During a period corresponding to approximately 1789−1872 the Swedish system of estates was phased out. New ideas challenged the organic view of society, and through a number of political reforms the estate privileges were abolished one by one. The reforms went hand in hand with a change in the social stratification at that time. The distinct difference between peasants and gentlemen that had characterized the countryside were erased and replaced by new ways of categorising people. This development has been described in broad strokes in previous research, leaving the roles of individuals overshadowed. This thesis is about individuals who were on the border between being peasants and gentlemen, how they were viewed by the class society, and the role they played in the dissolution of the same. The focus is centred on a population of wealthy farmers around the rural areas of Västerås during the years 1780−1900, and how they were perceived and acted in terms of title, lineage, education, occupation, farm holdings, building customs, naming customs and political life. The investigation shows that the differences between peasants and gentlemen remained during the period, but that it changed in character from a difference in kind, to a difference in degree. Important reasons for this were the gentlemen’s increased interest in agriculture and the emergence of a group of very wealthy farmers. The increase of rich farmers was more prevalent in the first half of the nineteenth century. They embraced some of the gentry’s behaviour, for instance through the acquisition of mansions, but as they often held political positions that by law should be held by peasants, they also preserved their common appearance. In this way the limits for what could be considered common were moved forward, and the difference between peasants and gentlemen weakened. The gentry’s interest in agriculture increased gradually and was marked by the introduction of agricultural institutes in the mid-1800s. As the old elite increasingly devoted themselves to agriculture they used titles as ”possessionat” and ”godsägare” (landlord) to rise above the peasants. They made themselves the elite in the peasants' own field, thus opening up to being associated with rich farmers.

Den här uppsatsen handlar om spridningen av jordbrukskunskap i Sverige under slutet av 1700-talet. Genom en analys av källmaterial från i första hand Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien, men även andra samhällsinstitutioner involverade i att försöka förbättra det svenska jordbruket, undersöker jag vilken roll spridandet av jordbrukskunskap spelade i den sociala och politiska utvecklingen i Sverige. Med hjälp av Thomas Gieryns idéer om ”boundary work” och med ett fokus på frågan om kunskapens spridning, kan jag visa att socialt och politiskt kontroversiella frågor var närvarande i försöken att förbättra det svenska jordbruket. Genom själva spridningen av kunskap deltog jordbruksförbättrarna i upprättandet och reproducerandet av idéer om ståndsutjämning och medborgarskap. Dessa slutsatser gör det också möjligt att ifrågasätta en etablerad berättelse om naturvetenskapens och vetenskapsakademiens plats i det svenska samhället under den här perioden. I stället för att diskutera deras ställning så som en fråga om ”status” som går upp eller ned, visar jag att vad som sker är ett publikskifte. Vetenskapsakademien involverar sig i det stora projektet för jordbruksförbättring i samband med att man får en mycket större publik. I stället för att konstatera att akademien plötsligt blir irrelevant analyserar jag vad det innebär att man börjar tilltala en allmogepublik som man betraktar som en avgörande pusselbit i byggandet av ett starkare Sverige.

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This essay is a contribution to the process of reconstructing the meaning of a concept that has been long forsaken and somewhat forgotten. It examines the way in which the Swedish nobility perceived the politically active peasantry during the 1740s as an expression of the prevailing political culture of the period. The aim of this study is thus to understand a bygone world of thought that once existed in a very turbulent political culture. I focus on the words formed and articulated in the halls and rooms of the Swedish estates by which the thoughts, opinions and power of the Swedish government came to the fore. In doing so it is possible to say something about how the nobility, in their relationship with the peasantry, constructed an object which represented their perception of the Swedish peasant and what this meant. In other words the persona that the nobility attributed the peasants. The new political culture of the Age of Liberty (1719–1772) allowed the peasants to enforce a political offensive that gave raise to new ways of expressing themselves, new ways of performing and new ways of positioning themselves in relation the other estates. This also meant a change in how the other estates perceived and acted in relation to the peasantry. The peasant persona was mainly characterized by negative traits and qualities. He was foolish, unqualified and naïve in his quest for increased political rights. However, he was also regarded as humble, benevolent and as a dedicated man. He was a Swedish citizen, just as the members of the nobility, and therefore he had an inherent value because of his love for his homeland. This made it possible for the nobility and peasantry to protect themselves against intruders, to strive forward and to live in harmony with each other. / <p>Författaren har bytt namn till Jakob Starlander.</p>

<p>The purpose of this paper is to examine how the arrival of class society is expressed in the social dance of high society during the second half of the eighteenth century. The study is based on the idea that culture and society develope in interaction; that changes in the economic, political and social life determine the cultural expressions as well. What I wish to examine is whether cultural themes from the developing bourgeois culture – individualism, to be precise – is expressed in the social dance during the second half of the eigthteenth century. // The study shows that public balls definitely gave people a chance to show off on the dance floor in spite of social rank. The assemblies were open to everyone, and there were no formal distinction between the estates. The equality was enforced furthermore in the bal masques. // In spite of this formal equality, there are also signs of public assemblies not being quite the arenas for individual triumph beyond the boundaries of estate that they could be. Comments about dance and individuals are for example way more common in connection to private gatherings than public. When writing about public balls focus is primarily on the attender’s social rang, and more seldom on the dance at all. It’s clear that the mixing of estates was a source of agitation, and also that it was hard for peasants and merchants to compete with the nobility on their home ground. In theory the dance culture was boundary-crossing, but in reality the rift between the estates was still wide.</p>

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the arrival of class society is expressed in the social dance of high society during the second half of the eighteenth century. The study is based on the idea that culture and society develope in interaction; that changes in the economic, political and social life determine the cultural expressions as well. What I wish to examine is whether cultural themes from the developing bourgeois culture – individualism, to be precise – is expressed in the social dance during the second half of the eigthteenth century. // The study shows that public balls definitely gave people a chance to show off on the dance floor in spite of social rank. The assemblies were open to everyone, and there were no formal distinction between the estates. The equality was enforced furthermore in the bal masques. // In spite of this formal equality, there are also signs of public assemblies not being quite the arenas for individual triumph beyond the boundaries of estate that they could be. Comments about dance and individuals are for example way more common in connection to private gatherings than public. When writing about public balls focus is primarily on the attender’s social rang, and more seldom on the dance at all. It’s clear that the mixing of estates was a source of agitation, and also that it was hard for peasants and merchants to compete with the nobility on their home ground. In theory the dance culture was boundary-crossing, but in reality the rift between the estates was still wide.