For more than 700 years, a population of Swedes lives on the islands
and coastal regions of what is now Estonia, referred to in local
dialects as "Aiboland" (literally, island region).
They were on the periphery of society in
almost
every aspect – geographically, economically, politically,
linguistically, and
culturally. Through Tsarist Russian, independent Estonian, Soviet, and
Nazi
German rule, the Swedes sought to define their cultural develpment
amidst
each successive government’s minority policies. The arrival of missionaries from Sweden in
the
1870s reconnected these scattered ethnic Swedish communities with their
ancient
homeland as well as among the various towns. While religion provided a
foundation for the communities, the missionaries also brought the
promise of
education and further contacts with Sweden. In the following 60 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
ethnic Swedish population relocated to Sweden.