Henric Rungeen
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Henric Rungeen (in some sources ''Hindrich Rungeen'' or ''Rungen'', d. 1742) was a Finnish
merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
and early
industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...
. Rungeen belonged to the riches
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
of his home city
Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
. He was involved in
shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
and
foreign trade International trade is the exchange of Capital (economics), capital, goods, and Service (economics), services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countr ...
; later he invested on milling,
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
ing,
brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...
,
distilling Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...
, iron processing, and most importantly,
shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...
and
textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...
. Rungeen escaped to
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
during the Hats' War and died in exile in 1742.


Career


Early career

Rungeen belonged to an old
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
family of
Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
. His career as
merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...
began in 1711, just two years before the Russian occupation of Finland. After the almost decade-long occupation Rungeen was one of the most active Turku merchants who contributed rebuilding of the city. According to the surviving
taxation A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal person, legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to Pigouvian tax, regulate and reduce nega ...
documents, Rungeen was the third riches merchant of Turku. Rungeen funded for example renovation of the city hall, main guard building and a new bridge over river Aura. In 1732 he made an offer for building a new city hall but eventually a slightly more expensive plan of the City Architect Samuel Berner became selected.


Shipping

Rungeen's focus was in
foreign trade International trade is the exchange of Capital (economics), capital, goods, and Service (economics), services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (See: World economy.) In most countr ...
. Following to the Great Northern War, there were no large
merchant ship A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are ...
s in the city. Therefore, most of the imported goods were circulated through
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. In 1726 Rungeen bought a merchant ship size of just 48 läst,''Skeppsläst'' or ''läst'' (Swedish) or ''lästi'' (Finnish) is an obsolete unit of weight measurement. Läst = . but it was large enough to operate profitably to
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...
. It took until the early 1730s the city had an ocean-worthy ship; this was Ostrobothnian built ''Södra Finlands Vapen'' with capacity of 250 läst. Rungeen owned a quarter share of the ship. ''Södra Finlands Vapen'' brought every year 5 000 – 6 000 barrels of
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
from
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
and
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
; this covered half of the demand in Turku and its vicinity.


Milling and beverage production

In the 1720s Rungeen bought large
flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
s; he owned at least one
watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...
in
Paimio Paimio (; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population ...
and two
windmill A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery. Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern period ...
s in Turku. Rungeen started
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
importing and around in 1725 he rented the city
brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...
, which however, burned down already in 1728. In the early 1730s Rungeen invested on
distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...
. In 1730 Rungeen was the richest bourgeois of the city; his property was worth of 20 000 silver
thaler A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...
s, which was twice as much as the second richest owned.


Sawmilling and iron processing

As demand of
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
increased after the Great Northern War, Rungeen invested on
sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...
ing. Recently introduced
Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...
style fine-toothed saws increased
productivity Productivity is the efficiency of production of goods or services expressed by some measure. Measurements of productivity are often expressed as a ratio of an aggregate output to a single input or an aggregate input used in a production proce ...
. He founded a sawmill in Inkere, Pertteli, and another one in Aro, Paimio; the latter one he started together with another Turku merchant Carl Merthen. Rungeen also bought a share of Raala sawmill in
Nurmijärvi Nurmijärvi () is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Nurmijärvi is situated in the Uusimaa region. The population of Nurmijärvi is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, mun ...
. The produced timber was partly used for reconstruction in Finland and partly exported. In 1738 Rungeen rented with six other merchants Teijo iron mill in
Perniö Perniö (; ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Salo on January 1, 2009. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality had a population of 6,026 (2004- ...
for five years, Kuusto iron works and Kirjakkala iron mill complex.


Shipbuilding

Rungeen started Turku
shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...
industry in 1738 together with merchants Esaias Wechter and Gustaf Adolf Wittfooth in 1738. The company manager became
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
born Robert Fithie. The first vessel, called ''Fortuna'', was completed in 1739. The following ship was sold to Stockholm, but after this Rungeen got disputes with Wechter, and sold him his share of the shipyard. The last ship was finished just right before beginning of a new Russian occupation, and it left Turku transporting
refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...
s to Stockholm.


Textile industry

Before their dispute, Rungeen and Wechter applied for a permit to start a baize manufactory in 1738. The permit was given in the following year. Rungeen carried the biggest responsibility of the construction work during Wechter participated in the Diet of Sweden. The men started a fulling facility in Littoinen and the textiles were dyed in Wechter's dyeing works. After the rift, Wechter ran the business alone. According to his own words, Rungeen had nothing to do with the baize manufactory after August 1739; however, he sold his share to Wechter just a couple of years later. Rungeen escaped when Russian army advanced to Turku. He died in 1742 in Stockholm.


Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rungeen, Henric Finnish businesspeople Businesspeople from Turku Year of birth unknown 1742 deaths Finnish exiles