The Impact of Single Women and the Early Modern Economy

Location

CSU 284

Start Date

24-4-2006 3:15 PM

End Date

24-4-2006 5:00 PM

Student's Major

History

Student's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Mentor's Name

Christopher Corley

Mentor's Department

History

Mentor's College

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Description

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 modem Dijon.

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Apr 24th, 3:15 PM Apr 24th, 5:00 PM

The Impact of Single Women and the Early Modern Economy

CSU 284

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 modem Dijon.

Recommended Citation

Heussler, Bridget. "The Impact of Single Women and the Early Modern Economy." Undergraduate Research Symposium, Mankato, MN, April 24, 2006.
https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/urs/2006/oral-session-I/2