Kin group and noble dynasty: A campaign between elite families in Jakobstad, Ostrobothnia

Abstract

The story of Jakobstad and its changing power structure is also a story of the shades of feudalism and the landlords who tried to procure more influence in this Finnish town. The town of Jakobstad is located in Ostrobothnia, Finland, on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia, part of the Baltic Sea. It was established in 1652 by Countess Ebba Brahe. I examine the town’s two leading men and their families. The first, Henrik Tawast, was a bailiff of Countess Ebba Brahe's donated land. The other was Rasmus Påhlsson, a peasant freeholder and merchant. They tried to create their own kind of strong family dynasties, which also held leading positions in the town administration and trading business. Granted donations were problematic in terms of peasant freeholders’ rights and independence. In theory, the power in towns should have been in the hands of the town council. The situation in Jakobstad was exceptional because it had been established on donation land. The town burghers and the town council in Jakobstad were not as independent as in other towns: they were subordinate to the donation administration. The power and supremacy in Jakobstad lay in the hands of Ebba Brahe, and she assigned the rights to her donation bailiff, Henrik Tawast. This patron-client relationship between Ebba Brahe and Tawast families is a key factor to understanding Jakobstad's confused administration in the 17th century. The town council was divided into two opposing forces: the Tawast family dynasty and Rasmus Påhlsson’s large family network. Both struggled for pre-eminence in Jakobstad at the end of 17th century. After the Great Reduction of 1680, the Tawast family lost its power in Jakobstad, but its members found their way into high-ranking positions in both the military and the civil service.