working life of women seventeenth century - School of Economics ...

TEXTILESKingdom, it required a great Stock to manage, therewas required Foreign as well as Native Commoditiesto carry it on. . . . and when the Manufactorywas made, there must be Skill and Interest abroad tointroduce the Commodity where others had the Tradebefore them ; but there is nothing of all this in theLinnen Manufactory ; Nature seems to design itfor the weaker Sex. The best of Linnen for Serviceis called House Wife's Cloth, here then is no needof the Broad Seal, or Joint-Stock to establish theMethods for the good Wife's weeding her Flax-garden,or how soon her Maid shall sit to her Wheel afterwashing her Dishes ; the good Woman is Lady ofthe Soil, and holds a Court within herself, throwsthe Seed into the Ground, and works it till she bringsit there again, I mean her Web to the bleachingGround.. . . To appropriate this which thepoorest Family may by Labour arrive unto, that is,finish and bring to Market a Piece of Cloth, to meseems an irfallible Expedient to discourage univhsalIndustry, . . . . The Linnen Manufactory aboveany Trade I know, if (which I must confess I doubt)it be for the Good of the Nation, requires more Charitythan Grandeur to carry it on, the poor Spinner comesas often to her Master for Charity to a sick Child, ora Plaister for a Sore, as for Wages ; and this she cannothave of a Company, but rather less for her labour,when they have beat all private Undertakers out.These poor Spinners can now come to their Master'sDoors at a good time, and eat of their good tho' poormaster's Chear ; they can reason with him, if anymistake, or hardship be put upon them, and thispoor People love to do, and not be at the Dispose ofServants, as they must be where their Access can onlybe by Doorkeepers, Clerks, etc., to the Governorsof the Company."'A* Linnen uld Woollen Manufactory, p. 4-8,1691.TEXTILES129On the other side it was urged that " All the Argumentsthat can be offer'd for Encouraging the woollenmanufacture in England conclude as strongly in proportionfor Enc~uraging the linnen manufacture inScotland. 'Tis the ancient Staple Commodity there,as the Woollen is here."'The part taken by women in the production oflinen resembled their share in woollen manufactures.Some were weavers ; thus Oliver Heywood says thathis brother-in-law, who afterwards traded in fustians,was brought up in Halifax with Elizabeth Roberts,a linen ~eaver.~ Entries in the Foulis Account Bookshow that they were sometimes employed in bleachingbut spinning was the only process which dependedexclusively on their labour.The rates of pay for spinning flax and hemp wereeven lower than those for spinning wool. Fit~herbertexpressly says that in his time no woman couldget her living by spinning linen.3 The marketprice was of little moment to well-to-do womenwho span thread for their family's use and whovalued the product of their labour by its utilityand not by its return in money value ; but the womenwho depended on spinning for their living werevirtually paupers, as is shown by the terms in wllichreference is made to them :--" shee beeinge very poore,gettinge her livinge by spinninge and in the natureof a wiclowe, her husband beeinge in the service ofHis Majesty."*Yet the demand for varn and thread was so greatthat if spinners had bien paid a living wage therewould have been scarcely any need for poor relief.The relation between low wages and pauperism washardly even suspected at this time, and though the--True case of the Scots Lznen i2ianufacture.' iIeytvood (Rev. Oliver) Autobzography, Vol. I , p. 36..'lnte, p. 43.S.P.D., cccclvii., 3. Juoe 13, 1640.