Jewish Merchants and the Consumer Market in early 19th Century Sweden

• The 1830s has been singled out as the decade when the Swedish market of consumer goods really started to expand. Changing consumer patterns were a crucial condition for the continued industrial development in the 19th century and a key element in the growth of a modern society. In relation to this, previous research has emphasized the importance of the importing firms in Gothenburg – Sweden’s second town and main port city – since imported goods were sold on to traders focused on the domestic market. At the same time, the production of consumer goods like calicoes, sugar and tobacco increased in Gothenburg. Furthermore, Sweden’s commercial structure developed and the availability of goods rose markedly. In this process, we have in our earlier research emphasized the cooperation between different types of commercial actors such as peddlers, village shops, urban wholesalers and retail traders. When Jews were allowed to settle down in Sweden in the late 18th century, a great deal of them soon established themselves as wholesalers and retailers in textiles. The impact of the Jewish group on the growth of the consumer goods market is consistent with international research, as well as the connection between Jewish commercial actors and the business and industry of textiles. In our paper we would like to discuss the role of the Jewish entrepreneurs in the early 19th century Sweden, and their contribution to the renewal of the consumption market. This is a part of our research project, “A Jewish web of textiles and trade”. The main purpose of the project is to increase our knowledge of how modern and attractive textiles and other consumer goods reached a growing range of Swedish customers. In this context, the integration of the Swedish domestic market with the European and global market is an essential aspect. The numerically small group of Jews in Gothenburg gives an opportunity to study different types of relations, which in turn can be linked to previous research on business and kinship networks in the early modern period. We also want to call attention to aspects of ethnicity, gender and class in the study of the Jewish minority and it’s role on the consumption market.

Subject headings

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

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

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Ekonomisk historia (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Economic History (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)