Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Federici - Caliban and The Witch - Women, The Body and Primitive Accumulation
Federici - Caliban and The Witch - Women, The Body and Primitive Accumulation
I:isr PhdscLlfCapitalivnl.
My interestil this researchwasoriginally rnotivatedby rhe debatesdrat accompenicd the developmentof the FeruinistMovement in the United Statesconcerniugthe
which thc' urovenrenrshould
rootsof rvomen's"oppression,"and rhe political srretegres
rdopt rn the strupglefor wotneni liberation.Atthe time,the leadingrheoreticaland politicllpcnpectivesfrom which the realiryofsexual discriminationwx analyzedwere those
proposedby the two main branchesof rhe wonteni rttoventelt: rhe Radical Feninisrs
rud rhc SocialistFeminiss.In rny view,however,neither provideda satisfactoryexplanation of the roots of the soci:rland economic exploitation of wollen. I objectedto the
RadicalFenrinistsbecauseof their tendencyto account for sexualdiscrinrinationand
patriarch:rlrule on the basisof traushisrorica.l
cultural structures,presutrrablyopenting
by contnst, recogirrdependcndyofrelationsofproducrion and class.SocielistFeminists,
nizedthat the history ofwomen cannotbe separated
from rhe history ofspecific systems
ofexploitationand,in their analyses,
gavepriority to wonren asworkersiIr capitdistsociety.llut the linit ofrheir positiou,in my understandinpg
ofit at the tinre,wasthat it failed
to acknowledgethe sphereof rcproductiouasa sourceof vdue-cn'ation and exploitation, and thus traced the roos of the power diferential betwc'enwouren and nren to
wonrcn'sexclusionfronr capitalistdevelopnrent- a standwhich againcottrpelledus to
rc'lyon culturalschemesto accountfor the survivalofsexisnrwithitr the univcrseofcapitalistrelations.
It wasin this contcxt drat the idea oftrrcing the history ofwourcn in the transrttotr frorrrfeudalismto capirdisnrtook forur.The thesiswhich iuspircdthis rcsearchwas
first articulatedby MariarcsaDelh Costa and SeLnaJames,aswc'll as other activistsin
rhc WagesFor Housework Movenrent,in a setofdocunrentsthrt iIr the 1970swere very
c()Drroversial,
but eventuallyreshapcdthe discourseon worDen,reproduction,and capitalisnr.Thenrost influential nong thenr were MariarosaDalla Costai lli,ntn dnd the
Subwtsion
of the Comnunity(1971),rnd SeltnaJanres'S.:!, R.r. .rr.t C/,rss(1975).
I Preface
Agarnstthe Marxist orthodoxy'which explainedwomen's"oppression"and subordination to men asa residuumoffeudel relations,Dalla CostaandJamesarguedthat
the exploitation of women has played a central function in the processof capitdist
accumulation,insofar aswomen havebeen the producersand reproducersofthe most
essentialcapitalistcommodity: labor-power.As Dalla Costa put it, woment unpaid
labor in the home hasbeen the pillar upon which the exploitation ofthe wagedworken,"wage slavery,"hasbeen built, and the secretofits productivity (1972:31)'Thus'the
power differentialbetween women and men in capitalistsocietry cannot be attibuted
to the irrelevanceofhousework for capitalistaccumulation- an irrelevancebelied by
the sFict rules that have governed women's lives - nor to the survival of timeless cultural schemes.Rather, it should be interpteted asthe effect of a social systemofproduction that does not recoppizethe production and reproduction of the worker asa
social-economicactiviw, and a sourceof capitalaccumulation'but mystifiesit instead
asa naturalresourceor a personalservice,while pro6ting from the wagelesscondition
of the labor involved.
By rooting the exploitation ofwomen in capitdist socieryin the sexualdivision
oflabor endwomen! unpaidwork, Ddla CostaandJamesshowedthe possibiliryoftnnscending the dichotomy between patriarchy and class,and gavepatriarchy a specific historical content.They alsoopenedthe way for a reinterptetationofthe history of capitalism and clas struggleftom a feminist viewpoint
It wasin this spirit that Leopoldina Fortunati and I bcgan to study what can only
be euphemistically described asthe "transition to capitdism," and began to searchfor a
history that we had not been teught in school'but provedto be decisivefor our education.ihis history not only offereda theoreticalunderstandingofthe genesisofhousework in its main structural components: the separation of production liom reproduction, the specifically capitalist use of the wage to command the labor ofthe unwage4
and the derzluation ofwomen! social position with the advent ofcapitalism lt dso provided a genealogyofthe modern concepts offenininity and masculinity that chdlenged
the posimodern essumPtionof an almost ontological predisposition in "Western
Culture" to capto.e gerrier th-ugh binary oppositions' Sexual hierarchies' we foun4
are a.lwaysat the service ofa project of domination that can sustainitselfot y by dividing, on a continuously renewed basis,those it intends to rule'
The book that resulted ftom this rse arch' II GrandeCalibano:sto a delcorpowciolc
ribellenellapimaJasedelcapitale(1984) 'w:s an attempt to rcthink Marx's analysisofprirnitive accumulation fiom a feminist viewpoint. But in this Process,the received Marxian
categoriesproved inadequate.Among the casualtieswasthe Marxian identification ofcapitalJm witi the advent of wage labor and the "free" laborer, which contributes to hi&
and naturalize the sphere of reproduction 11GtandeCalibanowzs dso critical of Michel
Foucault! theory of the body; aswe argued' Foucaultt anallsis ofthe power techniques
and disciplines to which the body hasbeen subjected hasignored the processof reproduction, Ls coltapsedfemale and male histories into an undiferentiated whole, and has
been so disinterestedin the "disciplining ' of women that it never mentiors one of the
most monsfiuousattackson the body perpetratedin the modern era:t}le witch-hunt'
The main thesisin Il CtandeCalibanowx that in order to understandthe history
of women in the transition liom feudalism to caDitalism,we must analyze the changes
PrefaceI
hasintroduced in the prccessofsocial reproductionand, especially,
the
rhat capital,is6
oflabor-power.Thus,
the
book
examined
the
reorganization
ofhousework,
,gproduciion
63nrilylife, child-nising, sexualiry,male-femde relations, and the relation between producdon and reproductionin 16thand l7th-century Europe.This analysisis reproduced
in ColibanandtheWitdr;however,the scopeofthe presentvolume difers from that ofll
Cnnde Calibano,asit respondsto a dilGrent socialcontext and to our growing knowledgeof women'shistorY.
Shordy after the publication of Il CrandeCalibaro,I left the United Statesand
took a teachingposition in Nigeria, where I remainedfor nearlythreeyears.Beforeleaving,I had buried my papersin a cellar,not expectingthat I should need them for some
time. But the circumstancesofmy stay in Nigeria did not allow me to forget this work.
The yearsbetween 1984 end 1986 were e turning point for Nigeria, asfor most Afiican
countries.Thesewere the yearswhen, in responseto the debt crisis,the Nigerian governmentengagedin negotiationswith the Internationd Monetary Fund and the Wodd
Bank,which eventuallyresultedin the adoption ofa StructuralAdjusnnentProgram,the
World Bank'sunivenal recipe for economic recoveryacrossthe planet.
The declaredpurposeof the program was to make Nigeria competitive on the
internarionalmarket.But it wassoon apparentthat this involved e new round of primitive accumulation,and a rationalizationof socialreproduction aimed at destroyingthe
lastvestigesofcomrnunal properry and communiry relations,and therebyimposemore
intenseforms oflabor exploitation.Thus, I sawunfolding under my eyesprocesses
very
sinrilar to those that I had studied in preparation for 11Crande Calibano,Anong them
werethe attackon communal lands,and a decisiveintervention by the State(instigated
byWorld Bank) in the reproductionofthe work-force:to regulateprocleationrates,and,
in this case,reducethe sizeofa population that wasdeemedtoo demandingand indisciplinedfrom the viewpoint of is ptospectedinsertion in the globa.leconomy.Along ,
with thesepolicies,apdy namedthe "WarAgainst Indiscipline,"I alsowitnessedthe fueling ofa misogynouscampaigndenouncingwomen'slaniry and excessive
demands,and
the development ofa heated debate similar, in many respects,t o the 17th cencuryquerelles
desJenmes,touching on every aspectof the reproduction of labor-power: the femily
$olygamousvs.monogamous,nuclearvs.extended),child-raising,women! work, male
andfemaleidentiry and relations.
In this context,my work on the tnruition took on a new meaning.In Nigeria I
tealized that the struggle against strucnrnl adjusonent is part of a long struggle lgairst
landprivatizationand the"enclosure"not only ofcommunal landsbut alsoofsocial relatronsthat stretchesback to the origin ofcapiulism in 16rh-centuryEurope andAmerica.
I-also realized how limited is the -victory that the capitalist wo*-discipline has won on
this planet, and how many people sti.ll seetheir lives in ways radica.llyantagonistic to the
requiremens ofcapitalist production. For the developers,the multinational agenciesand
toreign investors,this was and remains the problem with placeslike
Nigeria. But for me
It wasa source ofgrcat strength, asit proved that, worldwide,
formidable forces still conkastthe impositionofa way ofliG conceivedonly in capitalistternx.The strengthI gained
wasa.lsodue to my encounterwith Women in Nigeria (WIITI),the countryt 6nt
femiftst organization,which enabledme to better undentand the strugglesthat Nigerian
women havebeen making to defend their rcsourcesand to refusethe new model ofpatri-
I Preface
Introduction
SinceMarx, studying the genesisofcapitalism basbeen an obligatory step for activistsand
scholarsconvinced that the fint task on humaniry's agenda is the construction of an
dternative to capialist sociery Not surprisingly, every new revolutionary movement has
returnedto the "nansition to capialism,"bringing to it dre penpectivesofnew socialrubjecs
This volume is conceived
and uncoveringnew groundsof exploitation and resistance.l
paticular
have motireted this work.
within this tradition, but two considerationsin
Fint, there has been the desire to rcthink the development of capitalism ftom a
feminist viewpoint, while, at the same time, avoiding the limis of a "women! history"
separatedfrom that of the mde part of the working class.The dtle, Calibanand theWtch,
inspired by ShakespearelThe Temryst,reflecs this effort. In my interpretation, however,
Caliban represens not only the anti-colonial rebel whose struggle still resonatesin
contempomry Caribbean literature, but is a syrnbol for the world poleariat and, more
specifically,for the proletarian body asa terrein and irxtrument of resistanceto the logic
of capitalism.Most imporant, the 6gure of the witch, who in The Ttmpestis confrned
to a remote backgrcund, in this volume is placed at the center-stage,asthe embodiment
ofa world of Gmale subjecs that capitalism had to destroy: the heretic, the healer, the
disobedient wife, the woman who dared to live alone, the obeha woman who poisoned
the mastert food and inspired the davesto revolt.
The second motiretion behind this volume has been the worldwide return, with
the new globalexpansionofcapitalist relation5,ofa setofphenomena usuallyassociated
with the genesisof capitalism.Among them are a new rcund of"enclosures" that have
expropriated millions of agricultural ptoducets ftom their land, and the mass
pauperization and criminalization of workers, thtough a poliry of rnassincarcention
tecallingthe "Great Confinement" describedbv Michel Foucau.ltin his srudvofhistorv
of madness.We have also witnesed the *o.ld*id. development of new diasporic
movements accompanied by the penecution of migrant worken, again reminiscent of
"Bloody Laws" that were inrroduced in 16rh and 17th-centuryEurope to make
Lhe
vagabonds"availablefor local exploitation.Most important for this book hasbeen the
rntensificationof violence
*o-.n, including, in some countries (e.g.. South
"gr^,
and Brazil), the return
of
wicch-huntins.
^rlca
Why, after 500 yearsof capital! rule, ar ihe beginning of the third mrllennium,
arc wo.ken on a massscalestill de6ned aspaupen, witches, and outlaws? How are land
t2
l3
tCaliban arul theWitth builds upon these worts, rs on dre snrdics conained within
Il Crande Calibano (r work I discussin the Preface). Hou,cver, is historicd scop is
broader, asthe book connecs the development of capitdism, on onc side,to the socid
srrugles and the rproduction crisis ofthe late feudd period an4 on the other, to what
Marx defnes asthe "formation of the prolcariat." In this procesr,the book addresscs1
number ofhistodcal and methodologicd questions that heve been at the center ofthe
debate on womcn's history and feminist theory
The most important historicd question addressedby the book is how to account
for the e:<ecutionofhundreds ofthousands of"witches" at the bcginning ofthe modcrn
en, and how to cxplain why the rise ofcapialism wascoerd with a war againstwomcn.
Fcminist scholarshave dcveloped a Famework drat throws much light on this question.
It is generally agced that the witch-hunt aimed at destroying the control tlrat womcn
had e:<ercisedover their reprcductive function and servedto pavc the way for the development ofa more opptessivepatriarchal regirne. It is dso argued that the witch-hunt was
rooted in the social tnnsformations that accompanied the risc ofcapitdism. But dre s1ecfic historical circumsanccs under which the persecution ofwitches wasunleashcd,and
the rersonswhy the rise ofcapitalism demanded a genocidal attack on women have not
been investigated.This is the task I ake on in Colibanand theWitth, asI bcgin to analpc
the witch-hunt in the context of the demographic and economic crisis ofthe 166 rnd
lTth centudes, and the land and labor policies of the mercentilist en. My work herc it
only a sketch of thc rescarchthat would be nccessaryto clari$ thc connections I herrc
mentioned, and especidly thc relation between the witch-hunt and the contemponry
development ofa new sexud division oflabor, confning womcn to reproductirc wodr.
It is suffcient, howeveq to demonstrate dut the penecution of witches (like the dave
trade and the enclosures)was a ccntra.laspectofdte accumulation and formation ofthe
modern proleariat, in Europe aswell asin the "New World."
There ate othet ways in whtch Calibanatd theWth speaksto "womenl history"
and feminist thcory First, it confrms that "the trrnsition to capitalism" is a test casefor
Gminist theory asthe rcdcfinition ofpoductive and rcproductive tasksand ma.le-Gmalc
relations that we 6nd in this period, both rcalized with the maximum ofviolence and
sate intervention,lcaveno doubt concerning thc constructedcharacterofsexual rolcr
in capitalist sociery The andysis I propose also dlows us to trarucend the dichotomy
between "gender" and "class."lfit is true that in capitalist sociery sexud identity bccamc
the carrier of spccifc work-functions, then gender should not be considered a purcly
clltural rcaliry,but should be treated asa specification ofclass relations. From this vicwpoint, the debatcs that havc taken place among postrnodcrn feminiss concerning the
need to disposc of"women" as a category of analysis,and dc6nc ferninism purcly in
oppositiond terms, have been misguided.To rcphnse the point I already nude:if"femininity" has been constituted in capitdist society asa work-function masking the production of the work-force under the cover of a biological destiny, then "women's history" is "classhistory," and the question that hasto be askedis whether t}le sexud division
oflabor that haspmduced that panicular concept hasbeen transccnded.lf the answer
is a negative one (as it must be when we consider the prescnt organiation of reprcductive labor), then "women" is a legitirnatc category ofanalysis, and the activities associated with "reproduction" remain a crucial ground ofstruggle fot women, asthey werc
l/r
l5
t "-***"
to go beyond these dternatives? I believe it cen.With rcgad to the feminist approach,
our fnt step should be to document tlle social and historic conditions under which drc
body hasbecome a central element and the defining sphereofactivity for the corutitution of Gmininiry. Along these lines, Cdlibdnd d thewitch shou'sthat the body hasbeen
for women in capitdist society what the factory has been for mde waged worken: thc
primary ground oftheir exploiation and resistance,asthe female body hasbeen appm'
priated by the stateand men and forced to function asa meansfor the reproduction and
accumulation oflabor.Thus, the importence which the body in all its aspecs - maternity, childbirth, sexualiry- hasacquired in feminist theory and women's history hasnot
been misplaced. Caliban and theWtch also confrms the fcminist iruight which refusesto
identi$ the body with the sphere ofthe private and, in this vein, speaksof"body politics." Funher, it explains how the body can be for women both a source ofidentity and
at the sametime a prison, and why it is so important for feminiss and, at the sametirng
so problematic to rzlorize it.
As for Foucault's theory, the history of primitive accumulation offers many
counter-examples to it, proving that it can be defended only at the price ofoutstanding
historicalomissions.Themost obvious is the omissionofthe witch-hunt and the discourse ofdemonology in his analysisofthe disciplining ofthc body. Undoubtedly, they
would haveinspired diferent conclusions had they been included. For both demonstnte
the repressivecharecter ofthe power that was unleashedagarnstwomen, and the implausibfity ofthe compLicity and role-revenal that Foucault inagines to exist between victims and their penecutorsin his desciiption ofthe dynamic ofmicro-powen.
A studyofthe witch-hunt alsochallengesFoucaultl theory concerningthe development of"bio-power," stripping it of the mystery by which Foucault surrcundsthe
emergence of this regime. Foucault registers the sbift - presumably in 18th-cenhrry
Europe - from a type of power built on the right to kill, to a different one exercised
thrcugh the adninistration and promotion ofliG-forces, such aspopulation grcwth; but
he offers no clues as to is motivations.Yet, if wc place this shift in the context of the
rise of capitalism the puzde vanishes,for the ptomotion of liG-forces turns out to be
nothing more than the result ofa new concern with the accumulationand reproduction of labor-power. We can also see that the promotion of population growth by the
state can go hand in hand with a massivedestruction oflifei for in many historical circutnstances- witness the history ofthe slavetrade - one is a condition for the other.
Indeed, in a q'stem where life is subordinated to the production ofprofit, the eccumulation oflabor-power can only be achieved with the maximum of violence so that, in
Maria Mies' words,violence itself becomesthe most productiveforce.
In conclusion, what Foucault would have learned had he studied the witch-hunt,
rather than focusing on the pastoral confession,in his Hr'sroryo/ Sexuality(1978),is tbx
such history cannot be wdtten from the viewpoint ofa universal, abstract,asexualsubject. Further, he would have recognized that torture and death can be placed at the sewice of"liG" or, better,at the serviceofthe production oflabor-power, sincethe god of
capitalist society is to traruform life into the capacity to work and "dead labor."
From this viewpoint, prirnitive accumulationhasbeena univenal processin every
phaseofcapitalist development. Not accidentally,is origind historical exemplar hassedimented strategiesthat, in di$erent ways, have been re-launched in the face of every
l6
the exploitation
gvrjor capitalistcrisis,servingto cheapenthe cost oflabor and to hide
anclColorualsuDJec6.
^fwomen
This is what occurred in the 19tbcentury when the responsesto the rise ofsocialCommune, and che.accurnulation crisis of 1873 were the "Scrrmble for
i5rn,the Paris
'Aftir""
the simultaneouscreation in Europe of the nuclear family, centered on the
^nd
dependenceofwomen co men - following the expulsion ofwomen Gom the
"L.,nomic
global expansion ofthe
]*asej work-place.This is also whar is happening today,asa new
anti-colonid struggle,
clock
with
respect
to
the
ro
set
back
the
hb-or-marketis attempting
feminisB,
blue
collar
worken - who'
subjecs
students,
rebel
the .t-ggl"t ofother
"nd 1960sand 1970s,undermined the sexud and international division oflabor.
in the
It is not surprising,then, iflarge-scaleviolence and endavementhavebeen on the
"transition," with the difference that today the
isenda, asthey were in the period ofthe
\Vorld
Bank and the International Monetary Fund,
ofthe
c-ooquistadonare the officen
preaching
the
worth
ofa
Penny to the samepopulationswhich the domiwho are still
have
for
centuries
robbed
and pauperized.Once again,much ofthe
nantworld powen
against
women,
for in the ageofthe computer,the conviolenceunleashedis dirccted
precondition
for
body
is
still
a
the accumulation oflabor and wealth,
ouestofthe fernde
the
institutiond
investment
in
the developmentof new reproducu demonstratedby
reduce
women to wombs,
tive technologiesthat,more than ever,
Also the "feminization ofpoverty" that hasaccompaniedthe spreadofglobalization acquiresa new significance when we recall that this was the first eflect ofthe developmentofcapitalism on the lives ofwomen.
Indeed,the political lessonthat we can learn from Calibanand theWith is thai czp'
italism, asa social-economic system,is necessarilycommitted to racism and seism. For
capitalismmust justify and mystify the contradictions built into is social relations - the
pmmiseoffreedom vs.the realiry of widespreadcoercion,and the prcmise ofprosperity vs.therealityofwidespreadpenury-by denignting the "ruture" ofthose it explois:
women, colonial subjects,the descendans ofAfrican slaves,the immigrants displacedby
globalization.
At the core of capitalism there is not or y the syrnbiotic relation between wagedcontractuallabor and enslavementbut, togetherwith it, the dialecticsof accumulation
anddestructionoflabor-power,for which women havepaid the highestcost,with their
bodies,their work, their lives.
It is impossible therefore to associatecapitalism with any form of liberation or
aftributethe longeviry ofthe sy*em to its capacityto satisfyhuman needs,Ifcapitalism
hu been ableto reorcduceirself it is onlv becauseofthe web ofineoualities that it has
built into the body of the world prolerariat,and becauseof is capaciryto globalize
exploitation.Thisprocessis still unfolding under our eyes,asit hasfor the last500 yean.
