Migratory projects: women work and property in
familiar migrations (Turin, 18th Century)
The paper aims to investigate and highlight the role of married women
in the migration of low and middle class families in Eighteenth-century Turin.
A current commonplace in the literature assumes that men had a leading role
in migrations; allegedly, the husband acted as the family’s breadwinner, while
his wife (and children) merely followed him. Contrary to this assumption, this
paper demonstrates that married women played a crucial role in the achievement
of a migration project. Indeed, by means of their work, the employment of their
dowry, and their social relations, women actively contributed to the planning
of the migration and to the settlement process of their household in a new
environment.