‘You Should Hate Young Oaks and Young Noblemen’: The Environmental History of Oaks in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Sweden

Abstract

The was especially important in the economies of preindustrial Europe. In many European nations, however, stands declined sharply during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A scholarly debate over the scarcity of wood in preindustrial European countries has dealt with wood as a fuel and its substitution with a fossil energy-source as coal.'But the history of stands in Sweden suggests that the burning of wood was only one factor in deforestation. In Sweden, oaks became the focus of a bitter struggle between the state and the peasantry. To understand that struggle, scholars need to consider ecological factors, not just the traditional economic, social, and political forces. Hard and tall stands of were a vital resource, because timber was essential in the construction of naval ships.2 To ensure an adequate supply of suitable timber, the state sought to protect trees. For the increasingly powerful peasants, however, oaks were obstacles to agricultural improvement. The trees inhibited the growth of fodder for livestock, and many peasants destroyed or crippled the oaks in their fields. By the end of the eighteenth century, indeed, oak hatred was widespread. The use of wood as a raw material and the attacks on trees by landowners each had dramatic effects on both the quantity and quality of Sweden's stands. The changes in the forest were significant not only for the people of Sweden. There is growing evidence that the long-term continuity of certain species of trees with particular qualities is crucial for a high level of biodiversity with many specialized species.3 Fully sun-exposed old oaks with partly rotten and hollow stems are among the most important trees for biodiversity in northern Europe.4 The story of the decline of the in Sweden thus sheds light on the ecological history of the continent.