 The Stockholm rower women are mentioned in text from the 15th century, and in 1638 they formed a special group within the Swedish ferrymen guild.They handled most of the traffic over the waters of the capital, working in teams of two, taking passengers between its islands, into Lake Mälaren, and to and from islands in the Stockholm archipelago.They could be either married or unmarried, and they inherited their boats from mother to daughter, or bought them from retired colleagues.