Rutger Macklean, 4th Friherre (1742-1816)



Rutger Macklean (28 July 1742 - 14 January 1816) also Rutger Macklier II, was a central figure in land reform in Sweden in the late 18th and early 19th centuries by introducing large scale farming with its economy of scale to Sweden.

Biography
The family name was "Mackleir" until 1783, one year after he took over Svaneholm Castle from his uncle Gustaf Adolf Coyet II (1721-?). The family name was renamed to "Mackeleir", until they were ennobled and it was changed to back to "Macklier". During the Anglo-Saxon pre-romantic era it was changed again, this time to "Macklean". Sources conflict as to whether the Mackleirs are descended from Hector Og Maclean of Scotland or were from Holland.

He was born on 28 July 1742 at Ström mansion, Hjärtum parish, Bohuslän to Baron Rutger Macklier (1688–1748) and Vilhelmina Eleonora Coyet. He had a brother, Baron David Maclean. At the age of 40, in 1728, Rutger was a Captain for the Swedish Empire. He inherited Svaneholm Castle and its farm from his mother’s family. The farm was divided into small allotments along a feudal system not suitable for large-scale farming. He had the land reconnected into one or two large plots. Within ten years Svaneholm was an efficient model farm. His reforms were introduced into law in Scania in 1802, and was later followed in legislation for the country as a whole. In 1811 a mob threatened his life, and he died in 1816.