HIST 2102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Wet Nurse, Mary Wollstonecraft, Childbirth
Document Summary
Most girls would leave their households to work in their early teens, most often entering into domestic service, sometimes apprenticed as mistresses in traditions such as weavers, midwifery, etc. As the demand for skilled labour increased, some guild would take in women to fill in the demand for labour, despite guild restrictions. Domestic service was the most common girls, and even middle class families sent their girls into service. This is evidenced in themes in 18th century art. Sometimes the wages were paid directly to her parents. In most cases, it was a 24 hour jobs. There were often complaints of domestic girls being mistreated. There are plenty of court cases that evidence this. It was supposed to be for young women, as it offered her protection in theory, and part of the family household, and thus able to enjoy security with it.
