Sweden's Storskifte: How Enclosures Reshaped the Land

In the 18th century, Sweden underwent a dramatic agricultural transformation known as the Storskifte, or 'Great Share'. This episode dives into the reforms championed by Jacob Faggot and later refined by Rutger Macklean in Skåne. We explore how the old system of strip farming—where each farmer owned scattered strips across common fields—gave way to consolidated plots, boosting efficiency but also causing social upheaval. The Storskifte, and its successors enskifte and laga skifte, redrew the Swedish countryside, created new villages, and forced many small farmers off the land. We discuss the role of the kungliga vetenskapsakademien (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences), the surveying techniques used, and the long-term impact on rural society. This episode connects the enclosure movement to Sweden's later industrialization and emigration, showing how a seemingly dry policy change had profound human consequences.

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