Bankrupt widows. Gendered features of merchant business and bankruptcy in late pre-industrial society

Abstract

Bankruptcy has never treated people equally, and it still bares many gendered features today. In pre-industrial societies there were only a few bankrupt women debtors, and those who did go bankrupt were typically widows, who could continue their husband’s business and become commercially and legally independent. This article builds on a micro-historical case study of two Finnish merchant widows who eventually went bankrupt, with the aim of investigating the gendered features of trading business and bankruptcy, and what it meant to be a female debtor in the late pre-industrial society. The choices they had in these life cycle crises of losing a husband and insolvency are also examined. The article demonstrates that widows did business with a level of self-determination almost equal to men, but this meant they were held responsible when problems arose. Being a woman and a widow were not sufficient reasons to save a debtor from a lifetime of repayment liability, even though the widows appealed in the hope of achieving this. The article highlights that the widows felt compelled to continue the business independently, and that for women bankrupts, especially those who were older, family ties were particularly important when coping with bankruptcy.