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Edvard Didrik Taube

1681–1751

Born
13 Dec 1681, Turinge
Country of birth
Sweden
Died
30 Oct 1751, Stockholm
facts
7
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth13 Dec 1681, TuringeProbable1 source
  • Titlepresident, 1731–1734Confirmed1 competing claim1 source
  • TitleRiksråd, 1734–1739Confirmed1 competing claim1 source
  • Death30 Oct 1751, StockholmProbable1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Turinge

    Birth, Turinge

  2. Child born: Hedvig Taube

    Birth, Stockholm

  3. Event · president

    Event

  4. Event · Riksråd

    Event

  5. Died · Stockholm

    Death, Stockholm

What was it like?

The world around Turinge, 1681: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Edvard was Riksråd from 1734 to 1739.

Known for

Titles held

  • president1731–1734
  • Riksråd1734–1739
Fashion

Strict fashion laws for commoners

During the 1600s, Swedish commoners were strictly forbidden from using silk fabrics or other exclusive materials in public, with violators facing fines or imprisonment on bread and water.

Music

Polska vs minuet for classes

The polska dance was recorded in 1673 and was considered suitable for peasants, unlike the upper-class minuet, which required graceful bows and movements.

Instruments in late 17th-century Sweden

Poetic records from the late 17th century indicate that popular instruments included the violin, lute, dulcimer, and regal, while folk instruments included the nyckelharpa and horn.

Getting around

Travel by Horse and Foot

During the 17th century, ordinary people typically traveled between towns on horseback or on foot because public roads were often too narrow and stony for wagons.

Winter Sled Travel

Travel was significantly faster and more common in winter, as people used sleds to travel across frozen lakes and rivers. In some coastal regions, travelers could cover 7 to 9 mil (approximately 70 to 90 kilometers) in a single day.

Daily life

Cooking over an open fire

Cooking was done in a heavy iron or bronze pot placed on a tripod over an open fire, a method required for daily meals until the later introduction of stoves.

Limited access to formal schooling

Ordinary children often lacked formal schooling and helped with farm work from a young age, while only select boys from certain families attended schools to learn subjects like religion.

Food

Communal eating and scheduled weekly menus

Families often shared meals from a single communal bowl, and menus followed a strict schedule, such as eating fish on Fridays. Common dishes included pea soup with sausage or meat, turnip dishes, and grain porridges.

Salt-heavy diet and high beer consumption

Ordinary people ate a diet based on salt-preserved foods such as herring, meat, and pork, often supplemented by bread, porridge, peas, and butter. Because the food was heavily salted, they drank large quantities of diluted beer, sometimes exceeding five liters per person daily.

Prices and wages

Price of bread and meat in Ångermanland

In Ångermanland, a single loaf of bread was valued at 2 öre, while 1 liter of meat cost 24 öre.

Value of clothing items

Stolen trousers were valued at 6 or 8 öre, reflecting the high cost of clothing items in the 16th century.

Work

Annual contracts and the free week tradition

Laborers were legally entitled to a free week, known as a slankvecka, each year to transition between employers after their annual contract ended on the designated moving day. To fulfill basic subsistence needs, a casual laborer only needed to work about 50 days annually, though this requirement increased significantly over the following centuries.

Gendered labor and strict annual service contracts

Work was strictly divided by gender, with men performing heavy outdoor field tasks like plowing and threshing, while women managed indoor chores, milking, food processing, and caring for small animals. Employment was regulated by statutes that allowed masters to use corporal punishment, and servants were typically hired for one-year terms.

News and letters

Post farmers ran with the mail

Letters were carried by post farmers, who had to run or walk at least 5 kilometers per hour between stations. They were strictly forbidden from talking along the way and had to deliver mail day and night without delay.

The cost of a letter

By 1693, sending a letter of about 13 grams between Stockholm and Helsingborg cost 18 öre in copper coin, which was equivalent to the price of two jugs of beer. Private citizens gained the right to use the public post for this fee during the 1620s.

During their lifetime

  1. 1710

    Plague epidemic in 1710

    A devastating plague outbreak hit Stockholm in 1710, leading to travel restrictions and economic hardship as trade routes were closed.

  2. 1716

    Introduction of fiat copper currency

    To fund war efforts, the government released 21.5 million daler silvermynt in lightweight fiat copper coins by 1718, causing significant economic disruption.

  3. 1719

    End of royal absolutism in 1719

    The end of royal absolutism occurred in 1719, when a new constitution transferred significant political power from the monarch to the parliament.

  4. 1731

    East India Company founded in 1731

    The Swedish East India Company was founded in 1731, creating new opportunities for trade and the import of luxury goods.

  5. 1734

    Unified legal code adopted in 1734

    A comprehensive new law, the Civil Code of 1734, was adopted to provide a unified legal framework for all of Sweden.

Family

Spouses

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.