In the 1770s the small Academy of Turku became the centre of the Enlightenment in Finland. Its young teachers founded a society, published a newspaper and began to treat Finland’s own past, language and folk poetry as subjects worth studying. At the heart of it all was a Latin lecturer called Henrik Gabriel Porthan.
A society named after the dawn
- Aurora. In 1770 a group of scholars and students at the Academy founded the Aurora Society, named after the Roman goddess of the dawn: a fitting name in an age that called itself the Enlightenment Well documented.
- Half secret, half school. The society was modelled on a Stockholm society called Utile Dulci, which met behind closed doors. Aurora is described both as a secret society and as a literary and educational club Likely.
- Who belonged. Its members included Porthan, the future bishop Magnus Jacob Alopaeus, the future judge Pehr Juslén, the future museum founder Carl Fredrik Fredenheim, the law teacher Matthias Calonius and the inventor Abraham Niclas Edelcrantz. Some members lived in Stockholm Well documented.
- What they wanted. They discussed poetry, history, geography, language and the economy. They felt strongly Swedish, but they also thought the Finnish language and Finland’s ancient history deserved serious study Well documented.
- Music too. On 19 August 1773, exactly a year after the king’s coup (see below), the society put on the first public orchestral concert ever held in Finland (stop 24) Well documented.
- The end. Most sources say the society faded out in 1779. One modern writer says it was active until 1790 Debated.
Porthan, the father of Finnish history
- A hard start. Porthan was born on 8 November 1739 in Viitasaari in central Finland. His father, a vicar, fell mentally ill when Henrik was four, and the boy was brought up by an uncle who was a vicar in Ostrobothnia Well documented.
- A life at the Academy. He began to study in Turku at the age of 15, in 1754, and never really left. He became a lecturer in Latin in 1762, the Academy’s librarian in 1772, and professor of rhetoric in 1777, a post he held until his death in 1804. He was rector twice Well documented.
- Folk poetry. Between 1766 and 1778 Porthan published De Poësi Fennica, “On Finnish poetry”, in five parts. It was a pioneering study of the old Finnish folk songs, written in Latin for scholars all over Europe Well documented.
- Teacher of a nation. Porthan collected old documents, wrote about Finland’s history and trained a generation of students who carried his ideas further. He is remembered as “the father of Finnish history” Well documented.
Finland’s first newspaper
- 15 January 1771. The society’s paper first appeared on this day, with the long title Tidningar Utgifne Af et Sällskap i Åbo, “Newspapers published by a society in Turku”. Its first page called it the first attempt to publish a newspaper in the country Well documented.
- Small and slow. It came out every two weeks, with eight small pages the size of a book. At the start it probably had about 200 subscribers. A weekly paper was tried, but there was not enough demand and it cost too much Likely.
- The first journalist. Porthan was its editor, which makes him Finland’s first journalist. Writers included the young poet Johan Henric Kellgren, the inventor Edelcrantz and the future archbishop Jacob Tengström Well documented.
- Saving the past. Porthan printed old documents in the paper. Some of the originals burned in the Great Fire of Turku in 1827 (stop 27), so today the paper is the only place they survive Well documented.
- A long line. The paper stopped in 1778, when Porthan travelled abroad. He started it again in 1782, and under different names it went on for decades. By 1797 it was the only newspaper in Finland Well documented.
A free press, and a king who took it back
- The law of 1766. In 1766 Sweden passed a Freedom of the Press Act that ended censorship and gave the public the right to read official documents. It is often called the first law of its kind in the world Well documented.
- A new king. King Adolf Frederick died in February 1771, a month after the first issue, and his son became King Gustav III Well documented.
- The coup. On 19 August 1772 Gustav III seized power from the Diet in a coup “without a drop of blood being shed”. The Age of Liberty was over Well documented.
- Freedom cut back. The press law of 1766 fell with the old constitution. A new ordinance in 1774 limited the freedom it had given and put the press laws in the king’s hands Well documented.
- No trouble for Turku. The Turku paper kept away from politics, so the new rules made little difference to it Well documented.
How do we know?
Every issue of the paper survives and has been digitised by the National Library of Finland, so anyone can look at the original pages. Porthan’s books and letters survive too. The Aurora Society is harder: it left few records of its own, and modern writers disagree about when it ended and how secret it really was.