Valborg Eriksdotter Innamaa ( fi, Valpuri Eerikintytär Innamaa; before 1550) was a Finnish
merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
and
shipowner in
Ã…bo (
Turku),
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
(now
Finland).
Life
She was married to . Her spouse was known as a supporter of
John III of Sweden
John III ( sv , Johan III, fi, Juhana III; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was King of Sweden from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife Margaret Leijonhufvud. He was also, quite autonomous ...
, and died when the troops of
Eric XIV of Sweden took Ã…bo from John in 1563, after which the Innama family's merchant ships were confiscated by king Eric. She inherited the merchant house of her late spouse and exported iron to the king.
In 1571, she is listed as the richest merchant in the city of Ã…bo in existing tax records.
Innamaa worked for the restoration of the ships, which was granted in 1582. She revived the business enterprise of her late spouse and transported goods from all over the
Baltic Sea, carrying goods to Sweden, especially
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. She exported butter, animal skins, fish and horses and imported salt, weapons, wine and spices. She was the most powerful shipowner in
Ã…bo: she granted loans to the Swedish monarch and equipped the Swedish army during John III's
Livonian war.
Her good relations with the crown gave her efficient protection during her various lawsuits. She also owned land and buildings.
She was married three times more after she was widowed: to Peder Ingevadsson, Olof Karlsson and Lukas Larsson (in Finnish, Peter Ingvaldinpoika, Olavi Karls, and Luke Laurin). It was common for a widow in Sweden-Finland to continue the trade of her late spouse, but normally she did so only temporary, until the business could be taken over by a male relative or husband. Despite her remarriages, which formally placed her under the guardianship of her husbands, she kept sole control over her business until her death. She had two daughters, and her business was inherited by her grandson Bertil Innamaa.
Legacy
A street in
Turku is named after her.
Innamaa was the subject of the novel ''Western Winds'' by .
References
Further reading
* Lahtinen, Anu
Valborg Eriksdotter Innamaa Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon (retrieved 1 July 2022) (Biographical Dictionary of Swedish Women)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Innamaa, Valpuri
16th-century Finnish people
16th-century Finnish women
1540 births
1602 deaths
People from Turku
Finnish merchants
Finnish businesspeople in shipping
Finnish women in business
16th-century Swedish businesspeople
17th-century Swedish businesspeople
17th-century businesswomen
16th-century businesswomen
17th-century merchants
16th-century merchants