In Hopes and Fears for the Future in Early Modern Sweden, fifteen scholars present their views on different aspects of Swedish-Finnish society during the years 1500 1800. The book focuses on the remarkable events and processes taking place in the Swedish realm during this era. Behind each event was a web of individual hopes and fears which motivated people’s actions. The universal theme of hopes and fears has occupied persons of all eras, and the present volume will interest scholars and students in cultural history, early modern studies, history of mentalities and political culture.

Sääty-yhteiskunnassa ihmisten odotettiin pysyvän säädyssään koko elämänsä ajan. Ihmisillä oli kuitenkin unelmia ja toiveita; monet tavoittelivat parempaa tulevaisuutta. Tähän tarvittiin hyvän onnen lisäksi suunnittelua ja monenlaisia taktiikoita. Myös epäonnistuminen oli mahdollista, mikä saattoi aiheuttaa epätoivoa ja pelkoa. Tällaisten toiminta- tapojen ja tunteiden tutkimus on aiemmin jäänyt vähälle huomiolle historiantutkimuksessa. Teoksessa viisitoista tutkijaa tarkastelee ruotsalais-suoma- laista yhteiskuntaa toiveiden ja pelkojen kautta. Kirjassa teemaa käsitellään muun muassa varhaismodernien aikojen kulttuurihistorian, mentaliteettien historian sekä poliittisen kulttuurin tutkimuksen näkökulmista.

Persons living in the older Estate society were expected to live according to their station in life, and to be content with the situation into which they were born. But people nonetheless harbored dreams and goals for a better future, and this sometimes led them to strive for higher station in life than the one into which they were born. In the end, persons were not prisoners of their social estate, and climbing higher on the social ladder was indeed possible. It required, however, careful strategizing and the use of a variety of tactics, the study of which has been neglected in traditional history research. The use of such tactics by social actors sometimes allowed them to realize their hopes, but also left space for failure, which gave rise to very real fears.

In Hopes and Fears for the Future in Early Modern Sweden, fifteen scholars present their views on different aspects of Swedish-Finnish society during the years 1500 1800. The book focuses on the remarkable events and processes taking place in the Swedish realm during this era. Behind each event was a web of individual hopes and fears which motivated people’s actions. The universal theme of hopes and fears has occupied persons of all eras, and the present volume will interest scholars and students in cultural history, early modern studies, history of mentalities and political culture