The paper presents the main results from my study of social conditions in the Swedish Army 1550-1850. Women´s involvement and importance in the military is on focus. The most strikingly result is that women for a long time played a more crucial role than one could believe. As a consequence, ...
(Show more)The paper presents the main results from my study of social conditions in the Swedish Army 1550-1850. Women´s involvement and importance in the military is on focus. The most strikingly result is that women for a long time played a more crucial role than one could believe. As a consequence, the unisexual masculine compulsory military service during 20th century can be treated as a historical parenthesis; nowadays women are permitted to serve the military as soldiers, before 20th century women fulfilled their military duties as soldier´s wives. In a long time perspective women´s military role shifted from wife to professional; my paper explores this process.
Soldiers on campaigns in 17th century built households and families, irrespective of war or peace, and there households were also a natural part of the military, simultaneous with a strong male bonding principle, which is called homosociality. Although conflicts existed between the two principles of organisation, household and homosociality, they anyhow operated together until the beginning of 19th century. The paper illuminates how this cooperation worked out, but also how the rise and fall of household system in the military may be explained. Military thought, state authority growth, professionalization process and discursive changes were crucial. However, I want to emphasise social practice of gender relations as a promoter of change: how morals and measures connected with marriage affected upon military.
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