Research project Crowdfunding the realm – fundraising, state building and community formation in Sweden, ca 1650–1860
Who is responsible for taking care of vulnerable people? And what are the limits to this responsibility? These questions were constantly present for people in early modern Sweden as the collection bag was passed round the congregation during Sunday service.
The tradition of congregational fundraising dates back to the earliest Christian communities. However, during the 18th century, the Swedish state increasingly asserted control over which causes could receive charitable donations and who the beneficiaries would be. In a time marked by war, crop failures, and economic crisis, local church collections expanded into a nationwide institution for humanitarian aid. Fundraising practices—and the debates they provoked—offer valuable insight into how notions of humanitarian responsibility were expressed and developed between 1650 and 1860.
On one level, this project explores how fundraising shaped the relationship between the state and its subjects. Because collections were fundamentally voluntary, the state could not simply compel parishioners to give. Instead, collections became a site for negotiating ideas about responsibility and legitimacy.
On another level, the project examines how community identities were formed in early modern society. Why would parishioners choose to support people beyond their immediate locality? The collection institution reveals the multiple communities to which parishioners were believed to belong—and which of those they themselves found most important.
Project members
Project managers
Olof Blomqvist
Postdoc
