Life in the Torne Valley in the 1730s
In Midsummer 1736, a French expedition arrived in Europe’s northernmost town, founded more than 100 years earlier in 1621. There was a long period of peace in the Swedish Empire, and the population of the Torne Valley was growing rapidly.
Tornio – The northernmost town in Europe
Even before the founding of the town, there had been a long-established trading post on the island of Suensaari in Tornio. The first definite mention of the parish of Tornio dates back to the 1340s.
When the French expedition arrived in Tornio, the town, which had been destroyed during the Great Northern War (1700–1721), had just been rebuilt. in the 1730s, Tornio had about 520 inhabitants.
The expedition stayed in the rooms of the town's bourgeoisie and clergy and socialised with them. The conversation was mainly in Latin – only a few people in Tornio knew French.
Especially in winter, the members of the expedition had time for social life.
Sweden in the 1730s was in a period between wars
At the time of Maupertuis' expedition, present-day Finland was part of the Swedish Empire.
Sweden's reign as a great power had ended with the Great Northern War and its decisive battle at Pultava in 1709. Russia had occupied Finland between 1714 and 1721. The period soon became known as the Great Wrath.
The Russians did not occupy the Torne Valley permanently, but made repeated attacks on the area. The town of Tornio was emptied for a few years, when its inhabitants fled to Lapland, to nearby neighbours or to the capital, Stockholm.
The upper reaches of the river survived the war better than the town. In the 1730s, the settlement of the Torne Valley grew rapidly. When Maupertuis's expedition went back and forth along the Torne, settlement was still concentrated mainly on the riverbank.
In 1741 Sweden was again at war with Russia. At that time, the Torne Valley was affected not only by the war but also by poor harvests and epidemics.
Torne Valley was part of the Province of Västerbotten
The Torne was a major channel
The main reason why the expedition built a triangulation network on the hills between Tornio and Pello was the river. The channel facilitated movement between the measurement points. Large and heavy measuring instruments could be carried quite easily on boats.
In the eyes of the French, the boats were light and their rowers brave and tireless. Travellers were impressed by the way the locals navigated the many rapids of the Torne.
According to Outhier's experience, not a single resident of Tornio was found without a boat.
In winter, the channel was travelled by horse-drawn sleighs. Winter roads were marked with young trees and rapids bypassed by land.
Industries in the Torne Valley
The river valley from Tornio to Pello was mainly inhabited by the peasant population, but there were also Sámi living and moving in the area.
The residents of the vicarage and those employed in the army were practically the only gentry – members of the three highest gentry, i.e. the nobility, the clergy and the bourgeoisie – outside the town of Tornio. Their way of life did not differ much from that of the wealthier peasants.
Livestock farming was the central livelihood of the river valley due to the nutrient-rich coastal meadows. During the short growing season, the fields mainly grew barley. In his journal, Outhier described the "very beautiful, round-eared barley" on several occasions.
The largest houses in the river valleys had an average of two horses, 10 to 15 cows and 20 to 30 sheep in 1738, according to the estimate of the bailiff, a state official.
The Sámi traded with the bourgeoisie in Tornio, who travelled up the river during market times.
Maupertuis observed that people lived on bread, butter and buttermilk. The diet was supplemented with reindeer meat and fish.
The courtyards of the houses in the Torne Valley countryside were square in shape, Outhier wrote. Living rooms in the country were the same as in the town. In addition to the living room and the kitchen, the houses usually had two rooms that travellers could use as a place to sleep.
Finding a place to stay was not a problem for the French. Both Outhier and Maupertuis wrote that the locals were extremely hospitable and generous in sharing what little they had.
An image of the unforgiving northern wilderness
In his texts, Maupertuis speaks of the Torne Valley as Lapland. Administratively, the Torne Valley was not part of Lapland at that time, but part of the province of Västerbotten.
Even then, Lapland had a certain exotic stamp, which Maupertuis exploited to his advantage in building an image of himself as an Arctic adventurer. The expedition has gone down in history as the Lapland degree-measuring expedition.
The portrait painted by Maupertuis of himself with his beaska, fur gloves and hats and the winter landscape in the background show well how the northern conditions and northern culture were perceived as interesting in Central Europe.
Sources:
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Vahtola, Jouko. “Tornio - vuosisatojen portti Lappiin ja länteen”: https://www.tornio.fi/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Torniohistoria.pdf