Tavastians in the context of "Finnish people"

Espoo (/ˈɛspoʊ/, Finnish: [ˈespoː]; Swedish: Esbo) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately 324,000. It is the 2nd most populous municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, which has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants. Espoo is on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland and borders Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi. The city includes the enclave of Kauniainen. Espoo covers an area of 528 square kilometres (204 sq mi). Espoo is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 69% Finnish speakers, 6% Swedish speakers, and 25% speakers of other languages, well above the national average.

Espoo was settled in the Prehistoric Era, with evidence of human settlements dating back 8,000 years. However, the population disappeared during the early Iron Age. During the Early Middle Ages, the region was populated by Tavastians and Southwestern Finns. Following the Northern Crusades, Swedish settlers began to emigrate to the coastal regions of modern-day Finland. Espoo was founded as an autonomous Catholic parish in the 15th century. Following the conclusion of the Finnish War, the decision to make Helsinki the new capital of the Russian-controlled Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812 had a significant positive impact on the municipality's growth and development. Nevertheless, the territory continued to be mainly agrarian until the 20th century. After World War II, Espoo underwent swift urbanization and significant demographic shifts, with Finnish becoming the majority language around 1950, replacing Swedish. The municipality attained market town status in 1963 and was granted city status in 1972.

Porvoonjoki (Porvoo River, Swedish: Borgå å) is a small river in Finland. The medieval town of Porvoo is situated in the river delta. It is the main river of the Porvoonjoki drainage system, the sources of which are located on the southern slopes of Salpausselkä in Kärkölä, Hollola and Lahti. The river flows through Orimattila, Pukkila, Askola and Porvoo into the Gulf of Finland. The agricultural landscape of the Porvoo River with its ancient settlements, villages and manors together with the old town of Porvoo is part of the national landscapes of Finland.

Porvoonjoki was originally a trade route for the Tavastians and its original name may have been Kukinjoki. The name would have its roots in the Friesian nomenclature of kugg, which would correspond to other similar trading places on the coast.

Finnish tribes (Finnish: suomalaiset heimot) are ancient ethnic groups from which over time Finns evolved.

In 1548, Mikael Agricola mentions in his New Testament that Finnish tribes are Finns, Tavastians and Karelians. The same division can also be seen in typical brooches that women wore in the 12th to 14th centuries. However, the metal culture, especially jewelry and weapons, had already evolved into distinctive and peculiar in the end of the Merovingian period in the 8th century in the area of contemporary Finland. The intention of this evolution was possibly to express specifically "Finnish" identity which was born from the image of common origin and mutual similarity.

The Battle of the Neva (Russian: Невская битва, romanized: Nevskaya bitva; Swedish: slaget vid Neva; Finnish: Nevan taistelu) was fought between the Novgorod Republic, along with Karelians, and the Kingdom of Sweden, including Norwegian, Finnish and Tavastian forces, on the Neva River, near the settlement of Ust-Izhora, on 15 July 1240. The battle is mentioned only in Russian sources, and it remains unclear whether it was a major invasion or a small-scale raid. In Russian historiography, it has become an event of massive scale and importance.

Karelians (Finnish: karjalaiset, IPA: [ˈkɑrjɑˌlɑi̯set]), also known as Finnish Karelians or Karelian Finns, are a subgroup (heimo) of the Finnish people, traditionally living in Finnish Karelia. Karelians speak eastern dialects of the Finnish language: the South Karelian dialects are spoken in South Karelia, while the eastern Savonian dialects are spoken in North Karelia. The South Karelian dialects were spoken in the Karelian Isthmus prior to the Winter War. Karelians are traditionally Lutheran Christians, with an Orthodox Christian minority, belonging to either the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland or the Orthodox Church of Finland respectively.

Eastern Kymenlaakso belongs to the historical region of Finnish Karelia, as the Kymi River served as the boundary between the Tavastians and the Karelians during the Middle Ages. However, the Karelian presence in this region during the Middle Ages was weak, and migration from western Finland during this time resulted in an ethnic composition more closely resembling that of western Finland, rather than North Karelia or South Karelia. This is evidenced by the fact that the dialect spoken in much of Kymenlaakso (the southeastern Tavastian dialect) is of western Finnish origin (albeit with Karelian characteristics). Miehikkälä and Virolahti are exceptions, as the South Karelian dialects are spoken in these municipalities.