Swedish slave trade

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The Swedish slave trade mainly occurred in the early history of Sweden when the trade of thralls (Old Norse: þræll) was one of the pillars of the Norse economy from the 9th to the 11th century, and ended with the widespread adoption of Christianity in Sweden.^[1] Slavery was a deeply entrenched institution in Viking society which was hierarchical, and the lowest social class consisted of thralls and slaves, which made up the main source of hard labor in Norse society.^[2] Slavery itself was abolished in Sweden in 1335 by king Magnus Erikssson.

During the raids, the Vikings often captured and enslaved militarily weaker peoples they encountered through raids or conquests across Europe. This slave trade lasted from the 8th through the 11th centuries. A smaller trade of African slaves happened during the 17th and 18th centuries as part of the Atlantic slave trade,^[3] around the time Swedish overseas colonies were established in North America (New Sweden; 1638–1655) and in Africa (lasting between 1650 and 1663). Similarly to other European powers, slavery was banned in the motherland while being legal in the colonies. Consequently, slavery remained legal on the sole Swedish Caribbean colony of Saint Barthélemy from 1784 until 1847.

The Viking Age was a period of widespread upheaval and disruption throughout the northern world.^[4] Viking raiders sought captives, many of whom were captured and held in camps where they were ransomed, exploited and enslaved. The slaves from Western Europe during the Viking era were mainly Franks, Anglo-Saxons, and Celts. Many Irish slaves were used in expeditions for the colonization of Iceland.^[5] The Norse also took Baltic, Slavic in Northeastern and Eastern Europe, Latin slaves from Southern Europe, and Moorish slaves from Al-Andalus and North Africa.^[6] Vikings navigated the "Highway of the Slaves" through the Aegean Sea and into Black Sea ports first established by Archaic Greeks, shoreline crossroads for human trafficking.^[7]

The Persian traveler Ibn Rustah described how Vikings, the Varangians or Rus, terrorized and enslaved the Slavs taken in their raids along the Volga River.^[8] These slaves were trafficked to the Middle East via the Bukhara slave trade. Thralldom was outlawed in 1335 by Magnus IV of Sweden for thralls "born by Christian parents" in Västergötland and Värend, being the last parts where it had remained legal.^[9] This however, was only applicable within the borders of Sweden, which opened up for later slave trade in the colonies. Similarly to other European countries, slavery was later to be revived in Swedish territories outside of the European motherland.

In the 17th century, starting from 1650, Swedish citizens become involved with the Atlantic slave trade. Sweden set up trading stations along the West African coast with bases on the Swedish Gold Coast, which today belongs to Ghana.^[10] In 1663, the Swedish Gold Coast was taken over by the Denmark and became part of the Danish Gold Coast. During its dozen years of activity, the Swedish African company transported around 2,000 slaves. However, the Swedish establishments in West Africa declined after a few years, while the Danish ones continued until 1850. Between 1784 and 1878, Sweden maintained possession of a colony in the Caribbean. The Swedish colony of Saint Barthélemy functioned as a duty-free port and became a major destination center for slave ships. Slaves were brought in tax free by foreign vessels and the Swedish Crown made a profit by collecting an export tax when slaves were shipped out. Sweden was also a major supplier of iron for chains used in the slave trade.^[11] Slavery was legislated in Saint-Barthélemy under the Ordinance concerning the Police of Slaves and free Coloured People^[12] dated 30 July 1787, original^[13] in French dated 30 June 1787. In the autumn of 1786, the Swedish West India Company was established on the island. ^[14]

In the early 19th century, Sweden signed treaties with the United Kingdom^[15][16] and France to abolish the slave trade.^[17] In 1847, slavery was abolished in all parts of Sweden by including her colony, on the basis of a decision taken in 1846.^[18] The last legally owned slaves in the Swedish colony of Saint-Barthélemy were bought and freed by the Swedish state on 9 October 1847.^[19]