Women and Inheritance in Nineteenth-Century Newfoundland
This paper tests the idea that concepts of property in English common law favoured male heirs in the primogeniture system of land inheritance and disadvantaged women upon marriage. A case study of wills in nineteenth-century Newfoundland demonstrates that instead of strict adherence to centuries of...
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2002
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fterudit:oai:erudit.org:031151ar 2023-05-15T17:19:55+02:00 Women and Inheritance in Nineteenth-Century Newfoundland Johnson, Trudi 2002 http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/031151ar https://doi.org/10.7202/031151ar en eng The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada Érudit Journal of the Canadian Historical Association vol. 13 no. 1 (2002) http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/031151ar doi:10.7202/031151ar All rights reserved © The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada, 2003 text 2002 fterudit https://doi.org/10.7202/031151ar 2021-09-18T23:22:29Z This paper tests the idea that concepts of property in English common law favoured male heirs in the primogeniture system of land inheritance and disadvantaged women upon marriage. A case study of wills in nineteenth-century Newfoundland demonstrates that instead of strict adherence to centuries of common-law tradition, both men and women in Newfoundland were more concerned with the support and maintenance of the family under the unique conditions of the Newfoundland economy. The male line of descent was subordinated to the immediate and long-term needs of the family through more egalitarian inheritance practices. These practices in tum sustained a mat rimonial property system that well pre-dated legislation to protect married women's property. Trudi Johnson vérifie ici l'hypothèse selon laquelle les concepts de propriété et la succession par ordre de primogeniture, tels que définis par le common law anglais, favorisaient les héritiers mâles et désavantageaient les femmes lorsqu'elles se mariaient. En étudiant les testaments faits à Terre-Neuve au XIXe siècle, l’auteure constate que les conditions économiques particulières de la colonie ont amené ses habitants à ne pas scrupuleusement respecter certaines traditions juridiques séculaires lorsque le bien-être de leur famille était enjeu. Comme tout était subordonné aux besoins immédiats et à long terme de la famille, il arrivait que l'on contournât la ligne d'hérédité mâle au profit des femmes, ce qui donnait lieu à des pratiques de succession plus égalitaires. Ces pratiques, à leur tour, contribuèrent à la mise en place d'un système de propriété matrimonial, et ce, bien avant que l'on adopte des lois pour protéger la propriété des femmes mariées. Text Newfoundland Terre-Neuve Érudit.org (Université Montréal) Journal of the Canadian Historical Association 13 1 1 22 |
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This paper tests the idea that concepts of property in English common law favoured male heirs in the primogeniture system of land inheritance and disadvantaged women upon marriage. A case study of wills in nineteenth-century Newfoundland demonstrates that instead of strict adherence to centuries of common-law tradition, both men and women in Newfoundland were more concerned with the support and maintenance of the family under the unique conditions of the Newfoundland economy. The male line of descent was subordinated to the immediate and long-term needs of the family through more egalitarian inheritance practices. These practices in tum sustained a mat rimonial property system that well pre-dated legislation to protect married women's property. Trudi Johnson vérifie ici l'hypothèse selon laquelle les concepts de propriété et la succession par ordre de primogeniture, tels que définis par le common law anglais, favorisaient les héritiers mâles et désavantageaient les femmes lorsqu'elles se mariaient. En étudiant les testaments faits à Terre-Neuve au XIXe siècle, l’auteure constate que les conditions économiques particulières de la colonie ont amené ses habitants à ne pas scrupuleusement respecter certaines traditions juridiques séculaires lorsque le bien-être de leur famille était enjeu. Comme tout était subordonné aux besoins immédiats et à long terme de la famille, il arrivait que l'on contournât la ligne d'hérédité mâle au profit des femmes, ce qui donnait lieu à des pratiques de succession plus égalitaires. Ces pratiques, à leur tour, contribuèrent à la mise en place d'un système de propriété matrimonial, et ce, bien avant que l'on adopte des lois pour protéger la propriété des femmes mariées. |
format |
Text |
author |
Johnson, Trudi |
spellingShingle |
Johnson, Trudi Women and Inheritance in Nineteenth-Century Newfoundland |
author_facet |
Johnson, Trudi |
author_sort |
Johnson, Trudi |
title |
Women and Inheritance in Nineteenth-Century Newfoundland |
title_short |
Women and Inheritance in Nineteenth-Century Newfoundland |
title_full |
Women and Inheritance in Nineteenth-Century Newfoundland |
title_fullStr |
Women and Inheritance in Nineteenth-Century Newfoundland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Women and Inheritance in Nineteenth-Century Newfoundland |
title_sort |
women and inheritance in nineteenth-century newfoundland |
publisher |
The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/031151ar https://doi.org/10.7202/031151ar |
genre |
Newfoundland Terre-Neuve |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland Terre-Neuve |
op_relation |
Journal of the Canadian Historical Association vol. 13 no. 1 (2002) http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/031151ar doi:10.7202/031151ar |
op_rights |
All rights reserved © The Canadian Historical Association/La Société historique du Canada, 2003 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7202/031151ar |
container_title |
Journal of the Canadian Historical Association |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
1 |
op_container_end_page |
22 |
_version_ |
1766096312535613440 |