2023/05/04 by Mikko Toivanen · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #History, Culture, and Diplomacy #Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis #Historical Influence and Diplomacy
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/03086534.2023.2205697
Building on the latest literature on transimperial mobilities, this article analyses the career of the Finland-Swedish Hjalmar Björling, a merchant and colonial careerist who moved out to the Dutch East Indies around 1870, later also working in assorted roles on the coast of China and in Sumatra’s then-developing plantation economy. He was also an active writer, relaying colonial news and market intelligence as well as accounts of his personal experiences in various Finnish newspapers. This article examines the global, cross-border structures that facilitated Björling’s migration to Southeast Asia and his integration there, arguing that his colonial career sketched out the contours of a pre-existing transnational and specifically Nordic subcircuit of Western imperialism that straddled the boundaries of the Dutch and British empires. Moreover, through his correspondences and ventures, Björling sought to establish himself as an active node in that network connecting northern Europe and maritime Asia. The article argues that a careful consideration of ‘outsider’ experiences like Björling’s challenges conventional, nation-centric understandings of nineteenth-century European empires and helps to uncover the multi-layered systems of mobilities that underpinned their expansion around the world.