The Late Allotment System,

"Yngre indelningsverket" (1)

The Allotment System was a system of organizing and financing the Swedish armed forces in earlier times.

Introduction

In the beginning of the 1680s the Swedish armed forces went through a major reorganization under the command of King Karl XI. The new Military Act was passed in the Parliament on October 27, 1682. The new system is known as The Late Allotment System or just The Allotment System (Swedish: Yngre indelningsverket). The Late Allotment System was in use until 1901. The Allotment System was based on the former allotment system, the so- called Early Allotment System. The Allotment System meant that standing army was to be established in Sweden and Finland. Contracts was drawn up with the Crown and the farmers (freeholders) in each province where the freeholders (farmers) undertook the responsibility to maintain soldiers for the infantry regiment of the province. It was mandatory for the freeholders to participate in the Allotment System. Each infantry regiment numbered 1,200 soldiers which means that the local farmers were given the task to raise and maintain 1,200 soldiers for the regiment. The Term Rote To maintain soldiers for the regiment of the province was costly and an extra burden for the farmers. To reduce the burden for individual farmers, each parish (socken) of the provinces was divided into districts (allotments) called “rote” and each rote consisted of 2 - 4 farmers. Thereby the costs was shared equally between the farmers of a rote. It was an obligation of each “rote” to provide and maintain one soldier for the regiment(s) of the province. It is rote in singular and rotar in plural. It took 1,200 rotar to raise 1,200 soldiers for an infantry regiment. Each rote was to maintain a soldier including equipment such as uniform etc. and a soldier croft (soldattorp) for the soldier to live in when he wasn’t serving in the regiment. Croft is a British English term for a small homestead, i.e. cottage. The soldier croft also included some farmland. The soldiers wage system was in other words based on the subsistence economy principals.

The Late Allotment System

Infantry

The system with regiments stationed in each province was kept from the Early Allotment System. However, the regiments were now standing regiments and the soldiers were employed by the army (not drafted), i.e. "career" soldiers. The former disliked system with "utskrivningar" (involuntary conscription) was abolished. Why did the farmers (freeholder) agree to take on this extra cost to maintain soldiers for the arm? Well, the Early Allotment System was based on involuntary conscription and not only farmhands was drafted but also farmers, farmer’s son etc. This early system was disliked by all parts including the Crown but especially by the farmers. In the Late Allotment System the rote farmers was exempted from conscription as long as they provided and maintained soldiers for the army. They accepted the extra cost to avoid having to involuntary serve as soldiers. So, in order to avoid the risk of being involuntary recruited, the farmers / freeholders accepted a system, which guaranteed them exemption from "utskrivning" if they permanently provided the army with soldiers. The major freeholder of a rote was called stamrote or huvudrote. The other freeholders of the rote were called hjälprotar. One of the freeholders of a rote was appointed (by themselves) rotemästare (Master of the rote). Normally this was the freeholder on who’s land the soldiers croft was located. He was the freeholder in charge of the rote and had the responsibility to make sure that the soldier received the wage and the payments in kind such as firewood, hay, seed (hemkall) the soldier had the right to from the farmers of the rote. The alloted soldiers on the other hand, when they were not serving in the army, had to work on the farms of the rote. This system of keeping infantry soldiers for an infantry regiment was called “Det ständiga knekthållet” and the principle was called “Rotering”. The system provided the army with 1,200 soldiers in each Regiment and was financed almost exclusively by the farmers. On the other hand, the farmers were exempted from having to involuntarily serve as soldiers. The soldier crofts of soldiers in the same company were located within the same area of the province. Each company covered a specific geographical area in a province. The infantry soldiers was also called "fotfolket" (foot-soldiers). An important advantage of the new system was that it took much less time to mobilize. The General staff now knew the strength of their standing army before they went to war. The skills of troops were improved due to increased degree of training and due to the fact that the soldiers served in the army for many years. The number of desertions was significantly reduced.

