Mill Capacities and Mill Monopolies in Early Modern Sweden, 1625–1825

Patrick Svensson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Martin Andersson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

The preindustrial economy and society rested on grain. Most people were occupied with its production, and grain provided the main source of energy. Before it could be consumed, grain had to be processed to become flour. Mill access was thus necessary for survival; consequently, controlling a mill meant control over a crucial link in the local food chain. For their owners, mills provided an opportunity for extraction of their users, who had to pay a share of the grain they ground. In several European countries landlords held ‘suit of mill’ over their tenants, which meant that they had to use the mill belonging to the landlord. In Sweden no such system is known. Instead, local mill monopolies arose because the establishment of new mills was restricted. Only the nobility and the crown were allowed to establish larger mills, and those mills held monopoly rights for a local area. Although beneficial to mill owners, this could be detrimental to society in the long run. A regional study of mills found that one effect of these local monopolies was a severe shortage of mill capacity (Ek 1962). By the early 1800s, much more grain was produced than the mills could process. We study how and why milling capacity and milling monopolies changed in Sweden during the Early Modern period (1625–1825) and to what extent and under which circumstances these monopolies resulted in inadequate milling capacity. We gather data on milling from archival sources for four localities across Sweden, varying in property rights structures, for three periods: the early 1600s, around the year 1700, and the early 1800s. Moreover, we include data on geographical determinants, water/wind, and factors such as technological change and local economic structure to assess the impact of monopolies in relation to other factors affecting overall mill capacities.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 6. Environmental and economic transformations