Foreign travellers who visited the Dutch Republic in the early modern period were impressed by the remarkable prominence of Dutch women in public places. Dutch women were reportedly independent and capable entrepreneurs, conducting business either in their own name, or that of their absent spouses. To what extent these frequently repeated observations reflect historical reality is still not clear. There is evidence that the economic success of the Dutch Republic is reflected in the position of women on the labour market. Two opposite hypotheses can be formulated. According to some historians female labour market participation in the Dutch Republic was lower than in neighboring countries. The economic prosperity and the high standard of living enabled the practical realization of the ideal of domesticity. Many women could afford not to work, and withdrew from the labour market as early as in the seventeenth century. According to the second, opposite hypothesis female labour market participation in the Dutch Republic was higher than elsewhere. Dutch gender norms were not very strict, women performed paid work on a large scale, and thus contributed to the increase of income and the standard of living and to the economic success of the Dutch Republic.
The primary objective of this research programme is to provide the missing qualitative and quantitative information and to obtain a more precise understanding of Dutch women's work in the early modern period. The programme also aims to document the history of working women between c. 1500-1815, from the perspective of (1) the labour market and (2) the women themselves. We will address the following questions:
- The labour market: what kind of work did women do, which work was divided by gender, did this gender division change during the period studied? To what extent was female participation influenced by economic specialisation, restrictive rules or a developing culture of domesticity?
- The working women: how did women earn their living, how much money did women earn and what was their contribution to the family income (assuming that they were part of a family)? What was the influence of marital status on women's working life, how was labour divided within the family and how did the strategies of women relate to those of men, or the family as a whole?
The research methods of the programme will be comparative. Firstly, a comparison will be made between women's work in different economic sectors. Secondly, a geographical comparison will be undertaken. The selection of towns and regions throughout the Republic will enable us to uncover regional differences. In order to investigate the influence of the nature of the labour market on women's work, commercial centres industrial and garrison towns and rural areas will each be examined separately. Finally, the research findings will be placed in an international context.
The proposed research will offer the opportunity to systematically examine the participation of women in the labour market, to identify changes and to compare data from different regions, over a long period of time. By comparing our findings with the literature research already conducted on women's work in other European countries, we will try to determine whether the position of Dutch working women was as remarkable as has always been claimed.
The programme consists of the following research projects:
- Female spinners: women's wage labour and proto-industry (Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk)
- Producing beverages: women's work in drink industry (Marjolein van Dekken)
- From market to multinational: women's work in trade (Danielle van den Heuvel)
- Women's work in social services (Ariadne Schmidt)
- The female poor in early modern Amsterdam (Lotte van de Pol)
- Women's work in the early modern Northern Netherlands, c.1500-1815 (Ariadne Schmidt)
Staff
Ariadne Schmidt (project management), Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, Lotte van de Pol, Marjolein van Dekken, Danielle van den Heuvel, Lex Heerma van Voss (supervisor).
Scientific Advisory Committee
The Scientific Advisory Committee consists of the following members: Dr Myriam Everard, Dr Els Kloek (Utrecht University), Prof dr Jan Lucassen (Free University (Amsterdam)/ IISH), Prof dr Henk van Nierop (University of Amsterdam), Dr Pamela Sharpe (University of Western Australia, Perth).
Subsidy
The research is financed by the Friends of the IISH, the Stichting Van Winterfonds and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
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Working Papers and Other Publications
- Danielle van den Heuvel, The capacity and incapacity of married female traders in the Northern Netherlands. An exploration of the legal status of female public vendor (2005) (pdf attached)
- Marjolein van Dekken, Female brewers in Holland and England (doc file, attached)
- Danielle van den Heuvel, Women and work in the early modern Netherlands: women's work in trade (doc file, attached)
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, Women and work in the early modern Netherlands: textile workers, gender, and the organization of production
- Ariadne Schmidt, Women and work in the early modern Netherlands: an introduction to the project (doc file, attached)
2010
- Marjolein van Dekken, Brouwen, branden en bedienen. Werkende vrouwen in de Nederlandse dranknijverheid, 1500-1800. Amsterdam Universty Press 2010
- Manon van der Heijden and Airadne Schmidt, 'Women's work in public services in early modern Dutch towns', Journal of Urban History vol. 26, no. 3 (2010) 285-394.
