Mörkandet av det svenska slaveriet : En undersökning av översiktsverk om svensk historia och samhällsdebatten om svenskt slaveri

Sammanfattning: There are a lot of Swedish people who are aware of former Swedish colonies. St. Barthélemy in the West Indies, has many streets and towns named after Swedish people, exemplified by the capital Gustavia, named after King Gustav III. What many fail to learn about however, is the fact that slavery and slave trade is a relatively large part of Sweden’s cultural heritage. These are events that Sweden doesn’t seem to want to remember.   This study aims to look at Swedish history books to study historical writing about Sweden’s involvement in slavery and slave trade. The study will also analyze the social debate regarding slavery in Swedish newspapers, in an effort to showcase why these historical events have been forgotten and purposely evaded. The study will make use of theoretical standpoints revolving around historiography and use of history.   The results show that social debates in Swedish newspapers is largely in agreement regarding the grim nature of slavery and the shameful historical events that transpire. In addition to this, the papers seem to be in agreement regarding the need to address this part of Sweden’s history in an effort to tackle future conflicts facing multicultural countries such as Sweden. In regard to history books, the result is telling. In essence, history outside of Europe has been neglected, and thus Sweden has been allowed to create their own historical narrative, leaving slave trade beyond the horizon.