Voices of the forests. Eviction, control, and the birth of the ‘Parish Lapp’ system in early modern Sweden

ABSTRACT This paper examines the birth of the exploitative sockenlappssystemet (the ‘Parish Lapp’ system) in central Sweden during the early eighteenth century. Based on a foundation of control and eviction instituted in earlier laws, the 1720s saw a forceful rise in royal concern over the existence of nomadic Sámi in central Sweden. His Majesty King Fredrik I specifically expressed fear of damage to the resources of the forests through Sámi hunting, especially bird hunting. The period between 1720 and 1730 saw King Fredrik corresponding with the Royal Council, the county governors, and some groups of Sámi agents. The council sought to evict the Sámi and move them or have them move to the lappmarker. The Sámi agents claimed birth right and asserted that Sámi in central Sweden had no relationship to either the land or the Sámi in the northern part of the realm. This paper uses a historical anthropological perspective, based on a wide set of sources, including historical archaeology, history, and ethnography, in order to paint a bigger picture of the conflicted situation that led to the founding of the unique system of forced indenture: the so-called Parish Lapp system.