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In 1867–1868 northern Sweden suffered from a famine that has not gained much scholarly interest. Here we study how this famine was relieved in Västerbotten county. We use unique regional and local administrative sources alongside other contemporary reports. Our results show that the relief quantities coming into Västerbotten county were significant, in proportion to the size of the population, the depth of the harvest failure, and in relation to historical state aid. In addition, we reveal the complex interplay between the state, market, and civil society that, at least on the county level, contributed to a seemingly efficient administration for alleviating the effects of harvest failure. However, our results point to bottlenecks in the administration of relief at the local municipal level, which call for further investigations.

Den här texten riktar fokus mot första hälften av det formativa 1800-talet då en äldre maktordning utmanades genom krav på decentralisering och breddat inflytande. I samband med det tillkom flera nya organisationer i gränslandet mellan offentligt och privat, och här studeras hushållningssällskapen som ett utmärkande exempel. Hushållningssällskapen betraktas i ett nytt ljus genom att betona deras funktion som ett medel för interaktiv styrning. Medlemssamansättningen analyseras för att utröna vilka socialgruppers makt och inflytande hushållningssällskapen utövade, och huruvida det skedde förändringar i tid och varierade mellan olika delar av landet. Genom resultaten framträder en bild av en organisation som kunde fylla en viktig funktion under en period av snabb samhällsomvandling då centrala ämbetsverk, kommunalt självstyre och landsting ännu saknades eller var i vardande. Medlemssammansättningen visar att en elitär karaktär bestod men att den ingalunda var oföränderlig. Gamla eliter såsom adel och prästerskap ersattes nämligen av förmögna jordbrukare och personer som genom yrke och ämbete representerade en ny framväxande samhällsordnings eliter. Studien bidrar till vår förståelse av det turbulenta 1800-talets ekonomiska och politiska historia, då olika former för förvaltning och breddat inflytande prövades innan mer beständiga och för nutiden mer bekanta former etablerades. Studien belyser också betydelsen av organisationer i gränslandet mellan offentligt och privat, och vad som kan påverka deras förmåga till inflytande och att attrahera medlemmar över tid.

This article investigates the functioning of organizations in the grey zone between the private and public sectors during a period of rapid societal change. The focus is on the first half of the nineteenth century, a formative period in Swedish history when an old order was challenged by demands regarding decentralization and democratization. The establishment of new organizations may be linked to these demands, and this article investigates hushållningssällskapen as a characteristic example of these. The paramount aim of hushållningssällskapen was to promote agriculture, while they actually covered many aspects of social and economic life. Hushållningssällskapen constituted, and still constitute, a nationwide organization with strong regional and local roots. They were linked to the government but relied on membership and election procedures. Thus, a new arena emerged for interactions between actors interested in rural spaces and activities.

This article presents a new theoretical and empirical approach with the aim of filling a knowledge gap regarding the importance and functioning of hushållningssällskapen in the process of societal change. Drawing on research concerning rural governance, hushållningssällskapen may be considered an example of a governance arrangement. The membership composition is investigated in relation to the activities of the organization with regard to geographical differences and changes over time. Two regional branches of the organization are compared: Malmöhus county and Västerbotten county.

The results show that the composition of members and activities varied geographically and changed over time in tandem with regional economic characteristics and societal transformation. The representation of old elites such as the nobility and clergy decreased in favour of the relative elites of a new societal order, namely bureaucrats, professionals, and wealthy farmers. Furthermore, the vitality of hushållningssällskapen appears to have benefitted from strong ties to the county administrative board, especially when hushållningssällskapen provided opportunities for having an impact on the implementation of state policies. In summary, hushållningssällskapen could play an important role as a governance arrangement. They bridged a gap during a period when a modern bureaucracy and democratic institutions did not exist or were in the making.

