Finnish Colonial Encounters: From Anti-Imperialism to Cultural Colonialism and Complicity (Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies)

Breaking new ground in the study of European colonialism, this book focuses on a nation historically positioned between the Western and Eastern Empires of Europe – Finland. Although Finland never had overseas colonies, the authors argue that the country was undeniably involved in the colonial world, with Finns adopting ideologies and identities that cannot easily be disentangled from colonialism. This book explores the concepts of 'colonial complicity' and 'colonialism without colonies' in relation to Finland, a nation that was oppressed, but also itself complicit in colonialism. It offers insights into European colonialism on the margins of the continent and within a nation that has traditionally declared its innocence and exceptionalism. The book shows that Finns were active participants in various colonial contexts, including Southern Africa and Sápmi in the North. Demonstrating that colonialism was a common practice shared by all European nations, with or without formal colonies, this book provides essential reading for anyone interested in European colonial history. Chapters 1, 7 and 8 are available open access under a via link.springer.com.> Foreword Acknowledgments Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures Chapter 1: Finns in the Colonial World The Construction of the Finnish Nation and State Within Imperial Russia Colonialism and the Sámi Finnish Colonial Activity Abroad Structure of the Book and Chapter Division References Part I: State, Nation, and Colonialism in Finland Chapter 2: Wisdom of the Oppressed: Finnish Colonial Complicities in the Age of the Russian Empire Shifting Centers of Power Resistance Against Russification Slavelands—in Finland? Criticism of Imperialism Conclusions References Chapter 3: Finnish Parliamentarians’ Conceptions of Imperialism and Colonialism, 1917–1995 Imperial Amalgamation and the Capitalism-Imperialism Nexus The League of Nations, the Åland Question, and Imperial Continuities Colonial Metaphors of Regional Inequality New Left Anti-Imperialism European Integration, Dissolution of the Soviet Union, and Imagery of Empire Conclusion References Chapter 4: Settler Colonial Eyes: Finnish Travel Writers and the Colonization of Petsamo Settler Colonialism, Petsamo, and the Travelers A Wild and Empty Land Ethnic Spaces Replacement on the Settler Frontier Conclusion References Chapter 5: Nation-Building and Colonialism: The Early Skolt Sami Research of Väinö Tanner Introduction Tanner’s Early Career and His First Field Trips Summers in Petsamo and the Main Work on the Skolt Sami Tanner Explicates His View on Colonialism Conclusions References Primary Sources Manuscripts Secondary Sources Part II: Colonial Encounters in Finland Chapter 6: “Queensland Cannibals” Encountered in Finland (1886): Locally Rooted Visions of Exhibitions of Colonized People The Exhibition Arrives: Pride in Being Entertained Language Barrier and Lack of Words Amalgamating the Foreign and the Familiar Conclusion References Chapter 7: Colonialism, Race, and White Innocence in Finnish Children’s Literature: Anni Swan’s 1920s’ Serial “Uutisasukkaana Austraaliassa” Finnish Settlers in Queensland Racialization of Aboriginal People Cannibal Cruelty and White Innocence Conclusion References Chapter 8: Encountering Colonial Worlds Through Missionary Maps in the Late-Nineteenth-Century Grand Duchy of Finland Touring the World for Transformation Constructing Colonial Spaces Eyes on Africa Conclusions References Part III: Finns’ Colonial Encounters Abroad Chapter 9: From the Eastern Front to the Western Frontier: The Transimperial Life of a Finnish Worker During the First World War Introduction “The Greatest Mistake of My Life”: Volunteering for the Tsar Failed Migrations: America, Russia, Congo A Refugee Colonist Conclusions References Chapter 10: Photography and the Religious Encounter: Finnish Missionaries’ Representations of the Owambo, Namibia Introduction Finnish Missionaries and Photography in the Owambo Region Missionary Photography in Context Photographs of the Owambo by Finnish Missionaries August Pettinen’s Photographs of the Owambo Hannu Haahti’s Photographs of the Owambo Conclusion References Chapter 11: “Did You Really Have a Place in the Boer War?”: Colonial Conflict and the Contested Production of “Finnish” Nationality, 1899–1908 The Imagined South Africa in Finland Finnish Realities in South Africa Contesting Finland’s South African Encounter Conclusion References Primary Sources Newspapers Manuscripts Secondary Sources Chapter 12: The “Pioneer Men”: Making of