Role of Women in the 1500s

Women in the mid-1600s to mid-1700s underwent pivotal changes. While these changes would alter their roles in the colonies, certain aspects of their responsibilities remained the same.

This is a great source for women's roles. It is a great source because it lists off the many jobs women had when the colonist settled and and after they had been in Maryland for quite sometime. Although the jobs varied house hold to house hold because of social status this is a great representation of what type of jobs women would of had during the 1700s time

The Renaissance was a time of rebirth of old traditions, and in old traditions women’s role in society was very minimal. During times of the Renaissance women’s roles were often more suppressed than it once had been before. Many times women were looked off primarily her looks and social status. Another contributing factor of women’s role was how well she would be acquired to married life. Women were so suppressed in the Renaissance that many women joined convents to be able to have the ability to learn like the men were able to. Changes and continuities of women’s public roles during the Renaissance included social status, acquirement to marriage, and reduction of rights for women.

“ The belief that women were inherently inferior in intelligence, strength, and character was so persuasive that for men like Knox, a woman ruler was almost a contradiction in terms” (“Documents for Chapters 5&6”). In the 16th century, women were looked upon as a gender that should stay in the house and work, not have power and rule over a country. Discussing the govern of Queens during the 16th century, such as Mary Tudor, Lady Jane Grey, Mary, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I, allowed prejudices to be lessened but never completely be erased. No matter how these four notable ladies came into power, the accomplishments they overcame, achieved and wrote about proved to be great and substantial in making history as it is written today.

A woman in medieval times was not considered a person, but property. A woman would be forced to wear layers of drab clothing, the style determining their social class ranking. A woman of wealth would wear decadent gowns and women in poverty would wear plain spun dresses. Their goal in life was to find a husband, to give in to his whims and be the epitome of submission. Sometimes, peasant girls would be forced to take up a trade prior to marriage. After the marriage, she was forced to give up this trade, the skill she possessed, and either maintain the lifestyle as a housewife, or help her husband with his trade. In regards to whom a woman married, there was little to no choice in the matter. Often, girls were married to strange men, men they

In the mid to late 1700's, the women of the United States of America had practically no rights. When they were married, the men represented the family, and the woman could not do anything without consulting the men. Women were expected to be housewives, to raise their children, and thinking of a job in a factory was a dream that was never thought impossible. But, as years passed, women such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Elizabeth Blackwell

During the medieval times, women were not seen as they are today. Although in the world today there are still those who are full of misogyny, it was much more common and intense during this time period. Women during the middle ages had specific roles assigned to them in society. These roles depended on the type of women they were, whether it be a peasant, noble woman, or an evil temptress. These roles that women have served have shown up in numerous stories from the middle ages including: Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and The Wife’s Lament.

Prior to the American Revolution, women did not have the choice of having ownership of their own property. Whatever they had belonged to the husband, that was the head of her. “In her new status as feme covert, or woman covered, all that she owned became her husband’s property, even the clothes on her back. (Berkin, 5-6). In the 1760s, a women’s destiny was limited to marriage or spinsterhood. Their rights were much restricted. Women mainly predominately executed daily housewife activities such as scouring furniture, sowing, preparing a husband’s meal. “Her domain was the household, the garden, and the hen house…” (Berkin, 6). Roles differed depending on their social status and wealth, but overall women were not educated. If educated, it was finite to the basics. Men led the main role in economics, until the emergence of the American Revolution. Everything took a turn

The Renaissance, with took place in Italy and Northern Europe, inspired major changes in social life. Humanism, or the idea that men needed to educate themselves to be the best humans, was one of the reasons for these changes. They started going to schools and expressing themselves artistically, these new actions brought about the belief that men were superior. The assumed role of men during the Renaissance was to be dominant. They were to fight in battles and wars, hold a position for office, and do honor to their family name. In comparison, the roles of women were drastically different, they were submissive. It was thought that women should obey her husband and father, bear children, and not be educated, as many men were.

Women's lives and furthermore role in the public eye has changed radically during 1800s. The significance behind females was adjusted and affected within the nineteenth century in the political, economic, and social domains. Despite the fact that their social roles were not altered much, the progressivism, liberalism, and reforms of the period as well as impacts of Industrialization awarded women a considerably more critical role in the public arena and society as a whole. Within the social realm, their role differentiated in the nineteenth century, yet women were still to be subservient to men regardless.

In the winter of 1691 through 1692, some of the afflicted girls were with the house slave, Tituba, reportedly were playing with fortune telling techniques, such as a “Venus glass” in which the girls dropped an egg white into a glass of water so that a shape or symbol would take form to learn about their future husbands. The church was the cornerstone of life of the 17th century New

In the 17th Century, men and women were viewed and treated very unequally especially compared to today's time period. Of all factors in the hierarchical arrangement like class or race, gender was considered the most distinct of them all which caused it to be the most arguable. Men and women had their own rules and responsibilities that were given to them by what has always been traditionally practiced. Society created a box in a way, that each sex was to remain in and it was looked down upon for anyone to stray from that theoretical box.

For this assignment I decided to take a look at the roles of women in Tudor England. The era of Henry VIII has always been one of my favorite times in history to read and I have enjoyed many books on his life and those of his wives, the most tragic being that of Ann Boleyn, we have all heard the story of her life and how she arrested and executed. But what was life like for women during those times? What rights did women have?

As many would believe, women were thought and viewed to be inferior to men throughout history. Based on this, they were not seen as ones to take on the same important roles as men would in their societies like political jobs, warfare, influencer and innovators, and scientists. During the Medieval period, women rose and began defying the normal stereotypes, even more than usual, and were recognized by their actions. One woman was Margaret of Anjou, the queen consort of England. Margaret was the daughter of René of Anjou and the wife of Henry VI. Her home country France was at war against England and she was offered to King Henry VI as a peace treaty. Being a queen consort, she did not rule and was an asset to the king. When King Henry suffered from an illness, Margaret believed she was the one who should temporarily rule in his place. Unfortunately, title was given to the Duke of York. This occurrence caused a rivalry to emerge between the House of Lancaster and the House of York; This was called the War of the Roses as Lancaster wore red roses in battle and York wore white. The second woman is Lady Murasaki, a daughter of Fujiwara family and a Japanese novelist in the Heian period. She was very intelligent was a young girl and her father still allowed her to get an education despite it being unsuitable for girls. After the death of her husband, she went to court and wrote in a diary about the life she has in court and her thoughts. It is believed that Murasaki sensed that

During the 1500s, one woman prevailed in a society dominated by males. Queen Elizabeth I of England served for forty-four stable and prosperous years. She claimed the throne in 1558 and reigned until her death in 1603. Because of her strong leadership, this time period was known as England’s Golden Age or Elizabethan Era. Queen Elizabeth’s accomplishments were possible because of her educational background, Protestant upbringing, and unmarried status.