The differenceis that today the rcsistanceto it hasalsoachieveda global dimeruion.
L7
l En d n ot s
The study ofthe tnrsition to capitalism base long history which not accidenally
coincides with that of the main political movemens of dris century. Marxist historians such asMaurice Dobb, Rodney Hilton, Christopher Hill rvisited $e "ttrnsition" in the 1940sand 1950s,in the w'ake ofthe debatesgeneratedby the consolidation of the Soviet Union, the rise of new socialist sates in Europc and Asia, and
what at the time appearedasan impending capitalist crisis.The "transition" wasagril
rcvisited in the 196G byThindWorldist theorisa (SemirAmin,Andt6 Gunder Fnnk),
in the context ofthe contemporary debatesover neo-colonidism,"undetdevclop.
ment," and tlle "unequal exchange"between the "First" and the 'ThirdVorld."
These two realities, in my analysis,are closely connected, since in capitalism rcproducing worken on a gencrrtiond basisand rcgenereting daily their capacity to wo*
hasbecome "women's labor," though mystfied, becauseofits un-waged condition,
asa oersond service and even a natunl resource.
3. Not surprisingly, a wlorization ofthe body hasbeen prcsent in nearly dl the lircrature ofl'second wave" 2Odr-century feminism, asit hascharacterized the literaturc
produced by the anti-colonial revolt and by the descendantsof the enslavcd
Africans. On this ground, acrossgrcat geographic and cultura.l boundaries, Virginit
Woolfs A RoomoJOle! An (929) anicipates Aim6 Cesairc's Retu'' to the NdtiE
Land (1938), when she mockingly scolds her female audience and, bchind it, e
broader female world, for not having managed to produce anything but cbildrcn. '
"Young women, I would say ... [y]ou have never made a discovery ofany
of importance.You have never shaken an empire or lead an army into batde.
playsof Shakespeare
are not by you....What is your excuse?lt is all very well
you to say,pointing to the smes and squaes and forests of the globe
with black and white and cofee-colored inhabiants... we have had other work
our hands.Without our doing, those seaswould be unsailed and those fenile
a desert.We have borne and bred and washcd and taught, perhapsto the age of
or seven years, the one thousand six hundrcd and twenry-three rnillion
beings who are,accotding to satistics, at presentin existence,and tbat, allowing
some had help,akes time." (Woolf, 1929: 112)
This capacity to subvert the degnded imagc offemininity, which hasbeen
smrcted throueh the identification of women widr nature, matter, and
ity, is the power of the feminist "discourse on the body," that tries to unbury
male control of our corporcal rcaliry has suffocated. It is an illusion, however,
conceive ofwomenl liberation as a "return to the body:' Ifthe female body - as
I argue in this work - is a signiEer for a 6eld of reptoductive activities that have
been appropriated by men and the sate, and turned into an instmment for the production oflabor-power (wi*r all that this entails in terms ofsexud rules and regulations, acsthetic crnons, and punishments), then the body is the site of a fundamentd dienation that can be overcome onlv with the end of the work-discipline
which definesit.
1.
la
This thesisholds mre for men aswell. Marx's portreit of the worker who feels
at home only in his bodily functions dready intuited this fact. Marx, however,never
conveyed the magnitude ofthe attack to which the male body was subjected with
the adventofcapitdisrn.lronicdly,like Michel Foucault,Marx too snessedthe productivity of the power to which worken ate suborrdirnted - a productiviry that
becomesfor him the condition for the workers'fuhrle mastery ofsociery Marx did
not see that the development of workers' industrid powers was at the cost ofthe
underdevelopment oftheir powers associal individuals, although he recognized that
workers in capitalist society become so alienated ftom their labor, fiom their relations with othen, and the products oftheir work asto become dominated by them
asifby an alien force.
Braidotti (1991) 219. For a.discussionoffeminist thought on the body, seeAriel
Sd)eh's EcoFeminisma Politks (1997), especially Chapten 3 through 5; and Rosi
Br:idotn's Pattent oJAssonante(1991) especidly the section entided "Repossessing
the Body: A Tirnely Proieca" (t'p.219-224).
5. I am referring here to the prcject of loiture Jeminine,a literary theory and movement that developed in France in the 1970s,among feminist students of Iacanian
psychoanalysis,who werc seeking to create a language expressingthe specifcity of
the female body and female subjectiviry @nidotti, op. cit.).
l9
All the world must suffera bigjolt.There will be sucha g-lrrethat the
ungodlywill be thrown offtheir seas,and the downtroddenwill rise.
-Thonras Miintzer, ' .
OpenDenialoJthe FakeBeliefoJthc CodlessWorld
on theTistinoty oJthe CospeloJLuke,hesettedkt Misuableand
Pitiful Christendom
h Menttry of its Error,1524
There is no denying that, after centuriesof srruggle,exploitation
doescontinue ro exist.Only is form haschanged.Thesurpluslabor
extracted here and there by the masten of todayi world is not
smallerin proportion to the total amount oflabor tlran rhe surplus
extncted long ago.But the changein the conditionsofexploitation
is not in my view negligible....What is important is the hisrory the
srrivingfor hberauon....
-Pierre Dockes,MedievalSlaveryand Liberathn,1982
I Introdrrcti on
I
Won,n arryinX a basketoJ sqituth.Wom h lhe Middle Agesoien kept
xudcns, ulrcn they2reu medic'rlhehs.Thcit ktrou'hdlc of thepropmiesoJ
lrcirs is onc of the scmts theyhandeddou'tr-fron g.nerdtionlo lenerllion.
It'rlirrr,t. 1385.
A history ofwomen and reproduction in the "trarrsition to capitali$n" nrust beFn wirh rhe
stiugglesthat dre European rnedielrl prcleariat - sm,allpeasans,artisarx,day laboren wagedagiinst Gudel power in dl is forms. Only if we evoke thesestrugly'es,with their rich
cao of denrands,socid and political aspirations,and anagonistic pnctices,
can we understandthc ole that women had in rhe crisis of feudalism.
and why their power had to be
'(-irloyed lor capialisnr to develop.u it was by the thrce-century-long persecution of the
wrtchcs.Fronr the lanugB pornt of this
strug{e, we can alsoseethat capiulisnr wasnot the
Pralttr'to[an evolutionarydeveloprrrent
bringrngfonh econonricforcestharwererrraruring
rI thc wonrb
ofrhe old onJerCapialisrrrwx the resporueofthe feudallonCs,
the patrician
trrerchartts,
rhe brshopsand popcs,to a cennrries-longsocialconflictthat,in the end,shook
qcrr power.
and tru.lygave"Jl the world a bigjolt." Capitalisnrwls the counter-revolution
"r'r dt\troyed rhe possrbrhties
rlut harl enrerged6orn the anri-feudalstrugje - posibilities
which, iftedizcd, might havesparcdusdre immenscdcsruction ofliv6 end dre rntural cnvironrnent dlat hasnurked the adwrnceofcapialist rclatioru worldwide.This much must bc
srsse4for the belief*ut capialisrn"evolrcd" fiom feudalismand rcpresensa higher forq
ofsocial liG hat not )t been dispellcd.
How the history of women intenects with that of capitdist development c11not be gresped,howevcr, if wc concern ounclvcs only with the classicterrains ofclars
snuggle - labor services,rage ntes, rents and tithes - and ignorc the ncw visiorx
social life and the tnnsformation of gender rclations which these conflics produced.
These were not negligible. It is in thc coune of the anti-feudal srugle that we 6nd
the 6nt evidence in Europern history ofa gnstroots women's movement opposcd to
the established order and contributing to the construction of dternative models
communal life. The struggle against feudal power also produced the 6rst organizcd
anemps to challcnge the dominant sexual norms and establish more egalitarian rchtions between women and men. Combined with thc refusal ofbonded labor and cornmercial relations, these conscious forms ofsocid tnnsgrcssion constructed a powcrfirl
alternative not only to fcudalism but to the capitalist order by which feudalism w:l
replaced,dcmonstnting that anotherworld waspossible,andurging us to quesrionwhy
it was not realized.This chapter searchesfor some answcn to this question, whilc examining how the relations berween women and mcn and the reproduction oflabor-power
were rcdcfned in oppositon to Gudal rule.
The social strugles of thc Middle Ages must also be remembered becausethcy
wrote a new chapter in thc history ofliberetion.At their best, they callcd for an egdiurian socid ondcrbasedupon the sharing ofwealth and the rcfusalofhienrchies end authoritarian rule.Thesewere to remain utopias.Insteadofdrc heavenlykingdom, whose advent
was prophesiedin the preaching ofthe hcrctics and millenarian movements,what isued
from the demise offeuddign were disease,wat, faminc, and death - the four honemcn
of the Apocdypse, asreprcsentedin Albrccht Diircr's famous print - mre harbingers
the new capialist en. Nevertheless,tltc attemps tlnt dlc mediernl proleariat made to
"turn the world up,sidedown" must be rcckoncd with; for despite their deGat, they put
the feudd rystem into crisis and, in their tirne, they were "genuinely revolutioneryJ' o
they could not have succccdedwithout "a radical reshapingofthc social order" (Hilton,
1973:223-4).Readrng the "transition" ftom the viewpoint ofthe anti-fcudal strugglc
the Middle Ages dso hclps us ro rcorutruct the socid dynamics that lay in the baclground ofthe English Enclosuresand the conquest ofthe Americas,and aboveall uneanh
some ofthe rcasonswhy in the 16thand 17thcentudes thc cxtermination ofthe "witches,'
and thc extension of state control over every aspectof reproduction, became thc cornerstoncsof primitive accumulation.
| 9 e r f dor n
as a C l a e g R ,e l a ti o n
While the anti-feudal s*uggles of thc Middle Ages castsome light on the developmcnt
ofcapitalist rclations, their own political signifcance will remain hidden ur esswe fnme
them in the broader context ofthe history of serfdom,which was thc dominant clas
relation in feudd societyand,until the 14thcentury the focus ofanti-feudal struggle.
22
23
24
I The S truqgl e
on t he
Cor nr non6
2S
that the persrnts demonstratcd in this period wes dre outcome of r long conllict dug
morc or lessopenly, ran through the Middle Ages.
Contnry to the schoolbook portnit of feudd society as r stitic world, in
each estatcacceptedis designatedphce in the social order, the picture th.t emeryesfiod
;
a study ofthc Gudal manor is rether that ofrclendes clessstruggle.
As the rcconclsof the English manorid cours indicete, the medicvel village
the theatcr of daily warfare (Hilton 1966:154; Hilton, 1985: 158-59). At tirnes,
rcachcd moments ofgreat teruion, when the villagers killed the bailiffor attacked
lord's castle.Most frequendy, howevcr, it corxisted ofan endles litigation, by which t[6
ser6 tried to limit the abusesof the lords, 6x their "burdens," and rcducc the many triluteswhich they owed them in exchrngefor the useofthe land (Bennett,1967;
1955:39-91 ; Hanawalt 1986a:32-35).
The main objective ofthe ser6 war to kecp hold of theit surplus-labor and
ucs and broadcn the sphereoftheir cconomic and juridicd rights.Thes two aspeca
servilc strugle were closely connected,asmany obLigationsisued ftom dre ser6'legal
tus.Thus, in 136-century Englend, both on the lry and ecdesiasticdesntes,mde
were fiequently fincd for claiming that they wcre not ser6 but ftee men, a chdlengc
could result in a bitter litigation, punucd cvenby appcalto the rolzl court (Henawilt 1
31). Peasantswer also 6ned for refusing to bake their bread at the ovcn of the lorrrt,
grind their grein, or olives at their mills, which allovsedthem to avoid the oncrous
that the lonrb imoosed for the useofthcse facilities @cnnett 1967: 130-31; Dockes 1
176-79). Howwcr, the most important terrain of sewile strugle w?s thc work thag
certain daysofthe weck, the ser6 had to carry out on the land ofthc lonls.Thcsc
services"werc thc bundenstlrat most immcdiately affectcd the ser6'l.ivcsand, duough
13th century they were the central isue in the servile strugle for freedom.g
Thc serli'anitude towards the rontl, as labor serviceswerc dso cdled'
through the entries in the book ofthe manorial coum, where the Pendties imPosd
the tenants werc recorded. By the mid 13th century thc evidence spcaksfor a
withdn*al" oflabor (Hilton 1985:130-31).Thc tcnans would neither go nor rend
childrcn to work on the land of the lords when summoned at lurvest time,l0 or
would go to the 6elds too late, so dut the crops would spoil, or they worted doppily'
ing long breal<sand generally meinaining an insubordinate anitude. Hencc the lotds'
for coruant and close supewision and vigilance, ascvinced by this recommendation:
Lct the bailiffand the mesor, be all the time with the ploughmen, to
seethat thcy do their work well and thorougb.ly,and at the end ofthc
dayscehow much they havedone,...And becausecustomaryscrvants
ncglect their work it is necessaryto guard againsttheir fraud; further
it is necessarythat they are oveneen oftcn;and besidc thc bailiffmust
ovenee all, that they work well and if they do not do well, let them
be reproved@ennca 1967:113).
A similar situation is portrayed in Pias Plouman (c. 1362-70) , Willian
dlegorical poem, whcre in one scencthe laboren,who had bcen busy in the
26
27
For iruance, [the manorial records] often do not sey simply that a
man must plow, sow rnd harrcw onc rcrc ofthc lord's land.They say
he must plow it with so many oxcn as he has in his plow, harrow it
with his own hone and sack..,.Services(too) werc rcmcmbercdin
minute detail....We must remember the cotrnen ofElton who admitted that they werc bound to sack thc lond! hay in his meadow and
again in his barnyerd, but mainained drat they werc not bound in
custon to load it into carts to be carried from the fint olace to the
second (Homans 196O:.272).
ln somearcasofGermany, where the duesincluded yearlydonationsofeggs
poultry, tess ofEmes were deviscd,in ordcr to prevent the ser6 ftom handing down
the lords the wont among thcir chickens:
The hen (thcn) is placed in ftont ofa fence or a gate;iffrightcned shc
has thc strengh to fly or scramble ovcr, the bailif must rccept hr,
sheis 6t.A gosling,again,must be acceptedifit is mature enough to
pluck grasswithout loosing is balanceand sitting down ignominioudy (Coulton 1955:74-75).
Such minutc rcgulations tcstiS to the dificulty ofcnforcing the medicval
contrect," and the Briety ofbatdefelds availableto a combrtive tenant or village.
duties and rights werc rcgulated by "customs," but thcir interpretation too wasan
of much dimute. The "invention of tnditions" was a colnmon oractice in thc
fronation bctwccn landlor,& and peasans,as both would try to rcdefne them or
get thcm, until a time came,towards the middle of dre t3th century when the lordr
thcm down in writing.
I Liberty
Politicdly, the 6rst outcome ofthe servile smrggleswes the concessionto many
(particulady in Nonhern ltaly and Fnnce) of"privilcgcs" and "charten" that 6xcd
burders and gnnted "an element of autonomy in the running of dre village
nity"providing, at times, for truc forms of locd self-government. Thesc charten
lated the 6ncs that werc to bc meted out bv the manorid cours. and esteblishedrules
juridical proceedings,thus eliminating or rcducing the possibfity ofarbitnry arress
other abuses(Hilton 1973:75).Theyalsolightenedthe ser6'duty to enlistassoldien
abolished or 6xed thc tallage;oftcn thcy gnntcd thc "liberty" to "hold stallage,"that is
sell goods at the local market and, morc rarcly, the right to dienate land. Betwcen 1
and 1350,in Lonine alone,280chanen werc conceded(ilrid.:83).
However, the rnost imporant rcsolution of the master-scrf conllict was the
mrtation oflabor srviccswith money payments (money rents,money taxes)that
the feudal relation on a more contractual basis,With this momentous develoomcnt.
2A
29
growing influence of money we must also attribute the s)stematic attack to which
l The
Mi l l enari a n
and
t he
Her et ic
M ower nent d
30
3l
ing the end ofthe wodd and the imrninence ofthe IastJudgment, "not asvisionsofa
or lessdistantfuture to be awaited,but asimpending evens in which many now living
take activepart" (Hilton 1973:223).
A typical example of millenarianism was the movement sparked by the
anceofthe PseudoBaldwin in Flandenin 7224-25.'lhe man,a hermit, had claimed
be the oopular Baldwin IX who had been killed in Consantinople in 1204.This
not be proven, but his ptomise ofa new world provoked a civil war in which the
textile workersbecamehis most ardentsupporters(Nicholas1992:155).Thesepoor
ple (weaven,fullers)closedranksaround him, presumablyconvincedthat he was
to give them silver and gold and firll social reform (,,tolpe 1922:298-9). Similar to
- peasants
and urban worken
movementwerc thoseofthe Pastoreaux(shepherds)
sweptthrough Northern Frrnce around 1251,burning and pillagrng the housesof
rich, demanding a betterment of their conditionls - and the movement of
Flagellansthat,startingfrom Umbria (ltaly),spreadin severalcountriesin 1260,the
when,accordingto the prophecyofthe abbotJoachimda Flora,the world was
to end (Russell1972a:137).
It was not the millenarian movement, however,but popular heresy that
expressed
the searchby the medievalproletariatfor a concretealternativeto feudal
tions and its resistanceto the growing money-economy.
Heresyand millenarianismare often treatedasone subject,butwhile a preose
tinction cannotbe drawn, there aresignficant differencesbetweenthe two
without an organizational
The millenarian movementswere spontaneous,
ture or program.Usually a specificevent or a charismaticindividual spurredthem
A protessionoJjagellantsduing the
Bla& Dedth.
32
as they were met by force they collapsed.By contrast'the heretic movehut assoon
"---- *",
consciousattempt to createa new sociery,Themain hereticalsectshad a
"
l'i.i,r oroe.r- ,1t",Aso reinterpretedthe religioustradition'and they were well-organ,ft" viewpoint of their reproduction, the disseminationof their ideas,and
i]"i-fal1)-" ,t ei. ,.lf-d"fense. Not surprisingly,they had a long duration, despitethe extreme
to which rhey were subjected,and they playeda crucial role in the antiI..r..",t""
i6udd struggle
The Poor
Today,Lnle is known about the many hetetic sects(Cathars,Waldenses,
Spiriruals,Apostolics)that for more than three centuriesflourishedamong the
^fLvon,
itr,r., .h*"r" in ltaly, France,the Flanders,and Germany'in what undoubtedlywasthe
Middle Ages (Werner 1974; Lambert
most inrpoltant opposition movement of the
persecutedby the Church,
t977).Thisis largelydue to the ferocitywith which they were
tr:ce
oftheir
doctrines.
Crusades- like the one
to
erase
every
no
efort
spared
wh.ich
poved ageinstthe Albigensiansl6- were cdled againstthe heretics,asthey were called
to liberatethe Holy Land from the "infdels." By the thousands,hereticswere burned at
the Popecreatedone ofthe most perverseinsrirhestake,and to endicatetheir Presence
tutionsever recordedin the history of staterepression:the Holy Inquisition ffauchez
lgg}t 162-70).11
as Charles H. Lea (among others) has shown, in his monumental
Nevertheless,
historyofthe persecutionof heresy,even on the basisofthe linited recordsavailable
to us,we can form an impressivepicture of their activitiesand creedsand the role of
hereticalresistancein the anti-feudalstruggle(Lea 1888).
Although influencedby Easternreligions brought to Europe by merchantsand
popular heresywaslessa deviationfrom the orthodox doctrine than a protest
crusaders,
movement,aspiringto a radicaldemocratizationofsocial life.18Heresywas the equi\"lent of"liberation theology" for the medieval proletariat.It gave a frame to peoples'
demandsfor spiritual renewaland socialjustice,challengingboth the Church and secular authority by appealto a higher ruth. It denouncedsocialhierarchies,private property and the accumulationofwealth, and it disseminatedamong the people a new,revolutionaryconception of society that, for the 6nt tirne in the Middle Ages,rede6ned
every aspectof deily life (work, properry, sexual reproduction, and the position of
women),posingthe questionof emancipationin truly universalterms.
The heretic movement also Drovided an dternative communitv structure that had
alinternationaldimension,enablingthe membersofthe secsto leada more autonomous
llte'andto benefitfrom a wide supportnetwork madeofcontacs, schools,andsafe-houses
upon which they could rely for help and inspiration in times of need. Indeed, it is no
e)Q&FI'Jtionto saythat the heretic movement wasthe 6nt "proletarian international"suchwasthe reach
ofthe sects(particularly the Cathars and Waldenses)and the links they
esbblishedamong themselveswith the help ofcommercial fairs,pilgrimages,and the constantborder-crcssing
ofrefugeesgeneratedby the persecution.
