Abstract
Abstract. This article explores documentary evidence of droughts in Sweden in the pre-instrumental period (1400–1800 CE). A database has been developed using contemporary sources, such as private and official correspondence letters, diaries, almanac notes, manorial accounts, and weather data compilations. The primary purpose is to utilize hitherto unused documentary data as an input for an index that can be useful for comparisons on a larger European scale. The survey shows that eight subperiods can be considered as having been particularly struck by summer droughts, causing concomitant harvest failures and having great social impacts in Sweden. This is the case with 1634–1639, 1652–1657, 1665–1670, 1677–1684, 1746–1750, 1757–1767, 1771–1776, and 1780–1783 CE. Within these subperiods, 1652 and 1657 stand out as particularly troublesome years. A number of data for dry summers are also found for the middle decades of the 15th century, the first decade of the 1500s, and the 1550s.
Highlights
The purpose of this paper is to present documentary evidence of drought in Sweden for the period 1400 to 1800 CE
We provided descriptions of periods that suffered harvest failures through drought, precipitation, and adverse temperatures in the 15th century
There is some correlation between the drought index and summer temperatures in Stockholm, just like there is some correlation between precipitation and summer temperatures
Summary
The purpose of this paper is to present documentary evidence of drought in Sweden for the period 1400 to 1800 CE. For this purpose, a drought index has been constructed. We try to present a link between instrumental data from precipitation and temperature to our drought index. Is it possible to distinguish periods of drought in Sweden through documentary sources dating from the 15th to the 18th century?. The early modern history of Sweden gives evidence of repeated periods of severe droughts
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