Navy

The Navy seamen were called "båtsmän" in Swedish and served aboard the Navy ships. They manned the artillery aboard and also had sailing duties. At times of war the Navy ships also had infantrymen aboard. The navy seamen (Båtsmän) were provided in a similar manner as the infantry soldiers, i.e. through rotering. A number of farmers in coastal areas formed a "rote" and maintained a "båtsman" and provided him with a sailor croft (båtmanstorp) and the uniform. However, In Blekinge, southern Sweden, the keeping of seamen was similar to the system used by the cavalry, i.e. by “rusthåll”. However, the majority of the seamen were kept by the “rotering” system like in the infantry. The Navy had "rotar" both in the coastal areas of the countryside as in the cities. Even cities in non coastal areas were used by the navy. From the middle of 1700’s the "rotar" in the cities were made vacant. Instead of keeping seamen these "rotar" paid a vacancy fee to the Navy. The amount of the fee was about the same as the cost of keeping a "båtsman". One difference between the Navy and the Army was that the officers in the Navy lived at the naval bases, not in the provinces of the "båtsmän" which the army officers did. From the 1720s Sweden had two types of naval fleets, the Navy (örlogsflottan) and the Galley Fleet (skärgårdsflottan or galärflottan). The Navy had the larger ships of the line (man-of-war) used on the open sea. The Galley fleet had smaller ships called galleys. The galleys was powered both by sails and oars and were used for warfare in coastal waters. In shallow waters and calm weather galleys could be a danger even for the larger ships of the line. The Galley Fleet was reorganized in 1756 and separated from the Navy and became subordinated to the Army. The name of the Galley Fleet thereby changed to the Army Fleet (Arméns flotta). In 1823 the Galley Fleet were merged with the Navy again.

Cavalry

The horsemen in the cavalry was raised and maintained in a different manner than the foot-solders of the infantry. The cavalry system was called “Rusthåll”. To keep and maintain a horseman including a horse for the cavalry was voluntary. The freeholder of a cavalry "rusthåll" had a personal contract with the Crown stating that was responsible to provide a cavalryman, horse and uniform for the cavalry regiment of the province. The contract was a voluntary agreement between the Crown and the freeholder. The holder of a rusthåll was called “Rusthållare”. The rusthållare was exempted from paying taxes and to participate in the infantry rotering system as long as he provided a cavalryman. Normally. there was only one freeholder in a "rusthåll". However, the holder of the rusthåll could have an extra freeholder helping him covering the expenses. Such a subsidiary freeholder in a rusthåll was called "augument". Like the infantry soldiers, the cavalrymen were provided with a croft (ryttartorp) and land to farm. A cavalryman was called a "ryttare" in Swedish. In the Early Allotment System it was common that the "rusthållare" and the cavalryman was the same person. This was not allowed in the Late Allotment System.

Officers

Each officer and NCO of the alloted regiments received an official military residence in the countryside as a fringe benefit related to the their employment as military officers. The company officer’s residences were located in the same area as the soldier crofts of the soldiers in respective company. The residence was not a personal property of the officers and when an officer discharged from the regiment he had to leave the residence. These residences had been withdrawn from the Nobility during the second half of the 1600s in the so-called Reduction or the Conflict of the Estates. The system of providing officers and their residences was called “Indelning”. Instead of freeholders paying tax to the Crown and then the Crown paid salaries to the officers, the officers received a residence and salaries paid from locally collected taxes of the rote farmers. The higher rank the better residence and salaries paid from more rote farmers’ taxes. The freeholders who contributed to an officer’s salary was called “fördelshemman”.

More then one Regiment in the Provinces

Many provinces hosted several alloted regiments. There could be both an infantry regiment, a cavalry regiment as well as navy companies in a province. One example of a province that had all three types of units was Östergötland province. The cavalry Regiment was Östgöta Cavalry Regiment and the infantry regiment Östgöta Infantry Regiment. The Navy company was Östergötland Båtsman Company. The navy company was subordinated Karlskrona Naval Station.

The Civil Allotment System

An Allotment System was also used to finance state officials in the provinces. An example of a state employee that received money this way was the parish ministers. The farmers paid one 10th (tithes) of their taxes directly to the parish minister. This system was the Civil Allotment System.

The System of “Rotering” - Mantal

The number of farmers per "rote" depended of the “mantal”. "Mantal" was a property tax code and every farm which had to pay taxes was assigned a "mantal". In the beginning (1600’s) one "mantal" meant a farm with a yearly yield large enough to support a farmer's family and their farm hands. In the forest provinces in northern Sweden a farm of one "mantal" had to be big to produce a yield corresponding to one "mantal". In the plains in southern Sweden, with a better climate and a richer soil, a farm could be a lot smaller than in the north and still produce a yield of one "mantal". So “mantal” is not a value for the size of a farm but rather it’s capability of yielding a good crop. Farms with the same “mantal” paid the same amount of tax. Not all farms could produce a yield corresponding to one "mantal" but was still able support a family. It was common with farms of ½ "mantal” or 5/8 "mantal" etc. Throughout the centuries the “mantal” rating has changed into lower values. Farms have been split up between siblings due to inheritance and the tax code has been adjusted to that in order to get a fair taxation. Farms in the 1700’s and 1800’s with a “mantal” rating of ½, ¼ or 1/8 could still support a family. A farm in the 1800’s with a “mantal” rating above 1 (1¼ for example) was a farm with a large yield. So, the “mantal” rates have changed over the years. Two “mantal” per rote in the Allotment System The total sum of the farmer’s “mantal” per “rote” had to be 2 “mantal”, that is, a "rote" was supposed to have a total yield of 2 "mantal". It was estimated that a ”rote” had to be of 2 ”mantal” in order for the farmers to afford the cost of providing a soldier. In some areas only two farms were needed per "rote" (the two farms together had a total yield corresponding to 2 "mantal"). In other areas it needed 5 - 6 farms per "rote" to meat two mantal, while a wealthy farm of 4 "mantal" alone had to provide two soldiers. Small farms and crofts (torp) with a small yield weren’t assigned any “mantal”. Sometimes you will find the “mantal” rate for a farm in the Household Examination Rolls (Husförhörslängd, HFL).

Which freeholders were obliged to

participate in the “rotering” system

Not all freeholders were obligated to participate in the “rotering” of the Allotment System. Most freeholders were obliged but there were exceptions, for example, the estates of the nobility and farms on noble land were exempted. It had to do with the classification of land and land ownership. Basically it was the people that lived on their own land - freeholders - ("skattebönder") and farmers that lived on land owned by the Crown, "kronojord" that provided the infantry and navy with soldiers/seamen. Other groups such as police officers, clergy, inn keepers etc were also exempted. More about land ownership.

Related Links

1. Briefly the Allotment System 2. Swedish Wars 3. Famous Swedish Battles 4. Swedish Regiments 5. Uniforms of the Swedish Army 6. The Navy 7. Swedish Military Research 8. Tutorial: "How to" articles on how to research Swedish soldiers 9. Swedish Military Unit Designations 10. Swedish Military Branch and Unit Insignias 11. Military ranks of today 12. Karlberg War Academy 13. Swedish/English Dictionary, Military terms 14. Photos of a soldier croft 15. Source references Top of page

The Recruit

A new recruit had to be between the age of 18 to 30 and be mentally and physically fit. He also had to be at least 5 foot 8 tall. It was above of all peasants and farmhands who were recruited but also sons of farmers, sons of soldiers' etc. For the peasants it was a way to rise in social status, get a place of their own to live in (the soldier croft), a uniform etc. So the recruits signed the contract by free will.

The Soldier Croft

A soldier croft (soldattorp) had to be provided for the soldier by the "rote" and it was located on the farmers' land or on the village common land. A croft was a cottage with a piece farmland. The size of the croft had to be at least 7 m x 4,7 m with a barn 10 m x 4,7 m. When a soldier retired or was discharged he had to vacate his soldier croft. If the soldier died his family would have to vacate the croft within three months. The "rote" then had to recruit a new soldier who would then move into the croft. The image to the right is showing a soldier croft, Södermanland regiment, rote 143, Life Company. If a soldier was above the age of 50 when he retired and had served in the army between 25 to 30 years he was granted a small pension from the crown (gratial). At the gable of the soldier croft there was a "rote" board ("rotetavla") stating the name of the regiment, the Company name and the "rote" number. The image to the left shows a "rote" board. It reads: Södermanlands Kongl regemente, Gripsholms kompani, no 1017. (Royal Södermanland Regiment, Gripsholm Company, no 1017.) In peacetime the soldier lived as part time farmer with a number of military training camps per year. In wartime he could be away from home for many years. His wife would then have to farm the croft by herself (usually with some help from the "rote" farmers). If the soldier died (at home or during field service), his wife would have to move out of the croft with her children because then the "rote" needed the croft for their new recruit. If she had no relatives to turn to she had to rely on poor relief. See Photos of a soldier croft.

The Soldier Contract

A contract was made up between the "rote" and the new recruit. Both the recruit as well as the contract had to be approved by the Captain of the Company the soldier was enrolled to. The recruit didn’t officially become a soldier until he was approved at the next general muster (generalmönstring). The soldier contract didn't stipulate a certain service time. It was a permanent tenure until further notice. Normally the alloted soldiers served for a very long time, up to 30 years or more. Example of a Soldier Contract from 1895.