I denna uppsats beskrivs och förklaras huvuddragen av svensk trädgårdsproduktions utveckling i relief mot den svenska ekonomins utveckling, från sent 1800-taloch fram till 1970-talet. I industrialiseringens kölvatten skedde en omvandling ochkraftig tillväxt som fortgått sedan dess. Grönsaker, frukt och bär med mera tillfredsställde nya smakpreferenser. Handeln med trädgårdsprodukter ökade, bådeinom landet och genom import, och en ökande konkurrens drev på förändringar ibranschen.

This essay investigates the long-term development of Swedish horticulture from the industrial revolution to the 1970s. It calls for future research in the history of horticulture and provides a supportive analytical framework for this. With reference to international research, it argues that the nutritional transition was shaped by consumer preferences and by demand and supply capacity.

The breakthrough for the Swedish horticultural industry in the late 19th century can be explained by an increased demand capacity caused by rising incomes and new consumption patterns. The shortcomings of domestic supply capacity soon became evident as imports increased rapidly from around 1900. Global competition has remained tough and has shaped domestic production ever since. The World Wars changed competition in favour of domestic producers, who were still unable to keep up with demand, however. The interwar period brought increased state regulations of agriculture, but horticultural production remained unregulated. The rapid expansion of global trade after the Second World War brought back intense competition, but also a successful transformation and improved efficiency supported by state aid. The recession and rising energy prices caused by the oil crises of the 1970s hit Swedish producers hard, especially greenhouse production. However, it also brought a new wave of improved efficiency of, for instance, energy and surface use. New innovations spread worldwide. Increased efficiency also meant that visual appearance and sturdiness took precedence over taste and scent in production. Negative reports concerning consequences of using pesticides appeared already in the late 1960s. But the integration of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and fossil fuels into rationalized production systems made change difficult.

Since the industrial revolution Swedish horticulture has been unable to satisfy an ever-growing demand. With the exception of disruptions caused by the World Wars, growing imports have put pressure on Swedish producers who have responded with innovations and improved efficiency. However, part of the explanation why Swedish producers have persevered despite global competition lies in consumer preferences. Consumers have continued to favour domestic production.

Previous research has connected progressive deforestation in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with an increase in the demand for timber for building and wood for fuel and a failure to replant. This paper investigates a southern Swedish region during the nineteenth century, where a tendency to deforestation and a low standard of forestry had prevailed for a long time despite restrictions on felling and attempts to promote replanting. We show that a new type of agricultural organization – the Hushållningssällskapet – encouraged the replanting of woodland and the improvement of forestry practice. It supported the enforcement of State policy, but also protected the interests of farmers, not all of whom were persuaded that replanting woodland was a good use of their land. The paper provides new evidence for the state of forestry and the active role of agricultural organizations during a crucial period of agricultural transformation. 

Was there an agro-ecological crisis in Europe which preceded and contributed to pushing forward the agricultural revolution? This article presents a new theoretical and empirical approach to this controversial perspective on agricultural transformation and relates to an ongoing debate on conditions of growth in pre-industrial societies. The results demonstrate that there were indeed indicators of a crisis, which grew stronger during the eighteenth century and culminated in the early nineteenth century. The crisis was, however, not general, but was rather restricted to areas that stand out due to poor natural conditions for agriculture. In other words, the crisis was conditional. Furthermore, the findings show that the crisis could push forward changes that were important for enabling agricultural transformation and growth. However, both the emergence and reversal of the crisis were connected to new opportunities opened up by market development. Enough differences were found between different types of regions to suggest that there were many development paths within the agricultural transformation process, and that they were not necessarily linear.

The European Early Modern period provides examples of stagnating and even declining production and energy consumption per capita, which can be interpreted as indicators of an emerging crisis. With a focus on agriculture sector, some have suggested that the crisis was ‘conditional’ – meaning that a crisis can only be observed in some cases. This article investigates one such case, a village in Southern Sweden during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and investigates the mechanisms that mediate population growth to deteriorating living standards and environmental degradation. It provides new insights into the conditions of pre-industrial agriculture, particularly as regards the consequences of intensified demand pressure in ecologically fragile areas, and argues that human societies must be studied in tandem with their natural surroundings.