Krigets och fredens relativa tillstånd : Ålänningarna och krigets och fredens villkor 1808-1856

It is often difficult to determine when war turns into peace. Peace is not estab- lished at an exact moment, but grows gradually out of a state of war. In times of peace, preparation for war can be so extensive that peace differs only marginally from war. Hence, the concept of war needs to be refined. The situation on the Åland Islands in the period 1808-1856 shows how the transition from peace to war was not an absolute phenomenon. In 1809, the islands were transferred from Sweden to Russia. To the islanders, the most noticeable consequence of their al- tered status was the annual quartering of Russian soldiers in their homes. At times, Russian troops were quartered in as many as 60 percent of the households on the islands. Soldiers stayed for months, sometimes for as long as ten months in a year. The quartering of soldiers never led to serious confrontations, but a bal- anced relationship could be maintained between the Russian military and the Ålanders. The islanders supplied the military with fuel and transports. The con- struction of the fortress at Bomarsund affected the islanders only indirectly, however. With the outbreak of the Crimean War the Ålanders were placed in a difficult situation. French and British troops captured and destroyed Fort Bomar- sund in the summer of 1854. The constitutional status of the islands was uncertain and the islanders suffered a crisis of loyalty. In 1856, Åland was demilitarised