Women's Movements in the Maritimes up to WWI - Essay Example

WOMEN IN MARITIME Order No. 234070 No. of pages: 11 Premium 6530 Maritime is traditionally a male dominated arena, dealing with “iron men and wooden ships”. A deep study of the subject throws up quite a few surprises. Earlier historical researches encompassed mainly the economic aspects of maritime, coupled with the technological advances that led to the maritime pursuits becoming an integral part of nations and continents. Historians, when they work in close association with sociologists, human geographers and anthropologist (J. Tunstall, (1962); A. P Cohen, (1987) have discerned that maritime history1 has a lot to say about the women who were left behind in the homes, either as mothers, wives, sisters or daughters of the brave sea-faring men. In this context, women have played a very brave, crucial or rather, an indispensable role in the maritime society. For centuries, it was considered to be a man’s prerogative, to venture forth and face nature, while women stayed at home, looking after the family and house. With the passage of time, changes in society slowly brought about a marked makeover from this home and hearth portrait of women and hence towards the middle of the nineteenth century, we see women taking a more active role in maritime affairs. Records show that some enterprising women set up their own shipping companies2, while others looked after the business in the absence of their husbands or fathers. (Journal for Maritime Research May 2006) A study of maritime history, which incorporates the cultural and social aspects, gives us a startling picture of women and their role in maritime societies. Earlier studies of maritime societies, mentioned women as incidental to the events or depicted only those who were exceptional in some way or the other; but all this has changed and efforts are being made to pull women out of the woodwork. One of the most important studies which brought the lives of maritime women into the limelight is Lisa Norling’s brilliant study entitled “Captain Ahab Had A Wife”. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000.) Seafarer’s Wives While the term maritime women refer to the female seamen, it is also an identification for the wives of men who go out to sea. The role of a seaman’s wife is absolutely different from that of an ordinary housewife. A seaman’s wife has to cope with long absences and short, intense visits in which the daily routine of her life has to be remodeled around the expectations and needs of her husbands. These women are engaged in a constant trade-off of their independence, which becomes cyclical, and dependent upon the husband’s stay, which in turn is dictated by the vagaries of the sea. It is a general conception, that wives of seamen are more independent by nature, “no -nonsense women.” This stereotype is re-affirmed by the fact that maritime wives get their confidence and resilience from the experiences of their seafaring lives. These women had to exhibit a certain amount of strength, because in these societies “women were backer’s up to the male work”. (D. Kirby and M.-L. Hinkkanen, The Baltic, p. 240.) Lisa Norling’s “Captain Ahab Had A Wife” This scholarly study is an in-depth analysis of the lives of the “Cape Horn widows”3 who stayed behind onshore, while their husbands trawled the seas in search of whales. The story starts in the town of Nantucket, a whale fishing community and then moves on to New Bedford, and in the process switching from a patriarchal lifestyle to the domestic bliss of Victorian culture. The book is compiled from the letters and diaries of the men and women who lived them, as well as ship records, Quaker and church records as also from the newspapers and magazine articles of the era. The book deals with the intimate details of the lives of the men and women, playing out their roles as assigned by a gender driven society. The fabric of their lives is torn apart by the various economic compulsions which keep the men at sea for months or sometimes even for a year, while the women are left to fend for themselves. In a society where “maritime paternalism” (p.35) was the order of the day, women and children often stayed with their parents in spite of being married. It also led to a constant changing of home and family configurations, since, upon the arrival of the husband after a voyage, the woman was expected to set up home in her husband’s house. This ordeal of constant reconfiguration was the result of the Quaker lifestyle which laid strong emphasis on the institution of marriage, and love. Thus “distance, time and ocean “ (P.112) were not a barrier for these men and women who were weaned on stories of love and trust along with liberal doses of the Quaker philosophy of a woman’s commitment to family and community, which kept the women from seeking alternate roles for themselves. These women are also called “deputy husband”4 since they performed the manly tasks of paying bills, taxes, settling the accounts when the husbands were away at sea. “Ahab’s wife” was a perfect amalgamation of the Quaker principle5, who fiercely guarded her home in the absence of her husband, and ran the small business to supplement their incomes, but never raised a voice against the patriarchal society (Volume LVII, Number 3 William and Mary Quarterly Review of Books, (2001) by Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture) It is worth remembering that the 18th and 19th centuries were periods of history where rapid colonization was taking place. Men left to conquer new worlds in their mighty ships, while their poor wives languished at home. The 1800’s were also a time when societal conventions were rigid and thus, a