Finnish culture in a unified Scandinavia

Yes, Central Ostrobothnia and North Ostrobothnia could each go the other way, but beside that it was precisely what I meant
Central Ostrobothnia has majority Swedish counties(not sure what the name is) on the coast today, so I imagine it would be majority Swedish in this scenario too.
 
Central Ostrobothnia has majority Swedish counties(not sure what the name is) on the coast today, so I imagine it would be majority Swedish in this scenario too.

I think that if Crntral Ostrobothnia goes Swedish Northern Ostrobothnia will too. As both speak Western dialects of Finnish, meaning the settlers settled on the coast first and moved inland rather than moving northward from the areas populated by the Eastern Finnish dialects

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As such I lean toward the areas of western dialect area 1 and 2 would be the most likely to go Swedish.
 
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I think that if Crntral Ostrobothnia goes Swedish Northern Ostrobothnia will too. As both speak Western dialects of Finnish, meaning the settlers settled on the coast first and moved inland rather than moving northward from the areas populated by the Eastern Finnish dialects

v1xza1voxyzz.jpg


As such I lean toward the areas of western dialect 1 and 2 would be the most likely to go Swedish.

It is of course not at all certain that pre-1800 migration patterns would continue post-1800 as well, or that Swedish/Scandinavian speakers would be most likely to move into areas where certain Finnish dialects are dominant. The biggest driver of migration in the 19th century, especially its latter part, would be economic development and industrialization. Thus outside from the areas where there has been a strong Swedish-speaking presence, the numbers of Swedish-/Scandinavian-speakers would likely increase most in growing industrial towns and their vicinity, and along the railway lines that would get built. Even in the growing industrial towns, Swedish-/Scandinavian-speakers would likely not make up the majority outside the south-western and coastal areas. In the interior, in likely towns like Tampere, Varkaus, etc, you would see the formation of a Swedish-/Scandinavian-speaking managerial and professional class, but the most growth in industrial population would come from the surrounding, heavily Finnish-speaking countryside.
 
It is of course not at all certain that pre-1800 migration patterns would continue post-1800 as well, or that Swedish/Scandinavian speakers would be most likely to move into areas where certain Finnish dialects are dominant. The biggest driver of migration in the 19th century, especially its latter part, would be economic development and industrialization. Thus outside from the areas where there has been a strong Swedish-speaking presence, the numbers of Swedish-/Scandinavian-speakers would likely increase most in growing industrial towns and their vicinity, and along the railway lines that would get built. Even in the growing industrial towns, Swedish-/Scandinavian-speakers would likely not make up the majority outside the south-western and coastal areas. In the interior, in likely towns like Tampere, Varkaus, etc, you would see the formation of a Swedish-/Scandinavian-speaking managerial and professional class, but the most growth in industrial population would come from the surrounding, heavily Finnish-speaking countryside.

I agree, but if we look at Swedish settlement in the Northern Sweden in the 19th century, it pretty much follow the model of the Western Finnish dialects. Which is why I expect that area to be the most likely to be Swedified outside the major coastal cities. Of course there’s no doubt that most cities in the interior will have a small Swedish elite in the 19th and early 20th century.
 
I agree, but if we look at Swedish settlement in the Northern Sweden in the 19th century, it pretty much follow the model of the Western Finnish dialects. Which is why I expect that area to be the most likely to be Swedified outside the major coastal cities. Of course there’s no doubt that most cities in the interior will have a small Swedish elite in the 19th and early 20th century.

I don't think the OTL development in northern Sweden can be taken as a direct model for what would happen across the Gulf of Finland ITTL. For one thing, only Western Finnish dialects were used in Northern Sweden, so Swedish settlement could in practice only spread into such Finnish-speaking areas, not to areas with Eastern Finnish dialects. And then, for a second point, we can argue the areas inhabited by Finnic people in Norbotten, like the inhabited parts of the Torne/Tornio River valley (or, to use another term, Meänmaa) were such areas that were suited to people with professions differing from the semi-nomadic Sami way of life. There was, for example, precious little good farmland in the area. It was then pretty likely that the lands that would interest the Finns and Swedes here would coincide and that the locations of population centres would be the roughly same for both groups. In more southern parts of the Finnish provinces, these same conditions don't exist, but there are both Western and Eastern dialects, and there is more good or at least passable farmland. And then, to refer to my above post, the importance of farmland would tend to decrease by the late 19th century, and the importance of the available industrial jobs would increase.
 
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