Book Chapter

The œconomia of iron and steel: Material transformations, manual skills, and technical improvement in early modern Sweden

  • Måns Jansson
  • Göran Rydén

Sweden was a major exporter of iron during the early-modern period, but there was also an important domestic steelmaking. We analyse the Swedish iron and steel trade in a long perspective in a European context. Our approach departs from recent discussions on industrial and scientific developments, in which the spheres of “Hand” and “Mind” are brought together, and where artisanal skills and natural resources are highlighted. We emphasise how the migration of people, and movements of materials and knowledge, influenced a process of gradual change. A key feature was the ongoing interactions between working people and educated savants. Our conclusion points to the perseverance of artisanal skills well into the nineteenth century, but also towards new links between work, technology, and markets.

  • Keywords:
  • Iron & Steel,
  • Skill & Knowledge,
  • Nature,
  • Technology,
  • Markets,
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Måns Jansson

Uppsala University, Sweden - ORCID: 0000-0001-7220-1651

Göran Rydén

Uppsala University, Sweden - ORCID: 0000-0002-4156-4027

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  • Publication Year: 2023
  • Pages: 237-262
  • Content License: CC BY 4.0
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Chapter Information

Chapter Title

The œconomia of iron and steel: Material transformations, manual skills, and technical improvement in early modern Sweden

Authors

Måns Jansson, Göran Rydén

Language

English

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0092-9.15

Peer Reviewed

Publication Year

2023

Copyright Information

© 2023 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Bibliographic Information

Book Title

L’economia della conoscenza: innovazione, produttività e crescita economica nei secoli XIII-XVIII / The knowledge economy: innovation, productivity and economic growth, 13th to 18th century

Editors

Giampiero Nigro

Peer Reviewed

Number of Pages

456

Publication Year

2023

Copyright Information

© 2023 Author(s)

Content License

CC BY 4.0

Metadata License

CC0 1.0

Publisher Name

Firenze University Press

DOI

10.36253/979-12-215-0092-9

ISBN Print

979-12-215-0091-2

eISBN (pdf)

979-12-215-0092-9

Series Title

Datini Studies in Economic History

Series ISSN

2975-1241

Series E-ISSN

2975-1195

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