Demographic Observations of the Nordic Travellers Through the Romanian Area
Demographic Observations of the Nordic Travellers Through the Romanian Area

Summary/Abstract: Travelling journals are an important historical source as they contain vivid depictions of the visited communities at some moment of the past. Moreover, their value is often increased by the fact that the foreign travellers pertain to a different culture and thus make noteworthy observations of some aspects that would otherwise be neglected by the locals. This is the case of the Nordic travellers’ observations regarding the demographic realities of the Romanian area in the 17th -19th centuries. Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Finnish voyagers’ notes are thus a valuable means of completing our present knowledge regarding some demography related aspects. It is important to mention that the travellers were subjected to different kinds of influences, like those linked to some common sense errors, to the Romantic tendency to exaggerate perils and to convey picturesque descriptions or to an imbalanced proportion between subjectivity and objectivity. Nevertheless, this article demonstrates that the Nordic voyagers were able to give accurate depictions of the Romanian principalities’ population, of their ethnic, confessional and professional structure and of their institutions, in spite of the linguistic or cultural barriers.

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