Comparing various parts of early modern Europe, one is immediately struck by the fact that some countries developed capitalism very early (like Holland and Britain), whereas others did so much later (like the Nordic countries). This is a all well-known fact, and to some extent it has have been explored from the point of view of gender as well. But generally, questions that have been asked pertain mostly to the effects of capitalism on women’s lives. By contrast, we should like to look at early modern economic development from another angle, namely: in what ways did gender regimes affect the development of the economy? For example, the economy of the Dutch Republic is a principal case study in the international debate on economic growth and development. There is evidence that the economic success of the Dutch Republic is related to the position of women on the labour market. The suggestion that the economic role of Dutch women differed from women in other European countries seems rational, but a systematic comparison has never been made. The conference Gender and Work in the Early Modern Northern European world will compare female labour participation patterns and property relations in England, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Southern Netherlands and the Dutch Republic. The comparison will increase our understanding of the relation between gender and economic development and the rise of capitalism in the early modern period.
Organised by Maria Ågren, UU, and Ariadne Schmidt, IISH (Amsterdam), with financial support from the Swedish Research Council and the Netherlands‘ Organization for Scientific Research (NWO)
Introduction
Programme
(The conference papers are only available for participants.)
Tuesday 11 December
9.00 Words of welcome from the vice-dean Jan Lindegren, Maria Ågren and Ariadne Schmidt
9.15-10.45 INTRODUCTORY PAPERS
* Anne Laurence, Women’s lives and fortunes in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales in the seventeenth century. With figures.
* Dag Lindström, Gender division of urban work in pre-industrial Sweden
* Discussion
10.45-11.15 Coffee break
11.15-13.00 INTRODUCTORY PAPERS
* Hilde Sandvik, Women and work in Norway 1500-1800
* Göran Rydén, Organization of work and the impact of the global market.
Leufsta bruk in the early eighteenth century (Sweden)
* Discussion
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-15.30 LOCAL CASES
* Laura van Aert, Separate spheres on the labour market? Economic possibilities (in retailing compared to other sectors) of single women in early modern Antwerp
* Danielle van den Heuvel, Female traders in the Dutch Republic: some thoughts on women and entrepreneurship in the early modern period
* Discussion
15.30-16.00 Coffee break
16.00-17.30 LOCAL CASES
* Marjolein van Dekken, A profitable brew. Working women in the production of and trade in alcoholic drinks in the Northern Netherlands, 1500-1800
* Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, Working in the margins? Female labour market participation in the Dutch textile industry in international perspective, c. 1600-1800
* Discussion
19.00 Dinner
Wednesday 12 December
9.00-10.30 METHODOLOGIES
* Amy Louise Erickson, Occupational identity and skill in 18th-century London
* Pernilla Jonsson & Ann Ighe, „The Table Commission and women’s labour in early 19th-century Sweden“
* Elisabeth Gräslund Berg, Spatiality in women’s work – how could we study gendered rural work in the landscape?
* Discussion
10.30-11.00 Coffee break
11.00-13.00 LOCAL CASES
* Ariadne Schmidt [with Manon van der Heijden], For the benefit of all? Women’s work in public services in early modern Dutch towns
* Christopher Pihl, The gender division of labour at the 16th-century Swedish royal demesnes
* Discussion
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-15.30 LOCAL CASES
* Hanne Östhus, Conflicts in the Workplace: Female Servants in Court
* Lotta Vikström, Complementary and conflicting sources: Some results and experiences from combining data uncovering women’s work and family position in nineteenth-century Sundsvall, Sweden.
* Discussion
19.00 Dinner
Thursday 13 December
9.00-11.00 WHAT DO THE RESULTS MEAN?
* Pamela Sharpe, Concluding remarks
* Comments and general discussion, started off by Maria Ågren, Ariadne Schmidt and Janken Myrdal.
11.00 Coffee and Goodbye
Ariadne Schmidt [asc[at]iisg.nl]
Maria Ågren [Maria.Agren[at]hist.uu.se]