Facts

Contact person:
Pål Brunnström
Financer:
  • Sten K Johnsons stiftelse
Responsible at MaU:
Pål Brunnström
Project members at MaU:
Collaborators :
  • Linus Sollin Malmö Stadsarkiv
Time frame:
01 January 2025 - 31 December 2025
Faculty/department:
Research environment :
Research subject:

About the project

In 1855, two companies were founded that worked with cotton in Malmö. This was not the first time cotton was processed in the city and at the time there were a number of smaller companies producing cotton socks and clothing. But in terms of scale and the forms of organizing production, these two companies constituted something entirely new. They marked the beginning of industrial capitalism in Malmö. These companies were Malmö Manufacture Company Ltd. (Malmö Manufakturaktiebolag) and Malmö mechanical cotton weavery (Malmö mekaniska bomullsväfveri). Over time, the textile industry would grow to become the industry that employed the most workers in Malmö – yes, more than even Kockum's – but its history is sadly little researched and rewritten.

Aim

This project aims to change that. The purpose of the project is to investigate the start-up and development of the cotton textile industry in Malmö from 1850 to 1920, to make visible

  • a) central actors in the process,
  • b) the role the cotton textile industry played in the industrial development in Malmö, and
  • c) how that process is connected with international economic and industrial development.

We want to make this available to the public, as we believe that knowledge of history is a central part of people's identity, and we do this through an exhibition at Malmö City Archives, as well as scientific and popular history texts. The project is conducted in collaboration with Malmö City Archives.