According to one theory, Satakunta was a political and military entity already in the
Late Iron Age of Finland (550 - 1150 AD). During the 13th century, the Swedish rule was consolidated. During the Middle Ages, the major cities of the province were
Ulvila, established in the 14th century and
Rauma, established 1442. Due to the rising of land, the former was left inland and lost its access to the sea. Consequently, the city of
Pori was founded to the coast by
Johan,
Grand Duke of Finland in 1558. Administratively, the province lost its function in 1649 when it was combined with
Southwest Finland to form
Turku and Pori County. In the 19th century, the eastern parts of the province were transferred to the
Tavastia County. At the present, the eastern part of the old province has formed the region of
Pirkanmaa and the western part forms the region of Satakunta. Satakunta, with the rest of Finland, was separated from Sweden when Finland was ceded to
Russia in 1809. During the era of Autonomy (1809–1917), the province experienced slow industrialization, Pori becoming the most important industrial city of the region. The forest and textile industries dominated the business life. In addition, the merchants of Rauma and Pori had impressively large fleets of sailpowered merchantmen, which made up a large fraction of the total merchant navy of the Russian empire. The large-scale use of sail ships continued until the 1930s, even while the steampower started to dominate the international seatraffic. The building of the
Tampere–
Pori and
Kokemäki–
Rauma railroads connected the province into Finnish inland and diminished the importance of unnavigable
Kokemäenjoki river as a means of transport. After this, the ports of Rauma and Pori have remained among the most important export ports for the Finnish industry. The development of agriculture towards
market-based economy was started during the 18th century, when crop rotation and large-scale drainage projects were initiated. At the same time, clearing of forests for agricultural use continued, leading into the formation of a large crofter class (), living on small-holdings rented from larger farms. During the 19th century the social divisions among the rural population deepened. Consequently, in
Finnish Civil War of 1918, Satakunta formed an important part of Red Finland. Since independence, the development of Satakunta has followed the general Finnish pattern. The rural areas have suffered from the drain of young population towards population centers, which until the early 1990s benefited the industrial cities of Rauma,
Harjavalta and Pori with their surroundings. The metal and forest industries expanded steadily, necessitating the building of the nuclear plant at
Olkiluoto. The increase of industrial production was not fully without problems, however. Especially the area around Harjavalta copper–nickel smelting plant suffered heavily from
acid rain and Kokemäenjoki became heavily polluted. These problems have been controlled to large extent since the 1980s. Since the 1990s, the traditional industries of the region have more or less stagnated and the relative importance of her cities has dwindled. One of the perceived reasons for this development has been the fact that Satakunta lacks a university of its own. == Municipalities ==