Paavali Halonen was a farmer and settler in

Finnish Lapland Lapland is the largest and northernmost Regions of Finland, region of Finland. The 21 municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. Lapland borders the Finnish region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gul ...

and a fabled

warlord Warlords are individuals who exercise military, Economy, economic, and Politics, political control over a region, often one State collapse, without a strong central or national government, typically through informal control over Militia, local ...

during the Russo-Swedish War (1590–1595). The king of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Gustav I Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföreståndare'') from 1521, during the on ...

promoted Finnish settlement beyond the Russian border of the realm by promising taxation reliefs to the settlers. This was in order for the king to be able to have claims for the region. The Russian border was by then defined by the

Treaty of Nöteborg The Treaty of Nöteborg, also known as the Treaty of Orehovsk (; ; ), is a conventional name for the peace treaty signed at Shlisselburg Fortress, Oreshek (; ) on 12 August 1323. It was the first agreement between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic ...

. This pursuit caused tensions with Russia, and during the Russo-Swedish War, Finnish settlements in northern Ostrobothnia were often destroyed by

East Karelia East Karelia (, ), also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that is beyond the eastern border of Finland and since the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617 has remained Eastern Orthodox and a part of Russia. I ...

n guerrillas. The life of Paavali Halonen belongs to this time. He has been a historical person, although most of the knowledge about him is only folklore. "Halonen" is a Savonian surname and Paavali Halonen was the first permanent and Finnish settler inhabitant of

Kemijärvi Kemijärvi (; ; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the sub-region of Eastern Lapland. History The first permanent settler inhabitant of Kemijärvi was Paavali Ollinpoika Halonen, who moved from the region of Oulu, fro ...

. Local folklore has preserved stories about Paavali Halonen as one of the guerrilla chiefs, the most famous of them being Pekka Vesainen. Halonen was born in

Muhos Muhos is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of northern Finland. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Oulu (province), Oulu half an hour's drive (35 km) on route 22 from the city of Oulu, the capital of Northern Finla ...

and led a vengeance raid to

Kola unit was the big kola int eh Kola may refer to: People * Koła, a Polish noble family * Kola (name), people with the given name/surname Kola * Kola (singer), Ukrainian singer, songwriter and performer of her own songs * Kola people, Gabonese p ...

and

Kandalaksha Kandalaksha () is a town in Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, located at the head of Kandalaksha Gulf on the White Sea, north of the Arctic Circle. Population: 40,564 ( 2002 Census); Etymology According to the most common ...

and took part in attempt to capture fort of Kola with other Finnish chiefs, Vilmi and Kauppi from

Kemi Kemi (; ; ; ) is a cities of Finland, town and municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located approximately from the city of Tornio and the Finland–Sweden border, Swedish border. The distance to Oulu is to the south and t ...

. East Karelians (Russians) offered peace and invited Finnish chiefs to the town for drinking. They were captured by Russians, but Paavali Halonen was suspicious and refused the offer. Thus he saved his life and returned home. According to the stories he first discovered Kemijärvi while escaping from Russia through the wilderness. Later he moved there with his family. As the first settlers moved to Kemijärvi, the area was not inhabited by the

Sami people Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

anymore. The first tax record (''maakirja'') including Kemijärvi village is from 1631. Then the householder of the Halonen's farm was Paavo Paavonpoika (''Paavo's son'') Halonen, who probably was the son of the first inhabitant. His place of residence is known today as ''Halosenniemi''. Large part of the population in North East Lapland today can trace their ancestry back to the sons of Paavali Halonen. By emigration his descendants have also spread to Northern Norway among

Kvens Kvens (; ; ; ; ) are a Balto-Finnic ethnic group indigenous to the northern regions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and parts of Russia. In 1996, Kvens were granted minority status in Norway, and in 2005 the Kven language was recognized as a minor ...

, and to America.

External links

Paavali Halonen
- Town of Kemijärvi
Paavali Halonen family society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halonen, Paavali 16th-century Finnish people People from Kemijärvi Settlers Finnish guerrillas