Aa,h. root ofpopular heresywas the beliefthat god no longer spoke through
,. ,
"rc clergy,becauseofis greed,corruption and scandalous
behavior.Thusthe two major
sectspresented
themselvesasthe "true churches."However.the heretics'challengewas
Primarrlya polirical one, since to challengethe Church was to confront onl. th.
rdeological
"t
pilJaroffeudal power,the biggestlandownerin Europe,andone ofthe insri-
33
tutions most responsiblefor the daily exploitation ofthe peasantry.By the 11th
the Church had become a despotic power that used its a.llegeddivine investiture to
ern with an iron 6st and fill its coffersby endlessmeansof extortion. Selling
tions,indulgencesand religious ofices, cdling the faithlirl to church only to preach
a market,wete
them the sanctity of the tithes,and making of all sacrarnents
practicesfrom the pope to the village priest, so much so that the cotruption of
clergybecameproverbialthroughout Christianity.Thingsdegeneratedto the point
the clergy would not bury the dead,baptize or grant absolution from sin unles
31!
The P ol i ti ci zation
of ser ualit y
(19ti9), a study of
rr Mary Condrcn haspointed out in Trte Seryehtand the Goddess
to regulate
attempt
the
Church's
lreland,
li" .,.n.,."tio. of Christianiry into Celtic
(after
period
very
From
a
early
in
Europe.
l""u"t b"tt.ulot had a long history
the
the
clelgy
recognized
in
the
4th
century),
religion
Zh.lru"oiry became a sute
penistendy
tried
to
exorcise
it
by
men,
and
gavc
wonten
over
nowerthar sexualdesire
fiom
sex.
Expelling
wornen
any
of
women
and
identifying holinesswith avoidance
ofthe sacraments;
trying to usurp
momenrofthe liturgy and from the administration
dress;
and
making sexupowers
by
adopting
a
feminine
wonren'slife-giving, magical
patriatchal
castetied
which
a
giry an object ofshame - all thesewere the meansby
"sexualiry
process,
was
to break rhe power of women and erotic aftraction. ln this
for
confession,
where
the
investedwith a new significance.... [lt] becamc a subject
minutestdetailsofone's most intimate bodily functions becamea topic for discussion"
rnd where "the dillerent aspectsofsex were split apart into thought, word, intention,
involuntary urges,and actual deedsof sex to form a scienceof sexuality" (Condren
1989:86-li7).A privileged site for the reconstruction ofthe Church's sexualcanons
rrc the Peuitentials,the handbooksthat, starting from the 7th century, were issuedas
practicalguidesfor the confessors.[n the fint volume ofhis Hi stotyoJSexuality(191t]\,
the role that thesehandbooksplayedin the production of sex asdisFoucaultstresses
coune and ofa more polymorphous conception of sexua.lityin the 17thcentury.But
the Penitentialswere dready instumental to the production ofa new sexualdiscourse
in the Middle Ages.Theseworks demonstietethat the Church attempted to impose a
Christians,
cameat a lateage(ifat all),the rule being"no land.no marriage"
1960:37-39). A large number ofyoung people,thereforc,had to practicescxual
nencc or def| the Churchl ban on sex outside ofwedlock, and we can imaginc
the hereticd rejection ofprocreation must have found some iesonanceamong
In other wonds,it is conceivablethat in the sexual and reproductive codes of
heretics we may actually see the tmces of a mediel'al attempt at birth control.
would explain why, when population growth becamea major socialconcern,at a
ofseveredemognphic crisisand labor shortagein the late l4th cenrury,heresy
associatedwith reproducrivc crimes, cspecially"sodomy," infanticide, and
This is not to suggestthat the heretics'reproductivedoctrines had a decisive
grephic impact; but rather,that for at leasttwo centuries,a political climate was
ated in ltaly, France,and Germany, whcrcby any form of contraception
"sodomy," i.e. anal sex) came to be associatedwith heresy.The threat which the
ual doctrines ofthe hereticsposedfor the orthodoxy must dso be viewed in the
text ofthe efforts which the Church made to establishits control over marriasc
sexuality,which enabledit to placeevcryone- from the Emperor to the poorcst
ant - under its scrutiny and disciplinary rule.
36
37
I wornen
I
and Heresy
3A
tury they formed a large pan of the Bogomils. In the 1I th century it was again women
who gavelife to the hereticd movements in Frence and ltdy.At this time femde heretics
crme ftom the most humble ranks ofthe ser6,and they constituted a true women! movementdevelopingwithin the frame ofthe dilferent heretic groups(Koch 1983:246471.
Femalehereticsare alsopresentin the rccordsofthe Inquisition;ofsome we know that
theywere burned,of othersthat they were"wa.lledin" for the restoftheir lives.
Can we saythat this large fenrale prcsencein the heretic secs was rcsporuible for
the heretics"'sexualrevolution"? Or should we assumethat the call for "free love" wesa
meleploy designedto gain easyaccessto women! sexud favors?These questionsar not
easilyanswered.Weknow, however,that women did try to control their reproductive function, esrcfercncesto abortion and the use of contraceptive, by *o-an
numerous ln
"aa
the Penitentials.Signifcantly - in view ofthe future criminalization ofsuch
prrctices durhg the witch-hunt - contraceptives were referred to as"sterility potions" ot mal$cia
(Noon4l 19615
15${1). and it wasassunedthat women were the oneswho usedthem.
tn
the
early
Middle Ages,the Church srill looked upon thesepracticeswith a cer.
sunindulgence,prompted
by the recogmtionthat women rnaywish to limit their births
oecauseof economic
reasons.
Thus, in ahel>oetum, written by Burchard,Bishop of
worns (circa 1010),
after the ritud quescionHave you done what sornewomen are accustomedto do when they
fornicate and wish to kill their o6pring, act with their malefrcia,
md
39
their herbs so that they kill or cut the embryo, or, ifthcy have not yet
conceived, contrive that they do not conceive?(Noonan 1965: 160)
- it was stipulated that the guilty ones should do penancefor ten years;but it
also observedthat "it males a big difference whether she is a poor litde woman
acted on account ofthe difiiculty offeeding, or whether she acted to conceala
of fornication" (ilid.).
Thing changed drastically,however, as soon as womens' control over
tion seemed to oose a threat to economic and social stability, as it did in the
ofthe demographiccatastropheproducedby the "Black Death,"the apocdyptic
that, between 1347 and 1352, destroyed more than one third of the European
tion (Ziegler 1969: 230).
We wi.ll seelater what role this demographic disasterplayed in the "labor
ofthe late MiddleAges. Here we can notice that, after the spreadofthe plague,the
ud aspectsofheresy becamemore prominent in its persecution,grotesquely
ofthe witches' Sabbat.By the mid-l
in waysthat anticipatethe later reprcsentations
century the lnquisitors' reports were no longer contcnt with accusingthe heteticr
sodomy and sexuallicense.Now hereticswere accusedof animd wonhip, i
the infamousbarismsabrarda (the kissunder the ail), and ofindulging in orgiastic
ua.ls,night flights and child sacrifices(Russell1972).The Inquisitors dso reported
existenceofa sectofdevil-worshipperscalledLucifetans.Correspondingto this
which markedthe transition from the persecutionofheresy to witch-hunting, thc
ure ofthe heretic incteasinglybecamethat ofa woman,so that, by the beginning of
15thcentury the mein arget ofthe penecution againstheteticsbecamethe witch'
Th.iswas not the end ofthe heretic movement,however.Its final
camein 1533,with the attemptby the Anabaptissto setup a Ciry ofGod in the
town of Miinster. This was crushed with a blood bath, followed bv a wave of
reprisalsthat affectedprolearian strugglesdl ovet Europe (Po-chiaHsia 1988a:51
Until then, neither the 6erce penecution nor the demonization of heresy
Drcvent dre dissemination ofherctic belie6, As Antonino di Stefano wtites,
nication, the confscation ofprcperty, torture, death at the stake,the unleashing of
sadesaereinstheretics - none ofthese measurcscould undermine the "immense
ity and popularity" of the haaeticapravitarisfteretic evil) (di Stefano 1950:769).
is not one commune," wrote James de Viry at the beginning of the 13d' century
which heresy does not have is supporten, is defenden and believen." Even after
1215 crusade against the Albigensiaru, that destroyed the Cathars' strongholds,
(together with Islam) remained the main enemy and threat the Church had to face.
recruits came from all wdks of life: the peasantry,the lower ranks of the clergy
identifed with the poor and brought to their smrgles the languageofthe Gospel),
town burghen, and even the lessernobility. But popular heresy was prirnarily a
classohenomenon.The environment in which it flourished was the rural and urban
letariar peasants,
cobblen, and cloth workers"to whom it preachedequdiry,
their spirit of revolt with prophetic and apocdyptic predictiors" (ibid.:776).
We get a glimpse of the populariry of the hereticsfiom the trials which
Inquisition wes still conducting in the 1330s,in the Trento region (Northern
40
those who had given hospitality to the Apostolics, when their leadeq Fra
-;nst
(Orioli 1993:217-37) At the
flt.ino, h"d put.d through the areathity yean before
give
Docino and his followers sheltet
coming' many doors had opened to
irn. "f ttir
poverty and love' Fra
iin, in t:O+, *t.n announcing the coming ofa holy reign of
'.'^i.ino r., up a community among the mountains of the Vercellese(Piedmont)' the
the Bishop ofVercelli, gave him their support
i.al pearants,al.""dy in revolt against
crusadesand
,iiorn.r" "nd Buratti 2000). For three yean the Dolcinians resistedthe
with
women
in
mde
attire
Gghting
against
them
)ie blockadethe Bishop mounted
they
were
defeated
only
by
hunger
and
by
the
over],r. t., sidewith men, ln cheend,
(Lea
1961:
l,"fr.t-ing tup..;otlry of rhe forces the Church mobilized agarnstthem
day when ttre troops amassedby the Bishop of
108).
On
the
1973:
Hihon
615-20;
VercelliEnally prevailedupon them, "more than a thousandhereticsperished in the
famcs,or in the river, or by the sword,in the cruelestof deaths."Dolcinot companion, Margherita,was slowly burned to death befote his eyesbecauseshe refusedto
rbiure.Dolcino himself was dowly driven among the mountain roadsand gndually
to-rnto pi"cer, to p.ovide a salutaryexampleto the local population pea, 1961:620).
I u"b"tt
Strugrgrles
and urban worken found in the hereucmoveNot onJywomen and men but peasants
ment a corunon cause.This commondity ofinterests among people who could otherwisebe assumedto have di6erent concerns and aspiretionscan be accounted for on sevenl grounds.Fint, in the Iviiddle Ages,a tight relation existed between ciry and country.
Many burghen were ex-ser6 who had moved or fled to the ciry in the hope ofa better
life, and, while exercising their ars, continued to work the land, particularly at harvest
time.Their thoughs and desireswere still profoundly shapedby life in the village and by
their continuing rclatioruhip to the land. Peasantsand urban worken were also brought
togetherby the fact that they were subjectedto the samepolitical rulen, since by the 13th
century (especidlyin Northern and Central Italy), rhe landed nobility and the urban patricranmerchantswere becoming assirnilated,functioning as one power structure.This situauon promoted among worken mutual concerru and solidariry Thus, whenever the
peasants
rebelled they found beside themselvesthe artisaru and day laboren, aswell asthe
Etowingmassofthe urban poor.This wasthe caseduring the peasantrevolt in maririme
danden,which beganin 1323and endedinJune 1328,afterthe King ofFrance and the
tlemish nobiliry defeatedthe rebelsat Casselin 1327.As David
Nicholas writes,"[t]he
retels'abiliry to continue
rhe conllict for five yean is conceirable only in the light ofthe
cttyi invohrnenC' (N
ichohs 1992: 213-14) . He adds that, by the end of 1324, the peasanb in revolt had
beenjoined by the craftrmen atYpres and Bruges:
Bruges,by now under the contnl ofa weaverand fuller party,took
direction of the revolt from the peasants....A war of propaganda
began,as
monks andpreachentold the masses
that a new err hed come
and that they were the equalsofthe aristocns (ibid.:213-14).
4l
42
Ld
4zrket -
l.rsentrati"ns "fup
just a new type of serfdom,this time
,-i,lrc rexdl. industty' For them, life in the ciry was
who
exercised
the strictest control over their activcloth
merchans,
nrle ofthe
Irdcr rhc
class
nrle,
Uftan
wage-workers
could not form any associamost despodc
ila rnd the
place
to
meet
in
any
and
for
any rcason;they could not
to, .rd *.r. even forbidden
dreir trade; and they could not sFike on pain of death
the
tools
of
even
or
u""
,nn
ln Florence,they had no civil righs; unlike the journeymcn, they
birenne 195e:132).
guild, and they were exposed to the cruelcst abusesat the
,^,". no, p"a of any craft or
who,
in addition to connolling the town government, ran their
hrnds of the merchants
with
impunity,
spied on them, arrested drem, tomrrcd drem, and
privrte rribund and,
(Rodolico 1971).
sign
oftroublc
iungedthem at the lcasr
wodren
these
that
we
6nd the most extteme forrns ofsocid protest and
It is among
(ibid.;
ofheretic
ideas
acceptance
5G-59).Throughoutthe 14thcentury panic3hcgreatest
ululy in the Flanden, cloth worken were engagedin corutant rebellionsagairxt the bishop,
thc nobiliry, the merchants,and even the major crefts.At Bruges, when the main crafts
gainedpower in 1348,wool workers continued to rebel ageinstthem. At Ghent, in 1335,
r rcvolt by the local bourgeoisie was overtaken by a rebellion of weaven, who tried to
esablisha "wo*en' democnry" basedon the suppressionofdl authorities, except thos
living by nranual labor (Boisonnade 1927:310-11). Defeated by an irnpressivecoalition
offorces (including the prince, the nobfiry, the clergy, the bourgeoisie),the weavcn tried
when they succeededin esablishing what (with some exaggenrion, perrgrin in 13711,
lup) hasbeen calledthe 6nt "dicatonhip ofthe proletariat" known in history.Their goal,
accordingto Peter Boisonnade, was"to raisejourneynen agrinst nusters, wagq eirners
rgamstgrat entlepreneurs,peasantsagainstlon& and clergy.It wassaiddut drey had contetnplatedthe extermination ofthe whole bourgeois class,with the exception ofchildren
ofsix and the samefor the nobles" (ibid.:311).They were deGatedonly by a battle in the
open6eld,at Roosebecquein 1382,where 26,000ofthem lost their lives(ibil.).
eventsat Bruges and Ghent werc not isolated cues. In Cermany and laly as
.. -The
rdl, the
artisaruand laboren rebelled at every posible occasion,forcing the local bourgeoisieto live in a corutant sate offcar. In Florence,
the worken seizedpower in 1379,Ied
\ the Cionrpi,the day-laboren in the Flotenrine textile indusrry.2sThey too esublisheda
n,orkeJs'goverunent,but it Iastedonly a few
montlr before being completely deGated\
rJdz (Rodolico 1971).The
worken at Liege,in the Low Counries, weremorc successfi.rl.
h 1384,the nob iry and
the rich ("the great,"asthey were called),incapableofcontinuing
e Esstancewhich
had lastedfor morc tlun a century capitulated.Fromthen on,.,the crafts
cornpletely
donrinated the town," becoming the arbiier of the municipal governmenr
truerne 1937:201).Thecnfsmen
hadalsogivensupportto the peasants
in revolt,in mar.lanoen, in a strugle tlut lastcdfrom 1323 to 1328, which pirenne
describesas.,a
^]"'
*u'n.
at a socialrcvolution" (i.4id.;195).Here - accondingto a Flemishconqnporary
"n".p,
whose clas allegianceis apparent- "the plague ofiruurrection was such that
qr Decane
disgusredwith life" (i4id.:196).Thus,from 1320to 1332,the.,good people"
* I presimplorcd
rhe king not to allow the town's inner bastiors,withln which they lived,
* uedertrofrshed
becauserheyprotcctedthem ftom the "common people"(ibid.:20243).
lr3
took anr6 in
Jaqueie. Peasdnts
in | 323,in Fntuein 1358,in
in 1381, in Flotere, Glrc
in 1370 and 1380.
Itfr"
A turning point in the course ofthe medieval struggleswasthe Black Death, which
on an average,
between 30/o and 407oof the Europeanpopulation (Zie$er 1969:
in
Coming the wake of the Great Famineof 131F22, that weakenedpeople's
to diseaseflordan 1996),this unprecedenteddemognphic collapseprcfoundly
Europe'ssocid and political life, practically inaugureting a new era.Social hierarchies
morbidiry
turned upsidedown because
ofthe levellingeffects
ofthe widespread
with death dso undermined social discipline. Contonted with the posibility of
death,people no longer caredto work or to abide by socialand sexud regulations,but
to have the best of times, feastingfor aslong asthey could without thought of the
However.the most important consequenceof thc plague was the
ofthe labor crisisgeneratedby the classconllict; for the decimation ofthe work
madelabor extremelyscarce,critically increasedits cost,and stifened peoplel
nation to break the shacklesoffeudd rule.
As Christopher Dyer poins out, the scarcityoflabor which the epidemic
shifted the power relation to the ad!"ntaee of the lower classes.
When land had
scarce,the peasantscould be controlled by the threat ofexpulsion. But after the
lation wasdecimatedand land becameabun&nt, the threatsofthe lords ceasedto
any serious effect, asthe peasantscould now freely move and find new land to
(Dyer 1968:26).Thus,wbile the cropswere rotting and livestockwanderedin the
oeasantsand artisanssuddenlvbecamemasten ofthe sinration.A symotom ofthis
developmentwasthe growth ofrent strikes,bolsteredby threatsofa massexodusto
landsor ro the ciry As the manorial recordslaconicallyregistered,the peasans"
to pay" (regantsolvere).Theyalso declaredthaathey "will not follow the customs
111t
S exual P ol i ti cs,
r he Ri6e of t he
arrd C ounter-Revolut ior r
St at e
Horvever,by the end ofthe 15th century a counter-rcvolution was already under way at
wery level ofsocial and political lifc. Fint, efors werc made by the poLitical authorities
to co-oPt the youngest and most rebellious male worken, by means ofa vicious sexud
politicsthat gavethem acces to free sex,and turned classantagonism into an rntagorism
a8 rut proletarianwomen.AsJacques
(1988),
Rosiaud hasshownin MedieudlPrcstitution
in France,the municipal
prectically deoiminalizedrape,provided the victims
n'crc women ofthe lower"uth-oriti.,
class.ln 14th-centuryVenice,the rape ofan unmarried prolebtian woman nrely called for more than a slapon the wrist, even in the fuquent
casem
which it involvcd group
(Ruggiero 1989:9l-108). The samewas true in most
"
r'rcnchciries.
"tu,llt
Here. the gang-rapeof proleurian women becarnea comrnon practice
wrrch the perpetraton
would carry out openly and loudly at night, in groupsoftwo to
{!cctr' breaking
into their victims'homes,or draggingtheir vicrirnsthrough the streets,
wrthoutany
attenlptto hide or disguisethemselves.Those
who engagedin these"spors"
wcrcyoungjourneyma.,
o. do-.iu. ,..*nts,and the pennilesssonsofwell-to-do famthe women targetedwere poor girls,working asmaidsor washerwomen,of
*tI^lU. rt
was
rumored that rhey were "kept" by their masten (Rossiaud1988:22). On
.,.-""'
'verage,half of rhe town nraje youth, at some point, en5;rgedin these assaults,
which
atz
lt rvasat the end ofthe 14thcentury that the 6rst witch-trials took place,and for
-,tiod.
the Inquisition recordedthe existenceofan all-femaleheresyand sect of
It.'4", ,i-.
,l.vil-wonhiPPers.
municipd
""Arro,h.. aspectofthe divisive sexud politics that the princes and
institutionalizationof Prostituwa5
the
workers'protest
to
difuse
,uthoodes Pursued
through the opening of nrunicipal brothels soon proliferating
.';""n,i-pt"-"",.a
Enabled by the contemponry high-wage tegime' sote-managed
Europc.
l],.r"nfr"",
asa usefulremedyfor the turbulenceofproletarian youth' who in
t..tt
*"t
l-.,iir,ion
as the stace-brothelwas called in Frence- could enjoy a priviUoiton"
',,j16rora
for older men (Rossiaud19tltt).Thernunicipalbrothel wasdso
reserved
r"o" o.eviously
homosexuality (otis 191t5),which in severalEuropean
alpinst
a
renredy
.o""tia"*a
waswidely and publicly pncticed, but in the aftemrath
Florence)
and
Padua
iowus(e.g.,
to be fearedasa causeofdepopulation 32
was
beginning
Death
olthe Black
Thus,between 1350-1450,publicly rnanaged,tax-financedbrothelswere opened
to those reached
in everytown and villagein ltaly and Frence,in nurnben far supetior
dl the restricIn
addition'
in
1453.
had
53
brothels
Aniens
alone
century
in rhe l9rh
now solicit
could
Prostitutes
were
eliminated.
prostiturion
against
penalties
tions and
Mass.They
were
during
in
front
ofthe
church
part
even
oftown,
in
every
their cliens
marks,
distinguishing
wearing
of
codes
ot
the
particular
dress
to
any
bound
no longer
prostitution wasoficidly recognizedasa public service(ibid.:9-1O)because
Even the Church cane to seeprostitutionasa legitimateactiviryThe state-managedbrothel wasbelievedto provide an antidote to the orgiasticsexualprecticesofthe
hcrcticsecs,and to be a rcmedy for sodomy,aswell asa rneansto Protect family life.
