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Österland (''Eastland'') or Österlanden (''Easternlands''), one of the four traditional
lands of Sweden The lands of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges landsdelar) are three traditional and historical regions of the country, each consisting of several provinces. The division into lands goes back to the foundation of modern Sweden, when ''Götaland'', the land ...
, was a medieval term used for the southern part of
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Both ...
. The term occurs in documents approximately between 1350–1470 and gradually fell out of use by the end of the 15th century. Before this period the term was used in plural, ''Österlanden'', Easternlands. With the exception of
Old Finland Old Finland ( fi, Vanha Suomi; rus, Ста́рая Финля́ндия, r=Staraya Finlyandiya; sv, Gamla Finland) is a name used for the areas that Russia gained from Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721) and in the Russo-Swedi ...
that was ceded to Russia in 1721, Finland remained a part of
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 ...
until after the
Finnish War The Finnish War ( sv, Finska kriget, russian: Финляндская война, fi, Suomen sota) was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a res ...
of 1808–09, when it was ceded to
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
and came to constitute the autonomous Russian
Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecess ...
.


Provinces

The following six
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
formed Österland:


History

Due to the
Northern Crusades The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christian colonization and Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Christian military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the pagan Baltic, Finnic and West Slavic peoples around th ...
against
Finns Finns or Finnish people ( fi, suomalaiset, ) are a Baltic Finnic ethnic group native to Finland. Finns are traditionally divided into smaller regional groups that span several countries adjacent to Finland, both those who are native to these ...
,
Tavastians Tavastians ( fi, Hämäläiset, sv, Tavaster, russian: Емь, Yem, Yam) are a historic people and a modern subgroup (heimo) of the Finnish people. They live in areas of the historical province of Tavastia (Häme) and speak Tavastian dialects. ...
and
Karelians Karelians ( krl, karjalaižet, karjalazet, karjalaiset, Finnish: , sv, kareler, karelare, russian: Карелы) are a Finnic ethnic group who are indigenous to the historical region of Karelia, which is today split between Finland and Rus ...
and the Swedish Colonisation during the 13th century, the Kingdom of Sweden and the Catholic Church incorporated Southern Finland. The details of this process are not known. The conquest took place at the same time or later than Sweden was united under one king; and the Österlanden was seen as a constituent part of the Swedish kingdom. It was first represented in the elections of Swedish kings on 15 February 1362 (when Haakon Magnusson was elected as co-regent of his father). In the wake of the crusades, possibly thousands of Christian Swedish settlers gradually moved into the western and southern coasts of Österlanden (now Finland) from the 13th century onwards until the 1350s. There is no conclusive archaeological or toponymical proof of Norse-speaking inhabitants in Finland during earlier times outside Åland. Descendants of these settlers became to later known as
Finland Swedes Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
. In 1581, the provinces of the area were declared a
grand principality A grand principality is the territory reigned by a grand prince. List * Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое Княжество Московское, {{lang, ru-Latn, Velikoye Knyazhestvo Moskovskoye) * Grand Principality of Finl ...
by King
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 ...
, who as a prince, in 1556, had been granted a part of that territory as a
duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between ...
created beside other duchies ruled by his brothers. The creation of that Duchy was chiefly a part of the legacy of King
Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...
. While the Duchy did not last as an administrative unit, the titular grand principality did, for over two centuries and ultimately, after 1809, evolved into an autonomous duchy under the Russian Empire.


Legacy

Today, the area would comprise roughly ~189000 km2 and 4.9 million people. Österland would comprise most of Finland's regions except the northern regions of 1,2 and 3


See also

*
Finland under Swedish rule In Swedish and Finnish history, Finland under Swedish rule is the historical period when the bulk of the area that later came to constitute Finland was an integral part of Sweden. The starting point of Swedish rule is uncertain and controvers ...
*
Historical provinces of Finland The historical provinces ( fi, historialliset maakunnat, singular ''historiallinen maakunta'', sv, historiska landskap) of Finland are a legacy of the country's joint history with Sweden. The provinces ceased to be administrative entities in 1634 ...
*
Lands of Sweden The lands of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges landsdelar) are three traditional and historical regions of the country, each consisting of several provinces. The division into lands goes back to the foundation of modern Sweden, when ''Götaland'', the land ...
*
Götaland Götaland (; also '' Geatland'', '' Gothia'', ''Gothland'', ''Gothenland'' or ''Gautland'') is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces. Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, wit ...
*
Norrland Norrland (, "Northland", originally ''Norrlanden'' or "the Northlands") is the northernmost, largest and least populated of the three traditional lands of Sweden, consisting of nine provinces. Although Norrland does not serve any administr ...
*
Svealand Svealand (), or Swealand, is the historical core region of Sweden. It is located in south central Sweden and is one of three historical lands of Sweden, bounded to the north by Norrland and to the south by Götaland. Deep forests, Tiveden, Tyl ...
*
Sweden–Finland Sweden–Finland ( fi, Ruotsi-Suomi; sv, Sverige-Finland) is a Finnish historiographical term referring to Sweden from the twelfth century to the Napoleonic Wars. In 1809, the realm was split after the Finnish War. The eastern half came to con ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osterland Former provinces of Finland Lands of Sweden Finland under Swedish rule