Borås was built by trade and textile

Peddling made up for meagre farming
In this southern part of the province Västergötland, farming was often meagre. To get an extra income, the peasants already in the 15th century took up handicraft, initially wrought iron and woodwork, but later also the textile products that were to become so significant for the region. They also imported goods from the nearby province Halland, then a part of Denmark. All the goods were sold by peddlers, who traveled by foot from door to door, often carrying their merchandise in a sack over the shoulder.

A unique privilege
That kind of trading was, as mentioned, not allowed in Sweden by that time, but in 1621, when Borås was founded in order to place this trade in a city, the authorities had a remarkable understanding for the peddlers' wish to go on with their itinerary trade. They had to move into Borås and become citizens, but they were allowed to travel around and buy the handicraft made by the farmers, and sell the goods wherever they wanted, as long as they payed tax in Borås for their merchandise. That privilege was unique for Borås and remained until 1846, when the ban on trade in the countryside was lifted. Other cities in the province tried to get the same right, but it was given only to Ulricehamn, and that was as late as in 1803.

Many peddlers owned a farm in the neighbourhood of Borås. Some of them became citizen pro forma, but kept living at the farm. Still, most of their time they were traveling to buy goods in the region and sell it throughout the country. Their rights were limited to trading with goods manufactured in the region, but many of them also dealed with imported, often smuggled goods.

Other cities of course protested against Borås unique privilege to trade in the countryside, and it was more than once discussed in the citizens' chamber in the parlament. Sometimes it came to blows when peddlers from Borås met merchants from other cities.

Peddler becomes wholesaler
In the end of the 18th century, many tradesmen in Borås gave up traveling themselves and employed "servants" to do the traveling. The next step in the development was that the "servants" became formally independent peddlers, who got their goods from and had a credit with the now resident merchants in Borås, a sort of franchising. The traveling salesman now was a seldom guest in Borås, and the former peddler had become a wholesaler. A hundred years later, trade worked that way everywhere.

Textile becomes an industry
Borås early had some industrial activites induced by the textile handicraft, mainly dye-works by the river Viskan. The first weaving mill was started in 1834 at Rydboholm south of Borås. The first weaving mill in Borås came in 1858, and the still remaining Borås Wäfveri was founded in 1870. The boom came with the cotton, imported från the US. This was also thanks to the new railroads, which could transport the cotton from the ports to Borås in the inland.

Rise and fall of the textile industry
In Borås, a successful textile industry came to dominate among the city's industries. Weaving mills and dye-works were complemented by sewing plants. The city grew fast along with the booming textile industry. From 3 000 inhabitants in 1870, Borås went to 16 000 in 1900 and to more than 38 000 inhabitants in 1930. By 1944, the textile industry in Borås numbered 243 plants and 12 000 employees, and in the beginning of the 1960s employed two thirds of the industrial workers in Borås.

In the end of the 1960s, though, a crisis for the textile industry became apparent. More than 13 000 jobs disappeared during a few years, and the growth was replaced by a decrease of inhabitants during the 1970s. Since then, Borås has transformed into a city where a versatile industry form the basis of new growth, and Borås is today the 13th largest city in Sweden.

Mail order - a heritage
Another heritage from the combination of trade and textile industry is the mail order companies. You could say that they have taken over the distribution of goods from the old peddlers. In 1952, there were 300 mail order companies in Borås. Still, most major companies in this trade have their headquarters in Borås, although they have much become "internet order companies".