The province of Savo represents the original area of Savonians, one of the subgroups that later became assimilitated to the Finns and the heartland of East Finnish dialect. The people of Savo traditionally pursued slash-and-burn agriculture, which settlers successfully imported in Ostrobothnia and Kainuu, Värmland in south western part of Sweden and eastern Norway.
Savonian settlers migrated also to Finnish Karelia, Ingria (see: Ingrian Finns) and to southern Sweden and Norway (see: Forest Finns).
Savo, which had been a part of Sweden from the late 13th century, was separated from Sweden when Finland was ceded to Russia in 1809. The provinces have no administrative function today but live on as an historical legacy in both countries.