- Danielle van den Heuvel, 'Kauffrauen in der Niederländischen Republik. Einzelhändlerinnen im 's-Hertogenbosch des 18. Jahrhunderts: eine Fallstudie' in: Mark Häberlein and Christof Jeggle (eds.), Praktiken des Handels. Geschäfte und soziale Beziehungen europäischer Kaufleute in Mittelalter und früher Neuzeit (Konstanz 2010) 511-536.
2009
- Manon van der Heijden, Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk and Ariadne Schmidt, 'Terugkeer van het patriarchaat? Vrije vrouwen in de Republiek' Tijdschrift voor Sociale en Economische Geschiedenis vol. 6, no.3 (2009) 26-52.
- Ariadne Schmidt, 'Women and Guilds: Corporations and Female Labour Market Participation in Early Modern Holland', Gender & History 21, no. 1 (2009) 170-189.
- Ariadne Schmidt, 'The Economic Role of Women in Family-based Production in the Dutch Republic, in: Simonetta Cavaciocchi (Ed.), La famiglia nell'economia europea secoli XIII-XVIII. The Economic Role of the Family in the European Economy from the 13th to the 18th Centuries (Prato 2009) 739-750.
2008
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, 'Textile workers, gender, and the organization of production in the pre-industrial Dutch Republic,' in: Megan Cassidy-Welch and Peter Sherlock, Practices of gender in late medieval and early modern Europe (Turnhout 2008) 215-234.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, 'Werken om te leren? De arbeid van jongens en meisjes in de Leidse textielnijverheid in de zeventiende eeuw', in: Jaarboek der economische en sociale geschiedenis van Leiden en omstreken (2008) 79-103.
- Ariadne Schmidt, '"Ontbloot van alle winsten"? Armoede en overlevingsstrategieën van gebroken gezinnen in Holland, 1600-1800', Leidschrift. Historisch tijdschrift, (2008) vol 3, no 2, 119-137.
-Danielle van den Heuvel and Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, 'Partners in business? An Anglo-Dutch comparison of the cooperation of spouses in early modern trade', Continuity and Change 23 (2008), 209-216.
- Danielle van den Heuvel, 'Partners in marriage and business? Guilds and the family economy in urban food trades in the Dutch Republic' in: Continuity and Change (2008), 217-236.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, 'Couples cooperating? Dutch textile workers, family labour and the 'industrious revolution', c. 1600-1800', Continuity and Change 23 (2008) 237-266.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk and Ariadne Schmidt, 'Between wage labor and vocation: child labor in Dutch urban industry, 1600-1800', Journal of Social History 41, 4 (2008) 717-736.
- Ariadne Schmidt, 'Managing a large household.The gender division of work in orphanages in Dutch towns in the early modern period, 1580-1800' The History of the Family 13 (2008) 42-57.
2007
- Ariadne Schmidt, 'Gilden en de toegang van vrouwen tot de arbeidsmarkt in Holland in de vroegmoderne tijd', De Zeventiende eeuw (2007) 160-178.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, De draad in eigen handen. Vrouwen en loonarbeid in de Nederlandse textielnijverheid, 1581-1810. Amsterdam University Press 2007 Amsterdam University Press 2007
- Manon van der Heijden, Ariadne Schmidt, Richard Wall, 'Broken families: economic resources and social networks of women who head families', in: Manon van der Heijden, Ariadne Schmidt, Richard Wall (Eds), The History of the Family 12 (2007) 223-232.
- Ariadne Schmidt, 'Survival strategies of widows and their families in early modern Holland, c. 1580-1750', The History of the Family 12 (2007) 268-281.
