Kingdoms on the Periphery of Europe: The Case of Medieval and Early Modern Scandinavia
Abstract How did the relatively backward areas of Europe narrow the gap, in terms of economic and fiscal development, with the ‘more advanced’ areas? This chapter seeks to explain what might be called the ‘early harmonization’ of the European economy, which was the product of a long period of state...
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| Format: | Book Part |
| Language: | English |
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Oxford University PressOxford
1995
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198205456.003.0005 https://academic.oup.com/book/chapter-pdf/53076005/isbn-9780198205456-book-part-5.pdf |
| Summary: | Abstract How did the relatively backward areas of Europe narrow the gap, in terms of economic and fiscal development, with the ‘more advanced’ areas? This chapter seeks to explain what might be called the ‘early harmonization’ of the European economy, which was the product of a long period of state formation in Scandinavia. During this process, three kingdoms came into being, namely Denmark, Norway and Sweden (with Finland). Other types of governmental structure formed on the periphery of these kingdoms. The Danish and German social and fiscal systems fused in Schleswig and Holstein, while peasant republics existed in Iceland and Ditmarschen on the west coast of Holstein. This chapter attempts to demonstrate how and why these early states moved towards the European level of fiscal development. The main emphasis will be on the majority of the population in these areas, the peasants, and on the mechanisms by which their economic surplus was transferred to the nascent state structure. |
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