The Barony of Kajana ( Finnish: Kajaanin vapaaherrakunta; Swedish: Kajana friherrskap) was a historic barony in Finland. It was donated to the Governor-General of Finland, Per Brahe the Younger (1602—1680) in 1650 and recaptured by the Swedish Crown in the Great Reduction of 1680.

The original donation of 1650 consisted of the parishes of Kajana, Kuopio and Idensalmi. In 1652 the parishes of Salois and Pielis were added to the barony. Geographically the area was very large, covering most of the modern province of Kainuu, the northern halves of North Savo and North Karelia and a corridor to the Gulf of Bothnia. ^[1]

Per Brahe made Kajana the center of the barony and founded a town on the site of the Kajaneborg Castle in 1651. The castle housed the barony's chancery and the annual meetings of leading officials from different parts of the barony. The meeting was known as the "Kajana konvent" and was modeled after a similar meeting Per Brahe had founded for the County of Visingsborg. The konvent consisted of the castellan of Kajaneborg, vice-lawman, judge of the hundred, mayor of Kajana, chamberlain, scribe and the länsman of every parish in the barony. ^{[2] [3]}

The barony was awarded with full rights of possession and the people were obligated to recognize the baron as their ruler and pay to him all their taxes. The baron also had the right to collect all fines and tithes owed to the Crown. The baron was on the other hand expressly denied the right to raise taxes and evict farmers from their estates without just cause. The barony also became its own jurisdiction. These were the typical rights and obligations that came with a fiefdom in Sweden. Per Brahe, however, was also given the right to found towns in his barony, which had usually been reserved for the monarch alone. Brahe first used this right in 1651 when he founded the town of Kajana. In 1652 he founded a town called Brahea at the site of the modern day town of Lieksa. That same year he gave new town privileges to Salois, which he had founded as General-Governor in 1649, and changed the town's name to Brahestad. ^{[4] [5]} In 1653 he founded the town of Kuopio. Brahea and Kuopio both withered and lost their town rights in the second half of the 1600s.

The effects of the Russo-Swedish War of 1656—1658 were felt heavily in the barony, particularly in its eastern parts. The war had caused a lot of destruction in Kexholm County and many farms were left abandoned. This enticed peasants from the parish of Pielis to move south where taxes were lower, causing a labour shortage in the barony. Brahe tried to dam this migration in many ways: he ordered the grain and cattle of those who had moved to be confiscated, he had letters written to feudal bailiffs in Kexholm County that forbid them from receiving people from Pielis, he ordered the confiscation of the migrants' personal property and finally in 1662 he sent soldiers to the area to catch anyone who attempted to move away. The situation normalized in the mid 1660s as taxes in Kexholm County were raised. ^[6]

Suomen herttuatar (ruots. Hertiginnan af Finland) on Zachris Topeliuksen kirjoittama historiallinen romaani, joka ilmestyi alun perin jatkokertomuksena 1850-1851 Helsingfors Tidningarissa. Romaani sijoittuu pikkuvihan aikaan, ja kertoo Turun pormestarin tyttären Eva Merthenin ja venäläisarmeijaa komentaneen Jakob Keithin suhteesta.

Romaanin alkaessa Eva on vasta lapsi ja hänen vanhempansa ovat järjestäneet pidot, tutustuttaakseen ystävänsä Johan Reinhold Heldtin ja Hans Wittfootin, jonka veljentyttären, leskirouva Björkegrenin, Heldt haluaisi naida. Pidoissa naisten puhe kääntyy Evaan ja Merthenien palvelija Waapuri kertoo ennustaneensa Evan kädestä, että hänestä tulee hyvin rikas, vaikutusvaltainen, hyväntahtoinen, älykäs sekä pitkäikäinen. Waapuri kertoo myös tytön tulevaisuuden muistuttaneen häntä prinsessa Ruususen tarinasta, joka yhdeksäntoista vuoden ikäisenä pisti sormensa värttinään.

Yksitoista vuotta myöhemmin Eva menee tapaamaan Waapuria, joka on jo monia vuosia sitten eronnut Merthenien perheen palveluksesta.

Topelius' most influential work was Boken om vårt land, a schoolbook on Finnish geography, history and culture first published in 1875 and intended for use in ala-alkeiskoulu / lägsta läroverk. It stayed in use in schools for nearly eighty years and deeply influenced Finnish self-perception to the extent that Finnish academics have coined the term topelian (topeliaaninen) to describe a portrayal of Finnishness, which had existed before, but was properly synthesized by Topelius in Boken om vårt land.

Topelius' goal was to make the Finnish people love their home country and work hard for its improvement. To achieve this he combined influences from Christian ethics, romantic nationalism and liberal economics. He describes nationality as a category created by God and all nations as distinct and different. Finland as a country is poor and underdeveloped, it exports raw materials and imports culture, but it was given to the Finns by God so there is no changing their lot.

Fortunately God also made sure that Finns are better equipped for living in such a land than anyone else and gave them an immense capacity for work. Physically they are stout and Topelius compares them to Finnhorses, a breed of daught horses. Work also keeps the Finns righteous as their heavy workload prohibits them from pursuing worldly pleasures. Having such a poor place for a home country is actually a blessing in disguise as it gives the people a chance to test their strength and prove their manliness.

Hansaliittoon kuuluneista kaupungeista ei ole olemassa täydellistä listaa. Liitto ilmeisesti tarkoituksellisesti piilotteli todellista kokoaan, mutta noin 200 kaupunkia on varmuudella tunnistettu.

Osa luetelluista kaupungeista kuului liittoon vain lyhyen aikaa, ja suurin osa oli passiivisia jäseniä, jotka nauttivat jäsenyyden tuomia etuoikeuksia, mutta jättivät päätöksenteon suurien kaupunkien vastuulle.

1500-luvun puoliväliin asti Hansaliitto oli jaettu kolmanneksiin, joilla jokaisella oli oma "pääkaupunkinsa".

1500-luvun puolivälissä jako muutettiin neliosaiseksi.

Muita hansakaupunkeja:

Hansalla oli myös Kontoreita eli kauppa-asemia seuraavissa kaupungeissa: