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Paper short abstract:

At the turn of the twentieth century, many “young” nations, such as the United States and Finland, placed special emphasis on pristine landscapes and the image of the wilderness hunter when developing ideas about the national character. These in turn were deeply related to ideals of manliness.

Paper long abstract:

My poster aims to provide novel insights to the historical relationship between the concept of wilderness and the birth of conservation movements in North America and northern Europe. Juxtaposing turn of the twentieth century North American and Nordic ideas and images about nature, landscape, wilderness, and masculinity can shed new light on the notions of nationalism and conservation between the two regions.

The history of hunting for sport provides an important, but in many ways neglected viewpoint to the core of national cultures and history of class relations. In the feudal societies of Western and Central Europe, hunting rights were gradually severed from land ownership. Typically, only the royalty and nobility were allowed to hunt big game, and smaller landowners and peasants were forced to become assistants in the hunt, which turned into an elaborate display of aristocratic power. The Nordic experience proves quite different from the rest of Europe. The great national importance attributed to wild landscapes, hunters, and pioneer settlers in both North America and the Nordic countries seems to share common roots, especially when contrasted with the general European experience.

By the turn of the twentieth century, many North Americans and Nordics of the upper and educated classes found recreational hunting and fishing as a new pastime. Big game hunters, sport fishermen, and their organizations were consequently in the forefront of conservation efforts for their game and its natural environment. Somewhat ironically, people fascinated by killing individual animals could ensure their survival as a species.