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Reading the ransom: Methodological advancements in extracting the Swedish Wealth Tax of 1571

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  • Blomqvist, Christopher
  • Enflo, Kerstin
  • Jakobsson, Andreas
  • Åström, Kalle

Abstract

We describe a deep learning method to read hand-written records from the 16th century. The method consists of a combination of a segmentation module and a Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) module. The transformer-based HTR module exploits both language and image features in reading, classifying and extracting the position of each word on the page. The method is demonstrated on a unique historical document: The Swedish Wealth Tax of 1571. Results suggest that the segmentation module performs significantly better than the lay-out analysis implemented in state-of-the art programs, enabling us to trace many more text blocks correctly on each page. The HTR module has a low character error rate (CER), in addition to being able to classify words and help organize them into tabular formats. By demonstrating an automated process to transform loosely structured handwritten information from the 16th century into organized tables, our method should interest economic historians seeking to digitize and organize quantitative material from pre-industrial periods.

Suggested Citation

  • Blomqvist, Christopher & Enflo, Kerstin & Jakobsson, Andreas & Åström, Kalle, 2023. "Reading the ransom: Methodological advancements in extracting the Swedish Wealth Tax of 1571," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:exehis:v:87:y:2023:i:c:s0014498322000481
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2022.101470
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Guido Alfani, 2021. "Economic Inequality in Preindustrial Times: Europe and Beyond," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 59(1), pages 3-44, March.
    2. Christian M. Dahl & Torben S. D. Johansen & Emil N. S{o}rensen & Christian E. Westermann & Simon F. Wittrock, 2021. "Applications of Machine Learning in Document Digitisation," Papers 2102.03239, arXiv.org.
    3. Roger Fouquet & Stephen Broadberry, 2015. "Seven Centuries of European Economic Growth and Decline," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(4), pages 227-244, Fall.
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