Finns in the Colonial World
Abstract Utilizing such concepts as “colonial complicity” and “colonialism without colonies”, this chapter examines the case of Finns and Finland as a nation that was once oppressed but also itself complicit in colonialism. It argues that although the Finnish nation has historically been positioned...
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2021
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crspringernat:10.1007/978-3-030-80610-1_1 2024-03-10T08:37:12+00:00 Finns in the Colonial World Merivirta, Raita Koivunen, Leila Särkkä, Timo 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80610-1_1 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-030-80610-1_1 unknown Springer International Publishing https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Finnish Colonial Encounters page 1-38 ISSN 2635-1633 2635-1641 ISBN 9783030806095 9783030806101 book-chapter 2021 crspringernat https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80610-1_1 2024-02-13T16:53:07Z Abstract Utilizing such concepts as “colonial complicity” and “colonialism without colonies”, this chapter examines the case of Finns and Finland as a nation that was once oppressed but also itself complicit in colonialism. It argues that although the Finnish nation has historically been positioned in Europe between western and eastern empires, Finns were not only passive victims of (Russian) imperial rule but also active participants in the creation of imperial vocabulary in various colonial contexts, including Sápmi in the North. This chapter argues that although Finns never had overseas colonies, they were involved in the colonial world, sending out colonizers and producing images of colonial “others”, when they, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, felt the need to project themselves as white and European (not Russian or non-white, such as Mongols). Finns adopted, adapted, and created common European knowledge about colonized areas, cultures, and people and participated in constructing racial hierarchies. These racialized notions were also applied to the Sámi. Furthermore, Finns benefitted economically from colonialism, sent out missionaries to Owambo in present-day Namibia to spread the ideas of Western/White/Christian superiority and instruct the Owambo in European ways. Finns were also involved in several colonial enterprises of other European colonizing powers, such as in the Belgian Congo or aboard Captain Cook’s vessel on his journey to the Antipodes. Book Part Sámi Springer Nature 1 38 |
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Abstract Utilizing such concepts as “colonial complicity” and “colonialism without colonies”, this chapter examines the case of Finns and Finland as a nation that was once oppressed but also itself complicit in colonialism. It argues that although the Finnish nation has historically been positioned in Europe between western and eastern empires, Finns were not only passive victims of (Russian) imperial rule but also active participants in the creation of imperial vocabulary in various colonial contexts, including Sápmi in the North. This chapter argues that although Finns never had overseas colonies, they were involved in the colonial world, sending out colonizers and producing images of colonial “others”, when they, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, felt the need to project themselves as white and European (not Russian or non-white, such as Mongols). Finns adopted, adapted, and created common European knowledge about colonized areas, cultures, and people and participated in constructing racial hierarchies. These racialized notions were also applied to the Sámi. Furthermore, Finns benefitted economically from colonialism, sent out missionaries to Owambo in present-day Namibia to spread the ideas of Western/White/Christian superiority and instruct the Owambo in European ways. Finns were also involved in several colonial enterprises of other European colonizing powers, such as in the Belgian Congo or aboard Captain Cook’s vessel on his journey to the Antipodes. |
format |
Book Part |
author |
Merivirta, Raita Koivunen, Leila Särkkä, Timo |
spellingShingle |
Merivirta, Raita Koivunen, Leila Särkkä, Timo Finns in the Colonial World |
author_facet |
Merivirta, Raita Koivunen, Leila Särkkä, Timo |
author_sort |
Merivirta, Raita |
title |
Finns in the Colonial World |
title_short |
Finns in the Colonial World |
title_full |
Finns in the Colonial World |
title_fullStr |
Finns in the Colonial World |
title_full_unstemmed |
Finns in the Colonial World |
title_sort |
finns in the colonial world |
publisher |
Springer International Publishing |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80610-1_1 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-3-030-80610-1_1 |
genre |
Sámi |
genre_facet |
Sámi |
op_source |
Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies Finnish Colonial Encounters page 1-38 ISSN 2635-1633 2635-1641 ISBN 9783030806095 9783030806101 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80610-1_1 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
38 |
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1793134142285676544 |