It is dificult retrospectivelyto tell how far playing the "sex card" helped the state
to disciplineand divide the nredievalproleariat.What is certain is that this sexual"new
deal"waspart ofa broaderprocesswhich,in responseto the intensfication ofsocial conflicr,led to the centralizationofthe state,asthe only agent capableof confronting the
gcnenlizationofthe struggleand safeguarrding
the classrelation.
In this process,u we will seelater in this work, the statebecamethe ultinute managerofclas relatiors,and dre supervisorofthe reproductionoflabor-power- a function
it hasconrinued to perform to this day.ln dris cepaciry state oficers pased laws in many
countriesthar setlimitr to the cost oflabor (by 6xing the maximum wage), forbid rtgnncy
(now hantrlypunished)(Ceremek1985:6lfi), and encouragedwotkersto reproduce.
Ultimately, the mounting classconflict brought about a new alliance between
thebourgeoisieand the nobility, without which proletarian revoltsmay not havebeen
defeated.It is diflicult. in fact, to acceptthe claim, often made by historians,according to w6ic6 thesestruggleshad no ah"rr.. ofsuccessdue to the narrownessoftheir
polrticalhorizons and the "confused nature of their demands."In reality,the objectivesof the peasantsand artisanswere quite transparent.They demanded that "every
rnanshouldhaveas much as another"(Pirenne1937:202)and,in order to achieve
thisgoal.they.loinedwith atl rhose"who had nothrngto lose,"actingin concert,in
qrlterent
regions.nor afrrid to confront the well-trained armiesofthe nobility, despite
their lack
of military skills.
lfthey were defeated.it wasbecauseall the forcesoffeudal Power- the nobiliry
,
tne Church,
and rhe bourgeoisie- moved againstthenr united,despitetheir traditional
lr9
divisions, by their fear ofprolearian rebellion. Indeed, the image, drat hasbeen
down to us,ofa bourgeoisie perennidly at war with the nobiliry, and carryrng on is
ners the call for equality and democrary is a distortion. By the late Middle Ages,
ever we turn, ftom Tuscanyto England and the Low Counnies, we find the
For in the
already dlied with the nobfity in the suppressionofthe lower classes.33
ans and the democratic weaversand cobblen ofis cities, the bourgeoisie recognized
enemy far more dangercus than the nobiliry - one that made it worthwbile for
burghers even to sacrifce their cherhhed political autonomy.Thus,it wasthe urban
geoisie,after two centuries ofstruggles waged in order to gain full sovereigntywithin
walls ofis communes, who reinstituted the power ofthe nobility, by voluntarily
ting to the nrle ofthe Prince, dre 6nt step on the road to the absolute state.
lt',"',or",
1. The bestexampleofa maroon societywasthe Bacaudewho took over Gaul
the vear300A.D (Dockes1982:87).Theirstory is worth rememberingThese
free peasantsand slaves,who, exasperatedby the handshipsthey sufered due to
skirrnishesberween the contenden to Romet imperial throne' wandercd off,
with farm implemens and stolenhones,in roving bandsftence their name:
of fighters") (Randers-Pehrson1983: 26). Townspeoplejoined them and
formed self-governing communities, where they struck coins, with "Hope"
on their face,electedleaders,and administeredj ustice.Defeatedin the open field
Maximilian, the colleague ofthe emperor Diocletian, they turned to "guerrilla"
fare, to resurface,in full force in the 5th century when they became the targct
repeated military actions, In 407 A.D,, they were the protagonists of a
insulrection." The emDeror Constantine defeated them in battle in
(Brittany) (ibid.: 1241.Here "rebellious slavesand peasants[had] created
autonomous 'state' organization, expelling the Roman officials, expropriating
landowners, reducing dte slaveholden to slavery,and [organizing] ajudicial
and an army" (Dockes1982:87).Despite the rnany attemptsmade to repless
the Bacaude were never completely defeated.The Roman emperors had to
tribesofbarbarian'inaders to subduethem.ConstantinerccalledtheVisigodu
Spain and gave them generousdonations ofland in Gaul, hoping they would
the Bacaudeunder control. Even the Huns were recruited to hunt them
(Renders-Pehrson1983: 189). But we 6nd the Bacaudeagain fighting with
Visigoths and Alans againstthe advancingAnila.
2. The ergastalawere the dwelling of the slavesin the Roman villas.They were
raneanprisons" in which the slavesslept in chains;they had windows so high (in
description ofa contemporary landowner) that the davc could not rcachdrem
1982: 69).They "were... found alrnost everywhere,"in the regioru the Romans
quered"where the davesfar oumumbered the free men" (ibid : 208).Ttre rnme
rolois still usedin the lalian criminaljustice vocabulary;it means"life sentence."
3. This is what Marx writes in Capirai,Vol. III, in compating the serf economy
the slaveand the capitdist economies."To\ hat extent the laborer,the
50
ing serf, can here secure for himself a surplus above his indispensablenecessitiesof
remaining unchanged,upon the prcrportionin
6;!... depends,othcr circu.rnstances
is
divided
into
labor time for himself and forced labor time for
time
labor
which his
the surpluslabor cannot be filched 6om
such
conditions
Under
lold,...
[s feudal
must
be forced from them by other measmeasures,
but
any
economic
by
tthe serfs]
(Marx 1909'Vol.III: 917-18)'
form
assumed
by
them"
the
may
be
ures,whatever
and
co[lmon rights in England,
ofthe
cornmons
imporance
ofthe
For a discussion
(1993).The ecologicd
(1987),
andJ.M
Neeson
(1964),Jean
Birrell
seeJoanThirsk
political significance.
given
a
new
have
dte
commons
movements
anjeco-feminist
ofthe
commons
in the econimportance
penpective
on
the
eco-feminist
For an
(1989).
Vandana
Shiva
lives,
see
omy ofwomen!
For a discussionofsocial stratfication among the European PeasantryseeR. Hilton
09a5: 116-17,141-51) andI.Z.Tirow (1969;56-59). Of specialimporance is the
distincrion between personal freedotn and tewrrial&eedom.The former meant that a
oeasant'ras not a se{ though s/he may still be bound to provide labor services.The
iatter meant dut a peasantheld land thet was not "burdened" by servile obligations.
In practice,the two tended to coincide, but this began to change alter the commuation when ftee peasants,to expand their holding, began to acquire lands that carried servileburdens.Thus," We do 6nd peasansoffree penond status(lireft holding villein land and we do 6nd villeiru (villani, natiul holding freehold land, though
both theseoccurrencesare rareand both were Gownedupon"(Titow 1969:56-57).
Barban Hanawaltt examinetionofthe wills from Kibworth (England)in the 15th
that"men favoredmaturesonsin 41 percentoftheir wills, while tley
century,shows
left to the wiG alone or the wife with a son the estatein 29 percent ofthe cases"
(Hanawalt1986b:155).
Hanarelt seesthe medieva.lmaritd relarionship among peasantsas a "pannership."
"Land transactionsin manorial courts indicate a strongpracticeofmutual responsibility and decisionmaking.... Husbandand wife alsoappearin purchasingor leasing piecesofland either for themselvesor for their children" (Hanawalt1986b:16).
For women'scontribution to agriculturrl labor and control over their surplusproduce alsoseeShahar(1983:23H2), For womeni extrdegd contributions to their
households,
seeB. Hanawalt (1986b:12).In England,"illegalgleaningwasthe most
common way for a woman to get extra grain for her family" (ilid.).
This is the linit ofsome ofthe otherwiseexcellentstudiesproduced,in recentyean,
on women in the Middle Ages, by a new generation of feminist historians.
Undentandably,the difficulry in presentinga syntheticview ofa 6eld whoseempirical contours are still being recoruructed has led to a preferencefor descriptive
analyses
focussingon the main classifications
of women'ssocid life: "the mother,"
"the worker,""women in the rural ereas,"
"women in the cities,"often treatedasif
abstractedfrom socialand economic changeand socialsruggle.
9. AsJ. Z.Titow
writes in the caseofthe English bonded peuants:"It is not diftcult to
seewhy the personalaspectofvilleinage would be ovenhadowedby the prcblem of
labourservicesin the minds ofthe peasants....
Disabilitiesarisingout ofunftee sutus
would come into opention only sporadically.. .. Not so with the lebour services,pardculady week-work, which obliged a rnan to work for his landlotd so many daysa
10. "[T]ake the 6nt Gw pagesofthe Abbots Iangley rolls: men werc 6ned for not
ing to the harvest,or for not producing a su6cient number of mcn; drcy carnc
and when they did comc performed the work badly or in an idle fashion.
not one but a whole group failed to appear and so left the lond's crop
Othen even when they came made tlemselves very unpleasant"(Bennen 1967:1
1t. The distinction between "town" and "city" is not alwaysclear. For our purposca
city is a population center with a rc)"I chartcr, an episcopalseeand a market,
a town is e population center (usually smaller than a city) with a tegular
12. The following is a statistical picturc ofrural poverty in 13tll-century Picandy:
gents and begprs, 13%;owners of small parcelsofland, so unsable
that a bad harvestis a threatto their survivd,33%;peexns with morc landbut
out draught animals,36%;wedthy farmen 19% (Gercmck 1994:57). ln
1280,peasanswith lessthan three acresofland - not enough to feed a farnily
represented46% ofthe peasantry(rbid.).
13. A silk spiruren'song givesa gnphic picture ofthe poverty in which female
laboren lived in the towns:
A.lwaysspinning shees ofsilk
We shall nevcr be better dressed
But alwaysnaked and poor,
And dways suffering hunger and thint (Gercmeck 1994165).
In Frcnch municipd archives,spinners and other female wage workes
asociatedwith prostitutes,possibly
becausethey liveddone and hadno family
ture behind them. In the towns, women suffered not only poverry but los
which left them vulnenble to abuse(Hughes1975:21; Geremek 1994:6!{6;
1985:1&-20;Hilton 1985:212-13).
14. For an analysisof women in the medicr"alguil&, seeMaryannc Kow'aleskiand
M. Bennett (1989);David Herlihy (1995);and Williams and Echols (2000).
15. (Russell1972:136; Lea 1961:126-27\.Nso the movement ofthc Pastourcaux
provokedby evens in the Eest,this tirne the capturcofKing Louis lX ofFnncc
the Moslems,inEglpt,in t249 (Hilton 1973:10G42).A movcmentmadc
ble and simple" people was organizedto free him, but it quickly took on an
clerical charactcr.The Pastorcauxrcappearcdin Southcrn France in the spring
summer of 1320, sti.ll "direcdy influenced by the crusading amrosphere. . . .
had no chanceofcrusading in the east;instead,they spenttheir energieson
ing the Jewish communitics of south-west France,Navarre and Angon, often
the complicity oflocd consulates,
beforebeing wiped out or dispersedby ropl
cials" ( Batber 1992: 135-36).
16. The Crusadeagainstthe Albigensians(Catharsftom the town ofAlbi, in
France)was the first large-scaleattack againstthc heretics,and the 6rst
againstEuropeans.Pope Innocent III launched it in the regions ofToulousc
Montpellier after 1209.In is wake,the penecution ofherctics dnmaticdly
sified,In 1215,on the occasionofthe fourth LateranCouncil,lnnocent Ill
in the councili canonsa set of measurrsthat condemnedhereticsto exile. to
con6scationof their propcrties,and excluded them from civil life. Later,rn
s2
thc empcror Fredericklljoincd thc penecution with the corstjLtutionCum ad rcnsetwnduntth^t deflncd hcrcsy a crime of lesamaiestatis,tobe punish with death by
6rc, In 1229,the Council ofloulouse establishedthat hcrcticsshould be identifed
and punished.Provenhereticsand their protectorswerc to burned at the stake.The
housewherc a hereticwesdiscoveredwasto be destroyed,and thc land upon which
it wasbuilt confucated.Those who rcneged their beliefs werc to be imrnurcd, whilc
thosewho relapsedwcre to sufferthe suppliceof6re.Then,in 1231-1233,Gregorio
lX instituted a specid tribund with the specificfunction ofendicating heresy:the
ofthe main theologians
Inquisidon.In 1252,PopeInnocent IV, with the consensus
(Vauchez
authorized
the
usc
oftorture
against
heretics
1990:163, 164,
time,
ofthe
165).
17, AndrcVauchezattributesthe "succes" ofthe Inquisition to its procedure.Thearrest
ofsuspecs waspreparedwith utmost rccrecy.At 6nt, the persecutionconsistedof
nids againstheretics' meetings, organized in collaboration with publ.ic authorities.
I,1ter,when Waldensesand Cathars had dready been forced to go underground, suspectswere called in front ofa tribunal without being told the rcasonsfor their convocation.The samesecrecycharacterizedthe investigativeprocess.Thedefcndants
were not told the charges moved against them, and those who denounced them
were allowed to maintain thcir anonymiry Suspecs were released,ifthey informed
againsttheir accomplicesand promisedto keep silentabout their confessions.Thus,
when hereticswere arrestedthey could never know if anyonefiom their congregationhad spokenageirstthem (Vauchez1990:167-6tl).Asltalo Mercu poins out,
the work ofthe Roman Inquisition left deep scarsin the history ofEuropean culrurc,creatinga climate of intolcranceand institutional suspicionthat continuesto
corrupt the legalsystemto this day,Thelegacyofthe Inquisition is a culrureofsuspicion that relies on anonymous chargesand preventive detention, and trets suspecs asif a.lreadyproven gui.lty (Mercu 1979).
18. Let us recall here Frie&ick Engels' distinction between the heretical belie6 ofpeasantsand artisans,associatedwith their opposition to feudd authoriry and those ofthe
town burghers,that were ptimerily a protest againstthe clergy @ngels 1977:43).
19. The poliricizationofpoverry, togetherwith the rise ofa money-economy,bought
about a decisivechangein the anitude ofthe Church towendsthe poor. Unti.l the
t3th century the Church exaltedpovcrry a5a holy sare and engagcdin distributions of alms, trying to convince the rustics to accept their situation and not envy
the rich. ln Sundaysermons,priestswere prodigal with taleslike that ofthe poor
t-azarussittingin heavenat the sideofJcsus,and r+atchinghis rich but stingy neighDorburning in llames.Thecxaltationofss.ta paupeias(holy poverty") alsoserved
to irnpresson the rich the nced for chatity asa meansfor u.lvation.Thistactic procured the Church subsandd donations ofland, building and money, presumably
.
to be usedfor distribution among the needy,and it erubledit to
becomeone ofthe
trchestinstitutionsin Europe.But when the poor grew
in numben and the heretics
staned to challenge the Church's geed and corruption,
the clergy dismised its
nomiliesabout poverty and intrcduced many "distinguo."
Staning in the 13thcentury.it aflirrrredthat only voluntary poverty hasmerit in
the eyesofGod, asa sign
ot humiliry and contempt for materialgoo&;
this meant,in practice,that hclp would
s3
now be gi!'en only to the "deserving poor," that is, to the irnpoverished
of the nobility, and not to those begging in the streets or at city gates.The
were increasinglylooked upon with suspicionasguilty oflazinessor 6aud.
20, Much controversy took place among the Waldenseson the cotrect ways of
porting oneself.It wasresolved,at the BergamoMeeting of 1218,with a major
beween the two main branchesof the movement.The French'Waldenses
@691
Lyon) opted for a life supported by dms, while those oflombardy decided that
must live out of his/her own labor and proceeded to form worken' collectiv6
cooperatives (conlrelationeslabonntium)(di Stefano 1950: 775). Thc
wddenses continued to maintain private possessions- housesand other forrns
property - and they acceptedmarriegeand the family (Linle 1978:125).
21. Holmes 1975:202:N. Cohn 1970:21F17; Hilton 1973:124.As described
Engels,the Taborites were the revolutionery, democntic wing of the
netionalliberation movement againstthe German nobility in Bohemia. Of
Engelstells us only that "[T]heir demandsrellectedthe desireofthe peasantry
the urban lower clasesto end all Gudal oppression"(Engels1977l.44nl.But
remarkablestory is more fully narratedin H. C. Lea'sThe InquisitionoJthe
Ages (Lea 1961:523-40), in which we rcad that dley were peasantsand
who wanted no noblesor gendemenin their ranksand had republican
They were calledTirboritesbecausein 1419,when the Hussitesin Praguefirst
under attack.they moved on to MountTabor.There they founded a new town,
becarnea center ofboth resisanceagainstthe German nobiliry, and
tion with communism.The story hasit that, on arriral ftom Prague,they put
Iarge open chess in which each was askedto place his/her possessions,so tlnt
things could be held in common. Presumably,this collective atmngement was
lived,but its spirit lived on longer after its demise(Demetz 7997:752-157).
The Taborites distineuished themselves from the more rnoderate
becausethey included among their objectivesthe independenceof Bohcrnia,
the retention ofthe properrywhich they had confscated(Lea 1961:530).They
agree,however, on the four articles of faith that united the Hussite rnovement
front of its foreign enemies:
I. Freepreachingof the Word ofGod;
lL Communion in poth wine and breadl;
III. The abolition ofthe clergy'sdominion over temporrl
and its return to the evangelicallife of Christ and the
IV The punishment ofall ofenses againstdivine law without
tion ofoenon or condition.
Uniry was much needed.To stamp out the revolt of the Hussites,the Church'
1421,sent againstTaboritesand Calixtins an army of 150,000."Five times,"
writes, "during 1421, the crusaden in'reded Bohemia, and 6ve times they
beatenback."Two yearsleter,at the Council ofSiena, the Church decided
the Bohemian hereticscould not be defeatedmilitarily, they shouldbe isolated
starvedout through a blockade.But that too failed and Hussiteideascontinued
spreadinto Germany, Hungary, and the Slavic territories to the South.
be comrnon, and drat there be no villains nor gendemen, but that we may be
united together, and that the lords be no greater mirsters than we be" (Dobson I
371\.
23. By 1210 the Church had labetedthe demandfot the abolition ofthe death
an heretical"error," which it attributed to the Waldensesand the Cathan.So
was the presumption that the opponents ofthe Church were abolitionists tnat
heretic who wanted to submit to the Church had to aftrm that "the secular
can,without mortal sin,exercisejudgement ofblood, provided that it punishes
justice,not out ofhatred, with prudence,not precipitation" (Mergivern 1997:
As J.J. Mergiven poins out, the hereticalmovement took the monl high
on this question,and "forced the 'orthodox,' ironicdly, to take up the defensc
very questionablepnctice" (ilid.: 103).
24. Among the evidenceproving the Bogomils'influcnceon the Cathan there are
works that "the Cathan of Western Europe took over from the Bogomils,"
are: The Wsiox oJIsaiahmd The SeuetSnppa, cited in Wake6eld and Erans's
of Catharistliteraturc (1969t447-465).
The Boeomils were for the Eastern Church what the Catlars were for
Western.Aside from their Manicheanism and anti-natalism, the Byzantine
ties were most alarmed by the Bogomils"'radical anarchism,"civil disobedience,
classhatred. As Presbyter Cosmas wrote, in his sermons againstthem: "They
their own people not to obey their masters,they tevile the wealthy, hate the
ridicule the elden, condemnthe boyan, regardasvile in the eyesofGod those
servethe king, and forbid every serfto work for his lond."The heresyhad a
dous and long-term influence on the peasantryof the Balkans."The
preached in the language of the people, and their messagewas undentood by
people...their looseorganiution, their attrectivesolution ofthe problemofcvil
their cornrnitment to socid protest rude their movement vimrally
@rcwning 1975:164-166).Theinfluence ofthe Bogomils on hercsyis traceablc
the use,common by the 13th century of"buggery," to connote 6nt heresyand
homosexuality(Bullough 1976a:76tr.).
25. The ban which the Church imposedupon cledcalmarriagesand concubinagc
moti!?ted, more than by any necd to restorc its reputation, by the desire to
its properry which was threatened by too many subdivisions, and by the fear
the wives of the priess might unduly interfere in clericd affain (McNaman
Wemple 1988:93-95).The ruling of the SecondLateran Council
resolution that had dready been adopted in the previous century but had not
observed in tle midst ofan open revolt againstthis innovation.The protest had
maxedin 1061 with an "orgenizedrebellion" leadins to the election ofthe
of Parma as Aatipope, under the tide of Honorious II, and his subsequent,
attemptto captureRome (Thylor 1954:35).The LateranCouncil of 1123 not
bannedclerical marriages,but declaredthose existentinvalid,throwing the
families, above all their wives and children, into a state of terrcr and
@rundage1987: 214, 21rl-'171.
The reforming canonsofthe 12thcentury onderedmarried couplesto avoid sex
ing the thrce Lenten seasonsassociatedwith Eastet Pentacostand Chrismus, on
s6
on dreir wedding
Sundayof dre year,on feast days prior to rcceiving communion'
pregnancy'during lacation, and
periods,
during
wifei
merstrud
their
during
fljghts,
.rv;jle doingpenance @rundage 1987:198-99)'These testrictions were not new'They
in
ofPenitentids-What
wsr reaftrrnations ofthe ecclesiasticwMom embodied dozeru
body of Canon I:w
widrin
the
became
incorporated
they
now
that
was
novel
was
.,which wastrensformedinto an effectiveirutrument for Church government and discipline in the tweLfth century." Both the Church and the lairy recognizeddnt a legal
liuirement with explicit pendties would have a dilferent status*un a perunce suggestedby one's conGssor.ln this period, the most intirnate rclations between people
iecame a matter for lawyen and penologiss (Brundage 1987:578).
