Introduction: Encounters and Trading Practices

Abstract

During the nineteenth century, the circulation and exchange of various goods increased considerably, which affected trade on global, regional, and local levels. This volume uncovers one important yet neglected form of emerging itinerant livelihoods—namely, ambulatory petty trade—and how it was practiced in Northern Europe during the period 1820–1960. Northern Europe includes here the Nordic countries (Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark), the Arctic and Subarctic Europe, and northern Estonia. The introductory chapter presents central concepts, such as livelihoods, petty trade, social and cultural encounters, along with theoretical premises, such as situated practices and materiality that underlie the collection. With the period chosen, 1820–1960, the chapter points to continuities and changes when it comes to inequalities and various forms livelihoods in the Nordic region.