Child auction (Swedish : Barnauktion, Finnish : Huutolaisuus) was a historical practice in Sweden and Finland during the 19th and early 20th centuries, in which orphan and poor children were boarded out in auctions. The name auction, however, does not refer to actual slave auctions, as the children in these auctions were never actually bought in a legal sense, but the name has become the common name for the practice.
The children were handed over to the person asking least money from the authorities to provide for the child. The compensation was determined in descending English auctions, where the children were present. The lowest bidder became the child's foster parent and was compensated with an annual amount equal to the bid. The foster parents provided the child with housing, upbringing and education, but the children were often used for child labour. [1] Especially in the Finnish countryside, children sold at auction usually lived in very poor conditions and were mistreated. [2]
Child auctions were prohibited in Sweden in 1918 [1] and in Finland in 1923. [3] However, auctions were still organized in Finland until the late 1930s. The last known child auction was held in 1935. [2] Some of the children were still living with their foster parents in the 1940s. [4]
Among the notable people who were sold in child auctions are the Swedish politician Fredrik Vilhelm Thorsson, who later became the Minister for Finance of Sweden, [5] Swedish school founder Hanna Lindmark, [6] Finnish politicians Eino Kujanpää, [7] Jukka Lankila [8] and Vasili Suosaari, [9] and Finnish author Joel Lehtonen. [10]
Similar practices were also carried out in other European countries, like the Verdingkinder institution in Switzerland. [11]
Laws restricting, regulating, or banning circumcision, some dating back to ancient times, have been enacted in many countries and communities. In modern states, circumcision is generally presumed to be legal, but laws pertaining to assault or child custody have been applied in cases involving circumcision. In the case of non-therapeutic circumcision of children, proponents of laws in favor of the procedure often point to the rights of the parents or practitioners, namely the right of freedom of religion. Those against the procedure point to the boy's right of freedom from religion. In several court cases, judges have pointed to the irreversible nature of the act, the grievous harm to the boy's body, and the right to self-determination, and bodily integrity.
Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives them of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation worldwide, although these laws do not consider all work by children as child labour; exceptions include work by child artists, family duties, supervised training, and some forms of work undertaken by Amish children, as well as by indigenous children in the Americas.
Aleksis Kivi was a Finnish author who wrote the first significant novel in the Finnish language, Seitsemän veljestä in 1870. He is also known for his 1864 play Heath Cobblers. Although Kivi was among the very earliest authors of prose and lyrics in Finnish, he is still considered one of the greatest.
The Governor, Finnish: Maaherra, or Swedish: Landshövding, of a province of Finland headed the activities of the State Provincial Office, Finnish: Lääninhallitus, or Swedish: Länsstyrelse until the end of 2009, when the provinces were abolished. The governors were appointed by the President. Many former ministers including but not limited to Kaarlo Hillilä, Martti Miettunen, Hannele Pokka and Anneli Taina served as governors, since the post was regarded as prestigious enough for a retiring minister, but still politically neutral. The title of maaherra was also considered a personal title, such that once appointed, the title maaherra remained for life.
An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusive. There may be substance abuse or mental illness in the biological home, or the parent may simply be unwilling to care for the child. The legal responsibility for the support of abandoned children differs from country to country, and within countries. Government-run orphanages have been phased out in most developed countries during the latter half of the 20th century but continue to operate in many other regions internationally. It is now generally accepted that orphanages are detrimental to the emotional wellbeing of children, and government support goes instead towards supporting the family unit.
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home, or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family member approved by the state. The placement of a "foster child" is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency. The institution, group home, or foster parent is compensated for expenses unless with a family member. In some states, relative or "Kinship" caregivers of children who are wards of the state are provided with a financial stipend.
Icelandic names are names used by people from Iceland. Icelandic surnames are different from most other naming systems in the modern Western world by being patronymic or occasionally matronymic: they indicate the father of the child and not the historic family lineage. Iceland shares a common cultural heritage with the Nordic countries of Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Unlike other Nordics, Icelanders have continued to use their traditional name system, which was formerly used by all Nordic countries. The Icelandic system is thus not based on family names. Generally, with few exceptions, a person's last name indicates the first name of their father (patronymic) or in some cases mother (matronymic) in the genitive, followed by -son ("son") or -dóttir ("daughter").
