The history of Walloon immigration to Sweden begins with industrialists Guillaume de Bèche (Willem de Besche; 1573–1629) and Louis De Geer (1587–1652), known as "the father of the Swedish steel industry". Five to ten thousand Walloons emigrated to Sweden, mainly working in the steel industry. During the 1920s, trade unions presented them to Swedish workers as mythical models.

History

Louis De Geer by David Beck

During the 16th century, forging techniques were improved in the area around Liège (see Walloon forging), which had developed into the capital of European steel production. The Walloons' reputation for steel production became widespread, and was also noted in Sweden. Encouraged by Gustav II Adolf, many Walloons began to emigrate to Sweden during the late 16th and early 17th centuries.[1][2] They came from two main areas located around the cities of Sedan and Liège.[3] At first, most of the Walloons settled in Godegård, Finspång and Norrköping, where the Walloon entrepreneur Louis De Geer was able to lease land.[4][5] Although it was traditionally explained, and it is often assumed, that the Walloons and De Geer fled from their homeland due to religious persecution, nowadays it has been established that the Walloons fled from economic pressures due to widespread unemployment.[6][7]

In Sweden, De Geer met Willem de Besche, with whom he had already had contacts, and who managed the Finspång ironworks until 1618.[8] De Besche, who was also from Liège, had been active in Sweden since 1595, and had participated in the modernization of the Swedish royal ironworks and, especially, in arms production.[8] He is noted for having introduced new ironwork techniques in Sweden, but was not an independent entrepreneur as De Geer, being rather an employee of the king.[8] De Besche was the first to recruit Walloons to Sweden.[6] He settled in Nykoping in 1597, and thanks to his enlisting of Walloons, a Walloon community was established in Södermanland during the years after his arrival.[6] After acting as De Besche's guarantor in 1618 when he leased the Finspång manufacturing plant,[6] from the beginning of the 1620s De Geer completely took over the business of the mill in Finspång. Recruitment took place in such a way that agents were sent out to the smaller mills to recruit the desired professional directly on the spot. But just as often, unemployed Walloons came to the larger towns to seek employment in Sweden at the recruitment offices established there.[6] De Besche was initially responsible for recruiting workforce via De Geer. Since the 1620s, it became the sole responsibility of De Geer, who dispatched his agents from his offices in Liège, Namur, Chimay and Verviers. They would then go about picking the qualified personnel from among the unemployed Walloons.[6]

It appears that the cooperation between De Geer and De Besche ceased in the early 17th century, with the latter later working on his own iron mill in Forsmark, Uppland.[6]

The emigration of the Walloons raised serious concerns with King Philip IV of Spain (to whom Belgium belonged during the early 17th century). In 1624, subject to severe penalty, he forbade Wallonia's blacksmiths to enlist in Sweden and "introduce the art of blacksmithing there, to much damage and harm to Us and Our country, as well as to great self harm to themselves". However, this did not significantly affect migration and the ban was circumvented in many different ways, through the use of disguises and sneak routes.[9][10]

At the end of the 1620s, Louis De Geer got engaged in Sweden's iron industry in the Östergötland, rich in ore.[6] He contracted out the Finspång and Dannemora plants in De Besche's name,[11] becoming their owner in 1641 and 1643, respectively.[12] In the years 1643–1650 the immigration of Walloons to Sweden reached its climax. De Geer expanded the industry of Finspång to a degree that had never been seen in Sweden before.[6] Despite De Geer receiving a promise from Gustav II Adolf that other mill owners would not be allowed to use Walloons as labor, the Walloons began to take employment at other mills in Central Sweden. Along with the blacksmiths, other professional groups also came.

From 1620, between 5,000 and 10,000 Walloons emigrated to Sweden for economic and religious reasons. The Swedes were amazed by their technical knowhow, which helped them make great progress in the steel industry. Between 1620 and 1650, Swedish steel exports trebled, reaching 17,500 tons a year, in particular for the English navy. The Walloons’ lifestyle was also ahead of Sweden's, particularly with regard to hygiene. They remained separate from the Swedish population for a long time, jealously keeping their technical secrets until the end of the 18th century. The Walloons caused a revolution in the Swedish metal industry, laying the foundation "for the fact that the Swedish metallurgical industry today enjoys world-wide reputation."[13]

Legacy and recognition

Walloon immigrants were behind Swedish metallurgy from the 17th century onwards and the Walloon language remained spoken in some areas until at least 1769,[14] while some terms relating to blacksmithing survived well into the 19th century.[14] The impact of Walloon immigration in Sweden was lasting, coming to be embodied in the myth of the Walloon trade-union hero, which corresponds neither to the historic reality of the 17th and 18th centuries nor to the reality of the 1920s in Sweden. The idealized Walloon did not represent a foreign at all, but rather was perceived as genuinely Swedish.[15] Starting from the early 20th century, being of Walloon descent has become almost "as good as being noble".[16] Walloon ancestry also became a way to explain tanned skin or dark hair found in Swedes.[16][15] The Walloons are seen as the first modern Swedes, and are a "sought-after object of identification".[15] The societies built by the Walloons can be considered a precursor of Swedish welfare system.[15]

Walloon man and child at Walloon forge in Sweden

Around 1920, at a time when the Walloon identity was fading, the newspaper of the Swedish metalworkers union gave birth to the myth of the Walloon worker, who was both strong and endowed with a deep class consciousness transposed into the past. This newspaper, Metallarbetaren, printed these surprising lines (June 3, 1922):

Walloons are stronger than the Flemings (the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium), thinner, more nervous, healthier, and they live longer. Their skill and their professionalism are superior to those of the Flemish. They exceed the French in tenacity and enthusiasm - qualities which favoured their immigration in Sweden. But their passionate rashness makes them look like the French people.