- Danielle van den Heuvel and Manon van der Heijden] 'Sailors' families and the urban institutional framework in early modern Holland' The History of the Family 12 (2007) 296-309.
- Danielle van den Heuvel, Women and entrepreneurship. Female traders in the Northern Netherlands c. 1580-1815 (Amsterdam 2007)
- Manon van der Heijden and Ariadne Schmidt, 'In dienst van de stad: vrouwen in stedelijke ambten, Holland 1500-1800', Tijdschrift voor Sociale en Economische Geschiedenis vol 7 no. 4, 3-34.
- Danielle van den Heuvel, Women and entrepreneurship. Female traders in the Northern Netherlands c. 1580-1815 (Amsterdam 2007).
- Danielle van den Heuvel en Laura van Aert, 'Sekse als sleutel tot succes? Vrouwen en de verkoop van textiel in de Noordelijke en Zuidelijke Nederlanden 1650- 1800' in: Winkeldochters. Vrouwen in de handel en als consument van textiel 1600-2000. Textiel Historische Bijdragen 47 (2007) 7-32.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, 'Met spinnen de kost winnen', in: Historica (October 2007), pp. 19-21.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, De draad in eigen handen. Vrouwen en loonarbeid in de Nederlandse textielnijverheid, 1581-1810 (Amsterdam 2007).
- Ariadne Schmidt 'Werken voor wezen. Vrouwen, mannen en de verdeling van werk in weeshuizen in de vroegmoderne tijd', Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis vol. 120, no. 2 (2007) 164-179.
2006
- Manon van der Heijden and Danielle van den Heuvel, 'Surviving strategies of Dutch seamen's wives, 17th and 18th centuries' in: Ricchezza del mare. Ricchezza dal mare. Secc. XIII-XVIII (Prato 2006) pp. 1103-1120.
- Danielle van den Heuvel, 'Een zwaar bestaan? Het wel en wee van Enkhuizer zeemansvrouwen in de eerste helft van de achttiende eeuw', in: Steevast 2006. Jaaruitgave van de Vereniging Oud-Enkhuizen (2006) 7-20.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, 'Segmentation in the pre-industrial labour market: women's work in the Dutch textile industry, 1581-1810', in: International Review of Social History (2006) pp. 189-216.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk and Ariadne Schmidt, 'Tussen arbeid en beroep. Jongens en meisjes in de stedelijke nijverheid, ca. 1600-1800', Tijdschrift voor Sociale en Economische Geschiedenis 3 (2006) 1, pp. 24-50.
2005
- Marjolein van Dekken, 'Brouwen, branden en bedienen', Kroniek historisch genootschap Roterodamum, nr. 149, 2005, pp. 3.
- Ariadne Schmidt en Manon van der Heijden (red.) Vrouwenarbeid in de Vroegmoderne Tijd in Nederland, themanummer Tijdschrift voor Sociale en Economische Geschiedenis vol 2, no 3 (2005), Hierin: 'Vrouwenarbeid in de Vroegmoderne Tijd in Nederland' pp. 2-21.
- Danielle van den Heuvel, 'De Openbaar Koopvrouw. De handelingsbekwaamheid van gehuwde koopvrouwen in de Republiek' in: Historica (Oktober 2005), pp. 12-14.
- Danielle van den Heuvel, 'Bij uijtlandigheijt van haar man'. Echtgenotes van VOC-zeelieden aangemonsterd voor de kamer Enkhuizen (1700-1750) (Amsterdam 2005).
2004
- Ariadne Schmidt, 'The winter of her life? Widowhood and the lives of Dutch women in the early modern era' in: A.B. Mulder-Bakker and R. Nip (eds.) The prime of their lives: Wise Old Women in Pre-Industrial Europe (Leuven 2004) pp. 137-148.
- Danielle van den Heuvel, 'Getrouwd met Jan Compagnie. Oost-Indiëvaarders en hun echtgenotes in Enkhuizen en omgeving (1700-1750)' in: Tijdschrift voor zeegeschiedenis 23 (2004) 1, pp. 30-42.
