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Confessionalization
Confessionalization changed the way people thought about religion. Eventually, people began to use their rational thinking to accuse others of witchcraft. This began a witchhunt in which 200,000 Europeans were accused of being witches. Most of the people accused and executed were women. The diary of Nehemiah Wallington details the witch trials that he witnessed from December 1644 to June 1658. -
The Old Regime
The social order of the Old Regime was based on an assumption of inequality between classes. Status was defined by birth and women born into noble families could only advance their status through marriage. For this reason, many families tried to marry their daughters into wealthier families. William Hogarth's painting "The Marriage of Stephen Beckingham and Mary Cox," which depicts the wedding of Beckingham and Cox, is representative of the marriages that took place during this time. -
Enlightenment
Women played large social roles during the Enlightenment. In particular, Madame de Geoffrin was one of the most important female figures of the Age of Enlightenment. She actively involved herself by creating a public sphere from her salon, where ideas of the time were discussed, and taking up the role of mediator. In his memoirs, Baron de Grimm details the activities and discussions that took place at the salons of Madame de Geoffrin and Madame de Lespinasse, another salon hostess and mediator. -
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution marked a time of great technological innovation, but extremely poor living and working conditions. Men, women, and children worked for long hours each day, suffered from malnutrition, and lived in cramped, unsanitary spaces. In 1832, an investigation was conducted on the working conditions in the textile factories. A testimony given by 23-year-old Elizabeth Bentley revealed the appalling conditions of the labourers. -
Bloody Week
During what is now known as "Bloody Week" in May 1871, many women (called petroleuses) barricaded Place Blanche in an attempt to keep the Paris Commune in place. The image "Arrestation des incendiaires" by Charles Vernier in 1871 depicts the arrest of these petroleuses. -
World War I
When World War I broke out, most men in Europe were enlisted to serve at the war front. With the absence of the men on the home front, women assumed the men's roles, taking over their jobs in the factories. This photo, taken by Horace Nicholls at the Coventry Ordnance Works in the last year of the war, depicts the production of fuse heads. The vast majority of the factory workers pictured are women, which demonstrates the large role women played in the war effort at the home front.
