Short-term Labour and Precarious Work in Northern Europe, c. 1620-1870
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Beschreibung
This open access volume explores the history of short-term employment and precarious work in pre-industrial Northern Europe. Contrary to popular belief, stable, long-term employment—potentially lasting decades—was uncommon in Northern Europe until the advent of large-scale industrialisation and the emergence of the welfare state. Prior to this, most wage earners survived through work that was often temporary, seasonal, and poorly paid, forcing families to rely on multiple jobs and alternative ways of supplementing their modest income. The central aim of this book is to investigate how people dependent on odd jobs or temporary work navigated precarious labour markets. What strategies did they employ to cope with uncertainty? What were their opportunities for social mobility? What do their labour relations reveal about the structure of pre-industrial labour markets in Northern Europe?
The book focuses on two key groups of wage labourers: unskilled manual workers—such as servants and day labourers—and those engaged in temporary employment for institutions like the Crown and the Church, including scribes, clergymen, and military personnel. An uncertain livelihood, vagrant lifestyle, and loose ties with the local community have been traditionally associated with the lower echelons of society, but as this collection demonstrates, this was a reality for multitudes of people. Comprising nine chapters, the volume examines various social groups in both urban and rural settings, primarily within the borders of present-day Finland. Drawing on a rich array of source materials, it offers a fresh perspective on labour market insecurity in early modern Europe, and provides valuable insights for those interested in contemporary working life and culture.
Ella Viitaniemi is a project leader and researcher at Tampere University in Finland. Her research explores eighteenth-century political culture, the development of administration, and social history.
Sofia Gustafsson is a researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Her work primarily focuses on the economic and social aspects of military history, and relations between armies and civilians in the eighteenth century.
This open access volume explores the history of short-term employment and precarious work in pre-industrial Northern Europe. Contrary to popular belief, stable, long-term employment—potentially lasting decades—was uncommon in Northern Europe until the advent of large-scale industrialisation and the emergence of the welfare state. Prior to this, most wage earners survived through work that was often temporary, seasonal, and poorly paid, forcing families to rely on multiple jobs and alternative ways of supplementing their modest income. The central aim of this book is to investigate how people dependent on odd jobs or temporary work navigated precarious labour markets. What strategies did they employ to cope with uncertainty? What were their opportunities for social mobility? What do their labour relations reveal about the structure of pre-industrial labour markets in Northern Europe?
The book focuses on two key groups of wage labourers: unskilled manual workers—such as servants and day labourers—and those engaged in temporary employment for institutions like the Crown and the Church, including scribes, clergymen, and military personnel. An uncertain livelihood, vagrant lifestyle, and loose ties with the local community have been traditionally associated with the lower echelons of society, but as this collection demonstrates, this was a reality for multitudes of people. Comprising nine chapters, the volume examines various social groups in both urban and rural settings, primarily within the borders of present-day Finland. Drawing on a rich array of source materials, it offers a fresh perspective on labour market insecurity in early modern Europe, and provides valuable insights for those interested in contemporary working life and culture.
Offers a new perspective on the concept of work in a premodern context, exploring parallel, short-term and seasonal jobs Highlights the diversity of work and careers amongst different social groups in the early modern period Draws from numerous district court records and diverse letters and minutes which span a 250-year period This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access
Autor*in
Ella Viitaniemi
Themen in »Short-term Labour and Precarious Work in Northern Europe, c. 1620-1870«
Labour history Scandinavian history Early modern History of work Social history Gender history Rural history Cultural history Early modern Finland Early modern Sweden Short-term work Parallel work Seasonal work Agriculture Parallel occupation