This study focuses on the use of woodlands and the need for forest resources
by peasants and commoners. The majority of the cases examined come from
a special social context: the manorial world of Trolle -Ljungby in Skåne
and of Sandemar in Södertörn (a region south of Stockholm). A
wide variety of sources, including land registers, court documents, contracts
between peasants and landlord, and maps and travel reports were used as
the basis for description and analysis. Ownership of land and legal
accessibility to the forest and woodland resources, changed from a medieval
feudal system to a private capitalistic mode of ownership during the eighteenth
century. This forms the context in which practices and conflicts must be
interpreted. Studying the conflicts relating to "common rights" and various
types of "enclosures," brings into focus the practice of peasants and commoners.
During the eighteenth and the beginning of
the nineteenth century the need for woods and forest increased. At the
same time the size of the population multiplied, and in the region of Skåne
under investigation the ecological balance between cultivated land, meadows,
and woodlands were threatened. The situation reached a crisis point around
1800. Efforts were made to save forests and increase resources. The landlords
offered peasants contracts to live in the forest, with the provision that
they protect it. By examining the various conflicts that arose during this
time, the court documents, and the contract language, one gains a better
understanding of cultural patterns and practices regarding forest usage.
Ownership and control of woods and forest became very important and this
"private" use fed conflicts at a time when the traditional "common
use and rights" were an important part of rural cultural practice. During
this time, a new social and cultural order formed, although the expression
of differed from region to region.