Fattigauktion (Poor Auction), was a historical practice within Swedish

poor relief In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

during the 19th-century, in which

paupers Pauperism (Lat. ''pauper'', poor) is poverty or generally the state of being poor, or particularly the condition of being a "pauper", i.e. receiving relief administered under the English Poor Laws. From this, pauperism can also be more generally ...

were

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

ed off to a bidder among the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

ioners willing to house them in exchange for the lowest amount of money for their keep from the parish poor care board. In accordance with the '' Poor Relief Regulation 1847'', every parish was responsible for the support of the poor within their parish, a help financed by every member of the parish through the church fund, and distributed and organized through the poor care board. Paupers were divided in two classes. The first class consisted of a pauper unable to support themselves, usually meaning old people, orphans, and the physically or mentally disabled. The second class consisted of people being temporarily supported by poor relief. The paupers of the first class were, according to law, to be placed in a poor house, an orphanage or a hospital. In reality, however, many parishes in the country side neglected to build such institutions within their parish because of the costs. The law stipulated, that if there was not a poor house in the parish, then the parish poor care board was, by law, responsible for providing economic support for the pauper and must pay for food, clothing, housing, medical care and funeral. Because of this, the ''Fattigauktion'' became a preferred choice for a parish wishing to save money. Every year, a plate was placed in the church stating the paupers of the first class. The last Sunday before Christmas, the "auction" was held in the community house after church service. The parish poor care board held an auction of the first class paupers to the members of the parish, who were to make bids for them. Despite the name, this was not an actual auction, nor were the paupers actually bought. The bidders made a "bid" stating what amount of money they would demand from the poor care board in exchange for taking care of the pauper for a period of one year. As the parish poor care board wished to save money, the person making the lowest "bid" won the auction. As the bidders had the support of the law to demand that the pauper contributed with chores in the household to their ability, the bidders could acquire cheap work force through this custom. When one year was up, the pauper (unless he or she was able to support themselves by then), was auctioned off again. The ''Fattigauktion'' was related to the traditional practice of ''

rotegång Rotegång ('Walk the parish') or ''kringgång'' ('Walk around') was a historical form of poor care in the history of Sweden to support the very poorest in the peasant community. Rotegång was practiced in the Swedish countryside already in the Midd ...

''. Rotegång, however, had been banned for children in 1847, so the ''Fattigauktion'' became especially common for children, while Rotegång were often used for adult paupers. The practice was condemned as humiliating and abusing, and there were reports of abuse, especially of pauper children, who were auctioned off and used as slave labor for the lowest cost possible. Legally, neither the fattigauktion nor the rotegång were a part of the official poor care law, but neither was it forbidden, and it continued as a common practice in rural parishes which did not have a poor house, as late as the early 20th-century. ''Fattigauktion'', as well as a number of other outdated practices within poor care such as ''

'' and

poor house A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), ‘workhouse’ has been the ...

s, was abolished by the reformed Poor Law of 1918.

Footnotes

References

* https://www.pitea.se/bokhyllan/Broschyrer-externt/Centralarkivet/broschyrer/slavhandel_valgorenhet.pdf * http://engelholmiana.ifokus.se/discussions/4d713674b9cb46222704e1e8-fattigauktion * http://www.hembygdshistoria.se/kullens/kullabygd/gamlajonstorp.htm * J. Simelii: Humanitas, Volym 1–2, 1896 * Otto Lundström, Bygden kring Gideälven och Husån: Samlingar till Grundsunda, Gideå och Björna socknars beskrivning, Grundsunda hembygdsförening, 1966 * Sven Ulric Palme: Hundra år under kommunalförfattningarna 1862-1962: en minnesskrift utgiven av Svenska landskommunernas förbund, Svenska landstingsförbundet chSvenska stadsförbundet, Trykt hos Godvil, 1962 * Kurt Sjöström: Socialpolitiken: i ett historiskt perspektiv, Arbetarkultur, 1984 * Jonas Gipe : Burträsk: en sockenkrönika fram till omkring 1870, 1955 * Pargasbygdens historia. På uppdrag av Pargas landskommun och Pargas köping, 1967 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fattigauktion Social history of Sweden Unfree labour by country Labor in Sweden 19th century in Sweden 1918 disestablishments in Sweden Human commodity auctions Governmental auctions

See also

Footnotes

References