Beguines and heresy is uncenain. While some of their
27. The relation between the
like Jamesde Vitry - describedby Carol Neel as"an important
contemporaries,
administrator"- supPortedtheir initiative asan dternative to heresy,
ecclesiasticd
..theywere Enally condemnedon suspicionofheresy by the Council ofVienne of
1312,likely becauseofthe clergyt intoleranceofwomen who escapedme.lecon"forced out of existenceby ecclesiastrol.The Beguinessubsequendydisappeared,
tical reprobation"(N eel 1989:324-27, 329, 333, 339)The Ciompi were thosewho washed,combed,and greasedthe wool so that it could
be wo*ed.They were consideredunskilledworkers and had the lowest socialstatus."Cionrpo"is a derogatoryterm, meaningdirry and poorly dresed,probablydue
to the fact that the "ciompi" worked half-naked and were alwaysgreasyand stained
with dyes.Their revolt beganin July 1382,sparkedby the news that one of them,
Simoncino,had been arrestedand tortured.Apparendy,under torture he had been
madeto revealthat the donpi had held a secretmeeting during which, kissingeech
other on the mouth, they had promisedto deGnd each other from the abusesof
their employers.Upon hearing of Simoncino'sarrest,workers rushed to the guild
hall of the wool industry (Palazzodell'Atte), demanding that their comrade be
released.Then,
after securinghis release,
they occupiedthe guild hall,put patrolson
PonteVecchio, and hung the insignia of the "minor guilds" (arti minori) frorar the
windows ofthe guild hdl.They alsooccupied the ciry hall where they claimed to
have found e room full of nooseswhich, they believed,were meant for them.
Seeminglyin control ofthe situarion,theriompipresenteda petition demandingthat
they becomepart ofthe government,that they no longer be punishedby the cutting ofa hand for non-paymentofdebts, that the rich pay more taxes,and that corporal punishmentbe replacedby monetary fines.ln the 6nt week ofAugust, they
formed a militia and set up three new crafts,while preparationswere made for an
electionin which, for the first time, memben ofthe ciompiwould participate.Their
new power,however,lastedno more than a month, asthe wool magnatesorganized
a lock-out that reducedthem to hunger.Aftertheir deGat,many were arrested,hung
and decapitated;tnany more had to leavethe city in an exodus that marked the
oegtnrungofthe decline ofthe wool industry in Florence(Rodolico 1971:passirn).
,o In
the aftermathof the Black Death, every Europeancountry beganto condemn
idleness,
and to penecute ragabondage,
begging,and refusalofwoik. England took
the initiative with the Statute of 1349 that condemnedhigh wagesand idlenes,
establishing
thet those who did not work, and did not haveany meansofsurvival,
s7
had to accept work. Similar ordinances were isued in France in 1351, when it
recommended that people should not give food or hostel to healthy beggan
vagebonds.A further ordinance in 1354 established that those who remained
passing their time in taverns, playing dice or begging, had to accept work or
the consequences:
first offenderswould be put in prison on breadand water,
secondofenders would be put in the stocks,and thid offenden would be
on the forehead.ln the Frenchlegislationa new elementeppearedthat became
of the modern struggle agarnstvagabonds:forced labor. [n Castile.an
introduced in 1387 allowed private people to arrestragabondsand employ
for one month without wages(Geremek 1985:51-65).
30. The conceptof'workers'democracy"may seemprcposterouswhen appliedto
forms ofgovernment.But we shouldconsiderthatin the U.S.,which is often vi
asa democraticcountry not one industrial worker hasyet become President,
the highest governmental orgaru are all composed of representativesfrom an
nomic aristocracy.
in Cataloniahad to
wasa redemotion tax that the servileDeasants
The remensas
to leavetheir holding.A-fter the Black Death,peasantssubjecttothe rcmensas
dso subjectedto a new t:lxanon known as the "five evil customs" (iosnalos
that, in earlier times, had been applied in a lessgeneralizedway (Hilton 1
117-18).Thesenew taxes,and the conflictsrevolving around the useof
holdinp were the sourceofa protracted,regional war, in the courseofwhich
Catalonian peasantsrecruited one man ftom every three households.They
took decisionsat
strengthenedtheir ties by meansof sworn associations,
assemblies
and,to intimidate the landowners,put up crossesand other
signsall over the fields,ln the lastphaseofthe war, they denanded the end of
and the establishmentofpeasantpropetty ll^ghts(ibid.:120-21;1331.
Thus, the prolifention ofpublic brothelswas accompaniedby a campaign
homosexualsthat spreadeven to Florence.where homosexualitywasan i
part of the social fabric "attracting melesof all ages,matrimonial conditions
socialrank."So popular washomosexualityin Florencethat prostitutesusedto
male clothesto attracttheir customen.Signsofa changein Florencewere two
tiativeswhich the authoritiesintroducedin 1403.whenthe ciw banned"
from public office,and setup a watchdogcommissiondevotedto the extirpation
homosexuality:the Office of Decency.But significandy,the main step which
office took wasto make preparatiorufor the opening ofnew public brothel,so
by 1418,the authoritieswere still looking for meansto eBdicatesodomy"fiom
ciry and from the county" (Rocke 1997:30-32,35). On the Florentine
mentl promotion of publicly funded prostitution as a remedy against
decline and "sodomy,"seealsoRichard C.Tiexler (1993):
5A
59
of Laborand
TheAccumulation
the Degradationof Women:
Constructing"Difference"in the
"Transition t o Capitalism"
I denrandwhether all wars.bloodshedand niserv carrc nor
upon thc'creationwhen one nranendeavouredto be a lord over
another?...And whether this misery shallnot remove...when
all the branchesof mankind shalllook upon the earth as one
conrnrontreasuryto all.
-Cernnd Winstanley,Tlrc Ncw lztu oJ Righteousness,
lA19
To hinr she was a fragrnentedconunodity whose feelingsand
choiceswere rarely considered:her head and her heart were
separatedfrom her back and her handsand divided from her
womb and vagina.Her back and rnusclewere pressedinto 6eld
labor... her hands were denrandedto nurse and nurture tbe
whire man.... [H]er vagina,usedfor his sexud pleasure,
wasthe
gateweyto the womb,which washis placeofcapital invesmrent
- the capital investmentbeing the sex-actand the resulting
child the accumulared
surplus....
-Barbara Omolade."Hean of Darkness."19113
Albfttht Di.lrcl,THr FArL u' MAN (1510)
Tlris poutrfil srLn4ot the cryrlsion of Alttn dnd Et'(.ftont lhe
Cddtn of EdM, cvok:r the etyukion of tht pars't1try.ftotttits
huds,rhkh r.r''rssnniq to oran aoossn'tslenrEurolc nl lhe wry
ulrcn Diru u"tsproducin! lhis uoft.
I P art
The developnrenr
ofcapirafisnrwasnot the onJypossibleresponseto the crisisoffeudal
P_ower.Throughout
Eumpe, !?st comnlunalisticsocialnrovenrentsand rebellionsagainst
leudalsrrr
hai offered th.' prorrriseof a new egJitariarr societybuilt on socialequaliry
"\uopcntion. However.by 1525 their most powc'rfulexpression,the "PeasantWar"
"',.\Jernlanyor, as Perer Blickle called it, the "revolutiorr
of the conunon nran," was
-'qlocd I A hundrcd
thousan.lrebelswere messacred
in retaliation.Then,in I 535,"New
Jerusalem," the attempt made by the AneblptisB in the town of Miirutet to bring
kingdom of God to eaith, dso ended in a bloodbath, 6rst undermincd presumably
the patriarchat turn taken by is leaden who, by imposing polygany' caused
among thcir renks to revolt.2 with these defcats,compounded by the sprcadsof
huns and the efects ofcolonial expansion,the revolutionaryprocessin Europe
an end.lviilitary might was not suffcient, however, to avert the crisis of fcuddism.
By the late Middle Ages the feudd economy wes doomed, faced with an
mulation crisis that stretched for more than a century We deduce is dimeruion
some basic estimatesindicating that between 1350 and 1500 a majot shift
the power-relation between workers and masteis.Thc red wage increased by I
pricis declined by 33%, rents also declined, the length ofthe working-day decrcase<
a tendencyappearcdtoward locd self-sufficienry.3Evidenceofa chronic
tion trend in this period is alsofound in the pessimismofthe contemporary
and landownen, and thc measureswhich the European statesadopted to prctect
kes, supprcs compctition and force people to work at the conditions imposed-As
entries in the registen of the fcudal manors recorded"'the work [wasl not worth
breekfasC'(Dobb1963:54).The feudd economy cou.ldnot reproduceitself,not c<
a capitalist society have "evolved" ftom it' for sclf-sufficienry and the ncw hig
regime allowed for the "wealth ofthe peoPle," but "excluded the possibility of
789).
istic wealth" (Marx 1909,Vo1.1:
tt wasin rcsponseto this crisistlut the EuroPcannrling das launchedthe globd
sivetlut in the courseofat leasttluec centurieswasto changethe history ofthe
ing the foundationsofa capitalistwodd-q'stcm, in t}te rclcndes attempt to aPptopriate
sourcesofwedth, expand is economic bds, and bring new worken undet its comrna
As we know,"conquest, cnslavement,robbery murder, in briefforce" were thc
lan ofthis proces (i6id.r 785).Thus,the conceptofa"transition to caPitalism"is in E
waysa 6ction. British historians,in the 1940sand 1950s'used it to de6ne a period
roughly ftom 1450 to 1650 - in which feudalism in Europe was breaking down
no new social-economic systcm was yct in place' though elemens ofa capitdist s
wcrc taking shape.4The concept of"tnnsition," then' helpsus to think ofe pml
processofchange and ofsocieties in which capitdist accurnulation coexisted witb
ical formations not yet predominandy capitalistic.The term, however' suggess a
ual, lincar historical dcvclopment, whereas thc Period it names was among the
est and most discontinuous in world history - onc that sawapocalyptic
and which historians can only describe in the harshestterms: the lron Age (Kamcn)'
Age of Plunder (Hoskins),and the Age of the Whip (Stone)'"Tnnsition," then' cr
euoke the changes that paved the way to the advent of capitalism and the forces
shapedthem. In this voiume, therefore,I use the term ptirnarily in a temporal
while I referto the socialprocesesthat characterizedthe "feudd reaction"andthe
opment of capitalistrelationswith the Marxian concept of"primitive accumu
though I agreewith is critics that we must rethink Marxi interpretationofit's
Marx introduced the concept of "prinitive accumulation" at the end of
Volume I to describethe social and economic restructuring that the European nrling
initiated in responseto its accumulation crisis, and to establish(in polemics with A
Srnith)o 16x16i .rO aalismcould not havedertloped without a prior concentr:tion of
62
x2randrabor;andtha'Iils"-3:T19"1":x*::^3li:::31i.tslJ-"i;l
-.u,i'.""."r,n'i:l',".h.:ll":.:f
",::.::^'::*"^Tf
fi
i:?l
the'G"3
rorit connecs
[l u-,"ru.on..pt'
:",:::1,
:'**
*]:l"if:::":".t:
n1t'
nriul",1::::*1:.fl
nd logicalcotdttions for the development of
and rt.to:nTt,3:
.
a[5t economY'
for theexistence
("originav
tr"*-, "primitive"
n*conditon
llif31"i9 "
much asa specifc ercnt in time T
t t",i"*
i"2pi Ait,
"t
Marx, howevct analyzedprimitive accumulation dmost exclusively from the
protagonist,in his vieq of the revolu;.wDoint ofthe w.gcd industrid proletariat:the
ns cimc and the foundation fot the future communist sociery Thus,
p-."tt
,ion.ry
"f
pti-itive accumulationconsistscssentidlyin the exptopriation of dre
in hi, "i.oun,,
peasantryand the formation ofthe "fiee," independentworker'
bnd fiom the European
that:
acknowledged
he
jthough
ff"rpi,Ao,
The discoveryofgold and silverin America,the extirpation,enslavement and entombment in mines of the aboriginal population, [of
America], the beginning of the conquest and looting of the East
Indies,the turning ofA6ica into a preservefor the commercid hunting of black skins,are... the chief momens of primitive accumulal: 823).
tion... (Marx 1909,Vo1.
Marx also recognizedthat "[al grcat deal ofcapital, which today appearsin the
United Stateswithout any certificate ofbirth, wasyesterdayin England the capitalised
blood of children" (ibid.:82!)_301.By contrast,we do not 6nd in his work any mention of the profound trensformationsthat crpitalism introduced in the rcproduction
oflabor-power and the socialposition ofwomen. Nor does Marx's andysis of primitivc accumulationmention the "Great Witch-Hunt"of the 16tb and lTth centuries,
dthough this state-sponsorcdterror campaign was central to the defeat of the
Eumpeanpeasantry,faciliuting its expulsion fiom the landsit once held rn common.
In this chapterand thosethat follow, I discussthesedevelopments,
especiallywith
llfetnce to Eurcpe, arguing that:
The expropriationofEuropean worken from their meansofsubsistence, and the enslavementof Nativc Americans and Africans to the
minesand plantationsof the "NewWorld," were not the only means
by which a wodd proletariatwasformed and "accumulated,"
This processrequired the trensformationof the body into a workmachine,and the subjugationof women to the reproduction of the
work-force. Most of dl, it requircd the destruction of the powcr of
women which, in Europe as in America, was achievedthrough the
extermination of the "witches."
Primitive accumulation,then, was not simply an accumulationand
concentrationof exploitableworken and capital.It was alsoan accuuulation of dffercnesand divisionswithin the u.,trr&irgdass,whereby hier-
63
alchies built upon gender, aswell $ "race" and agc,became constitutive ofclass rule and the formation ofthe modern proletariat.
Iv. We cannot,therefore,identify capielist accumulationwith the libcration of the workcr, Gmde or male, asmany Marxists (among othen)
have done, or see the advent of capitdism as a moment of historicd
progrcss. On the contnry capitalism has crcated more brutal and
iruidious forms of enslavement,as it hasplanted into the body ofthe
proletariat deep divisions that have served to intensi$ and conced
exploitation.lt is in great part becauscofthese inposed divisionsespecia.llythose between women and men - that capitalist accumulation continuesto devasatelife in everv cotner ofthe planet.
Capitalidt
Accurnulation
of Labor in Europe
Capitd, Marx wrote, comeson the face ofthe earth dripping blood and dirt ftour
1: 834) and,indeed,when we look at the beginning ofcapitalist
to toe (1909,Vo1.
opment, we have the impressionof being in an immense concentntion camp.ln
"NewWorld" we havethe subjugationofthc aboriginalpopulationsto the
the nitd d cuatelchilsunder which multitudes ofpeople were consumed to bring
^
ver and mercury to the su.face in the mines of Huancavelica and Potosi. In
Eurcpe, we have a "second serfdom," tying to the land a population offarmen who
the
ncvcroreviouslvbeenenserfed.9In WesternEumDe,wehavethc Enclosures,
and
beggan
in
newly
Hunt, the bnnding, whipping, and incarcention ofvagabonds
structed work-houses and correction houses.models for the future Drison svstem"
the horizon, we havethe rise ofthe slavetrade,while on the seas,shipsarc already
porting indentured servantsand convicB ftom Europe to America.
What we deduce fiom this scerurio is that force wasthe mein lever, thc meil
nomic power in the proces ofprimitilc accumulationl0becausecapitalist
requircd an imrncnse leap in the wealth appropriatcd by the European ruling clas
the number ofworken brought under is command. In other woncls,primitive
lation consistedin an immenseaccumulationoflabor-oower-"dead labor" in thc
of stolen goods, and "living labor" in the form of human being madc arailablc
exploitation- realizedon a sca.leneverbefore matchedin the courseof history.
Signifcandy, the tendency ofthe capitalist class,during the 6nt three
its existcnce, was to impose davery and other forrns of coerced labor as the
work relation, a tendency limited only by the worken' resistanceand the dangcr
exluustion of the work-force.
This was true not only in the Amcrican colonies,where, by thc 16th
economiesbasedon coercedlabor were forming, but in Europe aswell. Later,I
ine the importance ofslave-laborand the plantationsystemin capitalist
Here I want to stressthat in Europe,too, in the l5th century slavery,never
abolished,wasrevitalized.lI
6.I
16 .eportcd by the Itdian bistorien Sdvetorc Bono, to whom we owe the most
study ofdavery in ltaly, thete were nurnerous davesin the Mediterranean areas
-;.6lvc
(1571)
lrtre t6,t' and 17,t'centuries,and their numbersgrew after the Batde oflepanto
more then
cdculates
that
world.
Bono
against
thc
Muslim
hostilities
the
]i* .r..trt.d
a whole (one per
in-ooorl"ue, liued in Naplesand 25'000 in the Napolitan kingdom as
ltdian
towns
and to southern
figures
apply
to
other
and
similar
population),
,irrt ofthe
whereby thousandsof kidnapped
slavery
developed
ofpublic
a
system
ldy.
i-oncc.ln
the rnceslors of-to&yl undocumented imrnigrent workcrs - were
foraigrtatrgovernrnensfor public work, or were farmed out to privete citizens
.ity
by
.rnpl,oy.d
in agriculturc.Many wcre destinedfor the oan,an irnportantsource
them
who employed
the Vaticanfleet (Bono 1999:6-8).
ofsuch employmentbeing
form
is
"that
Slavery
[of exploitation] towards which the master always strives"
was
no exception.This must be emphasizedto dispel thc
2).
Europe
1982:
(pockes
connection
betweenslaveryandAfrica.l2 But in Europe slavery
specid
ofa
esumption
phenomenon,
as
the materid conditions for it did not exist, ddrough
limited
a
prneined
have
desires
for
it
must
been quite strongifit took until the lSth century
dreernployen'
was
oudawed
in
England.The
attempt to bringback serfdom fa.iledaswell,
slavery
beforc
wherc
population
grve landlondsthe upper hand.l3 In the
East,
scarcity
the
in
cxccpt
prevented
peasant
was
by
resistanceculminating in the "Cerman
restoration
is
West
A
broad
War."
organizational
effort
spreading
over three countries (Germany,
Peasant
joining
worken
Switzerland)
and
from
every
6eld (farmers,miners, artisarx,
Austria,
this".evolution ofthc common man"
includingthe bestGermanandAustrianartists),14
unsa wetershedin Europeanhistory.Like the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia,it
shook dre powerful to the core, merging in their consciousnes with the Anabaptiss
trkeoverof Miiruter, which confrmed their fearsthat an international conspirecywx
underwayto overthrow their power.lsAtfterits dcfeat,which occurredin the sameyear
esthe conquestof Peru, and which was commemoretedby Albrecht Diirer with the
"Monument to thevanquishedPeasants"
(Thea 1998:65;13,1-35),the revengewasmerciles,"Thousandsofcorpseslaid on the ground from Thuringia to Alsace,in the fields,
in the woods,in rhe ditchesofa thousanddismantled,burned castles,"
"murdered,torturcd,impaled,martyred" (ibid.:153, 146).But the clock could not be turned back. In
vltlous partsof Germany and the other territories that had been at the center of the
"lar," customaryrighs and even forms ofteritorial governmentwere preserved.l6
This was an exception. Where worken' rcsistanceto re-enser6nent could not be
,
Droken,the responsewa5 the cxpropriation ofthe peasantry
ftom ils land and the introqucuon
offorced \'r'age-labor.Worken attempting to hire themselvesout independently
or leavetheir employen
werc punished with incarceration and even with death, in the
clseof recidivism.A "free"
wage labor-market did not develop in Europe until the 18th
cctttury,and
even then, contraciral waqe-work wasobtained onlv at the oiice ofan intense
sh8de and
by a linired setof laborei. mostly male and adult.Nevertheless,
the fact tlut
qvery
and serfdom could not be restoredmeant that the labor crisis that had characterucd the late
Middlc Agcs continued in Europe into the 17rhcentury aggwated by the
qr that
the drive to nraximizethe exploitation oflabor put injeopandy the reproducuonofthe
work-lorce.Thiscontndiction - which st l clancte.ir., capita]istdeuelop"'cntr7 - explodednrost dramaticallyin the American colonies,where work, disease,
6S
'I() tHIt
AIIftrht Dit./, MoNttut:it
(1
526).T}tispn'
/,{.\'errriHlil)Prr.s,l.\lit
Mr, nercs litry tt Pltlsttnlenthroie.l ofl d aol
lr.lio of olitds.fio hit diily li.fc'is highly
tt biguous.lt an sugleslthnl th' Pctrs't'lts
uin bt ytd ot th, Illty lteuxlvLssltoultlbe
ntrrl as ni'itors.Acotlinlly, il h,u bettt itktpntd nhr as,t ;,nr, of !h,:nb'l Y,u,tttti ol
,x d hotr,tltto thdr nonl stnngthll'lnt wc
ktrouuith nndity i tlrdl Diiltr tutspto'
Jounllyptrtutbcdby tht tntts ofl525,ui,
$ tt @ntitcd Luthu.tn,t,tusthdu(Iollowed
oJthereuoh
.
