Valistuksen

Valistuksen, or the Enlightenment in Finnish, refers to the 18th-century European movement that promoted reason, science, education, and civil liberties. In Finland, then part of the Swedish realm, valistuksen aika denotes the period when these ideas circulated among intellectual circles, administrators, and clergy. The movement emphasized empirical inquiry, critical thinking, and reforms to government, church, and education, while often seeking to balance faith with reason.

Key ideas included expanding schooling and literacy, promoting natural philosophy and scientific inquiry, spreading print culture, ensuring religious tolerance, and reforming laws and administration. In Finland, important centers and figures shaped these developments. The Royal Academy of Turku served as a leading hub of scholarship; Henrik Gabriel Porthan advocated education and Finnish cultural history; Pehr Kalm disseminated natural science through travel and writing; and Anders Chydenius campaigned for freedom of the press and freer trade. The broader Swedish Enlightenment context, including freedoms introduced by the 1766 Freedom of the Press Act, helped transmit these ideas to Finnish society.

The era contributed to modernization by promoting education policy, public discourse, and cultural self-awareness. It laid the groundwork for later national and political developments, even as Finland’s political status shifted under Russian rule in the 19th century.