Human rights in Finland are freedom of speech, religion, association, and assembly as upheld in law and in practice. Individuals are guaranteed basic rights under the constitution, by legislative acts, and in treaties relating to human rights ratified by the Finnish government. The constitution provides for an independent judiciary.
Social welfare in Sweden is made up of several organizations and systems dealing with welfare. It is mostly funded by taxes, and executed by the public sector on all levels of government as well as private organizations. It can be separated into three parts falling under three different ministries. Social welfare is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. Education is the responsibility of the Ministry of Education and Research. The labour market is the responsibility of the Ministry of Employment.
Rickard Johannes Sandler was a Swedish Social Democratic politician. He served as minister without portfolio in the Swedish government from 10 March 1920 to 30 June 1920, minister for finance from 1 July 1920 to 27 October 1920, minister without portfolio from 13 October 1921 to 19 April 1923, minister of commerce and industry from 14 October 1924 to 24 January 1925, Prime Minister from 24 January 1925 to 7 June 1926, and as minister for foreign affairs from 24 September 1932 to 19 June 1936 and again from 28 September 1936 to 13 December 1939. Sandler is the only social democratic prime minister who did not also hold the post of party chairman. He is also the second-youngest prime minister of Sweden, aged 41 when he took office.
Relations between Finland and Russia have been conducted over many centuries, from wars between Sweden and Russia in the early 18th century, to the planned and realized creation and annexation of the Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire during Napoleonic times in the early 19th century, to the dissolution of the personal union between Russia and Finland after the abdication of Russia's last czar in 1917, and subsequent birth of modern Finland. Finland had its own civil war with involvement by Soviet Russia, was later invaded by the USSR, and had its internal politics influenced by it. Relations since then have been both warm and cool, fluctuating with time. Russia has an embassy in Helsinki, a consulate-general in Turku and consulates in Lappeenranta and Mariehamn. Finland has an embassy in Moscow, a consulate-general in Saint Petersburg and two branches of the consulate.
The Eino Leino Prize is an annual prize award to top writers in Finland since 1956, with particular emphasis on poets.
Verdingkinder, "contract children", or "indentured child laborers" were children in Switzerland who were taken from their parents, often due to poverty or moral reasons, and sent to live with new families, often poor farmers who needed cheap labour. In the early 2000s, many of these children, by then adults, publicly stated that they had been severely mistreated by their new families, suffering neglect, beatings and other physical and psychological abuse. The Verdingkinder scheme was common in Switzerland until the 1960s.
Fredrik Vilhelm Thorsson was a Swedish politician and shoemaker. He was Minister for Finance during three separate periods, and Minister of Commerce and Industry in 1920.
1847 års fattigvårdförordning was a Swedish Poor Law which organized the public poor relief system in Sweden. With some alterations in 1853 and 1871, it established the basis for the poor relief system until the Poor Care Law of 1918 was passed.
Fattigauktion, was a historical practice within Swedish poor relief during the 19th century, in which paupers were auctioned off to a bidder among the parishioners willing to house them in exchange for the lowest amount of money for their keep from the parish poor care board.
Kiikka is a locality and former municipality in Pirkanmaa region, Finland. It was consolidated in 1981 with Keikyä into a municipality of Äetsä, which in turn, was consolidated with Vammala and Mouhijärvi into a town of Sastamala in 2009. Kiikka is located by the river Kokemäenjoki, about 10 kilometres south of the Sastamala town center.
Eino Oskari Pekkala was a Finnish lawyer and politician. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland, representing the Socialist Electoral Organisation of Workers and Smallholders 1927–1930 and the Finnish People's Democratic League 1945–1948. In the 1920−1930s, Pekkala was twice in prison for his political activities, and he was even kidnapped by the fascist Lapua Movement in 1930. As the political situation in Finland changed after the World War II, Pekkala was the Minister of Education 1945–1946, and the Minister of Justice 1946–1948.
Quosego was an avant-garde magazine which existed between 1928 and 1929 in Helsinki, Finland. Like its successor Ultra, it played a significant role in introducing the avant-garde movement to Scandinavian countries. The subtitle of Quosego was Tidskrift för ny generation. However, Quosego was much more inflential than its successor in terms of artistic and linguistic innovation.
Basilius Suosaari was a Finnish-Australian politician and farmer. He was a Member of the Parliament of Finland for the Social Democratic Party in 1907-1908 and 1909-1910.