Abstract
This article studies agricultural history from the perspective of masculinity. It aims to show how early twentieth-century Finnish historical studies articulated manly ideals, mainly by looking at "The History of Karelian" Tribe in Finland published in 1915 by Väinö Voionmaa. This well-known book, central to Finnish historiography and important for later studies on rural history, dealt with swidden agriculture in the Finnish interior. The article focuses on the intertwining of societal ideals, landscapes, and masculinity and shows the intersection of nationalist, class-based, and racial conceptions of the peasantry. Through this interpretation stressing manly ideals, Voionmaa ascribed the Finnish swidden society, traditionally regarded as primitive, a more recognized place in the nation’s history.
