Leiden University Student Repository

Vries, Maayke Fenne de (2015)

Dutch and American Women Abolitionists: The Challenging of Prescribed Gender Roles 1840-1863

Master thesis | History (MA)

Women played a vital role during the anti-slavery campaigns in the United States and Great Britain in the nineteenth century. Their involvement pushed the boundaries of the prescribed gender roles of the time, as women were supposed to remain within the household sphere and abstain from any political involvement. Abolitionist women were also active in the Netherlands, such as the 129 women from Rotterdam who sent a petition to King Willem II in 1842. This thesis outlines how Dutch and American women abolitionists challenged the prescribed gender roles by publicly interfering with abolitionism.

Abolitionism

Domesticity

Gender Roles

Anti-Slavery

Author

Vries, Maayke Fenne de

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

MA Colonial and Global History

Supervisors

Janse, Maartje

ECTS Credits

30

Language

en