Reserve Soldiers

In wartime the "rote" also had to recruit replacement soldiers or reserve soldiers. The reserve soldiers were called “vargeringssoldater” in Swedish. Other words are “vargeringskarl” and “vargeringsman”. The system of keeping reserve soldiers was called “Vargering”.

Discharge

The soldier contract didn't stipulate a certain service time. It was a permanent tenure until further notice. Normally the soldiers served for a very long time, up to 30 years or more. A soldier could only get a discharge ("avsked") at a general muster ("generalmönstring"). This could be on the soldier's request or on request by the army. The reason for discharge could be old age, war injury, sickness etc. On request of a soldier, the Colonel of the regiment could discharge the soldier between two general musters if the rote farmer supported the request. This was called a "provisional discharge" (interim avsked). However, the discharge had to finally be approved at the next general muster. In order for a soldier to get a discharge on a soldier’s own request he had to have a valid reason like old age, injury, sickness etc. Therefore he needed a medical certificate from the regimental surgeon in order to make the request. However, is was no guarantee that the request was granted. If the army thought the soldier could do another couple of years in service they could reject the request for a discharge. At time of war it was very difficult to get a request for discharge approved. Valid reasons then could be weakness due to old age or severe injury/sickness. A soldier could also be discharged if he had committed a crime such as theft, crime of violence etc. The soldier was then discharged in dishonor and the general muster roll would the have notations such as "kasserades" or "cassation".

Volunteers

A common way to become a NCO or an officer was to begin in the army as a volunteer. Volunteer was a term used for military personnel being trained to become NCOs or officers. The volunteer system was used both in the Army as well as within the Navy. The volunteer system was established in the 16th century. A volunteer began his military career as a soldier/seaman but had a higher position or status than the ordinary soldier/seaman. The volunteers were during the period of the Allotment System (1682 – 1901) a group of soldiers separated from the Allotment System. They were paid in cash and had to equip them self by their own means. Volunteers were regarded as a pool of future officers. The age when young men could start as volunteers was set to 15 years in 1730. In 1736 this rule was changed to “old enough to handle a musket”. However, during the second half of the 18th century (1765) the Army tried to keep down the number of too young volunteers by setting a rule that the future officers couldn’t include service years prior to their 15th birthday in their total amount of service years. In 1796 this rule was changed so the officers only could include their service years above the age of 18. The number of service years was an important element for officers being candidates for promotions. However, this didn’t stop children from becoming volunteers. The volunteer system was in use until 1952. According to a military regulation set in 1901 a volunteer had to be at least 17 years of age when he signed the contract. The contract was signed for a period of 2 to 4 years. The contract could be extended to another 1 to 2 years. An unpromoted volunteer could remain as a volunteer for a maximum of 6 years and couldn’t be above the age of 28. A promoted volunteer could remain as a volunteer until the age of 32.

Rank vs Position

Normally there was a one-to-one relation between rank and position (official standing). The position of company commander was normally held by a Captain and the regimental commander was normally a Colonel. After periods of war there were many officers with a higher rank than there were positions for them. That is why you can see officers with the rank of Major General holding positions as regimental commanders in the GMRs (General Muster Rolls). Officers and NCOs were always paid by the position they held, not by their rank. Company commander is normally a position held by an officer with the rank of Captain. This position could also be held by an officer with a rank above Captain, for example Major. There are also examples of officers with a lower rank than Captain acting company commanders. At a theater of war there might have been a great need to replace a fallen Captain and a way of getting a new Captain was to ”transfer” a Captain from another company or promote a Lieutenant to Captain. However, if the Lieutenant wasn’t experienced enough or didn’t have the right amount of service years to became a Captain he could act as a company commander for the time being (acting company commander). The above conditions were also true for the NCOs. So, there was a difference between rank and position and they do not always go hand in hand. Furthermore, an officer could, for example, hold more than one position. The Colonel was normally the regimental commander but he also held a position as battalion commander of the 1st Battalion and company commander of the Life Company (1st company). Since they were paid by position and not by rank, a colonel therefore was paid for three positions. However, normally the colonel had little time for the Life Company so there was often a promoted Lieutenant titled “kaptenslöjtnant” being the company commander of the Life Company. “Kaptenslöjtnant” (Lieutenant Captain) was a rank between Lieutenant and Captain and only used for Lieutenants holding a position as company commanders of the Life Company. Also the Lieutenant Colonel held more than one position; he was the deputy regimental commander, commander of the 2nd Battalion and company commander of the Lieutenant Colonel’s Company. Also the Major held a second position; he was company commander of the Major’s Company.