Ittlw it hisconduur,rtion
i
t
66
67
In suppon of this satement,I tmce dre main developmena dut shaped dte
ofcapitalism in Europe - land privatization and the Price Revolution - to argue tbat
Land Privatizalion
and the Separatiorr
of
in Errrope, the Production
frorn
Reprodrrction
Production
of
6a
Many tenure contractswere alsoannulledwhen the Church'slands.wereconiscatedin the coune of the ProtestantReformation, which beganwith a massivelandgnb by the upper class.In France,a common hunger for the Churchi land at first united
the lower and higher classes
in the Protestantmovement, but when the land was auctioned,startingin 1563,the artisansand &y-laborers,who had demandedthe exproprirtion of the Church "with a passionborn of bitternes and hope," and had mobilized
with the promisethat they too would receivetheir share,were betrayedin their expectetions(Le Roy Ladurie 1974:173_76).Alsothe peasants,
who had become Protestant
to freethemselves
from the tithes,weredeceived.Whenthey stoodby their riqhts,declaring that ''the Gospel promisesland freedom and enfranchisement,"
they were savagely
ettackedasfomentersof sedition (ihid.:192)2r In England aswell, much land changed
hendsin the nanreofreligious reform. W C. Hoskin hasdescribeit as"the greatesttransrerenceof land in English history sincethe Norman Conquest" or, more succinctly,as
r neGreatPlunder."22ln England,however,land
privatizationwasmosdyaccomplished
,
qrrough
the "Enclosures,"a phenomenonthat hasbecomeso associated
with the exproPtiationof worken fio- thei. "co--or, *"alth" that,in our rime,it is usedby anti-capItalistactivists
asa signifierfor every attackon socialentitlements.23
In the l6rh century,"enclosure"wasa technicalterm, indicating a setof strategies
.. he.English
lotdsand rich farmersusedto eliminatecommunalland property and expand
qeu
holdings.2'r
It mostly refetredto the abolition ofthe open-field system,anarrangeby which villagersowned non-conriguousstrips of land in a non-hedged6eld.
;:':t
-r"'t$ng dto included the fencing of of the conunons and the pulling down of the
-'{LKso[ poor conagerswho had no land but could survivebecausethey had accessto
customary rights.2s Large tiacts ofland were also enclosed to create deer patks,
entire villages were cast down, to be laid to Pasture.
70
lo plrnt or harvest,when to drain the fens,how many animalsto allow on the commons
- weretakenby peasantassemblies.2u
The sameconsideretiors apply to the "commons." Disparagedin 16thcentury literatureasa sourceoflaziness and disonder,the corunons were essentia.l
to the reproduction
ofnrany snull farmersor cottan who survived onlv becausethey had accessto meadowsin
whichto keepcows,or woodsin which ro gathertirrrber,wild
berriesand herbs,or quarnes'6sh-ponds,
and openspaces
in which to meet.Besideencouragingcollectivedecisionnuhng and work
cooperation,the cornnons were the materialfoundationupon which
peasantsolidariry
and iocialiry could rhrive.All the festivals,games,and gatherinF of the
pcasant
tornnruniw wereheldon the commoru,2gThesocialfunction ofthe colunorx was
esPecrally
rrnpo.t"nt for wonren,who, havinglesstitle to land and les socialpower,were
''utedependenton rhem for rherrsubsistence,
autonony, and sociality.ParephnsingA-tice
Latk\ staternenr
.rboutthe importanceofmarkes for women in pre-capitalist
Europe,we
*rt saythat
the conulons too were for wornen the centerof sociallife, the placewhere
7t
they convened, exchanged news, took advice, and where a women's viewpoint
munal events,autonomous ftom that ofmen, could form (Clark 1968:51).
on
72
73
rchole$ who consider the flight from servitudc (through migntion and other
nomadism) the pandigrnatic forms of strugle, Nor could women become soldien
pay,though somejoined armies ascook, washers,prostitutes,and wives;38but by dtc
century this option too vanished,as armies were furthet regirnented and the
women that used to follow them were expelled from the batdeGelds(Kricdte 1983;
'Womenwere dso morc negativelyimpactedby the enclosuresbecauscas
land wasprivatized and monetary relations begrn to dorninate economic life, they
it more dilhcult than men to support themselves,being increasingly confned to
ductive labor at the very time when this work was being completely delalued.
will see,this phenomenon, which has accompanicd the shift fiom a subsistence
money-economy,in every phaseof capitalistdevelopment,can be anributed to
facton. It is clear. however. that the commercialization of economic liG providcd
material conditions for it.
With the demise of the subsistencecconomy that had prevailed in
Europe,the unity ofproduction and rcproductionwhich hasbeen rypicd ofall
basedon production-for-usecarneto an end,astheseactivitiesbecamethe carrien of,
ferent socid relations and were sexually differentiated. In the new monetary regime'
whereasthe reproduction
.roduction-for-marketwasde6nedasa value-creatingactivity,
viewpoint and even
economic
to
be
coruidercd
lion
an
began
rzlueless
as
workcr
lldl,
work continued to be paid - though at
as
work.
considered
Reproductive
be
ro
)l.ased
But the
It lo*"t, ra,", - when perfornredfor the masterclassor ouside the home"
reproductionoflabor-power carried out in the home,and
ofthe
importance
Lononric
i. fun.rion in the accuntulationof capita.lbecameinvisible,being mystfied asa natural
"womeni labor." In addition, women werc excludedliom many
,ocadonand labelled
and,when they wor*ed for a wage,they earneda pittancecomparcd
occupations
*Bgrd
wage.
to the averegenrale
Thesehistoric changes- that peakedin the 19thcentury with the creationofthe
women's position in society and in relation to nen.The
full-dme housewife rcdefined
gxual division oflabor that emerged from it not or y 6xed women to reproductive work,
theirdependenceon men,enablingthe stateand employen to usethe ma.le
butincreased
to command woment labor. In this way,the separetion of commodiry
means
a
as
*?ge
the reproduction of labor-power alsomade possiblethe development
6onr
ooduction
ofa specificdlycapitalistuseofthe wageand ofthe marketsasmeansfor the accumuhtion ofunPaid labor.
Most importandy,the separationofproduction from reproductioncreateda clas
asmen but, unlike their male relatives,
ofproleorian women who were asdispossessed
in a societythat wasbecomingincrcasinglymonetarized,had alnost no accessto wages,
thusbcing forcedinto a condition ofchronic poverry economic dependence,
and invisibility asworkers.
As we will see,the devaluation and feminization of reproductive labor rras a disasteralsofor male workers, for the derzluation ofreproductive labor inevitably devalued
it product:labor-power.But there is no doubt that in the "tmnsirion from feudalismto
capitalism"
wonren sufered a uniquc proces ofsocid degndation *ut was fundamend to the accumulationof capitaland hasremainedso ever since.
A.lsoin view ofthese developments,
we cannot say,then,that the separationofthe
workerftom the land and the adventofa money-economyrealizedthe strugglewhich
the medieval serfshad fought to free themselvesIiom bondage. It was not the worken
- maleot female- who were liberatedby land priretizationlWhar was"[bented" was
capital,
asthe land wasnow "free" to fun.tion
of
and exploitaqon,rrther
". " -a"n,
than asa mearuofsubsistence.
Libented
were the"ccumu.larion
landlorrds,
who now could
utdoadonto the workersmost
ofthe cost oftheir reproduction,giving them accessto
sornemeansofsubsistence
only when directly employed,Whenwork would not be availableot would not
be sufiicientlyprofitable,asin timesofcommercial or agriculturalcrit[r,workers,instead,
could be laii offand left to starve.
The separationofworken from their meansofsubsistenceand their new dependcnce
-- on nonetary
relationsalsomeantthat the realwagecould now be cut and woment
qoor could
be funher devaluedwith respectto men'sthrough monetary manipulation.
4 rsnot a
coincidence,then, that as soon asland began to Le privatized,the prices of
'vo(tstuffs,
wluch for rwo centurieshad sugnated.beganto rise.Jq
73
The Prlce
European
of th
1351-1400
1401-1450
1451-1500
76
KIoGRAMS oF CRAIN
121.8
155.1
143.5
1500-1550
1551-1600
1601-1650
, 1651- 1700
1701-1750
1751-1800
122.4
83.0
48.3
74. 1
94.6
79.6
It took centuriesfor wagesin Europe to return to the level they had reachedin
to the point that, in England,by 1550, male
.r,elate Middle Ages Things deteriorated
to
earn
the
sameincome that, at the beginning ofthe
weeks
forry
*o.k
to
]-..iran,h"d
obtain
in
fifteen
weeks.In France,[seegraph' next page]
able
to
been
had
l.ntu.y, th"y
1470
between
and 1570 (Hackett Fischer 1996:78).43
by
sixty
Percent
lnges dropped
for
wornen- In the 14thcentury,they had
was
especially
disastrous
collapse
1t1-6wage
man
for
the
same
task;
but
by the mid-16th century they were
pay
ofa
halfthe
pceived
reduced
male
wage,and
could no longer support themofthe
one-third
only
receiving
nor
in
manufacturing,
neither
in
agriculture
a fact undoubtedly
wage-work,
by
selves
period.aaWhat
followed was
ofprostitution
in
this
the
massive
spread
for
responsible
phenomenon
European
working
class,
a
so wideofthe
impoverishment
the absolute
referred
to as
by
1550
and
long
after,
workers
in
Europe
were
genenl
that,
and
spread
"the
simply
Poor."
Evidencefor this dramatic impoverishmentis the changethat occurred in the
from their tables,except for a few scnps oflard, and so
workers'dies.Meat disappeared
did beer and wine, saltand olive oil (Bnudel 1973:127ff;Le P.oy Ladurie 1974).From
the 16thto the 18thcenturies,the workers'dietscorxistedesentially ofbread, the main
cxpensein their budget.This wasa historic setback(whateverwe may think ofdietary
norms)comparedto the abundanceofmeat dnt had typfied the late lVliddleAges.Peter
Kriedtewrites that at that time, the "annual meat consumption had reachedthe 6gure
of100 kilos per person,an incrediblequantity even by todayt standards.
Up to the 19th
centurythis figure declined to lessthan twenty kilos" (K.riedte1983:52). Breudel too
speaks
ofthe end of''carnivorousEurope,"summoningasa witnessthe SwabianHeinrich
Muller who, in 1550,commented thac,
...in the pastthey ate difercody at the peasant!house.Then, there
was meat and food in profusion every day; tables at village fein and
Gastssank under their load.Today,everything has truly changed. For
someyean,in fact,what a calamitoustine, what high prices!And the
food ofthe most comfortablyoffpeasansis almostwone than that of
day-labourersand raletsprevioudy" @nudel 1973:130).
but food sholtagesbecamecommon, agrarated in
**
\:t "trly did meat disappear,
-'rcs ot haryestfailure,when the scantygrain reservessentthe price ofgnin sky-high,
sndemning
crry dwellen ro starrzrion(Braudel1966,Vo1.
I:328).This is what occurred
t*;.
yean of the 1540sand 1550s,and againin the decadesof the 1580sand
11*t
.."s'which weresomeofthe worst in the history ofthe Europeanproletariat,coincidtn8
with widesoreadunrestand a recondnumber of witch-trials.But malnutrition was
The socialconsequerca
oJthe Mcc Ret'olutionuc n'eded Iry theserhdrts,uhich indiate,
ftspe.tivell,the ise in tepdceo_f4ninh EnlLlll.dbctu,t.n 1490 ind 1650, thc @naotlitant iy in pli.es and propertyoines in Esscx(England)bcfiu:ut 1566 and 1602,
od thepopulttior declinemcasurcdin nillions in Cert iny, Austtit, Iktlf ind Spain
bet'tee l500 and 1750 (Hi.keu Fis et,1996).
Soriltcm Eoglrnd
120
l(X,
t0
@
rsrddFn
ofFil
(l atc99l0OI .or!d
r{n !lr/t3nldt.'trr.
20
0
1450
t20
100
t0
Ab|cc
qx'
800
7@
@0
@
q
,oo
.tr
d ,o0
20
3(x)
200
100
0
1566 l57l
lt96
t6ol
l4
!t
e t0
60
r|{)
20
7A
l59l
l6
t00
t0
r5t6
It
Frracs
0
l.ll0
1475
t
6
4
O.rna4/.rd
Adrir
0
1500
79
t'*--"**"'"
I
rempant a.lsoin nolmal times, so that food acquircd a high symbolic value as a
rank. The desire for it among the poor reached epic propotions, inspiring dtea6g
is also demonstrated by the fact that, while in the 14rh and 15th
turies, the proletarian strugglehad centeredaround the demand for "liberty" and
work, by the 16thand 17th,it wasmostly spurredby hunger,taking the form of
The
on bakeriesand gnnaries,and ofrios againstthe export oflocal crops.a5
riesdescribedthosewho participatedin theseattacksas"good for nothing" or "poor"
"humble people,"but most were craftsmen,living, by this time, from hand to mouth.
lt wasthe women who usuallyinitiated and led the food revolts.Six ofthe
one food rios in 17th-centuryFrancestudiedby Ives-MarieBerc6were madeup
sivelyofwomen. In the othersthe femalepresencewasso consPicuousthat Berc6
them"woment riots."46Conrmenting on this Phenomenon,with referenceto 1
tury England,SheilaRowbotham concludedthat women were prominent in tlis
But women were also
ofprotest becauseof their role astheir farnilies'caretakers.
most ruined by high pricesfor, havinglessaccessto money and emplo;Tnent dran
they were more dependenton cheapfood for survival.Thisis why, despitetheir
dinatestatus,they took quickly to the streetswhen food priceswent up, or when
spteadthat the grain supplieswere being removedftom town.This is what
the time of the Conioba uprising of 1652,which started"earlyin the morning. .
a poo! wonun went weepingthrough the streetsofthe poor quarter,holding thc
oi h". ,on who had died of hunger" (Kamen 1971: 364).The same occurred
Montpellier in 1645,when women took to the streets"to Protect their childrn
starvation"(r'lid.:356). In France,women besiegedthe bakerieswhen they became
vinced that grain was to be embezzled,or found out that the rich had bought the
breadand the remainingwaslighter or more expensive.Crowds ofpoor women
demandingbread and charging the baken with
then fiither at the bakers'stalls,
their supplies.Riots brcke out also in the squareswhere grain marketswere hel4
along the routestakenby the cartswith the corn to be exported,and"at the river
where...boatmencould be seenloading the sacks."On theseoccasiousthe
ao
the carts.. with pitcMorks and sticks... the men carrying awaythe sacks,the
--hushed
'.'^-.n earheringasmuch grain asrhey could in their skirts" @erc6 1990:171J3)'
t""Ti" strug;defor food was fought dso by other means,such aspoaching,steding
on the housesof the rich ln Troyes
r-^,none! neighbors'6elds or homes,and assaults
put
houses
ofthe rich on fire, preparingto
poor
had
the
the
it
thar
ii-iz:, rr."r n"a
Countries,the housesofspecin
the
Low
Malines'
(g"tte.
19t16:
55-56).At
ll..i" ,6"t"
(Hacken
Fischer1996:88) Not sur'1,^.^'.*.r"
peasants
with
blood
angry
by
-".k"d
procedures
ofthe 16thand 17th
disciplinary
large
in
the
loonr
lj.t-"nl* fo.a crimes"
"diabolical
banquet" in the
ofthe
theme
ofthe
recurrence
is
the
r*"n,pt".y
fiftuii.r.
white
bread.
and
wine wasnow
roasted
mutton,
feasting
on
rhat
sugge.ung
-itch-trials.a diabolic act in the caseof the "common people."But the main weapons
considered
famishedbodies,asin
,*rl"bla ,o,h" poo. in their strugglefor survilel were their own
the
beaer
off' half-deadof
and
beggars
surrounded
of
vagabonds
im., of f"rrrrn" hordes
and, forcing
their
wounds
to
them
grabbing
their
arms,
exposing
hungerand disease,
and revolt.
prospect
contan
nation
fear
at
the
ofboth
ofconstant
ihemto live in a state
.,youcannotwalk down a streetor stop in a square- aVenetianman wrote in the midl6rhcentury- without multitudessurroundingyou to beg for chariry:you seehunger
Fanily oJwptbonds.
Enlnviry by Lut,1.t\h
byden,1520.
al
a2
That in the industrializing regions of Europe, by the 19th century, the most
cxtleme forms of proletarian misery and rebellion had disappearedis not a proof
.geinstthis claim. Proletarianmisery and rcbellionsdid not come to an end; they only
lcsened to the degree that the super-exploitation of workers had been exported,
throughthe institutiondization of slavery,et first, and later through the continuing
cxpansionof colonial domination.
As for the "trrnrition" period. this remainedin EuroDe a time of intense socid
conllict,providing th. ,trg. fo, set of stateinitiativesrhat,judging fronr their effects,
"
hedthreenrarnobjectives:(a)to crcate
a morc disciplinedwork-force;(b) to diffusesocial
ploteit;and (c) to
fix worken to thejobs forcedupon them. Let uslook at them in turn.
ln pursuit of socialdiscipline,an attackwaslaunchedagainstall fornts of collec.
ovesocialiryand
sexuahryincluding spors, games,dances,ale-wakes,festivals,
and other
tloup-rituals that had been a sourceofbonding and soli&riry among worken. It was
srnctioned
by a deluge of bills: twenty-6ve,in England,just for the regtrlationof a.le"ouses,in the yearsbetween 1601 and 1606 (Underdown 1985:47-4lt). Peter Burke
\r'ln), in his work
on the subjecr,hasspokenofit asa campaignagainst"popular cul'q-c tJutwe can
seethat what wasat stakewasthe desocializationor decollectivization
ofthe work-force,aswell asthe attempt to imposea more produc;'.oe,reproducbon
-. urc oi leisuretime.This process,in England.reachedis climax with the conring ro
r{wer of the
Puritansin rhe afternrathof the Civil War (1642-49), when the fear of
83
41,
Population
Disciplininq
Decline, Econolnic
of Wornen
a6
the determi;,t and ir shou.ldbe rccognized that other facton contributed to increase
reproductive
woment
stricdy
more
power-structune
control
to
eutopean
the
ijon of
and ecoprivatization
ofproperry
increasing
we
t}re
must
include
*.m,
iif,"aion. A-""g
'-"^-i. *lraio* tlut (wifiin the bourgeoisie) generated a new anxiery concerning the
'll^aon ofp.,.t"iry and the conductofwomen. Similarly,inthe chargethat witchessac16thand 17th
l"r."a .nifa*n ," ,ttc devil - a key themein the "great witch-hunt" ofthe
but alsodte
population
decline'
with
a
preoccupation
only
not
.*
rcad
*.
]i"-ri", particularly
low-class
subordinates,
to
their
with
rcgard
classes
propenied
i,. .f O.
'ri,}.n *ho,* t.*tnts,beggars or heders,hadmany opponunitiesto entertheir employ.-' t out"r and causethem harnr.It cannot be a pure coincidence,however,that at the
i-- n,onrent*hen populationwasdeclining,and an ideology wasforming that stresed
life, severependties werc introduced in the legal codes
Ue ..*nliry "flab"r in cconomic
guilty ofreproductivecrimes'
wonren
punish
ro
ofEurope
The concomitantdeveloPmentof a population crisis,an expansionistpopulation
promoting population growth is well-docuthcory, and the introduction of policies
idea
that the number of citizensdeterminesa
the
mid-16th
century
the
mented.By
ofa
social
axiom."ln my view,"wrote the French
something
had
become
wedth
nation!
shouldneverbe afraidofhaving too
Bodin,"one
demonologistJean
and
thinker
oottical
for
the
strcngth
of the commonwedth corsiss in
many
citizens,
o.
too
meny subjecs
ttalian
economist
CiovanniBotero (t533-1617) had
BookVI).The
(Connotru'eahh,
msn"
the
need
for
a balancebetween the numbcr
recognising
approach,
sophisticated
r morc
ofa city"
that
that"the greatness
Still,
he
declared
means
ofsubsistence.
and
the
ofpeople
did not dependon its physicalsizeor the circuit ofis ualls,but exclusivelyon the numbcr ofits residens.Henry IV's sayingthat "the strengthand wealth ofa king lie in the
numberaud opulence of his citizeru" sumsup the demogrrphic thought ofthe age.
Concernwith populationgrowth is detectabledso in the programofthe Potesant
Refornution. Dismissing the traditional Christian exaltation of chastiry, the Reformen
vrlorizedmartiage,sexuality,and even women becauseof their reproductivecapacity.
Voman is "neededto bring about the increaseof the human rece,"Luther conceded,
rcflectingthat "whatevertheir weaknesses,
women possess
one virtue that cancelsthem
rll:they havea womb and they can give birth" (King 1991:115).
