Dutch experts in the early modern Swedish state : Employment strategies and knowledge building, 1560–1670

Abstract: This dissertation investigates the role played by Dutch experts in various enterprises and organisations managed or administered by the early modern Swedish state. The work demonstrates how and why Dutch experts were introduced to Sweden, in what manner they were employed by the Swedish state and how their knowledge was utilised in state-controlled organisations. The overall results challenge the impression of an uncomplicated introduction, steered by the state. Instead, the research suggests that the development was multifaceted, where the role and function of state structures, international politics, networks, as well as concepts, including opportunism and pragmatism all played a part in the process which led to the employment of Dutch experts and use of Dutch knowledge. Underlying analytical tools used to demonstrate this include concepts such as collective knowledge, institutional memory, change agents, as well as strategies to minimise uncertainties and knowledge asymmetries in the recruitment process. The investigation consists of four empirical chapters. The first chapter focuses on some of the key Dutch individuals who settled in Sweden during the second half of the sixteenth century. It shows why a Dutch settlement took place, but also how a specific interest in Dutch trade expertise was developed by the Swedish political leadership. The chapter concludes with an analysis of how Dutch expertise was utilised to develop advanced long-distance trade. The second chapter follows the use of Dutch experts in the naval shipbuilding organisation in the first half of the seventeenth century. It shows how an almost complete reliance on Dutch experts and technical knowledge was established during this period. The chapter details how the Dutch introduction and utilisation evolved, when the naval organisation changed from being single-handedly steered by the king, to a situation where it was administered by an independent Admiralty Board. The third chapter investigates the use of Dutch experts in the foreign administration as well as in the administration and management of trade and commercial undertakings. It details how agents and diplomatic networks facilitated exchange and brought knowledge and experts to Sweden. The chapter also challenges an established notion that many of the trade enterprises that were established in Sweden up until the mid-1630s were failures. The results instead demonstrate how successive proposals to develop commercial ventures by Dutch experts created a necessary knowledge base in Swedish society, which in the long run led to the successful formation of advanced commercial enterprises. The final chapter focuses on the establishment of commercial fishing operations. It follows the introduction and growth of a Dutch model for how to develop advanced fishing, and explains why the model only led to a functioning enterprise towards the very end of the period of investigation.