From valet to smuggler : A micro-historical study of a French intermediary in Stockholm, 1775-1832

• This article is a microhistorical study of the life of Marcellin Robert, a craftsman's son who came to Sweden from rural France and became one of the greatest smugglers in late eighteenth-century Sweden. Through his transgressions of the law and his connections at court, he was able to navigate the ever-harshening import legislation to become an important conveyor of French fashion in Sweden. As revolution swept France, Robert maintained close links to his native country and was able to provide uninterrupted access to French goods when most other channels closed. Robert's case illustrates the possibilities available to a maverick intermediary in the changing European landscape of the late eighteenth century. It also shows the crucial role such individuals could play in side-stepping official legislation and in realising the cosmopolitan aristocratic lifestyle in a protectionist nation like Sweden. 

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Historia och arkeologi -- Historia (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- History and Archaeology -- History (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Historia

History

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)