Birkarls
Encyclopedia
Birkarls were a small, unofficially organized Finnish group that controlled taxing and commerce in central Lappmarken
in Sweden
during the 13th to 17th centuries.
. King Magnus III Birgersson
is traditionally claimed to have granted their privileges to control the trade and taxes in the north in the later half of the 13th century, possibly just legalizing an already existing situation. Birkarls (bircharlaboa) are first mentioned in 1328, when they are listed as one of the settler groups in northern Hälsingland
that covered the western coast of Gulf of Bothnia
all the way up and around the gulf to Oulu River.
Origin of the name birkarl is probably in an ancient Scandinavian
word birk
that has been used in reference to commerce in various contexts.
In the late 16th century, claims about birkarls coming from Great Pirkkala (a parish in northern Tavastia) emerged, propagated by birkarls themselves in their battle to prevent the state from stripping their privileges. This is at least partly true, since men from Pirkkala appear as witnesses in a document from 1374 about local borders in northern Pohjanmaa
. Later in the 19th century a Finnish term pirkkamiehet or pirkkalaiset was invented as a "domestic" name for birkarls. It never appears in any of the documentation or traditions, but is commonly used in Finland today to mean birkarls.
In total, some 20 theories are estimated to exist to explain the origin and name of the birkarls.
and tax them. Sami people were traditionally taxed by Norwegians already in the Viking Age
or even earlier. Later Russians
started to tax them as well. After having southern Finland under control around 1250, Sweden became interested in the situation in the north. Eventually, some Sami people paid taxes to all three states. Birkarls were just one element in the colonial
system taking benefit of the Sami area.
It seems that birkarls' privileges were more de facto
, than de jure
. No document has survived granting them official right to the tax and trade monopoly in the north, even though the state first supported and later tolerated the situation for centuries.
In practise, a birkarl owned the Sami people on his area, and they were treated as if they were property. Privileges to own Sami people usually went in the family. Later, birkarl privileges became merchandise as well.
, Luleå
and Piteå
River valleys, Tornio being their main area. Each of the valleys formed a separate "lappmark
" with its own birkarls. Sami people south of Piteå were "Crown Samis" that paid their taxes directly to the king.
Birkarls living on their area of influence were very few, totalling only about 50 men still in the early 16th century.
Towards the end of their existence, also Kemi River valley was partly under birkarl influence in the 16th century. In the 1590s, they also tried to gain tax control of the sea Sami people on the Arctic Ocean
.
terminated their right to tax the Sami people. Unable to continue their former lives, many birkarls became local tax authorities (lapinvouti in Finnish).
Birkarls' trade monopoly did not last much longer and was in the line of fire from 1570s. The state wanted to concentrate the trade into towns that were easier to control, making the need for birkarls obsolete. Having no official status, birkarl organization had little means to fight back, and it silently eroded away in the 17th century after administrative changes initiated by king Charles IX
. Tornio, Luleå and Piteå all received their town charters in 1621 marking an official end to birkarls.
which are mentioned in some Norwegian
and Iceland
ic sources in the early Middle Ages
, were an organization similar to birkarls. According to this theory, "Kvenland" would have then been the same area where birkarls later operated. The very small number of birkarls makes this connection unlikely. Swedish sources also mention birkarls to be settlers in their area of operation still in the early 14th century whereas Kvenland is mentioned to be a land comparable to Sweden and Norway already in the Viking Age
.
It is however likely, that northern Norwegians generally called birkarl traders as "Kvens" in the Middle Ages and later. Olaus Magnus
mentions both of the terms in his publication Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus ("A Description of the Northern Peoples") from 1555 CE. Those Finnish traders that went from Tornio
to Norway
, are told to have been called "Kvens".
Whatever the case, most of the Kven minority in present-day northern Norway has immigrated from the same area on which birkarls were active.
Lappmarken
Lappmarken was an earlier Swedish name for the northern part of the old Kingdom of Sweden specifically inhabited by the Sami people. In addition to the present-day Swedish Lapland, it also covered Västerbotten, Jämtland and Härjedalen, as well as the Finnish Lapland. As a name, it is related to...
in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
during the 13th to 17th centuries.
Background
The most probable assumption is that Birkarls were originally Finnish traders mainly from historical TavastiaTavastia
Tavastia may refer to:* Tavastia , a historical province of the kingdom of Sweden, located in modern-day Finland* Tavastia Proper, a modern region of Finland* Päijänne Tavastia, another region of Finland...
. King Magnus III Birgersson
Magnus III of Sweden
Magnus III Ladulås of Sweden, Swedish: Magnus Birgersson or Magnus Ladulås was King of Sweden from 1275 until his death in 1290....
is traditionally claimed to have granted their privileges to control the trade and taxes in the north in the later half of the 13th century, possibly just legalizing an already existing situation. Birkarls (bircharlaboa) are first mentioned in 1328, when they are listed as one of the settler groups in northern Hälsingland
Hälsingland
' is a historical province or landskap in central Sweden. It borders to Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and to the Gulf of Bothnia...
that covered the western coast of Gulf of Bothnia
Gulf of Bothnia
The Gulf of Bothnia is the northernmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It is situated between Finland's west coast and Sweden's east coast. In the south of the gulf lie the Åland Islands, between the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea.-Name:...
all the way up and around the gulf to Oulu River.
