This study explores the heritagisation of war trophies in early modern Sweden. The ways in which contemporary artefacts have been historicised and charged with new meanings through specific practices are analysed. These practices form part of a process enacted by a network of human agents and objects constituting an early example of heritagisation. The empirical material comprises selected objects in the collection of the Swedish Army Museum, archive documents and printed royal decrees and resolutions. By examining objects as well as contemporary texts on the collecting and the display of the trophies, a process that has influenced collection management in museums of today is recorded and analysed. The study adheres to the interdisciplinary field of Critical Heritage Studies and proposes that a critical approach to the production of heritage might be applied also to early modern times.   Sökord: War trophies, collections, antiquarian practices, cultural heritage

Master of Arts / Department of History / Charles W. Sanders / On September 13, 1950, in a culmination of three years of efforts by organizations and individuals inside and outside the Harry S. Truman administration, 69 captured battle flags from the Mexican-American War were formally returned to the Mexican government at a ceremony in Mexico City. The events surrounding the return of flags to Mexico occurred in two distinct phases. The first was a small, secretive, and largely symbolic return of three flags conceived and carried out by high-ranking U.S. government officials in June 1947. The second large-scale, public return of the remaining flags in the custody of the War Department was initiated by the American Legion and enacted by the United States Congress. Despite their differences, both returns were heavily influenced by contemporary events, primarily the presidential election of 1948 and the escalation of the Cold War. Also, although the second return was much more extensive than the President originally intended, it was only through his full support that either return was accomplished. In the decades since 1950, historians have either ignored the return of Mexican battle flags or focused instead on Truman’s wreath laying at the monument to the niños héroes in Mexico City in March 1947. This study, for the first time, provides an in-depth description of the efforts to return captured Mexican battle flags and explains why these war trophies were returned while others have remained in the United States. The goal of this investigation is to present the efforts of the Truman administration for what they truly were: an unprecedented act of international friendship. Although the actions of the U.S. government and private organizations were partially influenced by self-interest and Cold War fears, their primary motivation was a sincere desire to erase the painful memories surrounding the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 in an effort to improve future relations between the two countries. Many historians point to the Truman administration as the end of the Good Neighbor Policy toward Latin America. This study, however, argues that the return of captured Mexican battle flags represents the true pinnacle of the United States’ Good Neighbor Policy toward its southern neighbor.

This study has aimed to understand Suggan and Galten as its history and story has changed through time. To achieve this a biography perspective are applied. Suggan and Galten is war trophies taken from Russians during the Livonian war (1558-1583) and now presented at Gripsholm castle. Apart from understanding their history this study is going to discuss Suggan and Galtens role as war trophies, furthermore how they relate to society both now and then. But also, how they are viewed upon as cultural heritage.  This thesis has been based on a litterature study with supplementary illustrations to put Suggan and Galten in a larger context. In the litterature study an object biographical perspective has been obtained to be able to study the entire life story. Materiality and agency have also been used to explain human relationships to the cannons and to try to clarify peoples actions around them. The object biographical perspective has verified several aspects of Suggan and Galtens life journey. With the help of the theoretical starting point, the development of the cannons from Äldre Vasatiden to the present day has partly been accounted for. The study describes how Suggan and Galten were casted in Moscow by casting master Andrei Chekhov. How they were used by the Russian army in the Livonian war. Then taken over by the Swedes and shipped to Sweden. Once on Swedish soil, they participated in a trophy parade and then became cultural heritages at Gripsholm castle. War trophies refer to an object taken during conquest, which Suggan and Galten were. Furthermore, they have been used as war trophies in parades to demonstrate the power of the royal family. It was also during this time that the cannons began to develop into a cultural heritage. Only when the cannons were placed at Gripsholm castle where they considered as cultural heritage. / Studien har undersökt Suggan och Galtens livshistoria från tillverkningen i Ryssland till utställningen på Gripsholms slott. Syftet och frågeställningarna har varit att förstå och tydliggöra Suggan och Galtens utveckling genom tid och rum. Samt att redogöra för kanonerna som krigstroféer och varför dem blivit det. Slutligen har kulturarvsfrågan diskuterats utifrån objekten och hur de har speglats i samhället både då och nu.  Uppsatsen har baserats på en litteraturstudie med kompletterande bildmaterial för att sätta Suggan och Galten i ett större sammanhang. I litteraturstudien har ett objektbiografiskt perspektiv erhållits för att kunna studera hela livshistorien. Materialitet och agens har också använts för att förklara människans relation till kanonerna och för att försöka klarlägga personers handlingar kring dem. Det objektbiografiska perspektivet har verifierat flera aspketer av Suggan och Galtens livsresa. Med hjälp av den teoretiska utgångspunkten har kanonernas utveckling från Äldre Vasatiden fram till idag delvis kunnat redogöras för. Studien redogör för hur Suggan och Galten gjöts i Moskva av gjutmästare Andrej Chokhov. Hur de användes av den ryska armén i livländska kriget för att sedan övertas av svenskarna och skeppas till Sverige. Väl på svensk mark deltog de i troféparaden för att sedan bli ett kulturarv på Gripsholms slott.  Krigstroféer syftar på föremål som tagits under erövring vilket Suggan och Galten gjordes. Vidare har de som krigstroféer använts i triumfparader i syfte till att påvisa kungafamiljens makt. Det var även under den här tiden som kanonerna började utvecklas till ett kulturarv. Först när kanonerna placerades på Gripsholms slott ansågs de som fulländade kulturarv.

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