The Sales of Crown Farms and State Finances 1580–1808

This chapter analyses the sales of crown farms as a form of financing the war. The early modern Swedish crown was a major landowner, as, under Swedish law, all farms deserted or unable to pay their taxes three years in a row became crown property. The article shows how the selling of these farms to private buyers became an important source of revenue in the 18th century, first to finance the Great Northern War and later to cover the massive public debt created by the war. By purchasing crown farms, private Swedish and Finnish individuals became indirectly important financers of war.

Correction notice

One correction has been made to Chapter 4 of this book: Talvitie, Petri. The Sales of Crown Farms and State Finances 1580–1808. Footnote 1 has been added to reflect that the chapter is partly based on an earlier work (Talvitie 2020), thus changing the original numbering of the other chapter footnotes by one. Said publication has been added to the chapter’s bibliography. Original release date: June 22, 2021. The publication has been reloaded in its corrected form on March 8, 2022. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused.