Den politiska sjukan : Dalupproret 1743 och frihetstida politisk kultur

The dissertation deals with political culture in the Age of Liberty as it is manifested in the uprising in Dalarna in 1743. The object of the study is the political repertoire used by the peasants – a combination of utilisation of political institutions and different forms of protest such as tax boycotts and a march from Dalarna to the capital. Emphasis has been placed on the interactive aspects of the movement. Thereby, the repertoire used by central authorities to suppress the movement is equally important. Results show that the peasants formed their actions in close connection with the reactions they were met with by the authorities. Initially, the attempts to demobilise the peasants’ movement actually facilitated its mobilisation. As the peasants’ political repertoire is uncovered, it has been possible to study the movement’s mobilisation process through the use of mobilising structures, political opportunities, and interpretative processes. Hence, the significance of the uprising to the protesters is clarified. The protesters viewed their actions as part of an ongoing political debate, legitimised by the government’s neglect of its obligations towards the people, rather than as a subversive uprising. The Dalarna uprising of 1743 was an integral part of political culture in the Age of Liberty through its combined use of formal and informal political institutions and arenas. The uprising is an eloquent expression of the increasing political assertiveness among the peasantry and the peasant estate in Sweden in the eighteenth century