Finnish Settler Identity in Southern Africa Pre-1914 The Mineral Revolution and Finnish Settlers in Colonial Southern Africa Emergence of the Rhodesian Settler Identity Being a Pioneer in Northern Rhodesia and Katanga The Pioneer Men in Retrospect References Index Breaking new ground in the study of European colonialism, this book focuses on a nation historically positioned between the Western and Eastern Empires of Europe - Finland. Although Finland never had overseas colonies, the authors argue that the country was undeniably involved in the colonial world, with Finns adopting ideologies and identities that cannot easily be disentangled from colonialism. This book explores the concepts of 'colonial complicity' and 'colonialism without colonies' in relation to Finland, a nation that was oppressed, but also itself complicit in colonialism. It offers insights into European colonialism on the margins of the continent and within a nation that has traditionally declared its innocence and exceptionalism. The book shows that Finns were active participants in various colonial contexts, including Southern Africa and Sápmi in the North. Demonstrating that colonialism was a common practice shared by all European nations, with or without formal colonies, this book provides essential reading for anyone interested in European colonial history. Raita Merivirta is an Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of European and World History at the University of Turku, Finland. She is a specialist in postcolonial history, literature and cultural studies, and the author of The Emergency and the Indian English Novel: Memory, Culture and Politics (Routledge, 2019). Leila Koivunen is a Professor of global history and intercultural interaction in the Department of European and World History at the University of Turku, Finland. She is a specialist in the history of cultural encounters and the processes of intercultural knowledge formation, especially between Africa and Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Timo Särkkä is a Docent in economic history in the Department of History and Ethnology at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland and in 2021-2022 a Visiting Professor in Global History Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives (OTRI) at Osaka University in Japan. He specialises in global economic history with an emphasis on economic imperialism. Chapters 1, 7 and 8 are available open access under a via link.springer.com.> Breaking new ground in the study of European colonialism, this book focuses on a nation historically positioned between the Western and Eastern Empires of Europe Finland. Although Finland never had overseas colonies, the authors argue that the country was undeniably involved in the colonial world, with Finns adopting ideologies and identities that cannot easily be disentangled from colonialism. This book explores the concepts of colonial complicity and colonialism without colonies in relation to Finland, a nation that was oppressed, but also itself complicit in colonialism. It offers insights into European colonialism on the margins of the continent and within a nation that has traditionally declared its innocence and exceptionalism. The book shows that Finns were active participants in various colonial contexts, including Southern Africa and Sapmi in the North. Demonstrating that colonialism was a common practice shared by all European nations, with or without formal colonies, this book provides essential reading for anyone interested in European colonial history. Raita Merivirta is an Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of European and World History at the University of Turku, Finland. She is a specialist in postcolonial history, literature and cultural studies, and the author of The Emergency and the Indian English Novel: Memory, Culture and Politics (Routledge, 2019). Leila Koivunen is a Professor of global history and intercultural interaction in the Department of European and World History at the University of Turku, Finland. She is a specialist in the history of cultural encounters and the processes of intercultural knowledge formation, especially between Africa and Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Timo Sarkka is a Docent in economic history in the Department of History and Ethnology at the University of Jyvaskyla, Finland and in 20212022 a Visiting Professor in Global History Division, Institute for Open and Transdisciplinary Research Initiatives (OTRI) at Osaka University in Japan. He specialises in global economic history with an emphasis on economic imperialism. Chapters 1, 7 and 8 are available open access under a via link.springer.com