'From This Common Collaboration': Married Women and Economic Enterprise in Quebec Under the British Regime, c.1763-1820.

This article draws on evidence from the voluminous criminal and civil legal archives of Quebec between 1760 and 1820 to present the dynamic economic activity of married women in an expanding colonial economy. This stands as an alternative to histories which have seen women's entrepreneurship confined to single women or widows. It argues that despite the hybridity that developed between British and French legal systems, which some historians have argued confined women to traditional roles, this colonial society was characterised by a dual-income model of the household, where married women were strategically able to utilise their roles within the marital economy to carve out relatively independent existences as entrepreneurs, enmeshed in ligaments of credit and debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cultural & Social History is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)