This article describes and analyses social structure, poverty, wealth, and economic inequality in Stockholm from 1650 to 1750. We begin by establishing the social structure, using census data and other sources. To study wealth and poverty, the main sources are a complete record of the wealth tax of 1715, comprising 17,782 taxpayers, and a total of 1,125 probate inventories sampled from the years 1650, 1700, and 1750. These provide detailed and sometimes surprising insights into the living standards of both the poor and the rich. Stockholm in this period was a starkly unequal city, with the top decile of wealth holders owning about 90 per cent of total wealth. We relate this inequality to mercantilist policies. The city was run as an oligarchy and the oligarchical political institutions engendered policies that were rigged for inequality. The case of Stockholm thus shows the need for the historical inequality literature to consider class and power relations to understand the determinants of inequality.

中文翻译：

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重商主义不平等：斯德哥尔摩的财富和贫困，1650–1750†

本文描述和分析了 1650 年至 1750 年间斯德哥尔摩的社会结构、贫困、财富和经济不平等。我们首先使用人口普查数据和其他来源建立社会结构。为了研究财富和贫困，主要来源是 1715 年财富税的完整记录，包括 17,782 名纳税人，以及从 1650 年、1700 年和 1750 年抽样的总共 1,125 份遗嘱认证清单。这些提供了详细且有时令人惊讶的见解穷人和富人的生活水平。在此期间，斯德哥尔摩是一个极度不平等的城市，财富最高的 10 人拥有约 90% 的总财富。我们将这种不平等与重商主义政策联系起来。这座城市是作为寡头统治的，寡头政治机构产生了为不平等而操纵的政策。