly affected by man's quest for resources. Instead of ed important roles in the region's economy. The the earlier, pre-industrial balance between man surpluses from livestock farming, fishing, sealing, and nature, intensified economic activity began to hunting, Lappish trade, tar-burning and the hand- pervade the primeval forests and sensitive moun- sawing or hewing of timber, had long provided the tain environments-not simply for local or nation- necessary commodities for an export trade, which al needs, but to supply the seemingly insatiable facilitated the import of foodstuffs, salt and other demands for raw materials from the great concen- essentials to support an otherwise precarious life trations of population in Europe's rich farmland in these northern climes. and industrialized coalfield areas. This short study An analysis of the export trade of the Lulea aims to demonstrate some of the effects of this district reveals long-term changes in the relative technological and socio-economic changeover on importance of a succession of products (Figure 1). contact patterns relating to home, place of work The nineteenth century saw both a continuation and local commerce, in the lower valley of the and an acceleration of this process of change, as Lule river in northern Sweden. the traditional agrarian products gave way first to The huge catchment area of the Lule river ex- a proto-industrial and then to a truly industrial tends from the mountain and tundra zones, utilization and processing of local forest and through the sub-boreal forests to the still-emer- mineral resources (Figure 2). Unfortunately it has ging coastal plains flanking the Bay of Bothnia. not proved possible to differentiate between the Prior to the nineteenth century, permanent settle- timber that was sawn by hand, or by water- or ment was mostly in the form of villages, which steam-powered sawmills; however, the district's were largely confined to the more fertile coastal steamsaws increased rapidly in number and capa- Geografiska Annaler 70 B (1988). 1 205 This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 09:16:19 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms I. LAYTON (2) (2) % (2) (3) (4) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) (5) % Ioo-,-. -- 1o0,? oo 90:::::::90: 90 HUNTING AND SEALING so . so : ::............ 80....... ...FISHING AND ..70 ..... ... 70 *.70 NORWEGIAN TRADE . REINDEER HERDING 60, 60 60 so. so ...so FARMING 50 50 .50 *0 TAR BURNING TIMBER-WORKING 2050 20 20 0O IRON50 ORE FIRON-WORKING 1791- 96- 1816- 21- 26- 31- 36- 41- 46- 5- 56- 61- 66- 71- 76- SI- 86- 91- 96- 95 1800 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 1900 Sources: Lulefi's domestic export trade 1792-1861 from the town's fiscal records (Stadens enskilda rakenskaper H: 1, Luleds stads arkiv, Harn6sand Landsarkivet); Lulefi's foreign trade 1790-1900 from customs house summaries in the Board of Trade records (Utrikeshandel ser. 4, Kommerskollegiets arkiv, Riksarkivet). Fig. 2. Changes from traditional to industrial commodities, as shown by relative value of Lulefi's export trade during the nineteenth century. city after 1860, especially during the boom of the trict of Nedertorne i (Brindstr6m, 1984); the 1870s, and the latter decades of the century saw employment opportunities offered by the new the demise of virtually all of the exporting water- industries may have permitted earlier marriages saws. The 1870s mark the take-off of industri- among agricultural workers, thus increasing the alization in the Luleai valley as, in addition, the possible size of families; furthermore, industrial iron industry was reorganized around the Altap- labour requirements often exceeded local skills pen rolling mill, steamships took over from sail in and resources, occasionally resulting in inmigra- the export trade (c. 1880) and railways were con- tion of workers during initial and expansive phases structed (1887-92). These technical innovations of technological change. within industrial processing and transportation Below the Lappmark boundary the population gave rise to an enormous upswing in the rate and more than doubled between 1815 and 1870 (from extent of resource utilization, which gave new 8,379 to 17,837) and then redoubled by 1900 to employment opportunities not only to the local 'landless' population but also to both seasonal and permanent migrant labour. 40- 0 35 a Population growth z S30- After the fall in population in connection with the 0 disastrous war with Russia (whereby Sweden lost 25- NEDERLULEA Finland in 1809), the Luleai district experienced z-Z /220- & LULEA TOWN 2 / continuous growth throughout the rest of the cen- 5 / OVERLULEA <* & EDEFORS tury (Figure 3). This expansion was traditionally 10- LULEA PARISH explained by 'peace, vaccination and the potato', S OWN- ... -JOKKMOKK but other factors probably need to be considered. 5 -- . .. .* & KVIKKJOKK Recent research has shown, for example, that 0 . i" i . .i o....' 1750 1800 1850 1900 nineteenth century improvements in hygiene and 1750,1,0-0.. ... the revival of breast-feeding decreased the rate of Fig. 3. Population changes in the Lulei district. Sources: census infant mortality by half in the neighbouring dis- datafrom Tabellverketl1749-1859andFolkrdkningarl1860-1910. 206 Geografiska Annaler 70 B (1988).1 This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 09:16:19 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms INDUSTRY AND THE LOCAL ECONOMY 1825 0 UNOCCUPIED 0 EXISTING SETTLEMENTS IN 1700 SSETTLEMENTS ORIGINATING AFTER 1700 LULEA. GAMMELSTAD(OLD TOWN) O THE PRESENT TOWN OF LULEA --- PARISH BOUNDARY 9500 0 J 2600 01500 1000 500 100 50 5 1850 SELET .00* HARADS O( verlulo A) 1831 HEDE N (Nederlule A) RODEN * S900 '\HARADS (Edefots) 1881 (Nedertuleh) RODEN SVART6N ALTAPPEN4 Fig. 4. Population distribution in 0 5 10 15 20 25 Km the Luleh district 1825,1850, 1900 (after Egerbladh, in Egerbladh and Layton 1986, p. 113). Geografiska Annaler - 70 B (1988)- 1 207 This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 09:16:19 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms I. LAYTON reach 34,620. This growth resulted in the need for had risen to 14, and they were almost all located new church centres as settlement spread further outside the old agricultural areas on suitable fall inland, remote from the old church at Gammel- sites downstream from the forest resources that staden (Figure 4). In 1831, therefore, the old coas- they wished to utilize. Not only the logs but also tal parish of LuleA was divided into NederluleA the sawn planks were floated on the Lule River (still centred on Gammelstad) and Overlulea, the and its tributaries, as overland communications latter obtaining its own church in Boden. This and means of transport were still lacking.