The International Impact of the First World War on the Baltic Timber Economy

The chapter illustrates the impact of the war on the Baltic timber economy. After introducing the significant importance that timber had during the war, particularly in the trenches and the infrastructures near the front, the chapter presents the consequences of the war for the different areas of the Baltic Sea. On the one side, it analyzes the difficulties of international trade for neutral countries such as Norway and Sweden. Their political position did not permit them to keep the sector free from the negative consequences of the war. Their historical German-oriented attitude represented a problem in the relationships with the leading customer, Great Britain. However, the blockade of the Baltic by the German navy reduced their trade opportunities. Conversely, the Southern shore was directly involved in the war. Many forest areas became war theaters, while the Russian Revolution in 1917 destabilized the activities in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea.