1. Women: A History A brief and informative history of women in Europe from the Renaissance to Contemporary Europe

2. Women in the Renaissance Women’s status in the Renaissance was not improved in during the Renaissance. They were commonly seen primarily as bearers and caretakers of children and the ones responsible for the arduous tasks that were within the home. The renaissance also became a time period when a debate arose about the importance of women and their purposes called Querelles des Femmes (“The Problem of Women”) Divorce was allowed in very few areas during the renaissance. This was a drastic change from the non- existence of divorce in the Middle Ages. Christine de Pisan

3. Women in the Renaissance (con’t) Catherine de Medici: Born in Florence, Italy in 1519. She was married to Henry II and had two sons, who she helped rule France with.  She was a major force in French politics, especially during the thirty years of the Roman Catholic-Huguenot wars. She ruled as a regent to her son and when he reached majority in 1563, Catherine dominated him.  Responsible for the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, when hundreds of Huguenots were killed at her son’s wedding. Catherine de Medici

4. Women in the Renaissance (con't) Elizabeth I: Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. She was born on September 7, 1533 at Greenwich Palace. She had two half siblings and she reigned after the death of her sister, Mary. Before she was made queen, she was tried for treason multiple times due to her Protestant faith.  Elizabeth is now seen as one of the most influential leaders in the history of England. The period that she reigned in is referred to as the Golden Age.  Elizabeth re-established the Protestant church in England  and she supported the spreading of Renaissance ideas. Elizabeth I

5. Women in the Enlightenment During the Enlightenment, the status of women did not improve. They were still viewed as their husband’s property and they were given no new rights. They continued to be thought of only as child bearers and caretakers. Their status did not change between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment,

6. Women in the Reformation Women in the Protestant Faith  Protestant women were still seen as homemakers and caregivers.  Protestant churches had greater official control over marriage Suppressed common law marriages Catholic governments followed suit  Marriage became more compassionate and loving.  Increased women’s literacy became a top priority because the women needed to teach the Bible to the children.  Protestant women were not allowed to enjoy some of the same rights within the church that Catholic women were able to.

7. Women in the Reformation (con’t) Women in the Catholic Faith  Catholic women were allowed many religious freedoms within the church and in religious orders.  Angela Merici, now considered a saint in the Catholic faith, was a devout Catholic nun who created the Ursuline Order. The Ursuline Order was an order or Catholic women who went out and spread the religious beliefs of Catholicism.

8. Women in the 18 th Century and Industrial Revolution During the Agricultural revolution, the enclosure act drastically changed peasant life.  Women had fewer opportunities to make profits off of work on common lands  Women began to work away from the home, in cities and towns. Most work was domestic Many became prostitutes Social consequences of working away from home: more autonomy, can save money for own dowries, slightly more choice in marriage partners, but still pretty much endogamous within class and trade. Also, less communal protection from economic and sexual exploitation  During the growth of Cottage Industry, women began to work at home again and young women, becoming burdens, were sent away to work.

9. Women in the 18 th Century and Industrial Revolution (con’t) Industrial Revolution  Large numbers of women work in factories in late 18th- century England  Family wage economy: Families often work together (especially women & children)  Declines somewhat after Factory Act of 1833 puts limits on child labor

10. Women in the 18 th Century and Industrial Revolution (con’t) Marriage  Based more on romance as the Enlightenment moves into the Modern Era  Average age for marriage was late 20’s or later  Many women don’t marry. A large population of unmarried middle class women is a new phenomenon.  Protestant women were still expected to manage the home  Catholic women were still allowed to seek their own interests in religious orders.

11. Women in the French Revolution Mary Wollstonecraft: Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) Participation with the Sans Culottes (Society of Revolutionary Republican Women) Closing of women’s political clubs by the National Convention French Revolutionary leaders identified women with the debauchery and the effete style of the Ancien Regime. They thought it was not “manly” and sought to keep women out of public life.

12. Women in the French Revolution (con’t) Women gained few rights (except inheritance rights); leads to increased use of birth control and smaller families.

13. Women in the 19 th Century Marriage and Family  Ideal of romantic love becomes important  Fewer children per family; more love towards children  Middle class more included to consider economic reasons  Many men married late  Women closely monitored  Sexual double standard  Rate of illegitimacy declined after 1850 in working classes  Prostitution sought by middle and upper-middle class men

14. Women in the 19 th Century (con’t) Status of Women  After 1850, women began to stay at home again and men began working in factories.  As the century went on, more jobs became restricted to gender and women lost some rights.  Ideology of domesticity reinforced in home schooling or church schools  By late-19th century, women worked outside the home only in poor families  Middle class women began working to organize and expand their rights

15. Women in the 19 th Century (con’t) Women played a major role in social reforms in the mid- late- nineteenth century  Catholic orders organized schools and hospitals  Increase of female teachers in late-19th century (e.g. preschool education)  Trend toward gendering certain occupations that had the effect of kicking men out and also making the wages lower.  Reformers sought to reform marriage to increase its attractiveness to women  Women gained legal right to wages and property ownership  Right to work without husband’s permission. Many educated women worked in white-collar jobs  Legalization of divorce in some countries (e.g. France)  Government lent subsidies to needy mothers (e.g. Britain in 1913)

16. Women in the 19 th Century (con’t) Female Suffrage  Finland the first to grant female suffrage, 1906  Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Russia, Czechoslovakia, Britain, Germany, Austria all granted female suffrage before 1920.  Largely the result of women’s participation during WWI  England: John Stuart Mill, The Subjection of Women (1869) Predominantly middle-class movement Because England did not get Universal Manhood Suffrage until after World War I, many feminists and socialists were frustrated in their efforts to work for female rights. Leadership of suffrage reform movements felt that arguing for woman suffrage would hurt the cause of UMS. Millicent Garrett Fawcett: She was a prime factor in female suffrage.

17. Women in the 20 th Century Russia  Equality after the Russian Revolution (in theory)  Voting rights  Equal access to education  Job opportunities  No sexual double standard; increased abortion

18. Women in the 20 th Century (con’t) Women make huge contributions to the war effort during WWI and WWII  Traditional and oppressed role in Fascist Italy and Germany  Women encourage to have many children for the benefit of the state  Women denied access to high-paying job opportunities  Post-WWI, several countries (not just fascist countries) passed repressive legislation against women in reproductive freedom and employment opportunities. This was due to the unemployment that followed the war combined with the huge death rate and oversupply of women and under-supply of babies. Post-WWII  Baby boom after World War II  Women having earlier and fewer children (2 per family)  Middle class children less economically dependent on parents  Women remained in the work force in larger numbers  1965, end to ban on birth control in France  Protest marches in favor of abortion rights and decriminalization of homosexuality  Some feminists rejected “feminine” conventions such as bras, cosmetics and high heels.  Demands for equal pay for equal work  Italy in 1970s, women gained divorce, access to birth control information and abortion rights