History of the
Estonian-Swedes

For close to seven centuries, a minority group of Swedes lived in relative isolation on islands and along the coast of present-day Estonia, on the periphery of those controlling the region. The arrival of missionaries from Sweden in the 1870s reconnected these scattered Swedish communities with their ancient homeland as well as with each other. While religion provided such a foundation, the missionaries also brought the promise of education and further contacts with Sweden, and developed the communities' sense of "Swedishness." In the following 70 years, the Estonian-Swedes developed increased connections with Sweden, established cultural and political organizations, founded schools, and regularly published newspapers and calendars until the arrival of the Second World War and the occupations by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. By 1944, the majority of the Swedish population relocated to Sweden.

This project focuses on the later history of the Swedish peoples, beginning with the arrival of the missionaries in the 1870s.

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1870-1905 - Missionaries and preliminary organization

1905-1930 - Early stages of cultural development

1930-1940 - Success and Conflict

1940-1941 - Soviet period

1941-1944 - Nazi period and evacuation to Sweden