- Ariadne Schmidt, 'Vrouwen en het recht. De juridische status van vrouwen in Holland in de vroegmoderne tijd', Jaarboek Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie (Den Haag 2004) vol 58, pp. 26-44.
- Ariadne Schmidt, 'Isabella van Leeuwarden', in: Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland, [22/11/2004].
2003
- Marjolein van Dekken, 'Leven in de brouwerij. Hollandse bierbrouwsters in de late middeleeuwen (ca. 1500-1552)', Historica, vol. 26 no. 3, 2003, pp. 3-5.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, 'Het beeld bezien: de spinster op de vroegmoderne arbeidsmarkt', Historica (juni 2003), pp. 19-21.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk en Marlou Schrover, 'In eigen boezem. De integratie van vrouwengeschiedenis', Jaarboek voor Vrouwengeschiedenis 23 (2003), pp. 222- 233.
- Ariadne Schmidt 'Zelfstandig en bevoogd: de speelruimte van vrouwen rond 1650' Tijdschrift voor Sociale Geschiedenis 29 nr. 1, (2003) pp. 28-34.
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, Textile workers in the Netherlands. Part 1: 1650- 1810 (word document, attached)
- Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, 'Het beeld bezien: de spinster op de vroegmoderne arbeidsmarkt', Historica (juni 2003), pp. 19-21.
2002
- Marjolein van Dekken, 'Bier doet het leven goed. Haarlemse bierbrouwsters in de zestiende eeuw', Haerlem Jaarboek 2002. (Haarlem 2003) pp. 9-59.
- Ariadne Schmidt, '"Touching inheritance". Mannen, vrouwen en de overdracht van bezit in de zeventiende eeuw', Historisch Tijdschrift Holland, vol 33, no 4, (2002) pp. 175-189.
Past Presentations
- 13 - 16 April 2010: European Social Science History Conference, Gent
Female labour force participation in the European past, c. 1600-1900
Carmen Sarasua, Beatrice Moring & Llorenc Ferrer, 'Women's labour participation in agriculture in Spain, the United Kingdom and the Nordic Countries (17th-18th-19th centuries'
Lotta Vikström, Angels Sola, 'Women's labour participation in services in Sweden, Barcelona and Bilbao (19th century)' Cristina Borderías, Béatrice Craig & Luisa Muñoz, 'Women's labour force participation in urban industry in Spain and France (19th century)'
Ricardo Hernández García, Elise Van Nederveen Meerkerk & Ariadne Schmidt, 'Women's labour force participation in urban and rural manufactures and services in the United Kingdom, Castile and the Dutch Republic (17th and 18th centuries)'
- 3-7 August 2009: World economic History Congress, Utrecht
Industrious women and children of the world? Jan de Vries' 'industrious revolution' as a conceptual tool for researching women's and children's work in an international perspective. Session organized by Jane Humphries, Ariadne Schmidt, Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk.
- 29 January 2009: Seminar in early modern economic and social history, University of Cambridge
Paper presentation Ariadne Schmidt, 'Women's work in the Dutch Republic, c. 1550-1815'.
- 11 January 2008: COST-workshop 'Methodologies for reconstructing the female activity rate in historical Europe', Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona.
Paper presentation Ariadne Schmidt: 'Female labour market participation in the Dutch Republic (c.1550-1815): the use of tax registers and population censuses',
Paper presentation Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk: 'Female labour market participation in the Dutch Republic (c.1600-1800). Suggestions for methodologies and making estimates'.
- 6-10 april 2008: La famiglia nell'economia Europa. Secc XIII-XVIII, Istituto Internazionale di Storia economica "F. Datini", Prato.
Paper presentation Ariadne Schmidt: 'The Roles of Women in Family-based Production in the Dutch Republic'.
- 26 February - 1 March 2008: European Social Science History Conference, Amsterdam
Round Table: Female Labour Market Participation and Economic Growth
Chairs: Danielle van den Heuvel, Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk
Discussants: Ariadne Schmidt, Carmen Sarasua, Tine De Moor, Kirsi Vainio-Korhonen, Joyce Burnette, Marjatta Rahikainen
- 11-13 December 2007: International conference, Uppsala.
