ABSTRACT This article concerns the societal history of potato knowledge in early modern Sweden. Focusing on the communication process, it analyses when, how, why, and which type of knowledge of the potato was communicated and ultimately experienced a societal breakthrough in early modern Sweden. The article shows that knowledge of the potato was transformed as it crossed social, spatial, and media boundaries. The breakthrough – which only came in 1749–50 – was not the result of a linear, cumulative diffusion process dating from the initial knowledge intervention in the 1650s; instead, it was the result of a particular knowledge network, long devoted to promoting the potato, finally gaining influence over important knowledge institutions, thus making mass communication possible. In the 1720s and 1730s, this network had redefined the potato in the context of agriculture and especially in relation to the phenomenon of famine and crop failure. In the subsequent period, this revised knowledge became increasingly relevant to Swedish society, as the elite became ever more concerned with food security, population policy, and agricultural and fiscal reforms. Finally, following a severe crop failure in the 1740s, political support for a broad knowledge intervention was secured.

中文翻译：

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瑞典马铃薯知识的社会史 c．1650–1800

摘要 本文涉及现代瑞典早期马铃薯知识的社会历史。以传播过程为重点，分析了马铃薯知识的传播时间、方式、原因和类型，并最终在现代早期的瑞典实现了社会突破。这篇文章表明，当马铃薯跨越社会、空间和媒体边界时，它的知识发生了转变。这一突破——仅在 1749-50 年出现——并不是始于 1650 年代最初知识干预的线性累积扩散过程的结果；相反，它是长期致力于推广马铃薯的特定知识网络的结果，最终对重要的知识机构产生影响，从而使大众传播成为可能。在 1720 年代和 1730 年代，该网络在农业背景下重新定义了马铃薯，特别是在与饥荒和作物歉收现象相关的情况下。在随后的时期，随着精英们越来越关注粮食安全、人口政策以及农业和财政改革，这种修订后的知识与瑞典社会越来越相关。最后，在 1740 年代严重的农作物歉收之后，广泛的知识干预获得了政治支持。