A contribution to Norway’s political geography: The Haugean parliamentarians in the Storting (Norwegian parliament) in the 19th century

Abstract

During the modernization of the Norwegian economy in the 1800s, different national and international pietistic and puritan groups, such as the Haugeans in Norway, probably played an important role in promotion of economic growth. The importance they had on the modernization of society in Norway, however, is not limited to the modernization of the economy alone, but also to the expansion of civil and political rights.An important underlying question in the assessment of the role the Haugeans may have played in the modernization process in Norway is if they were numerous and strong enough in the Parliament and elsewhere to affect the community and leave a lasting influence on Norwegian history.This study is an attempt to contribute to such a clarification by trying to identify the number of Haugean-minded members in the Norwegian Parliament during the 1800s. Efforts to identify who they were and how many of the representatives that were Haugean-minded members of the Parliament, has been going on for a long time. Paradoxically, at present there is still no consensus. The estimates have ranged from 4 to 49.The survey indicates that the number may have been slightly higher than assumed. 73 were elected as representatives or deputy representatives, of which 60 took seats in the Storting during 1814–1910.The figure may have been higher than this as well, but only future research can determine how much higher.