woman married to a seafaring man had it binding on herself to look after the house and stay faithful to her husband. The life of a maritime wife was a see-saw between marital visits and long periods of absence. The woman was expected to relinquish her role as the manager of the house to the husband who took up command, the moment he crossed the threshold into the house. This constant adjustment also had an impact on the children, who, in the absence of the father looked up to the mother, but now suddenly had to show love and respect to a person who was supposedly their father but was away for long periods of time. It is to the credit of these women, that marital harmony was observed with utmost care, in keeping with the traditions of the day. Land Girls ‘Land girls’ as these Maritime ladies are called has definitely left an impact on history that cannot be side- stepped or ignored. (Ann Kramer) According to historian Kramer, it was not for the fact that women were the ones doing all the work, or there were more women than men working on the farms, but our argument here is that the women were the ones wearing the trousers, while filling in for their men, who may or may not even come back home after the war. Their role in the family and in the society at large took on quite a different perspective for them. The way they viewed people and things, changed the lives of these land girls to a very great extent. Had they retaliated or opted for change, life could have been completely different for them. Sacrifices Made By Maritime Women The life of Maritime women was not a bed of roses at all; in fact it was a tough life, where these women had to make tremendous sacrifices. Some of the women who were nurses replaced men by doing farm or factory work. Those who were housewives and stayed at home to look after their children, lent support to their men in war by observing “meatless” days during the week. Mary Pickford, a movie star, lent solidarity by helping to sell some Liberty Bonds. Besides this, females who were suddenly forced to earn a living because their husbands did not return home from the war and needed the money to look after the family faced prejudice and stiff competition in the workplace. Another sore point for these women was that they were not allowed to vote. One could easily argue that the women should have stood up for themselves and fought for their rights. But we should take into consideration, that these women were so vulnerable in their position and had dedicated their lives to looking after their family and the house, that they took these misgivings in their stride and carried on their lives in a peaceful manner. Life was tough for the Maritime women, who besides handling the affairs of their home single- handedly had to also face the scarcity of provisions such as sugar, gas, chocolate, nylons, rubber and other goods, which were rationed in order to help the soldiers at war. Besides these commodities food was also scarce, which made their suffering worse. In 1918, the U.S and the rest of the world were badly hit by the influenza virus and the Maritime people were no exception. Though they were already a suffering lot, they had to deal with this sickness singlehandedly. Even though there was so much of suffering and pain faced by these women, they faced everything bravely, which is why that even today, their role during that difficult period is still remembered today. Support from the Domestic Front: The Home Spun Movement Besides managing their households, many women ventured out to work in the Home Spun movement. These women were highly patriotic and never purchased material imported from Britain. They continued their tradition of weaving and spun their own material which they made into clothing for the whole family. Besides weaving being an act of resistance, there were many other such acts which were used in retaliation. They denounced the use of luxuries like silks and satins and instead opted for home spun clothing. Besides showing their unity, the Home spun Movement was also a great help in supplying the much needed blankets and clothing to the Army. Other activities by Maritime women besides spinning were weaving and sewing. In their effort to contribute to the war front, many of the women collected contributions to show their solidarity and unity. Women in the NAVY The last century though, has seen women take on a more pro-active role in the area of maritime affairs. Women were inducted aboard ships, as workers, in the late1800’s. During this period, women from well-to-do families traveled to Europe, as a part of their coming-of-age ritual and they needed stewards and cooks to wait upon these well-heeled women, who would not be comfortable being looked after by men. Women also served as nurses in the navy from as far back as 1811. During the American Civil war, three sisters of the Holy Cross and six African-American women were allowed to board the Red Rover, a paddle wheeler, in order to nurse sick and wounded soldiers. Two of these nuns, Sister Veronica Scholl and Sister Adele Moran were in fact honored by the navy, as the forerunners to the modern navy nurse. By the time World War I took place, The Navy Nurse Corps, which was established in 1908, had about 446 nurses. The greatest step towards giving women a more prominent place in the navy had begun when the Navy Reserve Force Act, of 1917, granted permission for women to work and so they inducted about one hundred women as yeomen6. Although the yeomen performed mostly clerical duties, a male bastion had been stormed. The sailors often referred to these recruits as “yeomanettes” while officially they were designated as yeoman (F).The recruitment of women as yeomen was