Säätyjärjestelgemme

Säätyjärjestelmä was a historical social structure that characterized Finnish society for centuries, primarily during Swedish and later Russian rule. It was a hierarchical system that divided the population into distinct estates, each with its own rights, privileges, and obligations. The main estates were the clergy, the nobility, the burghers (or townspeople), and the peasants.

The clergy, representing the Church, held significant spiritual and sometimes temporal power. The nobility enjoyed land ownership, tax exemptions, and a prominent role in governance and military service. The burghers comprised merchants, artisans, and other town dwellers, engaging in trade and crafts and having specific urban rights. The largest estate, the peasants, included both freeholders and tenant farmers, and their primary obligation was to cultivate the land and pay taxes.

This system was not static and evolved over time. While it provided a framework for social order and defined roles, it also created significant disparities in wealth, power, and opportunity. The principle of estate representation was central to the Diet (later the Parliament), where each estate had a voice in legislative matters, although their influence varied. The säätyjärjestelmä began to erode in the 19th century with the rise of industrialization, urbanization, and new social and political ideas, eventually giving way to a more modern class-based society.