Swedish economic history: 1850-1914

Sweden today, is a rich country. But it hasn't always been. Before the late 19th century, the vast majority of people in Sweden are farmers. Life in the countryside at this time is pretty much the way it has been for hundreds of years: You work hard, and mostly by hand. During bad years, when the crop doesn't grow the way it's supposed to, you starve.

Down on the continent, and in the United Kingdom, industrialisation has already come a long way, but not in Sweden. But then, during the second half of the 19th century, things start happening, and quite fast. Agriculture develops, partly with the use of new and better tools, but especially as a consequence of new laws, that change how farmers own and share the fields between them. Through this land reform - the shift reform - agriculture becomes more effective. A smaller section of the population now works as farmers, but they can still produce the same amount of, or even more, food than previously.

More food and better medicines make the population increase. And now, it's obligatory to go to school, so the growing population is also more educated than previously. Not everyone is needed for farming anymore. And without a job, a lot of people starve. Some, migrate to North America.

Others move to the factories, in search of work. The last remains of old laws, which limited who could work with which trade - the guild system - is finally abolished completely, and now people can can choose for themselves what kind of work to do. From all of Europe, there is an increased demand for goods that Sweden can sell: timber, pulp, steel, and agricultural products. The more Sweden is industrialised, the smaller the fraction of population doing farm work. Three other industries begin to dominate the Swedish economy.

The first is of course iron ore, and steel production. New methods have made production more effective; demand is on the rise; and industry is growing fast, offering jobs to many. The second is forestry. Timber and planks are needed to build new houses, and pulp and paper to supply all the new newspapers and magazines down in Europe. The third new major industry, is mechanical manufacturing.

New factories with modern machines produce everything from matches to ball bearings, telephones, and steam turbines. Sweden, at this point, is not only lucky to have vast reserves of natural resources, like the huge forests and abundant iron ore... ... but also, a quite educated public: there happens to be quite a few skilled engineers and inventors. At the same time, many of the old laws and rules have been abolished, that used to make it difficult to start and run a business. New ideas have developed in other countries, ideas which can be copied...

and improved. Sweden is on its way to become an industrial nation for real. In the new industrial society, it's no longer relevant to divide the population into nobles, priests, citizens, and peasants. Now, the workers, consisting of those who are employed in the mines, steelworks, forests, sawmills, and factories, are a large and important group. Another new group, that is a lot smaller, but also has a great influence on the economy, consists of those who own the steelworks and sawmills - capitalists.

People live a lot differently now, than in an agricultural society, and new conflicts arise, putting different demands on society. The safety net provided by the family and the farm, is no longer always available. This new social structure leads to the formation of new political parties, that represent the new groups in the industrial society. The social democratic party represents the workers, and the Right wing party (later to change name to the Moderates) represents the capitalists. During these years, from about 1850, up until World War One, the Swedish economy goes through an extensive change, in the countryside as well as in the cities.

Sweden is still not a particularly rich country, but it's well on the way towards being one.