Maintenance of Armies and Its Impact on Rural Everyday Life Local Experiences 1550–1750

Abstract

This chapter offers a long-term microhistorical perspective of the effects of the military on the rural population by following the history of two southern Finnish villages, Hyvinkää and Kytäjärvi, from the 16th to the 18th century. Although the villages were directly touched by war only a couple of times during the period, they were continuously shaped by the indirect presence of warfare and military readiness. They paid taxes to finance the military, lost a significant amount of their male workforce in wars, were obliged to provide upkeep for passing troops, and had to endure new manor lords who gained land grants in return for military service and disturbed the local power balance.