3. The status of women Flashcards
(7 cards)
What was the impact of wealth on the status of women?
Women could have social, economic and political influence in line with their economic standing. E.g some wives of landowners acted as estate managers along with their husbands and some wives of farmers, labourers, and craftsmen took a role in the family economy. However, women could not hold any of the formal offices through which the political class exercised control.
Overall, what impact did the revolutionary years 1640-60 have on women?
These years provided women with the most opportunities for them to subvert the norms. During the civil war, women contributed to the war effort, preached, prophesied and published. However, even though the civil war created opportunities, the extent of the transformation of women’s roles should not be overemphasised.
How did the revolutionary years impact women through the war effort?
Some women took over management of estates during their husband’s absence as they fought in the civil war. Women also became garrison commanders when their houses were besieged e.g Lady Bankes and the 1643 siege of Corfe Castle in Dorset. (Finding themselves under siege with very little in the way of weapons, they pelted the Parliamentarian army with stones and hot embers. Mary managed to hold the siege for six weeks, when a Royalist force arrived to relieve them.) Women in London worked on building fortifications and tended to the wounded.
How did the revolutionary years impact women through religion?
Following the breakdown of governmental control over religious practise in the 1640s, women were able to play a role in certain religious movements, such as the Levellers and the Quakers, who questioned society’s norms. The Quakers believed that the crucifixion had spiritually redeemed women from their subjugation to men. The civil war also saw an upsurge in female prophets - it’s estimated there were 300 female prophets in the 1640s and 50s. This meant that some women could have their voices heard and gain a degree of authority.
How did the revolutionary years impact women through petitions and popular politics?
Petitions gave women a voice denied to them in formal politics. Women petitioned for peace, freedom of trade, changes to imprisonment etc.
In August 1643, a crowd of women petitioned parliament for peace and food and in 1649, 10,000 women presented a petition to parliament calling for the release of John Lilburne.
How did the revolutionary years impact women through writing?
The collapse of censorship enabled women to publish their ideas and thoughts. There was enormous increase in publications by women.
What impact did the Restoration have on the status of women?
In 1660, Charles II reimposed on women the order of pre-civil war times. However, there remained some examples of women who broke through the limits of a patriarchal society. E.g Bridget Bendish, granddaughter of Cromwell and daughter of NMA General Ireton, managed a saltpan and refinery in East Anglia in the Restoration period and challenged to a duel a man who had insulted her grandfather.
