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- Title
Koivujauhon syöjistä kuuluisaan koskenlaskijaan -- Kainuulaisen kruununmaan asukkaan elämän mikrohistoriallinen tarkastelu.
- Authors
Oikarinen, Kimmo
- Abstract
Due to rapid population growth both in the whole of Finland and in the Kainuu region the size of the landless population increased and pressure to settle state owned lands increased significantly. After the general parceling out of land which was carried out in Kainuu between 1841 and 1879 over half of the acreage was owned by the state. The crown tenant farm facility on state owned lands (croft) became an important form of settlement. Not much historical research has been made concerning the practice of establishing crofts under the crown tenant farm facility. The topic has been covered in a few theses where micro-history has been used mainly as a method of representation. In this study four crofts on state owned land in the Kainuu region were studied using a micro-historical research process. Its fundamental aim has been to understand the people involved from the perspective of their own starting points and living conditions. The study's aim is to build a hypothesis concerning the topic. The inhabitants of the crofts included in the study came both from the farm owning and the landless population. The croft founders were already married 30 to 50 year old men who came from the same village or at furthest from the neighbouring parish. It was normal that the tenure of the croft ran in the family. All the studied crofts became privately owned by the end of the 1930s. Among the studied crofts were some of the poorest and some of the most wealthy crofts on state owned land. The poverty of Honkasaari croft in Suomussalmi can be seen as a marginal phenomenon which is representative of the problems of the settlements on state owned land in Kainuu. The tenant of Honkasaari had many children; he had to make his living from odd jobs and his housing was poor. On the other hand the croft of Hanhela in Kuhmoniemi represents the other end of the scale. The large number of inhabitants able to work made it possible to cultivate large fields which matched even the fields of the region's privately owned farms. The inhabitant of Vääräniemi croft in Hyrynsalmi was both a forest ranger and a river pilot. The latter occupation gave him exceptional status and made him unusual among the crofters on state owned land. He can be seen as an exception to the norm. His case among others is a clue that suggests that water routes were still important in Kainuu at the beginning of the 19th century, both as transport routes and sources by which news from the outside world, information and the politics of the day were spread.
- Publication
Faravid, 2014, Vol 38, p127
- ISSN
0356-5629
- Publication type
Article