Travels north during the 1700th century

During the 1700th century, foreign travel became increasingly common, and travelogues emerged as a popular literary genre. Norrbotten also received more visitors from other countries.

In this talk, Robert Pohjanen, antiquarian at Norrbotten Museum, talks about two English travelers: Joseph Marshall and Matthew Consett, who both claimed to have traveled to northern Sweden. But did they really travel here?

Marshall's descriptions mix the credible with the fictional. He describes places that are easy to recognize – such as Umeå, Tame, Pitha, Lula and Torneo. The chapter on Lapland is short, and is not even about Lapland. In four pages Marshall describes how he makes his way through Västerbotten, from Umeå to the national border, which of course did not exist in 1769... The content of these pages is interesting, however. Marshall gives an interesting and positive picture of the region's industries – especially trade, shipping and exports.

Welcome to a talk about descriptions of journeys that may never have happened.

Drop-in from 13.30 p.m. Free entrance. We offer coffee!