The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

CHAPTER II.ALTHOUGH forming part of the vast territorial possessions ofRussia, Finland enjoys a separate political status. Her naturaliniits also are well defined, at least in the southern division,and she presents special physical features. She horders west,south, and south-east on the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland andLake Ladoga, while the territory of Uleaborg, stretching northwards towards theArctic Ocean, is separated only by river beds or purely conventional lines fromSweden, Norway, and Russia. In her population, also, Finland is equallv distinctfrom all the surrounding lands. Part of the seaboard is occupied bv Swedes,descendants of old settlers ; but all the rest of the land is held by the Finns,a race once spread over a considerable portion of the Old World. Now confined tothis region of rocks, lakes, and swamps, the ancient race retains but a slight portionof its original domain, with a political independence little more than nominal.After undergoing the Swedish yoke, Finland has had to change masters, for since1809 the whole country has been annexed to Russia as a Grand Duchy, with speciallocal institutions.The Finns are fully conscious of forming a distinct nationality ; they cherishtheir traditions and carefully cultivate their language, preparing confidently for afuture higher political standing, But in such a land and climate they cannot hopeto become powerful in numbers, industry, or wealth. The region occupied bythem is relatively twelve times less peopled than France, and three times lessthan European Russia proper. The total area is 144,226 square miles, with anestimated population (1879) of 2,020,000, or less than 15 to the square mile.Physical Aspect of the Land.Finland —that is, ''Fen-land," or Suomen-maa ("Lake-land")—in its natureand aspect forms a transition between Scandinavia and Russia. Here are granitemasses, rocky basins filled with pure water, and countless moraines strewn overthe land, as in Sweden, but no uplands like the Ejolen, for here begin the great