Under the guidance of editor Göran Rydén this book seeks to answer whether eighteenth century Sweden was de facto a cosmopolitan space with local and as well as global articulations. The focus is consistent in all the contributions in the volume. Methodologically speaking, the authors all compare and connect the relationship of Sweden and cosmopolitanism. This is done for example by looking at Sweden from several different dimensions, including spatial turns and contemporary visions on cosmopolitanism. This leads the authors to arrive at new insights on eighteenth century cosmopolitanism, which by the authors is collectively called “curious cosmopolitanism”. The book consists of fourteen essays. The variety of the authors’ backgrounds makes for an interesting approach as it provides the volume with a shifting focus between aspects of local and global developments.
The book starts with two introductory chapters by Göran Rydén and Chris Evans. In a more theoretical chapter, Rydén introduces the concept of provincial cosmopolitanism and explains how eighteenth century Sweden fits in the more general European enlightenment process. In order to trace the roots of cosmopolitanism, Rydén goes back as far as ancient Greece but also discusses recent scholars in order to understand how cosmopolitanism has been perceived over time. Evans’ contribution is more descriptive, which helps the unfamiliar reader to better understand how Sweden was positioned during the time period in terms of geography, politics, economy and society.
Some chapters in the volume focus on cosmopolitanism from a cultural perspective. An insightful chapter by David Dunér, for example, examines the Swedish mechanic and inventor Christopher Polhem’s idea to construct an artificial universal language. Dunér shows that the construction of an artificial language was a project that aimed to categorize human experiences and mindsets in order to achieve a common understanding. The universal language construction functioned beyond nationality, ethnic or cultural background.
In another chapter, Lars Berglund studies the development of taste and self-cultivation during the grand tours of Bengt Ferrner and Jean Lefebure. Ferrner functioned as companion-tutor to Lefebure, who was a son of wealthy merchant in Sweden. Berglund focuses on music, and the value of this cultural assets in eighteenth century Sweden, revealing how, via music, Sweden and its cultural integration with Europe gradually progressed. This process also had an impact on the various local communities were the music was performed.
A couple chapters deal more with trade and economy. Mats Morell’s study shows how agricultural development stimulated a series of improvements within the realm of science, which ultimately resulted in a Swedish economic boom. This chapter clearly shows how one aspect of society, such as agriculture and the development of intellectual capital, transforms that society and integrates the more remote areas into the center. In a chapter about the urban experiment of the town of Eskilstuna, Goran Rydén analyzes how this relatively small town became more connected with Europe and gradually moved Sweden from mercantilism towards free trade. Rydén follows certain entanglements in the process of economic development between Birmingham and Eskilstuna in order to show that similarities and connections are fruitful tools for historians studying cosmopolitan ideas and values.
A contribution by Leos Müller discusses eighteenth century perceptions of neutrality. Neutral trading was a common practice in the eighteenth century and characterizes trade in that period. In the eighteenth century mindset international trade was perceived as part of a broader power struggle. Müller shows that by studying neutrality it is possible to position Sweden in a political and economic context of (developing) international law. In another chapter Holger Weiss focuses on the Swedish slave trade on the island of Saint Barthélemy and argues that social geography is a useful tool in order to understand why and how the port town of Gustavia became a multilayered cosmopolitan space of Sweden, even though it was far away from the motherland.
Other chapters focus on the social aspects of eighteenth century Sweden. Karin Sennefelt’s comparative chapter shows that eighteenth century Swedish society consisted of a strict social hierarchy, which was based on a collection of attributes. These attributes were crucial elements in order to maneuver and project social position. Karin Hanssa Jansson’s study on gender and luxury in public debates explains how consumption of luxury goods and foreign ideas had an impact on the notion of gender in eighteenth century Sweden. Sonya Petterson in her theoretical chapter focuses on international and local articulations in a world of commercial prints and the development of a bourgeoisie printing culture in Sweden. Petterson shows that material objects and the knowledge of perceiving the objects are at the core of understanding the bourgeois cosmopolite space. Carola Nordbäck’s contribution examines the world of the Swedish-Finnish vicar and politician Anders Chydenius and his cosmopolite ideas on human values and equality amongst people in the world. In another chapter Anna Cullhed similarly follows the cosmopolite career of Stockholm born poet Bengt Lindner, explaining how his values and ideas about his time are clear indicators of the world being more cosmopolite and connected than previously thought.
In the epilogue Ryden and Weiss summarize the cosmopolitan theme of the volume by examining the physical space of Fort Sveaborg in Helsinki, as both a cosmopolite space and as a border space of eighteenth century Sweden. This examination reminds us that the eighteenth century was not just an active or passive time period consisting of a center or periphery. Rather, was a time of change and a gradual processes made the Swedish state more cosmopolite and globally connected.
For the readers of Itinerario this book offers several valuable insights into the eighteenth century world. Although it focuses mainly on Sweden, its theoretical and conceptual structure is well developed and offers important tools for scholars working on trade, culture, politics and society of the period. The contributors’ focus on individuals and their experiences also constitute a major strength because it provides a good understanding of how people actually experienced their world and how curious they actually were.
On the other hand, the individuals that are the subject of this book are mostly representative of the higher social strata. This raises the question of whose cosmopolitan curiosity is actually examined? This does not mean, of course, that cosmopolitanism and curiosity were solely the luxury of a very few, as Lars Berglund explains in his study on the development of folk music in Sweden. It does show, however, that eighteenth century cosmopolitan ideas were not spread equally all over Sweden. Nevertheless, through these ideas and the lives of individuals, it is clear that the eighteenth century marked a new period in Nordic history.
Another minor point of criticism is the choice of counterpoint cases in this volume. Most authors focus on comparing Sweden with England and France. This gives the reader the feeling that enlightenment and cosmopolitan ideas in the eighteenth century were mainly western European. This is a feasible point of departure but it would have been interesting to discuss if enlightenment and cosmopolitan ideas were also adopted from elsewhere and, more importantly, whether these ideas also flowed the other way around. Were there Swedish ideas, practices and values going to other places?
Sweden in the Eighteenth-Century World: Provincial Cosmopolitanism contributes to an important chapter to the historiography of not only Sweden but also the northern European enlightenment process as a whole. The authors deal with the circulation of ideas, practices and experiences in eighteenth century Sweden without limiting their scope to only Sweden proper. This volume broadens readers’ perspective of a wider Sweden, which includes Finland and its overseas interests. This book provides an important contribution to the field, as it shows that cosmopolitanism does not have one definition, but rather consists of locally varying articulations of multilayered spaces, with sometimes great regional variations but still connected in ways which are much more relevant than the differences. This volume reflects current Nordic academic trends, demonstrating why Scandinavian scholarly work today is at the forefront in studying the eighteenth century from a curious cosmopolite perspective.
