Women in the Formal and Informal Economies of Late Eighteenth-Century Quebec, 1763-1830

The author challenges the conventional interpretation of the transition from French to British rule in Quebec, which has emphasised the increasing marginalisation of women in the colonial economy. Using hitherto unexplored criminal and civil court records and newspaper advertisements, she reveals that women and in particular married women, both French- and English-speaking, were active in all facets of business life. Given the importance of imported British luxury items in the colonial economy following the American Revolution, the author argues that women occupied a particularly dynamic segment of business life in Quebec, and were especially prominent in the critical textile and fashion trades. The author shows the significance of informal trade networks in expanding economic development in the late eighteenth century, where women were demonstrably key players. She argues that the presence of women in both formal and informal economies goes far to locating Quebec in a burgeoning Atlantic economy, and to explaining the nature of consumer society in this new British colony.

Gender & History

Vol. 29

no. 1

104-123

April 2017

en