Uddevalla Suffrage Association

The Uddevalla Suffrage Association (Swedish: Uddevalla Rösträttsförening) was a late 19th century political movement founded in Uddevalla, Sweden. In the view of local historians and the Swedish Social Democratic Party alike, it was the first political predecessor of the Swedish labour movement in the Bahusian city. Its purpose was to bring about the introduction of universal suffrage in Sweden – at the time, suffrage in the country was restricted to men only and based on personal wealth, therefore shutting out most of the urban and rural working class from the electoral process. The Association was one of many throughout Sweden, which collectively helped bring democratic thought into the common debate and make way for the political breakthrough of the labour movement.

History

Growth

Its foundation was preceded by an August 1890 election in Gothenburg of a three-person committee intended to foster the creation of regional and local suffrage associations. One of those elected was Ture Malmgren, the owner and editor of Bohusläningen. On the 12th of October, 1890 the Uddevalla Suffrage Association was formed after a public meeting at the Lancaster School (Lancasterskolan), attended by 250 people (who were described as being "mainly men from the manually labouring class"). The Association's goal was "to gather supporters of the lowering or abolition of the political suffrage limit, and of the equalization of the municipal voting rights".

Uddevalla

Uddevalla is a town and the seat of Uddevalla Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden. In 2010, it had a population of 31,212.

It is located at a bay of the south-eastern part of Skagerrak. The beaches of Uddevalla are filled with seashells and Uddevalla has one of the largest shell-banks in the world.

Uddevalla has a port and it once had a large shipyard, the Uddevallavarvet ("Uddevalla wharf"), which was the largest employer in Bohuslän during the 1960s. The 1970s recession, that affected the Swedish shipyard industry severely, led to the closing of the wharf in 1985.

History

Uddevalla received its town privileges in 1498, but it was probably a place for trade long before that. Formerly, Uddevalla belonged to Norway, and its name today comes from the original Norwegian Oddevald. Due to its close location to Sweden and Denmark, it was often besieged. In 1612, it was burnt down by Swedish troops led by Jesper Mattson Krus and in 1644, it was once again burnt down, this time by Swedish commander Harald Stake. In 1658, it was ceded to Sweden at the treaty of Roskilde. The Norwegians recaptured the town a year later, and in 1660, it was once again ceded to Sweden at the peace treaty of Copenhagen. Later, Norway annexed Uddevalla and the nearby fortress on the Galleberg repeatedly, the last time in 1788.