Origin of the name birkarl is probably in an ancient Scandinavian
North Germanic languages
The North Germanic languages or Scandinavian languages, the languages of Scandinavians, make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages and the extinct East Germanic languages...
word birk
Birk (market place)
Birk was during the Scandinavian Middle Ages the name for a demarcated area, especially a town or a market place, with its own laws and privileges, the Bjarkey laws....
that has been used in reference to commerce in various contexts.
In the late 16th century, claims about birkarls coming from Great Pirkkala (a parish in northern Tavastia) emerged, propagated by birkarls themselves in their battle to prevent the state from stripping their privileges. This is at least partly true, since men from Pirkkala appear as witnesses in a document from 1374 about local borders in northern Pohjanmaa
Pohjanmaa
Pohjanmaa is the name of a geographical region in Finland which can refer to:-Former entities:...
. Later in the 19th century a Finnish term pirkkamiehet or pirkkalaiset was invented as a "domestic" name for birkarls. It never appears in any of the documentation or traditions, but is commonly used in Finland today to mean birkarls.
In total, some 20 theories are estimated to exist to explain the origin and name of the birkarls.
Sami trade and tax monopoly
The main purpose of the birkarl organization was to control the trade with Sami peopleSami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
and tax them. Sami people were traditionally taxed by Norwegians already in the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
or even earlier. Later Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
started to tax them as well. After having southern Finland under control around 1250, Sweden became interested in the situation in the north. Eventually, some Sami people paid taxes to all three states. Birkarls were just one element in the colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
system taking benefit of the Sami area.
It seems that birkarls' privileges were more de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
, than de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
. No document has survived granting them official right to the tax and trade monopoly in the north, even though the state first supported and later tolerated the situation for centuries.
In practise, a birkarl owned the Sami people on his area, and they were treated as if they were property. Privileges to own Sami people usually went in the family. Later, birkarl privileges became merchandise as well.
Area of influence
Birkarls were active on TornioTornio
Tornio is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , with a total population of . It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda...
, Luleå
Luleå
- Transportation :Local buses are run by .A passenger train service is available from Luleå Centralstation on Sweden's national SJ railway service northbound to Narvik on the Norwegian coast, or southbound to Stockholm. See Rail transport in Sweden....
and Piteå
Piteå
Piteå is a locality and the seat of Piteå Municipality in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The town has 22,650 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 41,000 in 2008.- Geography :...
River valleys, Tornio being their main area. Each of the valleys formed a separate "lappmark
Lappmarken
Lappmarken was an earlier Swedish name for the northern part of the old Kingdom of Sweden specifically inhabited by the Sami people. In addition to the present-day Swedish Lapland, it also covered Västerbotten, Jämtland and Härjedalen, as well as the Finnish Lapland. As a name, it is related to...
" with its own birkarls. Sami people south of Piteå were "Crown Samis" that paid their taxes directly to the king.
Birkarls living on their area of influence were very few, totalling only about 50 men still in the early 16th century.
Towards the end of their existence, also Kemi River valley was partly under birkarl influence in the 16th century. In the 1590s, they also tried to gain tax control of the sea Sami people on the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
.
Decline and end
Birkarls remained useful to the king as long as the state's hold on the north was weak. After the disintegration of the Union of Kalmar in the early 16th century, the situation in the north became more important. A major setback for birkals took place in 1553, when King Gustav VasaGustav I of Sweden
Gustav I of Sweden, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known simply as Gustav Vasa , was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death....
terminated their right to tax the Sami people. Unable to continue their former lives, many birkarls became local tax authorities (lapinvouti in Finnish).
Birkarls' trade monopoly did not last much longer and was in the line of fire from 1570s. The state wanted to concentrate the trade into towns that were easier to control, making the need for birkarls obsolete. Having no official status, birkarl organization had little means to fight back, and it silently eroded away in the 17th century after administrative changes initiated by king Charles IX
Charles IX of Sweden
Charles IX of Sweden also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, brother of Eric XIV and John III of Sweden, and uncle of Sigismund III Vasa king of both Sweden and Poland...
. Tornio, Luleå and Piteå all received their town charters in 1621 marking an official end to birkarls.
Kven speculation
It is often speculated in Finland that ancient KvensKvens of the past
Kvenland, known as Cwenland, Kænland or similar in sources, is an ancient name for an area in Fennoscandia. Kvenland is only known from an Old English account written in the 9th century, and from Icelandic sources written in the 12th and 13th centuries.Since the 17th century most historians have...
which are mentioned in some Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic sources in the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, were an organization similar to birkarls. According to this theory, "Kvenland" would have then been the same area where birkarls later operated. The very small number of birkarls makes this connection unlikely. Swedish sources also mention birkarls to be settlers in their area of operation still in the early 14th century whereas Kvenland is mentioned to be a land comparable to Sweden and Norway already in the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
.
It is however likely, that northern Norwegians generally called birkarl traders as "Kvens" in the Middle Ages and later. Olaus Magnus
Olaus Magnus
Olaus Magnus was a Swedish ecclesiastic and writer, who did pioneering work for the interest of Nordic people. He was reported as born in October 1490 in Östergötland, and died on August 1, 1557. Magnus, Latin for the Swedish Stor “great”, is a Latin family name taken personally, and not a...
mentions both of the terms in his publication Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus ("A Description of the Northern Peoples") from 1555 CE. Those Finnish traders that went from Tornio
Tornio
Tornio is a town and municipality in Lapland, Finland. The municipality covers an area of of which is water. The population density is , with a total population of . It borders to the Swedish municipality of Haparanda...
to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, are told to have been called "Kvens".
Whatever the case, most of the Kven minority in present-day northern Norway has immigrated from the same area on which birkarls were active.