Simon Affleck

Major Simon Affleck (ca. 1660 in Narva, present-day Estonia – 9 May 1725 in Pielisjärvi, present-day Finland) was a Swedish tax official, of Scottish descent, who worked in then Swedish-ruled Finland. He is remembered in Finnish folk tradition as having been merciless and cruel.

He had been appointed by the King of Sweden to collect taxes in the Pielisjärvi region (now known as Lieksa), and also paid the rent of his mansion in Pielisjärvi to the King. Numerous groups of peasants rebelled against him, especially during the Great Famine (1695 to 1697) and the Great Northern War (1700-1721), as he did not grant any mercy in the taxation of peasants even in poor times. During the Great Northern War Affleck also had military duties.

His probable grandfather Hillebrand or Gilbert Affleck was born in Scotland and was a burgess in Turku and inspector of gunpowder factories.

Affleck is said to have been a ruthless collector of taxes with little pity towards the poor Finnish peasants. This, and the large and ferocious dog he kept as a pet, earned him the nickname Simo Hurtta (hurtta is Finnish for hound).

Affleck died in 1725 after the Greater Wrath.

In folk stories, where Affleck is known by the names Simo Hurtta and Aplekki, his evilness and cruelty has often been exaggerated. He is said to have shot himself in the head in his mansion to deny the Finnish peasants raiding his mansion the satisfaction of killing him, or to have been killed by the peasants. In later times, numerous novels, plays and films about "Simo Hurtta" have been written.

Biography Family The Affleck family originally came from Scotland and had settled in Sweden during the 17th century.

Becoming a tax collector After the Great Reduction, in the 1680s the Crown in Sweden externalised the task of collecting tax in many of the areas that were returned to Sweden, especially in the sparsely populated outer regions, allowing private persons to rent the right to collect taxes in the area. The rent of the right amounted to the total amount of taxes normally collected in the area. Tax renters also received the right to oversee lots in the area, giving them the right to expel peasants and regulate farming. They could also start to collect extraneous taxes. From 1689, Affleck worked as the tax collector for the tax renter Salomon Ehnberg, already becoming hated by the local residents. After working for Ehnberg, Affleck became the tax renter in Pielisjärvi himself in 1695. He had good connection over the country border to Russian Karelia and he traded huge amounts of goods over the border. Affleck himself was not present at the time. Four of the children managed to escape captivity from Russia after the end of the Great Wrath, but the fate of Affleck's wife is not known. There is a silver neck shield at the National Museum of Finland donated in 1858 by the later owners of the Turunkorva mansion, which is thought of having belonged to Affleck.

Many different versions of Simo Hurtta's violent death at the hands of Finnish peasants seeking revenge appear in stories: according to one story he was stoned to death, according to another he was buried alive under a pile of rocks and left there. Tauno Pylkkänen has composed an opera called Simo Hurtta which premiered in 1948.

The wolf and seven gold coins featured on the coat of arms of Valtimo have been said to refer to the name "Simo Hurtta" and his strict tax collection. Olof Eriksson's original design for the coat of arms from 1951 was even titled "Hurtta". The sports club Lieksan Hurtat is named after Simo Hurtta.

The company Poiketa ry produced a multidisclipinary performance called Hurtta about Simo Hurtta on the Ilosaari island of Joensuu in February 2010. A stand for the public was made of snow at the lagoon, and the performance itself was on the ice.