In the news1804
Smallpox vaccination edict issued
The Edict of Inoculation was proclaimed in 1804, helping to reduce smallpox epidemics significantly.
Drottningholm Palace, 2 Dec 1802 – Stockholm, 10 Sep 1805
7 facts1 source
2 Dec 1802
Born in Drottningholm Palace
10 Sep 1805
Dies in Stockholm, aged 2
General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.
In the news1804
The Edict of Inoculation was proclaimed in 1804, helping to reduce smallpox epidemics significantly.
Getting around
Stagecoach travel duration and luggage limits
A stagecoach journey between Stockholm and Gothenburg covered 50 Swedish miles and took 4 days. Passengers were allowed to carry baggage weighing up to 60 pounds.
At the table
Stretching flour with fillers during food shortages
When grain supplies ran low in spring, peasants stretched their flour by adding ingredients like chaff, bark, nettles, or even straw.
In Europe · 1803–1815The Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon’s armies redrew the map of Europe from Spain to Moscow; his invasion of Portugal sent its court to Rio de Janeiro.
What people wore
Walking barefoot to save shoes
Leather shoes were in short supply, leading many people to walk barefoot from the time the snow melted until late autumn to save their footwear, sometimes carrying their shoes to church and putting them on only upon arrival.
Music
The dominance of the polska dance
By the mid-19th century, the polska had evolved as the primary dance and tune style for the fiddle in Sweden's provinces.
Daily life
Lighting in ordinary homes
Ordinary homes relied on pine splinters for lighting because candles were considered too expensive for everyday use. Daylight and fire from the hearth provided the main sources of illumination.