Svenbjörn Kilander

Professor Emeritus of History

Together with Erik Nydal, Anna Stjernström and Stefan Dalin, Svenbjörn Kilander has studied the local development of the forest management in the hinterland of northern Sweden from 1850–1906. During this time period, the forest ceased to be viewed as rather useless and was instead seen as a means of achieving considerable personal wealth. 

Social, Economic and Political Aftermath

In his research, Svenbjörn Kilander takes into account the changes in social and economic structures due to the process of industrialisation.

– A great any things happened during this timeframe. I look into all real estate sales made in eight villages within three parishes in northern Jämtland along with all felling rights and all loans taken with real estate as collateral. What interests me is the societal change that occurred, the social, economic and political aftermath of the forest being ascribed a value.

Questioning Conceptions about Illegal Logging

During the 1820s, the Crown began handing out enormous forest areas in Jämtland for free to famers and pioneers. This was done in the hope of creating tax revenue; if the land was cultivated by the farmers, they would have a taxable income. Parts of the soil in Alanäs, Frostviken and Ström, however, proved almost unusable for agriculture. Instead of tilling this land, the farmers sold the forest as lumber. A common historical view is that the big lumber companies cheated the farmers out of their felling rights for a pittance. Through his studies, Svenbjörn Kilander points to a considerably more complex reality. Even so, the stories of questionable, if not downright illegal, logging still live on.