Periodic Reporting for period 4 - FORMSofLABOUR (Forms of Labour: Gender, Freedom and Experience of Work in the Preindustrial Economy)
Berichtszeitraum: 2024-03-01 bis 2024-08-31
The history of labour and its role in Europe’s preindustrial development has very largely been the history of adult men. FORMSofLABOUR seeks to put other workers in the picture, particularly women and servants, not simply by ‘adding them on’ but by showing how a full understanding of women’s work and of service offers a radical critique of existing approaches to work and to the idea of free labour. It focuses on England in the period 1300-1700 viewed in a comparative Western European perspective and addresses these issues through three themes. (1) A revolutionary research technique which collects evidence of work tasks from court records to simulate a time-use study is used to explore the experience of work. This technique allows the work activities of women and men, young and old, employees and family members to be illuminated, with evidence of tasks, location, and timing of work, creating an entirely new perspective on England’s early modern economy. (2) The theoretical underpinnings of the history of women’s work in the preindustrial economy are explored, reassessing key debates using interdisciplinary perspectives from economics and political science, as well as new archival evidence from themes 1 and 3. Gendered work patterns are viewed through the lens of freedom, rather than patriarchy, to create a step-change in our understanding of gender and work. (3) The issue of the extent to which labour was ‘free’ after the end of serfdom is interrogated through a careful examination of the range of forms of labour and the nature of labour laws, using a variety of archival evidence combined with comparisons with serfdom and slavery, and the adoption of insights from development economics and anthropology. Together these interlocking themes create a new history of work in the economy which formed the background to grand narratives of Smith and Marx, arguing that with women and servants had been in picture, the story of economic development looks significantly different.
A database of work tasks recorded in English court records has been compiled to simulate a time-use study for the period 1500-1700. The database contains 9650 records of work tasks with details about the worker and type of task. It draws evidence from three regions (south-west; north; east-central) to present a national picture of England’s economy. The database is now complete and we are analysing the findings: an advisory workshop with selected experts will be held to discuss these later this month. The database underpins a book authored by Jane Whittle (PI), Mark Hailwood (Co-I), Taylor Aucoin (postdoc) and Hannah Robb (postdoc) titled The Experience of Work in Early Modern England and contracted with Cambridge University Press for publication in 2023. The database shows that gendered patterns of work were very similar in the north and east of England to the preliminary study carried out on the south-west.
A detailed plan for a book on Rethinking Women’s Work: A Historical Perspective has been written. Research leading towards this book consists of a 10,000 word article by Jane Whittle on ‘The idea of housewifery in early modern England’, currently under review with a leading journal. Also closely related is a chapter on gender and agricultural work written with Hilde Sandvik of Oslo University for the edited volume: The Whole Economy: Work and Gender in Early Modern Europe to be published by Cambridge University Press in 2023. In addition, the project has allowed data to be collected from farming accounts dating from 1480-1680 which will be presented at the EURHO conference in June 2022. This overturns current ideas about gendered wage labour in agriculture, showing women made up a significant part of the workforce and often received equal pay for the same tasks as men.
A book edited by Jane Whittle and Thijs Lambrecht of Ghent University on Labour Laws in Preindustrial Europe: The Coercion and Regulation of Wage Labour, c.1300-1850 is contracted with Boydell Press for publication in 2023. This volume is in its final phase of editing and the manuscript will be complete in May 2022. It contains a chapter by Jane Whittle on the English labour laws, and a jointly authored introduction. Post-doc, James Fisher, has conducted extensive research on the nature of parish apprenticeship in England and is currently writing up the first stage of his research. Postdoc Taylor Aucoin has conducted research on the enforcement of the labour laws in the 17th century.
