The Åland Islands dispute () was a political conflict between

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

over the

Åland Islands Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Most Ålanders wanted to reunite with Sweden, but in 1921 the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

decided that the islands would stay under Finnish rule. Finland had to protect the islands’ Swedish language, culture, and autonomy.

Background

Until 1809, Åland belonged to

. After Sweden lost the

Finnish War The Finnish War (; ; ) was fought between the Gustavian era, Kingdom of Sweden and the Russian Empire from 21 February 1808 to 17 September 1809 as part of the Napoleonic Wars. As a result of the war, the eastern third of Sweden was established a ...

, the

Treaty of Fredrikshamn The Treaty of Fredrikshamn, or the Treaty of Hamina, was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Imperial Russia on 17 September 1809. The treaty concluded the Finnish War and was signed in the Finnish town of Fredrikshamn ( Hamina). Russia ...

transferred Finland and Åland to

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

. Åland became part of the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

, which had some autonomy within the Russian Empire. In 1856, the

Treaty of Paris (1856) The Treaty of Paris of 1856, signed on 30 March 1856 at the Congress of Paris (1856), Congress of Paris, brought an end to the Crimean War (1853–1856) between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom of G ...

ended the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and banned Russia from building forts on Åland. Russia followed this agreement until 1908, when it tried to change the islands’ status, but faced resistance. During

, Russia built a submarine base on Åland for use by Russian and British forces.

Conflict and foreign intervention (1917–1918)

After the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

in 1917, Finland declared independence. At the same time, Åland’s Swedish-speaking population began pushing for self-rule and union with Sweden. Over 90% of Ålanders identified as Swedish, unlike most people in mainland Finland. Some Swedish activists supported Åland’s aims, but the Swedish government stayed neutral. In January 1918, the

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

began. Reports of unrest on Åland led Sweden to send a small naval force to evacuate civilians. The mission also helped reduce tensions between Russian troops and local militias. Finland’s

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

government in

Vaasa Vaasa (; , ), formerly (1855-1917) known as Nikolaistad (; ),Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

’s support, Finnish authorities urged Sweden to leave. German troops arrived in March 1918, and Swedish forces soon withdrew. Later, Sweden, Finland, and Germany agreed to remove Russian forts from Åland. Meanwhile, some Ålanders in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

formed the Åland Committee to promote regional autonomy within Finland.

Diplomatic dispute and League of Nations ruling (1919–1921)

In 1919, both Sweden and Finland officially claimed Åland. Finland said the islands were historically and geographically linked to it. Sweden pointed to the islanders’ wish to join Sweden. Sweden proposed a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

, but Finland refused. Instead, Finland passed a law giving Åland cultural and political autonomy. However, leading Åland representatives, such as

Julius Sundblom August Julius Sundblom (22 June 1865 – 23 August 1945) was an editor and politician in Åland, Finland. Sundblom was born in Jomala, Åland. He founded '' Tidningen Åland'' in 1891, and was its editor-in-chief during 1891–1896 and 1921� ...

and Carl Björkman, rejected the law and were briefly jailed. The dispute was brought to the new

. The League sent legal experts and three rapporteurs to Åland, Sweden, and France to gather information. Finland was represented by

Carl Enckell Carl Johan Alexis Enckell (7 June 1876 – 26 March 1959) was a Finnish politician, diplomat, officer and businessman. Enckell followed his father's footsteps in the Russian military and rose to the Imperial Russian Guard. As he was not satisf ...

, and Sweden by

Erik Palmstierna Erik Kule Palmstierna (10 November 1877 – 22 November 1959) was a Swedish Social Democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, ...

. In June 1921, the League decided Åland would stay with Finland. Finland had to protect the islanders’ language, culture, and traditions. The decision reflected Finland’s diplomatic efforts and support from

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, which said the islands were part of the Finnish archipelago.

Later developments

Sweden and Finland improved relations in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1930, they discussed a joint defense plan for Åland, called the

Stockholm Plan Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, but dropped it due to opposition from the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sweden remained neutral and did not intervene in Åland. Over time, many Ålanders began to see Finnish rule as fair and supportive.

Autonomy and legacy

Finland’s 1920 Autonomy Act gave Åland its own parliament and strong cultural and political rights. The League of Nations considered these guarantees enough to protect Åland’s identity. By the late 20th century, many Ålanders saw themselves not as Swedish, but as an autonomous, culturally unique region within Finland.Thomas D. Grant, ''The recognition of states: law and practice in debate and evolution'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999, pp. 129–130
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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aaland Crisis History of Åland 1921 in Sweden 1921 in Finland League of Nations 1920 in international relations 1921 in international relations Diplomatic incidents Finland–Sweden relations Finland in the Russian Civil War