Support for population growth climaxed with the rise of Mercantilism which made
.
the prcsenceof a large population dre key to the prosperiry and power of a rution.
Mercantilism has often been dismissedby mainstrcam economiss as a crude system of
thoughtbecauseof irs assumptionthat the wealth of natiors is proponionalto the quanoty of laboren and monev availableto them. The bruul mearu which the mercantiLiss
aPPliedin order to forc. people to work, in their hunger for labor, have contributed to
rheirdisrepure.
asmost economiss wish to maintain the illusion that capialism fosten freeoorDrrther than
coercion. [t wasa nrercantilistclas that invented the work-houses,hunted
qown
vagabonds,"tnnsported" criminab to the American colonies, and invested in the
tlrve Frde.
all rhe while assertingthe "utiliry ofpoverty" and declaring "idleness" a social
PugueThus,ir hasnot been recognrzcdtlut in the mercantilisc'theory and practicewe
Dld the
ntosrdirecte*p..o,on ofihe ,eqoiremensofprimitive accumulationand the frrst
qPtblit,
Pul,.y exphcrtlyaddresingthe problemofthe reproductionofthe work-force.
"s Policy,its we haveseen,had an "intensive" side consisting in the imposition ofa total-
87
iarian regime using every meansto extnrct the maximum ofwork ftom every
regardlessofage and condition. But it also had an "extensive one" consisting in the
to expand the size ofpopulation, and thereby the size ofthe army and the work
As Eli Heckshernoted,"an almostfanaticd desireto increasepopu-lation
in all countriesduting the period when mercantilismwasat its height,in the later
of the 17th century" (Heckscher1966: 158).Along widt it, a new concept of
beingsalsotook hold, picturing them asjustraw materials,worken and breedenfor
state(Spengler1965:8). But even prior to the heydayof mercantiletheory, in
and Englandthe stateadopteda setofpro-natalist measuresthat, combined with
Relief, formed the embryo ofa capitalist rcproductive policy. Laws were passedthat
a premium on marriage and penalizedcelibacy,modeled on those adoptedby thc
Roman Empire for this purpose.The family wasgiven a new importance asthe key
tution providing for the transmissionof properry and the reproduction of the
we havethe beginning ofdemographic recording and the
force.Simultaneously,
vention ofthe statein the supervisionofsexualiry,procreetion'and family life.
But the main initiative that the statetook to restorethe desiredpopulation
was the launching of a true *ar appinstwomen clearly aimed at breaking the
they had exercisedover their bodiesand reproduction.Aswe will seelater in tlis
ume,this war waswagedprimarily through the witch-hunt that literally demonized
form ofbirth-control and non-procreativesexualiry,while chargingwomen with
ficine children to the devil. But it also relied on the lede6nition ofwhat
repmductivecrime.Thus,startingin the mid-16thcentury while Portugueseships
returning from Africa with their 6nt human cargoes,all the European
begento imposethe severestpenaltiesagainstcontreception,abortion and
This lastrractice had beentreatedwith someleniencyin the Middle Ages'at
in the caseofpoor women; but now it was turned into a capital crime, and
more harsNy than the majoriry of male crimes.
In sixteenthcentury Nuremberg,the penaltyfor maternalinfanticide
was drowning; in 1580,the year in which the severedheadsof three
women convicted ofmaternal infanticide were nailed to the sca$old
for public contemplation,thependty waschangedto beheading(King
1991: 10) . oo
New forms ofsurveillancewere alsoadoptedto ensurethat pregnantwomen
not terminatetheir pregnancies.InFrance,a royaledict of1556 requiredwomen to
ister every pregnancy,and sentencedto death those whose infans died beforc
after a concealeddelivery whether or not ptoven guilty of any wrongdoing.
statuteswere passedin England and Scotlandin 1624 and 1690,A systemof spics
alsocreatedto suweil unwed mothe$ and deprive them of any support.Even
an unmarried pregnantwoman wasmadeillegal,for fear that shemight escapethe
lic scrutinyiwhile those who befriendedher were exposedto public criticrsm
1993:51-52:Ozment 19fi3:43).
As a consequencewomen began to be prosecutedin large numben, and
were executedfor infanticidein 16rhand l7th-century Europe than for any other
aa
--.,,t
CP'r
for witchcraft, a charge that dso centered on the killing of children and other
a9
Albrcdt
Diiftr,THtl
BIR'rlJ(rI,'tHI)
VIR(;rx
(t 502-ttoJ).
Child-bnrh
u,hich
Jtnmlc
90
9l
lrhe Devaluation
of Wornen'g
Labor
n'd the.sol'
Ilr lturuut''
tPJottourt'
lit. Ofdt 't
ed rc
t Inottiluk |c'Jot'
uile
n
qf
Jor sol'
fir,tttio
'litrr d othtt
,t
Prcbt','iuts,
ud rookiryJot tlrt
aashitrX
ir adrlitiotr
nxtrslrtsr'n'ttl
stn'ics
:ctudl
p ltrot'ttlitg
ing women to pocreate againsttheir will or (asa fen nist song from the 1970shrd
only in part defined women's
forcing thern to " producechildren for the state,"62
tion in rhe new sexualdivision oflabor. A complenrentaryaspectwasthe definition
wonlen asnon-workers,a processmuch studiedby Gminist historians,which by thc
ofthe 17thcentury wasnearly completed.
By this tinre worrrenwere losing ground even with respectto jobs that had
theit preropptives,
suchasale-brewingand midwifery,where their employmentwas
jected to new restrictions.Proletarianwomen in particular found it difficult to
anyjob other than thosecarrying the loweststatus:asdomesticservans(the
ofa third ofthe fenralework-force),farm-hands,spinnen,knitters,embroideren,
ers,wet nurses.As Merry Wiesner (among others) rells us,the assunlpdonwes
gtound (in the lau in thc tax reconds,inthe ordinancesofthe guilds)that women
not work ouside the home, and should engagein "production" only in order to
their husbands.It was even arsued that any work that women did at home was
work" and was wofthlesseven when done for the nrarket flffiesnet 1993:ft3fi).
a woman sewedsome clothes it was"domestic work" or "housekeeping,"even if
clotheswere not for the fanrilv.whereaswhen a man did the sartretask it wes
ered "ptoductive." Such was the devaluation ofwonten's labor that city governrnentj
92
93
8,1-85). Soon all fenrale work, ifdone in the home, was defined as"housekeeping,"
even when done outside the home it was paid lessthan men's work, and never
fot wonren to be able to live by it. Marriage was now seen as a woman's true capeq
women's inability to support themselves was taken so Druch for granted, that when a
gle wornan tried to settle in a village, she was driven away even ifshe earned a
in the cities,
The situationwassimilarin Englandand Spain,where,everyday,
women arriving from the countryside,and eventhe wivesofcraftsmen,roundedup
family income with this work. A proclamation issuedby the political authoritic:
Madrid, in 1631,denouncedthe prcblem,complainingthat nranyvagabondwomen
alleys,and taverns,enticing men to sin widr
now wanderinganrongthe cityi streets,
(Vigil 19tt6:114-5).But no soonerhadprcstirutionbecomethe main form of
for a largefenralepopulation than the institutionalattirudetowardsit changed.
evil, and
in the late Middlc'Agesit had been o6cidly acceptedasa necessary
had benefitedfronr the high wageregime,in the 16thcentury,the situationwas
In a clinratc of intensc misogyny, characterized by the advance of the
btiry subiurd
sadc.,,Sht
uill
94
inpti'o',d
.lil
tiJ"."
'\l/orflen:
to compete with them, banned them from their ranks,went on strike when thc
was not observed.end even refusedto work with men who worked with
lppears that the craftsmen were also interesred in limiting women to domestrc
96
oI the Wage
Signi6cant,
in this conrext,are the changesthat took placewithin the family which, in
uusperiod,begrn to separatefrom the public sphereand acquireits modern
connotaoonsasthe main centerfor the reproduction
ofthe work-force.
The counterpartofthe market,the instruinent for the privatizationofsocial rela
^.
lons and.above
all, for the propagarronof capitalistdisciplineand patriarchalrule, the
tarnilYemerges
in rhe p"rioj of p."i^itiue accumulationalsoasthe urostimportant rnstrlutronfor thc
approprlrtron
.on."rl-ent of women\ labor.
"nj
W: t". tlus in parricular
when we look at the working-clxs farrrily.Thisis a subi.^- -,
N-tnat
ha5beenundentudied.Previousdiscussions
haveprivilegedthe family ofprop*'co men.
phusibly because,
at the trme to which we are referring,it wasthe dominant
rrrodelfor parenraland nraritalrelations.There
hasa.lso
beenmore interJ:l:lO:h"
" ttrc Ianuly asa polrricalinstirution than asa placeof work.What hasbeen emphals that in rhe new bourgeoisfarnily,the husbandbecamethe representative
of.-'"''n.
" rqestate.ch.rrgedwrth riscrphnilngand supervisingthe "subordinate
classes,'
a cate-
97
t-'
gory that for 16th and 17th-century politica.l theoriss flean Bodin, for example)
the man'swife and his children (Schochet1975).Thus,the identifcation of thc
asa nicro-state or a micro-church,and the demandby the authoritiesthat single
ers live under the roofand rule ofa master.lt is alsopointed out that within the
geois family the woman lost much ofher power, being genenlly excluded ftorn the
ilv businessand confned to the supervisionofthe household.
But what is missingin this picture is a recognitionthat, while in the upper
waspropertythat ggvethe husband power over his wife and children, a similar powct
grrnted to working-class rnen over women by means of women'sexclusionfom thc
Exemplary of this trend was the family ofthe cottage worken in the
system.Far from shunning marriage and family-making, male cottage worken
on it. for a wiG could "help" them with the work they would do for the
while caring for their physical needs,and providing them with children, who
early agecould be employedat the loom or in some subsidiaryoccupation.Thus,
in times ofpopulation decline,cottageworken apparendycontinued to multiply;
fanfies were so large that a contemporaly 17th-centuryAustrian,looking at thorc
ing in his village,describedthem aspackedin their homeslike sparrowson a teftei
standsout in this type ofarrangementis that though the wife worked side-by-sidc
her husband,she too producing for the market, it was the husbandwho now
her waee.Thiswastrue alsofor other femalewotkers once they married.In
married man...waslegallyentitled to his wife'searnings"evenwhen thejob shedid
when a parishemployedwomen to do this kind
nursingor breast-feeding.Thus,
the records"fiequendy hid (their) presenceasworken" registeringthe payment
in the men! names."Whether the payment was made to the husbandor to thc
dependedon the whim ofthe clerk" (Mendelsonand Crawford 1998:287).
This poliry, naking it impossiblefor women to havemoney of their own'
the materid conditions for their subjectionto men and the appropriationoftheir
by male workers. It is in this sensethat I speakof thepattiarchyoJthewage.Weatrot
rethink the concept of"wage slavery." If it is mre that male worken became only
mdly free under the new wage-laborregime,the group ofworkers who, in the
tion to capitalism,most approachedthe condition ofslaveswas working-clas
At the same time - given the wretched conditions in which waged
Iived - the housework that women performed to reproduce their farnilieswx
essarilylimited. Married or not, proletarian women needed to earn some
which they did by holding multiplejobs. Housework, moreover,requiressomc
ductive capital:furniture, utensils,clothing, money for food. But wagedworkcn
poorly,"slaving awayby day and nighC'(as an artisanfrom Nuremberg
1524),just to staveoffhunger and feed their wives and children (Brauner 19951
Most barely had a roof ovei their heads,living in huts where other families and
mals also resided,and where hygiene (poorly observedeven among the bettct
wastotally lacking; their clotheswere rags,theii diet at best consistedofbread,
Thus, we do not find in this period, among the working
and some vegetables.
the classicfieure of the full-time housewife. It was only in the 19th century
responseto the first intensecycle ofstruggle againstindustrial work - that the
ern family" centeredon the full-time housewife'sunpaid reproductivelabor wls
9a
States.
.alized in the working class,in England 6rst and later in the United
ls deuelopmenc(following the passageof Factory Acts limiting the employment of
long-term investrnent the capita.l,romen and childrcn in the factories) reflected the 6rst
its numerical expansion.[t
beyond
work-force
in
dre
reproduction
of
the
nt"d.
* clas
ofinsurrection'
between the granting
fotged
rnder
the
threat
trade-off,
ofa
rcsult
ias rhe
*"g.t, ."p"ble ofsupporting a "non-working" wife' and a more intensive rate of
^firiqh"r
"relative surplus,"that is, a shift
Lloitrtion. M"o spoke of it asa shift ftom "absolute" to
lengthening
ofthe
working dayto a maxmum
based
upon
the
ofexploitation
a
rype
fm
wage
to
r
nrinimum,
to
a
regirne
where
higher wagesand shorter
ofthe
reduction
rhe
"16 would be compensatedwith en increasein the productivity of work and the pace
hours
penpective,it wasa socid revolution,overridinga longofproducdon.Frcm the capirdist
low
wages.
lt
resultedliom a new deal between workers and employto
conuninnenr
hcld
of women ftom the wage - puning an end to their
on
the
exclusion
founded
s6, again
phases
ofthe
IndustrialRevolution.lt wx alsothe mark ofa new
in
the
early
*cruiunent
product
of
two
centuriesofexploiadon ofslavelabor,soon to be
the
afluence,
capitalisr
phase
ofcolonial
expansion
r
new
by
boosted
an obsesiveconcernwith the size
In dre 16thand 17ihcenturies,bycontrast,despite
poor,"
and
the
number
of"working
the
acnral
invesnnentin the reproducofpopulation
w:s
extremely
low.
work-force
Consequendy,
the
bulk
ofthe reproductive labor
ofthe
tion
doneby proletarian women wasnot for their famiLies,but for the families oftheir employcn or for the market. One thinCof the female population, on average,in England, Spain,
Fnnce,and ltaly, worked asmaids.Thus, in the proletariat, the tendency was towards the
postponmentofmarriage and the disintegration ofthe family (16tt'-century English vilhgcsexperienceda yearly turnover offifty percent). Often the poor were even forbidden
to marry,when it wasfeared that their cbildren would fall on public relief, and when this
rcnrallyhappened,the children were taken awayfrom them and farmed out to the parish
to work.lt is estimetedthat one third or more ofthe populationof rural Europeremained
single;in the towns the rateswere even higher,especidly emong women; in Germany,forty
percentwere either "spinsters"or widows (Ozment 1983: 4142,.
Nevertheless
- though t}re houseworkdone by proletarianwomen wasreduced
to a mrnimum, and proletarian women had alwaysto work for the market - within the
working-class
community ofthe transitionperiod we alreadyseethe emergenceofthe
sexual
divisionoflabor that wasto becometypical ofthe capitalistorganizationofwork.
At tb centerwasan increasingdifferentiationbetweenmale and Gmalelabor,asthe tasks
pertormedby women
and men becamemore diversifiedand.aboveall.becamethe cartien ofdifferent
socialrelations.
Impoverishedand disempoweredasthey may be, male wagedworken could still
,benefr
from rheir wives'labor and wages,or they could buy the servicesofprostirutes.
rtoughout
this 6nt phaseof proletarianization,it was the prostitute who often perrotmedfor
nale workersthe function ofa wife, cooking and washingfor them in addioonto serving
rhem sexually.Moreover,the criminalizationofprostitution, which pun-.ed the woman but handlytouched her male customers,strengthenedmale power.Any
"'l1 could now destroya woman simply by declaring that she was a prostitute,or by
""uctzing thar shehad given in ro his sexualdesires.Wornen
would haveto pleadwith
''eo "not to takeawayrh-eirhonor"lthe only property left to them) (Cavalloand Cerutti
99
1980:346fi), the assumption being that their lives were now in the hands ofmcn
0ike Gudd lords) could exercise over them a power oflife and death.
of
The Tarning of \A/ornn and the Redefirrition
wornrr
the
of
Europe
Sa\/ageg
and Masculinity:
It is not surprising,then, in view ofthis devaluationofwoment labor and social
that the insubordinationofwomen and the methodsby which they could be
were among the main themes in the literature and social policy of the
(Underdown 19tt5a:116-36).70Womencould not havebeen totally devaluedas
en and deprivedofautonomy with respectto men without being subjectedto an
processofsocial degndation;andindeed,throughout the 16(hand 17rhcenturies,
losrgroundin everyareaofsociallife.
A key areaof changein this respectwas the law, where in this pedod we
observea steadyerosion ofwomen\ rights.Tl One ofthe urain righs that womcn
wasthe righi to conduct econonricactivitiesalone,as./emnesoles.ln Frence,they
the right to nrake contncts ot to representthenNelvesin court, being declarcd
"imbeciles."In ltaly,they beganto appearlessfrequendyin the courtsto denounce
perpetrated against therrt. In Cernrany, when a middle-class woman becarne a
that wonrenwerc
On the other hand,it wasestablished
protoqpes(Fortunati19134).
too
LO t
It is no exaggeration to sey rhat women were treaied with the same hostilitv
sense of estrrngement accorded "lndian savages"in the literature that developed qn
I colonization,
t6o
THE
Parlirmentbf\Momeu.
With tf,c ncnh kvcr bv dcoacrlr
Fnr0cd.Tolilc ; oc fefcl porc. nili
rd rr'rotr*:
or rh h..r.r.
Fi!td.-i
Eotr b.a- td- F( n{ ..a
rE !,ri&i
FE
dbrar--r
"fif.'f.r
d.-q
.dr
Ftontirltik ofTHI:
PARUA!fl}:!
(r, ttl)vri\
p*iodofrfu CitilW,rr
'l
I
rt
ly,q;
I
t
to2
Globalization'
and wornen
lo3
lOtt
Eu-T.*:
bbo,"T.*
:::T*':,XT,'JT:'iT"::51:
-*:...!:'lT:-Y:3:
o-..y' o,"..': ft:1-:::::::::l:f 'jt^T,:ff::::::::
r'J*
lh:ri,'na
-".r'
on the world-matket(Morrissey1989:51-59)- plausiblydetermined
ff..'.irt*t
dv.*r*or**',:' :f.'-:1ly::i:l-'i#:'.""'::"*:.:::l:
fi o"It'would
be a mistake,howevet, to conclude dut the integration ofslave labor in
t"--
,,--:^
^f..,
-L-^',.rcae
rn.l *nrkerr'rmrople
over reoroduction.
of intercsts
r- .roduction of the European waged proleariat creatcd a communiry
by
cemented
prcsumably
capitalists,
the
metropolitan
and
worken
Eu-p.""
ffi""n
goods'
imponed
cheap
for
I;' common desire
for
"'In ,c"lity, like the Conquest, the slave trade was an epochal misfortune
gound
of
was
a
rnajor
(Iike
the
witch-hunt)
slavery
have
seen,
rrmDeanworke$.As we
Europe
into
imponed
were
later
that
labor-control
of
methods
for
li".i-.noalon
the Europeanworkers'wagesand legd status;for it cannotbe a coiniilu..v atro
-aa.n."
"f.ctedwith thc end of slavery did wages in Europc decisively incrcase and
,tt., only
didEuropeanworken garn the right to organizc'
handto inugine that worters in Europe profitcd fmm thc Conquest of
tt is
"lso
intensity ofthe antiAmcrica,at leastin is initial phase.L.etus remembcr that it was the
to seek colonid
the
merchans
nobility
and
leset
thc
fcudal struggle that instigated
enemies
most-hatcd
ranks
ofthc
ftom
the
came
oousion, and that the conquisadors
proConquest
that
the
remember
important
to
is
also
ofthe Europeanwo*ing class.It
armies
pay
the
mercenary
gold
used
to
and
with
the
silver
clas
vidcdthe European ruling
6at defeated the urban and rural revols; and that, in the same years when Anwats,
Aztecs,and lncas were being subjugated,worken in Europe were being drivcn ftom thcir
homes,
brandedlike animals,and butnt aswitches'
Ve should not assume,thcn, that dte European proleariat was dwals an accompliceto the plunder of the Americas, though individud prolctarians undoubtedly wee.
The nobility expected so little coopention fiom the "lower classes"that initially the
Spaniatdsallowed only a few to embark. Only 8,000 Spanianrlsmignted legdly to the
Americas
in the entire 16thcenturythe clergymaking up 17%ofthe lot (Hamilton 1965:
299;Williams1984:38-40). Even later,peoPlewere forbidden ftom settling oveneasindePcrdendy,becauseit was fearcd that thcy miglrt collabonte with the locd population.
For most prolctarians,in the 17thand 18thcenturies,accessto the NewWorld was
.
thtough indentured servitu& and "transportation," the
Punishment which the authoriiic rn England adopted to rid the country ofconvics, political and religious dissidens,
u^t popul"tion of wrgabondsand beggan that was ptoduced by the enclosures.
9-$.