Gender and Work in the Early Modern Northern European world. Institutions and economic performances in international comparative perspective.
- 24 May 2007: Dirck van Eck Stichting. Women's work in Leiden in the early modern time (Leidse bedrijvigheid: het werk van vrouwen in de vroegmoderne tijd (1500 - 1815))
Ariadne Schmidt: Vrouwen en werk in de vroegmoderne tijd.
Elise van Nederveen-Meerkerk: De draad in eigen handen.
Marjolein van Dekken: Vrouwen, brouwen en bedienen.
Danielle van den Heuvel: Vrouwen op de markt.
- 21-25 August 2006: IEHC, XIV International Economic History Congress Helsinki
The Divergence of National Occupational Structures 1500 to 1850
Organizers: Leigh Shaw-Taylor, Dr., University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, Tony Wrigley, Prof., University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Participants:
Danielle van den Heuvel, International Institute of Social History (The Netherlands)
I-Ling Liu, Fortune Institute of Technology,Kaohsiung (Taiwan)
Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, International Institute of Social History (The Netherlands)
Osamu Saito, Hitotsubashi University (Japan)
T. Taniguchi, Niigata Seiryo University College (Japan)
Yoshifumi Usami, Osaka Prefecture University (Japan)
Paul Warde, University of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
- 22-26 March 2006: European Social Science History Conference, Amsterdam
The Role of Gender in Economic and Social Development
Ariadne Schmidt, 'Female access to the labour market and guilds in the early modern Netherlands'.
Amy Erickson, 'Identifying women's occupations in early modern London'
Maria Sjöberg, '"Mutter Courage" - Facts and Fiction'
Maria Ågren, 'Protecting Women Through Their Legal Property Rights -- Or In Other Ways? Sweden in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, compared to some other European countries'
- 22-26 March 2006: European Social Science History Conference, Amsterdam
Partners in Business. Husbands and wives working together. Part II: the division of labour between spouses in industry, 1500-1800.
Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, 'Couples co-operating? Dutch textile workers and the family economy, c. 1600-1800'
Leigh Shaw-Taylor, 'The roles of husbands, wives and widows in manufacturing businesses in mid-nineteenth century England'
Marjolein van Dekken, 'Husbands and wives working together: The production and selling of beverages in the early modern Northern Netherlands.'
Christof Jeggle, 'Households, Workshops, and the Division of Labour between Spouses in the Linen Trades in Munster/Westphalia in the 17. Century'
- 22-26 March 2006: European Social Science History Conference, Amsterdam
Partners in Business. Husbands and wives working together. Part I: Married couples working together in commerce, 1500-1800.
Danielle van den Heuvel, 'The cooperation of spouses in commerce in the Dutch Republic'
Matthias Steinbrink, 'Representative or merchant woman? Verena Meltinger from Basel'
Christina Dalhede, 'Merchant Families in Gothenburg and Lübeck in Early Modern Time'
Lili-Annè Aldman, 'Who's the boss? Merchants and shopkeepers in Stockholm during early modern times'
- 30 January 2006: Cambridge Group Seminar, The Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure, University of Cambridge.
Paper presentation Danielle van den Heuvel 'Women and retailing in the Dutch Republic. The case of the shopkeepers' guild in 's-Hertogenbosch'
- 24-27 March 2004, Report of the session 'Early modern working women. The Dutch case in international perspective', at the Fifth European Social Science History Conference in Berlin (PDF attached)
- 18 March 2004, Ariadne Schmidt, 'Vrouwen en werk in de Noordelijke Nederlanden' op de Dag van het Onderzoek, Vlaams-Nederlandse Vereniging voor Nieuwe Geschiedenis.
- 28 November 2003, Workshop 'Vrouwen en werk in de vroegmoderne tijd', IISH Amsterdam. See the report of the workshop (text in english).
