1. UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG
SPRING TERM 2011
THE AGRARIAN REVOLUTION IN SCANDINAVIA
An overview of the evolution of agriculture in Scandinavia through time is
provided here. This paper focuses on the main changes which led to today’s
economic success of Scandinavian countries. The evolution is tackled into two
separate parts: one considering Sweden and the other is about Denmark’s
development. Finally, a brief conclusion is provided in the last section.
SOCIAL CHANGE SEMINAR – MODERN SCANDINAVIAN ECONOMIC HISTORY

2. Modern Scandinavian Economic History- The agrarian transformation
INTRODUCT ION
The agrarian revolution in Scandinavia took place during the 18th and 19th century but it has
strong roots in the previous centuries. On the contrary of what could suggest the word
“revolution”, it was rather a transformation, i.e. a slow and long-term change more than a
sudden breakthrough. Indeed, Scandinavia witnessed political change in parallel with
economic development, which resulted in the evolution of the peasants’ mentality and a shift
of their role in the society.
Previously to the period so called “the agrarian transformation”, Scandinavian agriculture
was merely done following the roman system. The inefficiency of this one has been proven
several times through many famines who led to important increase in mortality rate. The
agrarian transformation is a rupture with the past in the sense that it is a period of increases in
per capita food production and production surplus which permitted to avoid cyclical crises.
(Magnusson, 2000) According to Magnusson, “rising per capita production will in the long
term create the conditions for a more extensive division of labour, increased market
production and a process of social differentiation in the agricultural sector”. In other words,
the consequences of agricultural transformation shaped the entire Scandinavian society
through many aspects such as politics and do not only involve the agricultural sector.
THE CASE OF SWEDEN :
Sweden has always been a world of freedom for human being, but even if serfdom did not
exist, there were social barriers and classes. In fact, before the year 1700, people could be
classified following distinctive categories. Firstly, there were the king, the nobles and the
priests. Then there was a lower class composed of agricultural workers such as freeholders
(who paid taxes to the crown), tenants of crown land (who paid rent to the crown), and tenants
of land owned by the nobility (who paid rent to the nobility). Despite the heterogeneity of
peasantry; at least freeholders and tenants of crown lands were represented in parliament
where they could defend their interests.
In 1701, the opportunity given to peasants to become freeholders by buying crown land was
one major step towards an increased political influence of the farmers (Winberg). Moreover,
in 1789, the peasant representation took even more importance thanks to the removal of
restrictions on ownership. This could have been a major reform leading to a radical change in
peasants’ mentality but, according to Winberg, the progress in agricultural method came more
from progressive noblemen and middle-class persons. This idea is emphasized by Heckscher
who states that “the advancement of the peasantry” was only due to political issues more than
any economic development.
Nevertheless, all historians do not agree with this pessimistic vision of conservative
peasants. According to Gadd, the new ownership conditions, i.e. which including more
protection for the freeholders, led to several improvements such as iron ploughs and
cultivation of potatoes. These had a major influence (such as crop rotation previously) on the
productivity in the 1770’s and offered the possibility to create even more surplus.
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3. Modern Scandinavian Economic History- The agrarian transformation
In conclusion, the outcomes of Wiking-faria(2010) might be a good way to look at the
drivers of the Swedish agrarian transformation. According to him, the most constructive
developments were the possibility to buy freeholds and secondly the settlement of peasant-
friendly policy. These two key points have led Sweden on the path of economic success by
encouraging the improvement of farming methods.
THE CASE OF DENMARK 1:
In Denmark, agriculture had a dominant place in the economy and was characterized by
high productivity levels. Nevertheless, this high productivity is to be put in relationship with a
highly commercialized economy rather than a higher share of total labour which was in reality
lower than the European norm.(Henriksen)
One of the major drivers of Danish development between 1870 and 1970 could be related to
Ricardo’s law of comparative advantage. According to Henriksen and the comparative
advantage theory, the Danish farmers had incentives to export their production in UK. For
some particular products such as butter or pork, this proportion represented more than 90% of
the total production.
Secondly, Denmark owes also his success to a favorable international trade policy. The free
trade agreement allowed peasants to get really specialized in a certain task and thus increase
the productivity by the mean of economy of scales. Even if liberalism had proven its benefits,
there were several cases where farmers, represented by the Danish Royal Agriculture Society,
tried to impose tariffs in order to protect one particular business.
The third driver of the agrarian revolution in Denmark is co-operatives and the
technological change that they induced. Co-operatives had a strong impact on the agricultural
landscape by re-organizing the share of lands in a more equal way. In parallel, it gave rise to a
homogenous part of the population which began to organize itself in a more complex way.
This is illustrated by the opening of saving banks and the promotion of new farming methods
inside the co-operatives. These associated with technological innovation such as cream
separator or cold storage increased dramatically the production.
Contrarily to what could be thought, co-operatives did not mean more fairness for
everybody. As an independent farmers not belonging to a co-operative, your investment
possibilities and the opportunity to benefit from economy of scales were strictly limited. The
prohibitive cost of transport and the limited access to capital led to the replacement of little
enterprises to the benefit of co-operatives.
Finally, like in Sweden, there was a favorable educational background to support the
agrarian transformation. Since 1814, instruction in reading, writing and religion was
mandatory but took really effect later. In 1849, the new constitution stated that the state will
take in charge de educational fees for people of limited means. These were the first steps
towards the development of several institutions which led research in Denmark and increased
productivity by spreading innovations through the country.
1
This section about Danemark is based on Henriksen : The transformation of Danish Agriculture 1870-1914.
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4. Modern Scandinavian Economic History- The agrarian transformation
CONCLUSION
In summary, the agrarian revolution is a necessary step for traditional economies to evolve
towards modernity. The role of this transformation is often underestimated and credits are
given to the industrial revolution. Nevertheless, the changes induced in agriculture created the
required conditions for industrial change. These conditions do not only include technical
innovations but also social changes, a shift in mentalities, new educational policy and political
transformations. Finally, one crucial point to keep in mind is that the agrarian transformation
was a really slow process taking part during the 18th and 19th century which settled the basis
of prosperous Scandinavian economies for a long time.
BIBLIOGRAP HY
Literature:
Magnusson, Lars: An Economic History of Sweden (Chapter 1 & 2 pp. 1‐56)
Articles
Henriksen, Ingrid : The Transformation of Danish Agriculture 1870 -1914
Winberg, Christer: Another Route to Modern Society: the advancement of Swedish peasantry
Thesis
Pablo Wiking-Faria: Peace, freeholding and iron ploughs. Motivating forces and processes of
change during the agricultural revolution in Halland, 1700-1900.
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