History
During the Middle Ages, Norrbotten was considered to be terra nullius ("no man's land"). The area was sparsely populated by Sami, Kvens and different tribes/people related to the Finns. From the Middle Ages on, the Swedish kings tried hard to colonize and Christianize the area. This took time, however; even today, there are Finnish and Sami minorities living in the area, who have maintained their own culture and customs.
Following the Finnish War in 1809, Västerbotten County was split between Sweden and Finland, with the larger part remaining within the Swedish borders. In 1810, the county was divided again when Norrbotten County was created out of the northern part, on the Swedish side. Most people in Norrbotten County still refer to the entire county, including the areas in Finnish Lapland, when they say 'Norrbotten', which is also the name of a smaller province for practical and historical reasons, which do not imply that they would not prefer to use the name Lapland.
The natural resources (hydroelectricity, timber, and minerals, especially iron) of Norrbotten have played a key role in the industrialization of Sweden, all through the 20th century the region saw strong mobility in and out of the county, many young people moving south and people from other parts of the country moving in. In the 1970s and 1980s the drainage of (mostly young) workers was very powerful, due to high unemployment, and people in the area began to occasionally voice feelings of being misunderstood or economically abused by the south and especially the capital Stockholm.
Read more about this topic: Norrbotten County
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