Thus was invented the myth of the Walloon capable of trade-union action, in particular by strike, presented as a model to the Swedes. Anders Florén and Math Isacson, in De fer et de feu, l’émigration wallonne vers la Suède (2003), write: "there doubtless existed, in these difficult times of crisis, a strong need for models, and Walloons offered an ideal embodiment of the values which the labor union of the metallurgists intended to promote."[17]

Modern descendants

Many of today's Swedish families are descended from the Walloons.[18] Although many Walloon surnames disappeared, being dropped for Swedish patronymics and Swedish surnames, a few have survived to the present day and are still used.[13] These include: Anjou,[13] de Besche,[13] Birath,[19] Boivie[13][20] or Befwe,[21] Bouveng,[13] Couchois or Cochois,[22] De Geer,[13] Drougge,[23][21] Galon,[13] Garneji,[24] Gauffin,[13][25] Gävert,[26] Gefvert or Giifvert,[13] Gille[13][27] or Gillet,[27] Gilljam,[13] Hybinette,[13][28] Laurin,[13] Lemon[13] or Lemoine,[29] Pira,[19] Pousette[13] and Sporrong.[13]

The number of Walloon descendants in Sweden has been estimated at around 100,000 in the past, which today is believed to be an underestimate. Anders Herou, chairman of the Society of Walloon Descendants (Swedish: Sällskapet Vallonättlingar), does not believe that the number exceeds one million, but amounts to a few hundred thousand.[30]

Notable people

The following is a list of notable Swedes of Walloon descent:

