The Scandinavian History Podcast

In the beginning of the 20th century, the kings in Copenhagen and Stockholm struggled to come to terms with their diminishing political influence. Sometimes they overestimated their powers, causing constitutional crises threatening their thrones. But the Scandinavians had bigger fish to fry. When the First World War set Europe ablaze, they watched from the sidelines, desperately trying to stay out of it.

In the 1800s, Finland was still a part of the Russian empire. Much like in other places in Europe, a Finnish national consciousness was taking shape. But it was complicated. One complication was the competing visions for what that nation should be like. Another, was the fact that the Russians weren’t having any of it.

For decades, the union between Norway and Sweden seemed stable. But as democracy, national identity, and political ambitions gathered momentum, tensions steadily mounted. The Swedes would have to play a careful and skillful game if they wanted the union to survive.

The Norwegians never enthusiastically embraced the union with Sweden, but for many years it wasn't a hot topic in politics. Instead, the Norwegians were busy arguing over other things. Questions like who was a Norwegian, and what was Norway?

Over a few generations starting in the mid-1800s, millions of Scandinavians left their homes to seek new lives across the Atlantic. Why did they do it? Where did they go? And what did the people who stayed behind think about it all?