In the 17th
and 18th centuries there were relatively many
Finns In Tallinn. Quite a big part of the
servants were Finns. In the 18th century their
number began to decrease. The wealthy eltizens
of Tallinn paid better wages to the Finnish
servants than the latter could get at home.
Already in the 17th century several
regulations were issued in Finland to prevent
single men escaping to Estonia and Livonia. In
the 18th century active fight against the
runaways continued. When somebody appeared to
have left the country, the Town Council of
Tallinn was informed and assistance in the
search asked. When the maid or young man was
found, a state official or a non-commissioned
officer was sent to Tallinn to bring her/him home. |
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| The Finnish seamen were told to get
information about the escaped and the pastor
of the Finnish - Swedish St.Michael's Church
was made responsible for sending the illegal
runaways back to Finland. The merchants and
town councillors of Tallinn and other Estonian
towns did not want to give their Finnish
servants up. Von Manstein, who was the commandant of the
town in 1736 – 1738, did not meet the
demands of the Finnish administration
concerning the runaways. The so-called War of
Hats in 1741 - 1742 broke up the relations
between Tallinn and Helsinki as well as the
escape, although boatmen of Porkkala still
brought some single men over for a good
reward. |
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