Abstract

How did the English and later British state understand women’s work in textile manufacturing at the start of the long eighteenth century? A close study of petitions, pamphlets, private correspondence and parliamentary journals suggests that English political economy was based on a much more complex economic understanding, particularly of women’s work, than has often been assumed, that attempted to sustain household incomes, regardless of who in the household was employed. Women played an active role in shaping the economic knowledge that formed the basis of state decision-making. At the same time, female consumers were attacked for buying ‘luxury’ textiles from overseas and undermining domestic employment. The need for manufacturing to provide employment to households that would otherwise be dependent on poor relief drove measures to restrict Irish woollen production, ban the export of raw wool, and restrict trade with India. Recognising the importance of household employment in British economic thinking helps explain the dominant position of textile manufacturing in shaping British political economy before the Industrial Revolution.