carried out, in order to free the men, so that they could be utilized on the battlefront. Women in Maritime throughout History Women have been historically depicted in maritime affairs as patient wives, who stayed back at home to keep the family together in the absence of the husband. This was certainly a true stereotype, but there have been women who have boldly ventured out to sea, sometimes disguised as men and other times as stubborn wives, who refused t stay back on shore while the husband went on seemingly endless voyages. One such incident took place in 1745, where an Englishwoman Hannah Snell disguised herself as a boy, took the name James Gray and joined the navy, spending a total of nine years at sea, when she eventually revealed her true identity. Similarly in 1759, Mary Lacy, took the name William Chandler and joined the HMS Sandwich as an assistant to the ship’s carpenter and learned much about ship-building. In the 1830’s women were often employed as lighthouse keepers, and there is a record of a lady named Kate Walker, being made keeper of Robbins Reef right on the death of her husband in 1886.There is also a record of Philomene Daniels who, at the age of 42 got her pilot’s license to run a steamboat, in the year 1890. Maritime businesswomen As has been previously discussed, women looked after the business interests of their husbands, while the latter were away at sea .This was done by way of paying taxes, keeping accounts etc., but some women were registered as owners of ships and shipyards and ran the business with great ability. Some of the most famous of them are Mrs. Frances Barnard, who ran a shipyard on the river Thames, employing more than 300 men. Her shipyard built ships for the East India Company and also the Napoleonic wars. The lives of Maritime women - be they wives or women working in official capacities in the navy, or for that matter on any kind of job away from the home- front, was not an easy one. The women were forced to conform to standardized ideals while in reality their lives were anything but normal. These women were the product of strict gender roles7 but had to take on the mantle of the man of the house in the absence of the husbands. It is to their credit that these women gave a marvelous account of their strong spirit in the face of the most trying circumstances. Maritime Navigation Many Maritime women have made great contributions to the field of navigation even while facing many odds. For example Martha J. Coston had invented the maritime signal flares which she based on pattern and color. She made use of different color combinations to send out communication signals from ship – to – ship and ship – to – shore. Her system of signals was sold for $5,000 to the U.S Navy through the recommendation of Captain and Senior Officer of the United States Navy C.S. McCauley, in 1859. Martha’s system was readily accepted and was adopted by the governments of Demark, France, Italy, Haiti and Netherlands. In the 1970’s Mrs. Coston who ran the Coston Supply Company had made a system of signal flares that were bright and long lasting and helped to revolutionize naval communication. This system continues to be used even today. There were also other maritime women who made commendable and notable contributions to the maritime industry of the 19th century and these include Mary Miller, licensed pilot; Ida Lewis, lighthouse keeper; and Mary Patten, clipper ship captain. Conclusion The world of the maritime women was one of struggle and pain. But yet the way they had lead their lives stand as striking examples of exemplary courage and steadfastness. All the women in the maritime, stand as role models for society today. They were women who were extremely patriotic in the face of all odds. They were dedicated to the family in as much they were dedicated to their country. Maritime today is a new experience which cannot be compared to anything in the past. Before World War II, the role of the Maritime woman was not only difficult but also a submissive one. Being totally dependent on their husbands both monetarily and emotionally, they were in a more vulnerable position when compared to women today. This makeover was brought about by a vision for giving women a better future, by making them independent to lead a life they chose to lead. A specialized agency of the United Nations, the “International Maritime Organization (IMO)8 has established, “The World Maritime University” to prepare women for development and progress in various sectors of Maritime. REFERENCES Volume LVII, Number 3 William and Mary Quarterly Review of Books  www.oieahc.wm.edu/wmq/Jul01/crane Maritime- Articles http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Sea/articles/hagmark.html Karl Laubstein President of WMU, November (2006) A Report on World Maritime University (WMU) -Women in Development. www.wmu.se/Archive/Documents/PDF/GlobalNetwork/Women_in_Development BOOK REFERENCES 1. L. Norling, Captain Ahab had a Wife: New England Women and the Whalefishery, 1720–1870 (Chapel Hill, 2000). 2. H. Hagmark, Women in Maritime Communities – A Socio-Historical Study of Continuity and Change in the Domestic Lives of Seafarers Wives in the Åland Islands, from 1930 into the New Millennium (unpublished University of Hull PhD thesis, 2003). 3. D. Kirby and M.-L. Hinkkanen, The Baltic, p. 240. 4. Clifford, Mary Louise and J. Candace. Women Who Kept the Lights: An Illustrated History of Female Lighthouse Keepers. Williamsburg, Virginia: Cypress Communications, 1993. Ann Kramer, Land girls and their impact - Found in – ‘Remember when.’ www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/?product_id=1709 Maritime Navigation www.fhwa.dot.gov/wit/maritime.htm Read More