Waifs, women and work: impoverished experiences in the Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon fisheries from the seventeenth- to the twentieth-centuries

Hoskins, Robynn Leigh (2022) Waifs, women and work: impoverished experiences in the Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon fisheries from the seventeenth- to the twentieth-centuries. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

In the broadest of terms, this thesis examines the historical salt cod fishery in Saint- Pierre-et-Miquelon through historical archaeological methods. However, the primary goal of this thesis is to assess the roles of men, women, and children in the historical French salt cod fishery throughout the lifecourse of the industry from the earliest days of migratory fishery in the seventeenth-century up to the transition to frozen factory fishing in the mid-twentieth-century. This thesis employs several theoretical frameworks such as intersectionality, the archaeology of gender, the archaeology of childhood, as well as socioeconomic theory in order to offer a perspective that is as close as possible to the reality of the people involved in the fishing industry. The archaeological collection used in this study is from Anse à Bertrand, a site located in the sheltered harbour of Saint- Pierre that had been used consistently throughout the course of the historical salt cod fishery. The theoretical concepts used in my analysis of this collection allow me to speak more poignantly regarding the way the collection related to age, gender, labour, and class. This thesis therefore not only examines the gendered, aged, and classed working roles of the salt cod fishery, but it also looks at how these roles intersect within the non-working aspects of people’s lives in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon in addition to the broader social functions and expectations that emerge within fishing communities in the Northwest Atlantic.

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