'Österland', or 'Österlanden', is a historical
land of Sweden. ''Österland'', which literally means eastern lands, is the old name for what today geographically is the southern part of the
Republic of Finland. It is bounded to the north by the sparsely populated
Norrland.
Provinces
The following seven
provinces formed ''Österland'':
History
Traditional "lands" of Sweden.
(Different stages of expansion marked by shades. Borders as of year 1700.)
In the
13th century the kings of the recently
christianized Svealand incorporated Finland into their Kingdom under influence from the
Church. The details of this process are not known: the traditional concept of three "crusades" has been dismantled by modern research. The conquest took place at the same time or later than Sweden was united under one king; and the ''Österland'' was seen as a constituent part of the Swedish kingdom, although represented in the elections of Swedish kings first in
15 February 1362 (when Haakon Magnusson was elected as co-regent of his father).
Many Swedish settlers moved into the western and southern coasts of Österland (now Finland) during the 13th century. There is no conclusive archaeological or toponymical proof of
Norse-speaking inhabitants in Finland during earlier times outside the
Åland Islands.
An interpretation has been made that the part "
Vend" in the later established titulary of Kings of Sweden (
three crowns in the
Coat of Arms, three kingdoms: ''King of the Sveas, Götes and Vendes''; (Sveas, Götes och Vendes konung in Swedish) means Finland, the form being akin to Findland, Vindland. As such, the Österland (medievally inhabited parts of Finland) was the third kingdom and part of the realm.
In
1581, the provinces of the ''Österland'' were declared a
Grand Duchy by King
John III of Sweden, who as a prince, in
1556, had been granted a part of that territory as a
duchy created beside other duchies ruled by his brothers. The creation of that Duchy was chiefly a part of the civil war between the late King
Gustav Vasa's sons, and had no lasting effects, whereas the titular grand duchy lasted for over two centuries and ultimately evolved into an autonomous state for a third century and more.
The notion ''Österland(et)'' fell gradually off use. In the 17th century often substituted by ''"Finland and Ostrobothnia",'' letting the coastal provinces
Finland Proper and
Ostrobothnia lend their names to their large backlands, although
Viborg's and
Kexholm's provinces were occasionally mentioned separately. During the
parliamentary era of the 18th century, by the Swedes known as the ''
Age of Liberty,'' virtually the whole of present-day Finland was twice occupied by Russian forces (
1714–
1721 and
1742–
1743), known by the Finns as the ''
Greater Wrath'' (Stora ofreden in Swedish) and the ''
Lesser Wrath.'' ( Lilla ofreden in Swedish) After that, ''"Finland"'' became the predominant term for that area — both in domestic Swedish debate and in Russian propaganda promising liberation from Swedish oppression.
''Österlandet'' (''Finland'') remained a part of
Swedish Realm - also known today as
Sweden-Finland - until the
Finnish war of
1808–
09, when it was ceded to
Russia, along with eastern
Norrland, and came to constitute the autonomous Russian
Grand Duchy of Finland.
''See also:
Historical provinces of Finland''
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