While this fiscal model of state formation has attracted surprisingly little scholarly attention since then, Ladewig Petersen’s study of 17th century Denmark constitutes a fairly well-known exception. In the present paper I aim to add insight drawn from the history of neighboring Sweden, a case that highlights issues the Danish one fails to do. Drawing on fiscal data and other historical sources I shall argue that the domain-to-tax transition in Sweden was much less clear-cut than it was in Denmark. Domain revenue stayed important throughout the century, and at the eve of absolutism the two states elected to follow divergent fiscal paths, a fact that warrant explanation.
In short, the Swedish case presents difficulties for Schumpeter’s model, and calls into question the set character and perceived inevitability of the domain-to-tax transition. My analysis suggests that Sweden may be defined as a more resilient ‘entrepreneurial domain state’, but it also calls our attention to the ways in which the administrations of domain revenue and taxation interplayed and impacted on one another. My findings thus problematize an established narrative of the rise of the modern state in Europe.
