Women in 17th Century New England
Puritan women in 17th-century New England led a life centered around domestic duties, marriage, and limited legal rights. They were responsible for maintaining households, raising children, and adhering to societal norms and expectations. Despite their roles being constrained by the patriarchal society, some women like Anne Bradstreet managed to excel, breaking gender barriers through their literary work. The institution of marriage, with early age at around 24-25, emphasized large families but also brought risks like high mortality rates among children and women due to childbirth. Legal distinctions between Femme Covert and Femme Sole underscored the unequal treatment married women faced. Divorce, although possible, often led to humiliation and loss for women. Widows' rights were limited, depending on male heirs for survival. Female indentured servants formed a significant part of colonial households, with conditions often harsh and exploitative. The importation of single women for marriage arrangements reflected the gender dynamics and economic exchange prevalent in the colonial era.
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Presentation Transcript
Puritan Women Anne Bradstreet, 1612- 1672 Average Puritan life except: 1stAmerican poet of Puritan women could not read, over could not write Several Poems Compiled with Great Variety of Wit and Learning
Puritan Marriage Average age of bride: 24 -25 Large families encouraged - of children died before reaching adulthood 1/5 of adult women died in childbirth The Savage Family, 1779, by John Savage
Households Labors for Puritan Women Housecleaning Cooking meals Childcare Mend clothes Spin Wool Churn Butter Bake Bread Preserve Food Plant Vegetable Gardens Make Soap, Wax Candles, & Brooms Milk Cows Feed Hens & Cows And .teach daughters how to do all of the above
Femme Covert v. Femme Sole Femme Sole: Single, divorced, or widowed woman who could sue, own land, enter business contracts Femme Covert: Married woman with virtually no legal rights, her identity covered under her husband s Pre-nuptial agreement rare but possible 18th Century Oak Baby Cradle
Divorce in New England Women faced public humiliation & loss of child custody Grounds for divorce: Adultery, desertion, long absence, failure to provide, bigamy, cruelty
Rights of Widows in New England Elis Dagget Inventory Entitled to 1/3 of late husband s estate Could only control her inheritance as long as she did not remarry Dependent upon adult male children for survival Inventory of Ellis (Alice) Daggett, 1705
Female Indentured Servants Women 18 -25 years old 1/3 of colonial households had indentured servants 1 year of extra time added for pregnancy
Importing Women 140 single women imported between 1620 1622 120 - 150 pounds of tobacco to buy a wife Carolina s advertisement: If any Maid or single Woman have a desire to go over, they will think themselves in the Golden Age, when Men paid a Dowry for their Wives; for if they be but civil, and under 50 years of Age, some honest Man or other, will purchase them for their Wives.
Interracial Marriage in the Colonies Higher rates of interracial marriage in New France 1661: Maryland banned interracial marriage 1691: Virginia 1705-1750: Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Delaware, & all of the South The Baptism of Pocahontas by John Chapman, 1837
Pocahontas & John Rolfe http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Pocahontas_by_Simon_van_de_Passe_1616.jpg/225px-Pocahontas_by_Simon_van_de_Passe_1616.jpg Daughter of Chief Powhatan Assisted settlers at Jamestown Died around 18 years old in 1616
