Hon som hadde øl å selle. En studie av selvstendig næringsdrivende kvinner bosatt i Strandgaten og Store Markevei i 1865 og 1900

Abstract

Abstract Female entrepreneurs have existed alongside men for centuries. Despite a large selection of source material, historians have to some extent failed to exploit this topic. Female entrepreneurs have therefore often been overlooked or forgotten. In the context of the "discovery of women" in the 1970s historians started including women as historical actors. After 1970 a number of contributions from Norwegian historians helped to refute earlier claims about women and business where they had been assigned a passive spectator role. However, the main focus of these new contributions is the capital, Oslo. This thesis argues that female entrepreneurs were a common sight in Bergen. The dissertation is limited to address women living in Strandgaten and Store Markevei in 1865 and 1900. My source material consists of censuses, protocols for tax and wealth, genealogy books, letters and pictures. My method is a micro-study of the streets, where I first examine them individually in 1865 and 1900, and then compare the findings. What was the scale of female entrepreneurs living in Strandgaten and Store Markevei in Bergen in 1865 and 1900? Who were these women? What type of businesses did they run? This refers to the collection of data concerning age, marital status, place of birth, home-based children, employment, taxable income and wealth of the individual women.