Land Purchase and the Survival of Swedish Ethnicity in Estonia

There is a growing interest in issues of ethnicity. For example, many people wishing to learn more about their background do so by studying the history of the ethnic group they belong to. For this reason, research focusing on ethnic groups over longer periods of time is of particular interest at present. Despite the importance of the relationship between the opportunity to own land and the survival of an ethnic group, relatively few studies have systematically focused on this question within the field of historical geography. It is the contention of this paper that such a link needs to be established, and that evidence relating to the Swedish minority settled in Estonia points to the value of such an approach.