| dc.description.abstract | Abstract
In the 17th and 18th centuries, a number of new urban communities emerged in Norway. Closely connected to The Silver Works, the most important mining industry in the absolutist kingdom of Denmark-Norway, Kongsberg was among the most populous Norwegian towns of the time. Previous research on the Nordic urban communities of the time has found that various stakeholders gained hegemony over several of them through strategic ownership and disposition of land and buildings, trade and the use of social networks. In this thesis, it is argued that Kongsberg's development must be understood as a company town (verksby). These were typically industrial production communities built and controlled by and for one business enterprise to enable large-scale extraction of natural resources in remote areas without adequate infrastructure. The company town's primary function was to be a permanent base for the company's management and workforce, and to provide the necessary housing, supplies and services. In a typical company town, one business enterprise strove to control and manage everything and everyone. Kongsberg of the Danish era was characterized by its large majority of miners, the silver works' clerks and civil servants. A limited number of merchants and citizens gradually gained entry. Based on literature studies, Kongsberg’s earliest municipal annual reports, and international research on similar communities, this thesis examines the development of the community's power and management structures, the working population's housing pattern, the organization of goods supplies, and social welfare benefits. Kongsberg was under strong state control and, in accordance with the prevailing mercantilist ideas of the time, was given high priority through various privileges. However, the state power was dependent on the local governing bodies, where responsibilities sometimes took place in unclear administrative boundaries between the state, the silver works and the town authorities. The thesis shows how an extensive power regime with paternalistic features constantly had to deal with unpredictable factors. The stability was challenged by changing production profitability, worker uprisings, and management problems. It appears that Kongsberg parallely followed the typical development pattern of company towns, from a provisional beginning to increasing normalization as a more regular community. | |