Households and families between home industry and Manufaktur: case study of Burtscheid (Aachen) 1812

Abstract

The article deals with the structures of the labor market in the textile region of Aachen at the beginning of the 19th century, particularly in the community of Burtscheid. There the dominant type of entrepreneur had to avoid conflicts with the Aachen guild. The Aachen region was important for Burtscheid not only for trade but also for supplying food to the growing industrial population in the community. Moreover, Aachen provided numerous welfare institutions, which, according to the economic situation, were used by the poor and unemployed of Burtscheid, which had no such institutions of this kind. The question of whether the relationships between Aachen and Burtscheid had an impact on the specific development of household and family in the latter is the subject of the present investigation. The findings are provisional and partly contradictory. Further comparative consideration of different economic and social conditions within the region is required.