The history of Afro-Swedes is relatively unknown for several reasons. Firstly, it is not easy to find Afro-Swedish people in the archives, even though we know they existed. There is often nothing in national archives and registers that distinguishes Afro-Swedes from other Swedes.
In the past, when trying to describe Sweden and 'that which is Swedish,' researchers have generally focused on the 'typical/normal' while choosing to ignore the less normal. As a result, they excluded most Afro-Swedes and many other groups who, for various reasons, did not conform with or submit to social control.
Naturally, this may feel disappointing, but there is much to learn from others who have also searched for people in historically subordinate, marginal, or marginalized groups. For example, national minorities such as Sami, Jews, Romanies, and Travelers or people with functional variations such as low vision and hard of hearing, migrants and perhaps, women in general.
When searching for these groups of people, a little extra resourcefulness will go a long way. The Swedish Population Register is one of the most efficient in the world. However, to find a specific individual, you often need to provide certain key information (such as date and place of birth). Therefore, it can be hard to know where to start when looking for people who meet particular personal criteria (e.g., African origin).
Any fragments of information or clues that you may find can prove challenging to evaluate and assemble into a coherent image. Even though there might be very little information about a black person, there is often more about the people around them. The information may also be unclear or ambiguous. Additionally, the terminology once used in relation to people of African descent is imprecise and can also be perceived as offensive these days. Another challenge to overcome is that geographical areas and boundaries have changed since the colonial period.
But the search itself is fascinating too! Here are a few practical tips and advice if you want to know more about the historical Afro-Swedes, including where and how to get started.
If you are looking for a specific person, perhaps a relative or a name you have come across in other sources, start by searching the Swedish Population Register. The Population Register includes almost everyone who has lived in Sweden since the 18th Century. Afro-Swedes were never registered separately. You will have to search for them in the same way you would search for any other Swedish person. Though relatively uncommon, registers will sometimes include a note about a person's skin color.
The Swedish National Archives' Digital Research Room is a good starting point: https://sok.riksarkivet.se/digitala-forskarsalen. If the name of the person you are looking for is relatively unusual in Sweden, then try searching directly on that. However, it makes it so much easier if you know where and when the person was born, or exactly when they came to Sweden. The Swedish Population Register also records if the person emigrated from Sweden, including when they migrated and to where. If the person you are looking for died in Sweden, the Swedish Death and Burial Records will have details of where and when that person died. With that information, you can then search back through the person's life, gradually finding more and more information about their relocations, family relationships, work, and employers. Once you have this information at hand, you will find it easier to search other types of archives.
Documents and records of hospitals, orphanages, and schools have information about a person's health and injuries, childhood and education. The National Archives also contain information about people who have testified in court, filed for bankruptcy, or served time in prison. They may, however, prove a little harder to find. Read the Swedish National Archives introduction or contact a city/municipal or national archive for guidance and advice. We also recommend Jan Granath's free online course, 'Genealogi för Noviser'.
NB! Digital registers are never entirely reliable. If you do not find whom you are looking for, it may be worth searching for other sources of information. The Swedish National Archives has nearly 80,000 shelf meters of documents, a small percentage of which are digital.
NB! Material from around 1950 or thereafter may be classified by law. The purpose of which is usually to protect the individual's privacy. Therefore, the Archive will make an assessment when asked to release documents that may contain sensitive information.
Bear in mind that there are other ways in which to find information! For example, if looking for a distant relative, other relatives and friends may tell you about the person for whom you are looking. Even small snippets of information can prove helpful and might get you access to information that official archives do not have. Someone who does not know you are looking might have letters and diaries, photographs, and films/videos stored or hidden away somewhere. Don't be afraid to ask! Here are some good questions to ask when talking to people (in English): https://storycorps.org/participate/great-questions/
Suppose your research leads you to other countries. Then Swedish Roots (Federation of Swedish Genealogical Societies) will be able to provide you with guidance, advice, and experiences. If you are specifically looking for a biological relative, then DNA genealogy will open up new possibilities. See, for example, SSGG (Swedish Society for Genetic Genealogy).
Maybe you are not looking for anyone specific and just generally curious. Start searching in a different way and perhaps later move on to tracking specific individuals and exact dates of events as described above.
Older newspapers are a goldmine of information. In the 19th Century, there were many more daily newspapers than today, that wrote about very local news and events. These newspapers are printed, making them easier to read than any handwritten material. Newsprint made the very hard-to-read Fracture font less common from around 1850 onwards. The newspapers of that time usually provide much more in-depth details than we are used to today. For example, it was not uncommon to find out the names and addresses of people involved in crimes or accidents, along with a relatively detailed description of their circumstances. It was presumably not that fun for those directly involved, but it helps us in our search today!
The National Library of Sweden has digitized large numbers of older newspapers, accessed via https://tidningar.kb.se/ without the need for an account/login password (if published before 1908). Newspapers with later publication dates are also digitized. However, for copyright reasons, they are accessed only at the National Library in Humlegården, Stockholm, and a few other libraries throughout the country. You can either do a full-text search or filter out specific newspapers, timespan, and geographical areas of particular interest. It is worth remembering that events occurring in one place were often covered by newspapers further afield. Hence, we recommend not narrowing your initial search too much. Further digitization is underway, and with that, a constant expansion of material content. We recommend repeated inquiries.
Searching on nations and nationalities is another possibility but be prepared to meet a colonized world. A century ago, areas we know today as independent countries went by Gold Coast, British East Africa, and French Somaliland. Other search routes may include settings where you have reason to expect an Afro-Swedish presence. Such as various areas of the arts, in sailors' homes, among missionaries, and in the entertainment industry. Other possible search routes include religious or political organizations working with African or Afro-Swedish communities - from the Swedish Evangelical Mission to the Africa Groups of Sweden (Afrikagrupperna) and many now active exile organizations with a political, linguistic, or cultural focus.
It is worth remembering that even though the digital interface of the National Library of Sweden contains over 20 million newspaper pages, there is a HUGE amount of analog material to be found in libraries and archives. The National Library of Sweden has, for example, 100 million pages of newspaper that have yet to be digitized. In addition, other printed publications such as magazines and journals have been preserved but are not as easily accessible online.
Stockholm City Archives has compiled material that may be of particular interest if you are looking to learn more about the history of Afro-Swedes or migrants in general. They have, for example, a book of residence permit applications from foreigners living in the city (1918-1924). These applications often include details of nationality, occupation, family circumstances, and a picture of the applicant.
The content of museum archives is often more miscellaneous than that of official archives. Museum archives usually contain extensive collections of photographs, but you may also find objects collected by people of African origin who may have lived in Sweden, traveled here, or met Swedish travelers abroad. It can prove a little tricky to find what you search for among all of this. However, Digitalt Museum (the Digital Museum) or Kringla are good starting points. Both contain material from many different institutions.
