The Effect of Single Women and the Early Modern Economy

Student's Name

Bridget Heussler, Minnesota State University, Mankato

1st Student's Major

History

1st Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Students' Professional Biography

Bridget Heussler was a student in the Department of History at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Mentor's Name

Christopher Corley

Mentor's Email Address

christopher.corley@mnsu.edu

Mentor's Department

History

Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Abstract

Historians have shown that women are generally more accepted as workers within thriving economic environments. This is particularly true of eighteenth-century Europe, a time of economic transition, expansion and social flux. Historians have indicated a rise of never-married women in eighteenth-century towns and cities, but our knowledge of women's specific roles and contributions during this time of economic expansion remains slim. My research examined and compared tax records from the parish of St. Philibert in Dijon, France between 1730 and 1750. An examination of the tax records allows historians one indication of the overall economic contribution of individual householders within specific neighborhoods. By comparing the sheer numbers of single and widowed women, and their professions, tax assessments, and living arrangements, historians can suggest a pattern of women's economic involvement over time. This research serves not only as a way to verify and delineate the suggestions of other historians about the potential roles of women in the eighteenth-century urban economies, but also provides an opportunity to discover what life was like for the single, never-married, and widowed women of early modern Dijon.

Recommended Citation

Heussler, Bridget (2006) "The Effect of Single Women and the Early Modern Economy," Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato: Vol. 6, Article 10.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56816/2378-6949.1117
Available at: https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/jur/vol6/iss1/10

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