Women and Crime in Early Modern Holland

Erscheinungsjahr 2016
ISBN: 978-90-04-31411-5
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 1, 182 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 239 mm, Gewicht: 408 g

Reihe: Crime and City in History

Crime is men’s business, isn’t it? Women are responsible for 10 percent of crime in Europe. Yet, if we look at the Dutch Republic in the early modern period, we find that in the towns of Holland women played a much larger role in crime. In a number of early modern towns about half of the criminals convicted in court were women. These women were in vulnerable positions and thus more likely to become involved in crime. They also had a relatively independent status and led remarkably public lives. Manon van der Heijden convincingly shows that it is the very combination of women’s vulnerability and independence that accounts for the high female crime rates in Holland between 1600 and 1800.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Heijden, Manon van der

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Stadt- und Regionalsoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Kriminalsoziologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gender Studies, Geschlechtersoziologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Series Editors’ Preface. vii
Preface. ix
List of Graphs, Tables and Figures. xi

1 Research on Criminal Women in Holland from 1550 to 1800. 1
Crime Figures in the Early Modern Period. 2
Explanations for Female Crime. 9
The Criminal Woman Vanishes. 13
The Special Position of Holland. 17

2 Crime and Punishment. 24
Serious Crimes. 25
Administration of Justice. 28
Criminal Procedure. 32
Settlements with the Public Prosecutor. 35
Sentencing. 38
Reporting Crime and Chances of Arrest. 44
The Importance of Honor and Reputation. 46

3 Infanticide. 48
Prosecution for Infanticide. 51
Unwed Motherhood. 56
Money and Honor. 58
Driven by Desperation. 60

4 Women and Petty Theft. 62
Diffferences between Men and Women. 63
A Consumer Revolution in Theft. 69
Poverty as a Motive for Theft. 72

5 Aggressive Women in the Neighborhood. 77
Violence: A Male Crime?. 78
Statistics on Women and Violence. 82
Patterns of Violence by Women. 87
A Public Life. 91

6 Promiscuous Women. 98
What are Sexual Offfenses?. 99
Legislation. 103
Carnal Intercourse. 106
Cohabitation. 110
Compelled by Circumstances. 111
Adultery. 113
The Hard Lives of Sailors’ Wives. 119
Outside Assistance. 122

7 Against Authority. 128
Women’s Role in Unrest. 129
Begging. 135
Tax Evasion. 138

8 Victim or Perpetrator?. 140
Rape and Assault. 141
Incest. 148
Domestic Violence. 152

Conclusions. 160

Bibliography. 165
Index. 178

Über Autor(innen)

Manon van der Heijden, Ph.D. (1998), Leiden University, is Professor of Comparative Urban History. She has published several monographs on early modern urban history and many articles on marriage law, public services, and crime and justice.