European Factory Workers and Urban Artisans Essay

In the eighteenth century much of Europe was experiencing an industrial production, furthering toward a more industrial society. Many people were supporting the new society, while others were criticizing it. From 1845-1847 Europe was experiencing poor harvests, which caused the Irish famine. Irish peasants died from starvation, while others migrated. Artisans and factory workers were undergoing a process called proletarianization. It was where an owner would pay a wage and the worker would lose all ownership of production. If the factory ran smoothly, then it would be a better chance that the workers would have a safe workplace, but if that wasn’t the case then the workers may have to work in poor work conditions. Urban artisans experienced the process a little differently than the factory workers. Metal workers and craftsmen saw an increase in demand for their work. Artisans were working for masters, first as apprentices, then as journeymen. The master owned the equipment and the workers owned the small tools used. The journeymen would later become masters. The guild system allowed the factory to run smoothly. Liberals did not like the labor or guild systems and they tried to make them illegal. Masters were very competitive. They began to follow confection, which is where they make everything standard instead of individualistic. This made the artisan less valuable. Unskilled workers would come from the countryside to work. It became more difficult for journeymen to become masters, in turn artisans would become wage labors for life. Nineteenth-Century European Women Women in the Early Industrial Revolution The revolution had a great impact on the home and family life for women. Women could depend on the male’s wages. Children would follow the roles of their parents. This occurred within the middle and lower class families. Women were also allowed to work and make their own wages to support themselves if they had the desire to do so. The skills required to work were lowered when women started working. Textile production played a big role in the industrial revolution, so women were involved from the start. Women did the majority in the textile production until it was moved to factories, then the men replaced the women. In the 1820’s unmarried women rapidly became employed in factories. Most of the women working in factories were usually unmarried or widowed because it was less likely for them to become pregnant or get influenced by their husband to quit. At midcentury, the women accounted for less than half of all employment. In France, the working women continued to work on the land. In England, they were domestic servants. Women’s working conditions were almost always harsh and they were always exposed to exploitation. Social Disabilities Confronted by All Women During the early nineteenth century women suffered from social and legal property rights, family law, and education. By the end of the century improvements were being shown in those areas. Europeans were classified into ranks and women were inferior to men. In the late nineteenth century married women could finally own their own property in their own name. Women had no standing with the law. The reform of women’s property rights came slowly. By 1882 Great Britain allowed married women to own property. In France, a married woman could not even open a savings account in their name until 1895. In 1907, they were allowed to receive their own wages. In 1900 Germany allowed women to work without their husbands’ permission. Similar laws began to strike in Europe. The law also worked against women, for example legal codes made wives obey their husbands. The Napoleonic Code and the Roman law made women legal minors throughout Europe. Everything was more difficult for women including; divorce, keeping their children, contraception, and abortion. Women were controlled by men. Women had less access to education and they were only educated enough for the domestic careers that they were expected to follow. The percentage of illiterate women outnumbered that of women. The more professional education remained reserved for men until the third quarter of the century. Italian women had a better chance with education. Keeping women from school helped keep women out of social and economic events. School teaching became a profession for women. As things progressed women worked more and the jobs required little or no skill.