Papers by Jan-Erik Engren
International Journal of Maritime History, 2021
This article examines the emergence of the nineteenth-century Ålandic peasant yacht within the la... more This article examines the emergence of the nineteenth-century Ålandic peasant yacht within the larger political, economic and social context of the central and northern Baltic Sea region. Through an analysis of the region's fluctuating and changing trading environment following the Finnish War of 1808-1809, it is demonstrated that the increasing uncertainty, as well as decreasing profitability, of previously stable trading relations provided the necessary impetus to change the traditional vessel design. Avenues for both foreign and domestic innovations are examined. In addition to exogenous influences, wherein the role of the Ålandic peasant sailors' involvement in the Swedish navy is accentuated, the effects of the increasing smuggling activities of the archipelago's inhabitants and the competitive sailing environment that emerged during trading journeys are considered as factors that possibly affected shipbuilding. The results highlight the complex networks and processes through which innovations are generated, transmitted and adopted.
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Papers by Jan-Erik Engren