Introduction

Cities by their very size pose considerable problems for those who wish to understand their social structure. The present study involves a detailed examination of the household and familial patterns of the inhabitants of the south-east sector of Bruges at the end of the Napoleonic period. Bruges was chosen because it is known to have exhibited an extreme imbalance between the sexes, a situation that the Napoleonic Wars had only served to intensify. Yet although women heavily outnumbered men, such a situation was not at all uncommon in European cities. In some cases this was the product of the flooding in of domestic servants to serve in the households of wealthier masters. In others it was associated with a particularly important textile industry – in the case of Bruges, lacemaking. Yet although this occupation had co-existed with the surplus of women in Bruges over a long period, it would be precipitate to assume that lacemaking was the sole or even the principal cause of the city's population structure. As will be pointed out later, the case for direct movement into Bruges of women seeking employment as lacemakers is very difficult to establish.

Bruges's tradition of lacemaking can be said to be world-famous, but surprisingly little is known of the family circumstances of those who were engaged in this production. Lacemaking qualifies as one of those activities which have in recent years come to be termed ‘protoindustrial’.