Finland: Early History to Independence

Early History to Independence

Finland's first inhabitants, dating from about 7000 b.c., probably followed the melting ice northward, attracted by a good supply of game. The first Finnish-speaking persons to enter the region, who were mostly nomadic hunters and fishers, migrated into Finland from the south. By the 8th cent. they had displaced the small number of Sami who lived in central and S Finland and who were forced to move to the far north of the country, where they live today. The Finns were organized in small-scale political units, with only loose ties beyond the clan level.

From the 11th cent. Christian missionaries were active in Finland. In the 13th cent. Sweden conquered the country. Under the Swedes, Finland enjoyed considerable independence, its political sophistication grew, commerce increased, and the Swedish language and culture were spread. In the mid-16th cent. Lutheranism was established in Finland, and in 1581 the country was raised to the rank of grand duchy.

Finland suffered severely in the recurring wars between Sweden and Russia. In 1696 famine wiped out almost a third of the population. By the Treaty of Nystad (1721), which ended the Northern War, Peter I of Russia acquired the province of Vyborg (Viipuri), and additional areas were lost to Russia in 1743. During the Napoleonic Wars, Finland was invaded (1808) by Russia, at the time an ally of Napoleon I, in an attempt to pressure Sweden into altering its pro-British stance. Despite considerable Finnish resistance, Russia conquered the country and annexed it in 1809.

In the 19th cent., the czars, who were also grand dukes of Finland, allowed the country wide-ranging autonomy, and as a result Finland was able to develop its own democratic system with little interference from St. Petersburg. In 1811, Russia returned to Finland the territory it had taken in 1721 and 1743. In 1812, Finland's capital was moved from Turku to Helsinki. Government in the country was headed by a Russian governor-general (the personal representative of the czar) in conjunction with the Finnish senate; in addition, there was a Finnish minister of state in St. Petersburg who dealt directly with the czar.

Finnish nationalism became a powerful movement early in the 19th cent.; it was inspired by such leaders as the poet J. L. Runeberg; the statesman and philosopher J. V. Snellman, whose promotion of the Finnish language helped it to achieve official status in 1863; and the philologist Elias Lönnrot, who compiled the monumental epic Kalevala. The intensive Russification campaign (begun in 1899) of Czar Nicholas II brought determined resistance in Finland, including the assassination (1904) of Nikolai Bobrikov, the governor-general, and a general strike (1905). Under terms obtained in 1906, a unicameral parliament (whose members were elected by universal suffrage) was established, but it was given little authority by the czar. Following the Bolshevik success in the Russian Revolution (1917), the parliament proclaimed (Dec. 6, 1917) the independence of Finland.

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