Introduction

In this introductory chapter, we present the research questions, themes, and methods of the anthology. The volume explores how the common early modern history of Sweden and Finland, from the early sixteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century, has been created in professional historiography (ca. 1860–2020). We focus especially on publications (e.g., doctoral dissertations, monographs, and popular presentations) produced and exploited by history researchers in both countries. We also scrutinize the work of historians through different generations and paradigms. In the introduction, we lay the foundations for the analysis, presenting the two countries in historical and historiographical contexts. We locate our study within the historiographical study of history writing in the international context and, finally, briefly introduce the structure of the volume and individual chapters.