A detailed plan for a book on Rethinking Women’s Work: A Historical Perspective has been written. Research leading towards this book consists of a 10,000 word article by Jane Whittle on ‘The idea of housewifery in early modern England’, currently under review with a leading journal. Also closely related is a chapter on gender and agricultural work written with Hilde Sandvik of Oslo University for the edited volume: The Whole Economy: Work and Gender in Early Modern Europe to be published by Cambridge University Press in 2023. In addition, the project has allowed data to be collected from farming accounts dating from 1480-1680 which will be presented at the EURHO conference in June 2022. This overturns current ideas about gendered wage labour in agriculture, showing women made up a significant part of the workforce and often received equal pay for the same tasks as men.
A book edited by Jane Whittle and Thijs Lambrecht of Ghent University on Labour Laws in Preindustrial Europe: The Coercion and Regulation of Wage Labour, c.1300-1850 is contracted with Boydell Press for publication in 2023. This volume is in its final phase of editing and the manuscript will be complete in May 2022. It contains a chapter by Jane Whittle on the English labour laws, and a jointly authored introduction. Post-doc, James Fisher, has conducted extensive research on the nature of parish apprenticeship in England and is currently writing up the first stage of his research. Postdoc Taylor Aucoin has conducted research on the enforcement of the labour laws in the 17th century.
At the heart of the project is the research, writing and publication of three books. The Experience of Work in Early Modern England is based on the database of work tasks compiled from court records. It is joint-authored by Jane Whittle, Mark Hailwood, Taylor Aucoin and Hannah Robb and will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2023. The book presents an entirely new perspective on the history of work in England’s preindustrial economy. Rather than focusing on men’s work, wage levels, or particular occupations as previous studies have done this study presents a history of work at the level of the task and pays equal attention to men and women. It includes evidence of work on small farms and businesses that has not been documented before and has startling conclusions that will revise ideas about the contribution of women to the economy, the timing of work, and the meaning of occupational titles.
Labour Laws in Preindustrial Europe: The Coercion and Regulation of Wage Labour, c.1300-1850 edited by Jane Whittle and Thijs Lambrecht is contracted with Boydell Press for publication in 2023. It demonstrates how labour it was heavily regulated across this period, to an extent that historians should be wary of describing it as ‘free’ and assuming it was shaped only by market forces. The intervention of the state in determining forms of labour is shown to be pervasive. The writing of the third book, Rethinking Women’s Work: A Historical Perspective is scheduled for the second half of the project. This book links modern debates about gender inequalities of wealth and wages to historical debates about the nature of women’s work, demonstrating the deep roots of many of these issues. In addition, at least ten articles and chapters based on new research by members of the project team are either complete and accepted for publication or in preparation. These examine topics such as women’s work, the gender pay gap, enforcement of the labour laws, the literacy of working people, pauper apprenticeship, and methods of accounting.
Together these publications reshape the history of work in late medieval and early modern Europe by demonstrating the important contribution made by women and by young people working as servants. They also significantly enrich our understanding of ordinary people’s working lives with new evidence on topics such as hours of work, multi-occupations, and the impact of labour regulations and poor laws on working people.
Labour Laws in Preindustrial Europe: The Coercion and Regulation of Wage Labour, c.1300-1850 edited by Jane Whittle and Thijs Lambrecht is contracted with Boydell Press for publication in 2023. It demonstrates how labour it was heavily regulated across this period, to an extent that historians should be wary of describing it as ‘free’ and assuming it was shaped only by market forces. The intervention of the state in determining forms of labour is shown to be pervasive. The writing of the third book, Rethinking Women’s Work: A Historical Perspective is scheduled for the second half of the project. This book links modern debates about gender inequalities of wealth and wages to historical debates about the nature of women’s work, demonstrating the deep roots of many of these issues. In addition, at least ten articles and chapters based on new research by members of the project team are either complete and accepted for publication or in preparation. These examine topics such as women’s work, the gender pay gap, enforcement of the labour laws, the literacy of working people, pauper apprenticeship, and methods of accounting.
Together these publications reshape the history of work in late medieval and early modern Europe by demonstrating the important contribution made by women and by young people working as servants. They also significantly enrich our understanding of ordinary people’s working lives with new evidence on topics such as hours of work, multi-occupations, and the impact of labour regulations and poor laws on working people.