8 - Foreign Merchants in Early Modern Sweden: A Case of Intermarriage, Trade and Migration

Summary

The family was very significant for foreign merchants settled in Sweden. These merchants and their families were not only active in commerce, but they acted as shareholders in ships, and played important roles in cultural spheres of society. They often chose to marry into foreign families. Intermarriage was to some degree motivated by the wish to expand geographical contact networks and international relations. It had great economic and social impact, allowing the merchants to foster trust and credibility, to avoid risk and cut business transaction costs. This chapter explores the national and international orientation of geographical contact networks established by foreign merchants living in Sweden and discusses their connections and cultural orientations.

For the foreign merchant settled in early modern Sweden, family networks were very significant. Family members and relatives were not only engaged with each other in commercial activities as, for example, creditors and shareholders in ships and companies, but they were also involved in sustaining and shaping social and cultural values, tastes and practices of burghership.

The foreign merchants who lived in Sweden often chose to marry outside of their own ethnic group and into other burgher families of foreign origin. Examples from Arboga, Stockholm and Gothenburg illustrate, for instance, intermarriages between German and Scottish as well as German and Dutch families. These unions were frequently dictated by pragmatic thinking and expectations of economic and social benefits. The decisions to relocate to Sweden and intermarry stemmed from the wish to boost capital, obtain monopolies and expand the area of business and the types, volumes and qualities of merchandise through access to new markets. Factors such as extending geographical contact networks and international relations, especially for families who could be described as Misch-Europäer – culturally mixed Europeans – had a great economic and social impact, too. These networks facilitated the formation of trust and credibility, which helped the merchants to avoid risk and cut business transaction costs. In the credit market, these factors were vital.

Migration, trading activities and partnership strategies of foreign merchants who settled in Sweden are the central focus of this chapter. Attention will be paid to the national and international orientations of their contact networks and the importance of family background and family origin in the ability to participate in, take advantage of and generate earnings from large-scale mercantile operations.