Ingmar Bergman
Gunnar de Frumerie
Ida Matton
Mauritz Pousette
Anders de Wahl

References

  1. ↑ Munck, Thomas (2017). Seventeenth-Century Europe State, Conflict and Social Order in Europe 1598-1700. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781350307186.
  2. ↑ Upplands fornminnesförening (1935). Upplands fornminnesförenings tidskrift... Volume 45. P. A. Norstedt and söner kungl. boktryckare.
  3. ↑ William Olsson, Nils (1981). Swedish American Genealogist Volumes 1-2. Swedish American Genealogist. p. 4.
  4. ↑ Pehrsson, Per (1905). De till Sverige inflyttade vallonernas religiösa förhållanden en studie öfver svenskt församlinglif och religionslagstiftning på 1600-talet. Wretmans Boktryckeri. p. 60.
  5. ↑ Frykenstedt, Holger (1987). Jean Jacques och Aurora Taube de Geer af Finspång och deras värld. Svenska humanistiska förbundet. p. 21. ISBN 9789185158133.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Douhan, Bernt (1982). "The Walloons in Sweden" (PDF). 2 (1). Swedish American Genealogist: 6; 8; 10; 18. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Memo from Belgium. Ministère des affaires étrangères Services de l'information et des relations culturelles (Belgium). 1977. p. 214. The exodus of the Walloons does not seem to have been due to religious reasons: it was largely as a result of economic pressures that the ironmasters and their workers went to seek their fortunes abroad.
  8. 1 2 3 Brand, Hanno, ed. (2005). Trade, Diplomacy and Cultural Exchange Continuity and Change in the North Sea Area and the Baltic, C. 1350-1750. Verloren. p. 69. ISBN 9789065508812.
  9. ↑ Grimberg, Carl (1924). Svenska folkets underbara öden (in Swedish). p. 261.
  10. ↑ American-Scandinavian Review Volumes 51-52. American-Scandinavian Foundation. 1963. p. 302.
  11. ↑ af Sillén, Abraham Wilhelm (1865). Svenska Handelns och Näringarnes Historia Volume 4. Wahlström. p. 115.
  12. ↑ Clason, Samuel (1895). Till reduktionens förhistoria gods- och ränteafsöndringarna och de förbudna orterna. K.L. Beckmans boktryckeri. p. 264.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Olsson, Nils William (1981). What's in a Swedish Surname?. Vol. 1. Swedish American Genealogist. pp. 33–34.
  14. 1 2 "Vallonskans språkliga arv" (in Swedish). Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Florén, Anders. "Andlös var raden av svarta valloner". Opuscula Historia Upsaliensia. Department of History, Uppsala University (19): 11–27.
  16. 1 2 Karlsson, Mats. "Myten om vallonerna". Slakthistoria.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  17. ↑ Anders Florén and Maths Isacson (2003), De fer et de feu, l’émigration wallonne vers la Suède, Louvain, pp. 271-286 (chapter "Le Wallon et les forges dans le discours politique suédois d’entre-deux-guerres").
  18. ↑ Sprague, Martina (2005). Sweden An Illustrated History. Hippocrene Books. p. 127. ISBN 9780781811149.
  19. 1 2 "Pira, släkt". www.sok.riksarkivet.se (in Swedish). National Archives of Sweden. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  20. 1 2 "Boivie, släkt". www.sok.riksarkivet.se. National Archives of Sweden. 1925. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  21. 1 2 "Vallonnamnen lever kvar" (in Swedish). Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  22. ↑ Bure Wijk, Elena. "Couchois – ett yvigt släktträd med många grenar" (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  23. ↑ Bure Wijk, Helena. "Drougge – stor släkt med många grenar". www.helenaburewijk.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  24. ↑ Wallin, Gränt. Vallonsläkten Garneij Smedsläkterna Boija och Tjäder. ISBN 9189527178.
  25. 1 2 "Gauffin, släkt". www.sok.riksarkivet.se. National Archives of Sweden. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  26. ↑ Bure Wijk, Helena. "Vallonsläkten Gävert". Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  27. 1 2 "Gille, släkt". www.sok.riksarkivet.se. National Archives of Sweden. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  28. 1 2 3 "Hybbinette, släkt". www.sok.riksarkivet.se (in Swedish). National Archives of Sweden. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  29. ↑ "Lemoine, släkt". www.sok.riksarkivet.se. National Archives of Sweden. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  30. ↑ Karlsson, Mats (7 August 2019). "Myten om vallonerna". Släkthistoria. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  31. ↑ K. Humanistiska vetenskapssamfundet i Uppsala (1908). Erdmann, Axel (ed.). Uppland skildring af land och folk · Volume 2. Wahlström & Widstrand. p. 592.
  32. ↑ Släktingar.se. "Eurovision-pionjären Alice Babs förfäder". Släktingar.se. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  33. ↑ Gado, Frank (1986). The Passion of Ingmar Bergman. Duke University Press. p. 374. ISBN 0822305860.
  34. ↑ Hedvig Boivie (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  35. ↑ Släktingar.se. "Björn Borg – en av många vallonättlingar". Släktingar.se. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  36. ↑ "Willem Boy". RKD. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  37. ↑ Ottenheym, Koen; Ottenheym, Konrad; de Jonge, Krista, eds. (2013). The Low Countries at the Crossroads Netherlandish Architecture as an Export Product in Early Modern Europe (1480-1680). Isd. ISBN 9782503543338. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  38. ↑ Släktingar.se. "Akademiledamoten Peter Englunds anor". Släktingar.se. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022.
  39. 1 2 Släktingar.se. "Familjen Ingrosso/Wahlgren – en kändistät släkt". Släktingar.se. Archived from the original on 14 February 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  40. ↑ Släktingar.se. "Programledaren Peter Jihdes släkt och förfäder". Släktingar.se. Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  41. ↑ Släktingar.se. "Ulf Lundells anor". Släktingar.se. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  42. ↑ Släktingar.se. "Läkare och valloner i Olof Lundhs släkt". Släktingar.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 15 December 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  43. ↑ Sveriges industriförbund (1952). Meddelanden. p. 329.
  44. ↑ Släktingar.se. "Photographer Lennart Nilsson – Västgöt farmers, Walloons and forest finners". Släktingar.se. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  45. ↑ "Mikael Persbrandt 2004". min. 1:32 to 1:45 (in Swedish). Stockholm: Sveriges Radio. 17 July 2004. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  46. ↑ Släktingar.se. "Leif G.W. Perssons anor i bergslagen". Släktingar.se. Archived from the original on 30 November 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  47. ↑ Släktingar.se. "Alex Schulmans släkt och förfäder". Släktingar.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  48. ↑ Släktingar.se. "Författaren Ulf Starks förfäder". Släktingar.se. Archived from the original on 20 August 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  49. 1 2 De Wahl, Anders (1954). Mormor och morfar minnen från pojktiden. Albert Bonniers förlag. p. 38.

Notes

  1. ↑ Bergman's mother was partly of Walloon descent[33]

Sources

  • Stanislas Bormans, "Les Wallons en Suède", Bulletin de l'Institut archéologique liégeois, vol. XXI, 1888, pp. 127–135 (online)
  • Luc Courtois and Jean Pirotte (eds.), De fer et de feu, l’émigration wallonne vers la Suède, Fondation wallonne, Louvain, 2003.
  • L. Courtois and C. Sappia (eds.), De Fer et de feu. L'émigration wallonne vers la Suède. Histoire et mémoire (XVIIe-XXIe siècles). Exhibition in the Walloon Parliament, Namur, 19-29 Feb. 2008 (Publications de la Fondation Wallonne P.-M. et J.-F. Humblet. Série Études et documents, vol. V), Louvain-la-Neuve, 2008.
  • E.M. Braekman, Le protestantisme belge au XVIIème siècle, Collection Terres Protestantes, Éditions La Cause, Carrières-sous-Poissy, 2001.
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