Life – a user's manual Part II - Boksidan

Government expenditure
State affairs on behalf of the country used to be to uphold the law, control and defend the country and to
raise funds for these activities. Much of the judging was handled locally, however, and the king ruled
himself along with his closest men. So, for example, the Swedish government, was until the 1800s almost
only doing defense and warfare, and arranging the money for this. The governmental activities (authorities)
who withdrew money were: tax collection, customs, mints, land surveying (from 1628, important in
particular to establish the tax values of the country's farms).
In addition, there were:
- Periodical diplomatic representatives in other countries (from 1500-century) and their main task was to
chase fundings for the Swedish warfare. Other countries, however, have had diplomatic representatives as
far back as the time of the Egyptian Empire. But it was not until the Middle Ages that permanently
stationed envoys began to occur, perhaps first in the small republics of Italy, where the diplomats first were
recognized a professionals, but also in the Hanseatic League, though, it was not widespread until the
1600's.
- Authorities with the task of improving the economy of Sweden, as the Board of Trade, that was founded in
1637 (would promote trade, shipping and manufacturing) and Board of Mines (for promoting the mining
industry).
- A government system to accompany war and merchant ships through difficult sections of the Swedish
waters started in 1677 as part of the Navy (but there were private harbour pilots much earlier than that).
In 1809, authorities received a more independent position in relation to the power and the modern authorities
in Sweden were shaped with the founding of the authorities:
- Royal Board for roads and water ways in 1841 (later the National Road Administration, now the Transport
Administration).
- Economic Mapping Agency in 1859 (from 1896 called National public atlases, a part of the current
National Land Survey).
- royal Pilot Board 1872 (replaced in 1956 by the Royal Maritime Authority, which in 1970 changed its
name to the Maritime Administration).
- Patent and Trademark Office 1891 st .
- Welfare Board 1913 th .
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