PeterLrnebaugh and Marcus Rediker point out in The Many-HeadedHydn (2UN),
'rs
Inccolonizen'
fearofunrcstricted migration waswcll-founded,given the wretchcd livu8 condidons
tlut prcvailedin Europe,andthe appealexercisedby the repors that cir.bout
the Ncw World, which picturd it as a wonder land where people lived
l*t!d
qlc
from toil and
ryranny,rnastersani greed,and where "rnyne" and "thyne" had no
all thinp beine heli in .ommor,
llrce'
[-irrebaugh and Rediier 2000;Brendon 1986:
*/) So
stronsw-asie anraction exercisedby the New World that the vision of a new
ro5
to6
ro7
10a
sLutbthXbru ed.
tr.faualc
1p br,nrliryoJrwnenIryrfu
in
PtotttiflrntlY
dd'ilhnd_frlurcd
It Eutoptd u,ilalt-lti s, 'ts,1
5yuboloJtoul subjugrtion But
in rc,tlity,tlt! tru( dfuilsrwrc
jnft tn.!4t and
fie tltirc
outtts u'\rc (ikc the
pldr,hltiott
nm tu thispieturt) did ttot fusiuteto trc,t thc wouen tlrcy
sgtegation
along raciallines succeededonly in pan, checkedby migration, population
decline,indigenous revolt, and the formation of a white urban proletanat wrth no
pospectofeconomic advancement,and thereforcprone
ro identift with mestrzosand
mulaltosInore rhan with the white upper-class.
Thus. while in the planution societies
ofthe Caribbeanthe differencesberweenEuropean
and Africansincreasedwith time,
tothe SouthA,rnerican
coloniesa "re-composition" becamepossible,especiallyamong
row-class
European,meJtrzd,
and African women who, besidetheir precariouseconomrc
Postrion.5lx."6rhe disadvantages
deriving from the double standardbuilt into the law,
wtuchmadr
rhenr vulnerablet mde abuse.
SiSnsofthis "recomposrtion"can be found in the recordswhich
the Inquisition
u^-. .
"cPt.h l Erh-ccnruryMexico ofthe investigationsit conductedto eradicatemagicaland
beLefs
3,1-51).Thetaskwashopeless,and soon the Inquisition lost
i:cj"e__tt: @ehar 19137:
qcrest
in the project,convrncedrharpopularmagic wasno longer
a threat to the politU", the testimoniesic collected r.u.J th.
of
multiple exchanges
,"L11.
"*ist..r.J
*:^.,, in mattersrelatingro magicalcuresand
love renredies,
crearingin tinre
.
"":;:
rcaliry drewn ftonr the encounter between rhe African, Europeanand
in6ij_tuttutd
*Esnou\
rrrgiceltnditions.As Ruth Beharwrites:
109
Indian women grve huruningbincls to Spanishhealers for use in sexud attraction, mulatta women told mestiza women how to tame their
husbands,a loba sorceEssintroduced a coyota to the Devil.This .,pop_
ular" sl,stemofbcliefnn panllel to the systemofbeliefofthe Church.
and it sprcad asquickly asChristianiry did in the Ncw Wotld, so that
after a while it became impossiblc to distinguish in it what was
"Indian"or "Spanish" or " African" (ibid.)
-76
Assimilatcd in the eyesof the Inquisition aspeople "without reason,"thir
gated Gmale world which Ruth Behar describcsis a telling example ofthe
acrosscolonial and color lines, women could build, by vimre of their common
ence, and their interest in sharing the tnditional knowledges and practices
thern to control their teproduction and fight scxual discrimination.
Like discrim.ination on rhe basisof"rece," this was more than a cultural
which the colonizen brought Iiom Europe with their pikes and hones. No
the desnuction of communalism, it was a str.tegy dictated by spccifc economic
est and the need to cteate the preconditions for a capitdist economy,and assuch
adjusted to the task at hand.
ln Mexico and Peru, where population decline recommended that
domestic labor in the home be incentivized, a new sexual hicrarchy was
by the Spanishauthoritics that s&ipped indigenous women of their
gave their male kin morc power over them. Under the new laws, marricd
bccame men's property, and were forced (againstthe traditiona.l custom) to
husbandsto their homes. A corrpadrazgosystem was also crcated further limiting
righs, placing the authority over children in male hands.In addition, to
indigenous women reproduced the workers recruitcd to do nrfuawort in thc
the Spanishauthoritieslegidatedthat no onc could separatehusbandfrom wife,
meant that women were forced to follow their husbandswhether they
not, evcn to areasknown to be death camps,due to the pollution crcatedby
ing (Cook Nobte 1981:205-6).zz
The intervention of the French Jesuis in the disciplining and tnining
Montagnais-Naskapi, in nid-17dr century Canada,provides a rcveding cxamplc
gender di$ercnces wcrc accumulated.The story is told by the late anthropologist
Leacockin her M1rfu oJMale Dominawe(1981), whcre she examinesthe diary
ofis protagoniss.This wer Father Paul LeJeunc, aJesuit rnirsionary who, in
nial fashion,hadjoined a Frenchtnding post to Christianizethe Indiaru,and
into citizensof"New Francc."TheMonagnais-Naskapiwerc a nomadic Indian
that had lived in great harmony, hunting and fishing in the eastcrn Labrador
But by the time of Le Jeune's arrival, their community was being undermined
presenccofEuropeansand the spreedoffur-trading, so that some men, cagerto
commercial alliance with them, were amenable to lening dre Frcnch dicate
should govern themselvespeacock 1981:39fi).
As often happened when Europeans ceme in contact with native
populations, the French were impressedby Montagnais-Naskapi
llo
III
nosayconceming.*.
a.,ti"y
Or*
1::::f
T-.-'}d
kin;
asfor: T:1
women.
"i,r,"i,-eJJlo*"_o*
far 6om beinggivenspecialcoruidcration,
they *".
in the 6eldslike
";T#;1
*-h.n ,,rg",
,.U""." _.rJl,i iij, j.rr""o,
'nen,.rp..i"[y
_O
wercsubjectto the samecruelpunishmens,even
".a when
prcgnan,fS;rh is;0, +z--aa)l
*oi"n.,..r,i.*l-,,
..,,,_,*::*r^*l-n
:..11.,*-,91,1,^.11.v
with
the men of their class
(Momsen1993).Bu, ,fr.i" ,r""*."i
-"gh"o*
*r" "
ileie"r.rh'J
Wonen wcre givenlessto eatiut ike men,they were
vulnenblc to thli. mast n,
a ,fra pl
."^
the,Caribbean
and Amcrican planten adopted .tt"u. b...Ang,l
^1,::*
OrU*
"
Beckles points out, in relation to the island ofbarbados,
planati.,
fr"a ^"
to control the reproductive patterns offemale slaves
",,
sinc" th" t Zo"i,"1"
."ntury, ..[.n"o,
tlwer or more children in any given span of tt_.,,11"p*aing
oo
::Tn:Tj:lT
much
6eldlaboru.asneeded.
But only whentheiupply'ofAfr".rlf"*Ia"rrisi"T
the regulationofwoment sexualrelations .eproiuctiv.
p"n.r^ U."l-.
"rrd
tematic and intcnse @eckJesl9g9:92).
-ora
products
theycultivated
in the.,provtrirrr
;"rd""l,he
111:::-:,::9
'polinks'), grven
by the planters
0,
6crn morc mobility, and thc posribitity to use the time a.llottedfor theit cultirztion for
eiher activities. Being able to producc small crops that could be erten or sold boosted
ofthe provision gtounds were
66ir independencc.Those most devotedto the success
the
and
reproducing
who
marketed
crops,
re-appropriating
within the plantawomen,
had
bccn
main
occupatiors
in
Africa.
what
one
of
their
As a rcsult,by the
system
don
women in the Caribbeanhad carvedout for themselvesa
enslaved
century
nid-18rh
gpce in the plantation cconomy, confiibuting to the expansion,ifnot the creation,of
6e island! food market.They did so both asproducen ofmuch ofthc food consumed
by the slavesand the white population, and also ashucksten and market vcndon ofthe
crops they cultivated, supplemented with goods taten from the master'sshop, or
cxchangedwith odrer slaves,or givcn to them for saleby their masters.
It was in this capaciry that femalc davesdso came into contact with white proletarian women, often former indcnturcd servans, even after the lattcr had been removed
6om gang-labor and emancipated.Their relationship at times could be hostile: proletarirn European women, who also survived mosdy through the growing and matketing of
food crops, stole at times the producs that slave women brought to the rurket, or
.ttemptedto impede their sdcs,But both groupsof women dso collabonted in building e vast network ofbufng and selling relations which evaded the laws passedby the
colonial authorities, who periodically worried that these activities may place the slaves
beyondtheir control.
Despite the legislation introduced to prcvent them from selling or limiting thc
plecesin which they could do so, enslavedwomen continued to expand their marketing activities and the cultivation of thcir provision plots, which they came ro view as
their own so that, by the late 18tb century, they wete forming a ptoto-peasantry with
pnctically a monopoly ofisland ma*es.Thus, according to some historians, even beforc
emancipation,slavery in the Caribbeen had pnctically ended. Female slaves- against
all odds - werc a key force in this proccss,the ones who, with thcir determination,
shapedthe development of dre slavc community and of the islands'economics, despite
dtc authorities'many atternps to limit their power.
EnslavedCaribbean womcn had a.lsoa decisiveimpact on the cu.lture of the white
popularion, especidly that of white womcn, through thet activitics as healen, seers,
cxpertsin magical practices,and their "domination" of the kitcheru, and bedrooms, of
their maiters@ush 1990).
Not surprisingly, thcy werc seenasthe heart ofthe slavecommunity.Visiton wcrc
.
unpresed by their singing, thcir head-kerchieG and drcsses,and their
cxtnwagant manncr ofspeaking which are now understood asa means ofsatirizing
theit mastcn.A.&ican
rnd Creole women influenced the customs ofpoor female
whiter, *hom a corncmponrY portnyed as behaving like Africers, ualking with their
children stnpped on their
tups,while balancingtnys with goodson their heads
@eckles1989:81).But their main
actuevemenrwas
the development of a politics of self-reliancc, grcunded in survivrl
lttittegiesand
femdc nerworks.Thesepnctices and the valuesattachedto them, which
\osalynTerborg Pennhasidenrifiedasthc esential tenets
ofcontemporaryAfrican femrnam,rede6ned
the A6ican communiry ofthe diupon (pp.F7).They creatednot only
qre loundadons
for a new fcmale African identity, but also the foun&tions for a new
tt2
u3
I Capitalisrn
Diwidon
of Labor
u5
|
l.
3.
116
ot""
"r."t
tt7
15.
16.
bcliefin the
Village authority and privileges were maintained in the hinterland of some citystates.In a number of territorial states,the peasants"continued to refusedues,
taxes,and labor servico";"drey let me yell and give me nothing," complainedthe
abbot ofschussenried,referring to thoseworking on his land @lickle 1985:172).
In Upper Swabia,though serftlom was not abolished,some of the main peasant
r20
()ri lx,
I ManhcusMerian, Fot./r{HoRsTnrtN
2t.
ANx,AL,fl'sE(1630),
This outcome revealsthe two souls ofthe Reformation: a popular one and elitist
one,which very soon split along oppositelines.While the conservativesideofthe
Refotmation stressedthe virtues of work and wealth accumulation,the popular
side dcmandeda society run by "godly love" equaliry and communal solidariry.
On the classdimensioru of the Reformation seeHenry Heller (1986) and PoChia Hsia (1gtlti).
Hoskins (1976),121-123.In England the pre-Reformation Church had owned
twenty-five to thirty per cent ofthe country'sreal prcperty.Of rhis land, Henry
Vlll sold sixry per cent (Hoskins 1976:121-1231.'lhosewho most gained ftom
the con8scationand more eagerlyenclosedthe newly acquiredlandswere not the
old nobility, nor those who dependedon the corrunonsfor their keep,but the
gentry and the "new men," cspeciallythe lawyersand the merchants,who were
the face of greed in the peasants'imagination (Cornwall 1977: 22-28).lz was
againstthese"new men" that the peasantswere prone to vent their anger.A 6ne
snapshotof the winnen and losen in the great transferofland produced by the
English Reformation is Tlble 15 in Kriedte (19t13:60), showing that twcnry to
twenty-five pe. cent ofthe land lost to dte Church becamethe gcntry'sproperry.
Followins are the most relevantcolumns.
'|tl
1l&*
Grcat owncn
Gcntry
Yeomcn/fteeholders
Church and Crown
t5-20
25
20
25-55
l5g)
15-20
45-50
25-33
5-10
[*excl.Vhlal
thc
Roscsl"(Fryde1996:186).ThomasMorc'sUlopia(1516)exprcssed
and desolation tlut thesemasscxpulsions produced when he spokeof
had become so great dcvouren and so wild that "they eat up and svdlow
men themselves.""sheep"- he added - that "consume and destroy end
whole fields, houscs and cities."
25-ln The Inveaion oJCapitalism(2000), Michael Perclman has emphasizedthc
tancc of "customary rights" (e.g.,hunting) noting how they werc oftcn of
t22
2E.
29.
30.
31.
32.
(pp' 38ff')'
nifcance, rrating tbc dif,crcncc bctwcen survivrl and totel dcstitution
of the
(1968)
wes
one
commons"
the
of
Garrcc Haldin! cssayon thc "mgcdy
I
97Os'
in
the
privatization
ofland
support
in
mainsteysin thc ideological campeign
as a
egoism
Hobbesian
of
inevitabiliry
the
is
venion,
Thc "tragsdyj' in Herrdin's
each
common,
hypothcticd
view,
in
a
In
his
behavior'
human
of
d"t"rmitt-t
implications of his action
herd$n n wants to maximize his gain rcgaidlessof thc
to
which all men rush, each
destination
"ruin
is
the
that
so
for the other hetdsmen,
1998:
8-9)'
Noonan,
eds.'
(In
and
Baden
intcrest"
ounuing his best
long
history
but it hasreceived
has
a
enclosutes
ofthe
dcfense
ihe "modemizrtion"
Bank' which
Wodd
has
bccn
the
mein
advocate
Is
new energyfiom neo-libcnlisrn.
and
Oceania
Latin
Amcrica
in
Africa,
Asia'
govemmens
tlut
hasoften demanded
(Wodd
Benk
1989)'A
loaru
for
teceiving
condition
as
a
privatize commund lands
Hariett
is
found
in
ftom
enclosurc
productiviry
gaix
derircd
classicdefenseofthe
litenture
morc
rccent
academic
1918).The
published
in
Bndley (1968, origindly
hastaken a more even-handed"costs/giru" approach'e;<cmpli6edby thc wod<sof
c.E. Mingy (1997)and Robert S.Duplesis (1997:6F70).The batdeconceming
the enclosurcshasnow crosed the disciplinary boundaries and is being dcbatedalso
among literary scholan.An examplc ofdisciplinary border-crossingis Richard Burt
and Cultut in Early
andJohn Michael Archer, e&., ErclossrcActt. S'exualitfWy
Not
R.
Siemon,"Iandlord
esals
byJames
(1994)
especially
the
Moden Engtond
"'The
William
C.
Carroll,
and
Interarticulation;"
King: Agrarian Changc and
Nunery ofBeggrry': Endosure,Vagrrncy,and Scdition in thc Tirdor-Stuart Pcriod."
William C. Carroll hasfound dnt thcrc was e lively defenseofenclosures and critiquc of the commons in thc Tirdot period carried out by the spokesmenof the
enclosingclass.Accordingto this discourse,the enclosuresencounged privrtc enterprise, which in tum incrcascd agricultunl productivity, while the corunons werc
the "nurseries and reccpacles ofthicves, rogucsand began" (Carroll 1994:37-38).
DeVries (1976),42-43; Hoskins (1976),1l-12.
The commoru werc the sitesofpopular festivalsand other collcctive activities,like
sports,games,and meetinp.When they were fenccd off, the sociality that had charrcterized the village conrmunity wei severelyundermined.Among the rituals that
catneto an end wes"Rogationtide perambulation," a yearly prccessionamong the
6elds meant to blessthe firturc crcps, that was prevented by thc hcdging of thc
6elds(Underdown 1985:81).
On the breaking down ofsocid cohesion see(among othen) David Underdown,
Revel,Riotow! Rebellion:PopularPolilcsawl Cuhurc in England,160T1660 (1985),
especiallyChapter 3, which also describesthe effors made by the older nobility
to distinguish iselfftom the nouveau*riches.
Kdedte (1983),55; Briggs (1998),28F316.
Cottage industry was an cxteruion ofthe manorial, runl industry, rcorgnized by
the capitalist merchants to take advantageof the large Pool oflabor libented by
the enclosurcs.With tlis move the merchantsaimed to circumvcnt the high wagcs
and power ofthe urban guilds.This ir how the putting-out system wes born - a
systemby which the capitdist merchants disnibuted among runl families wool or
cotton to spin or weave,and often also thc insmrmens of work, and thcn Picked
Flctcher(1973),64-77;Cornrall (1977),137-241;Be",
tt
1tSAZ1,tZ_ilS.
beginningofthe 16rhcenturymanyenclosurcriotsinvolvedthe leser gentryr
12.+
r25
43,
44.
"The prominent rolc played by femdc [food] rioten has oftcn been
Southampton in 1608 a group of women refused to wait while the
debatedwhat to do about a ship being loaded with gnin for London; thcylo
it and scized the catgo.Women wcrc thought to be the likely rioten in the
dent in Weymouth in 1622, whilc at Dorchcster in 1631 a group (some of
inrnates ofthe workhous) stoppcd a cart in the misa&en belicfthat it cont
whcat; one ofthem complained ofr local merchant who..did scnd aw:v the
fruic of the land, as butter, chcese,wheat, etc., ovcr the seas" (t9g5: i t2.
women's prescnce in food rioc, sec also San Mendelson and patricir
(1998), who write thet "womcn playcd a promincnt rolc in grain rios
Englandl." For iruancc,"[alt Mddon in 1629 a crowd ofover a hundred wo,
and childrcn boarded the ships to prcvent gnin fiom being shipped
wcrc led by a "Captain Ann Cartcr, later cicd and henged" for hci lcrding rolc
47.
r27
and Massimo hrredn4 Thc kison a*l thc Foalory:Od1jn olthc pclit4ntia.l i
(1981).Thc authors point out thar dre main purpo:c ofincarcention was to
thc senseof identity and soli&rity ofthe poor. Sec also Geremck (1994;,
229, On t\e schemcs concoctcd by English proprictors to incarceratc thc
in their parishes,sceMarx, CapiralVol.1 (1909:793). For Fnncc. see
Madrcssond Civilizarior (1965), espccidly Chaptcr 2i.,The Grelr
(pp.38-64).
JT.
59.
t2a
60.
61.
63.
65.
61.
inance in cconomic li6 bciag associetcd with the namcs of Williem Pctty
(1623-1687, end Jcen Baptiste Colbert, the finrnce ninister of Louis XIV'
However, the lrte 176-century mercantiliss only slstematizcd or applied theories
that had bcen developing since the 16th centuty. Jean Bodin in Fnnce and
Giovanni Botcto in laly arc considercd ptoto-mercantilist economiss. One ofthe
6rst systqnetic formulations ofmercantilist economic dreory is found in Thomas
Mln\ England'sTeasureby FonaignTiade(1622).
For a discusion ofthe ncw legislation againstinfanticide see(among othen) John
Riddle (1997), 163-166; Mcrry Wiesner (1993), 52-53; lnd Mendelson and
Cnwforrd 0998), who write dut "[tlhe crime of infanticidc was one drat single
women werc more likely to commit than any other goup in society.A study of
infanticide in the cady seventeenthcentury showed that ofsixty mothen, 6fty three
wcre single,six wete widows"(p. 149). Statisticsalro show that infanticidc waspunished even morc ftequendy than witchcnft. Margart King writes that Nuremberg
"executed fourteen womcn for that crime between 1578 md 1615, but only one
witch.The Padiament ofRouen from 158G to 1606 prosecutcd about rs meny
casesofinfanticide aswitchcrrft, but punished infrnticide morc sevcrely.Cdvinist
Gencr"eshowsa much higher nte ofexccution for infanticide dut witchcnft; ftom
1590 to 1630,ninc womcn ofeleven charged were e)@cutedfor infanticide, compared to only one ofthirty suspccs for witchcraft (p.lO).Thesc cstimetesare con6rmed by Merry Wiesner, who writes that "in Gencva, for cxamplc, 25 women
out of31 chargedwith infanticideduring the period 159F1712 were executed,
ascomparcdwith 19 out of122 chargcdwith witchcnft (1993:52).Womenwere
e:<ecutedfor infanticide in Europe aslete asthe 18thcentury
An interesting article on this topic is Robert Fletchcr! "The Witches
Pharmakopeia"(1896).
The reference is to an Italian feminist song ftom 1971 tided "Aborto di Sato"
(StateAbortion).
Margaret L. King, lTomenotthe Renaissanre
(1991),78. For the closing ofbrothels in Germany see Merry Wiesner, WorkittgWomenix Renoissance
Ceruany
(r 986),194-209.
An extensive crtdogue of the placesand years in which women werc expelled
from the cnfu is found in David Herlihy, Women,Fomily and Societyin Mediewl
Europe:Historkal Essays.Providencc:Berghahan, 197&-1991. See dso Merry
Wiesner (1986),17,1-185.
Martha Howell (1986),Chapter 8, 17,1-183.Howcll writes:
"Comedics and satircs of the period, for example, often portreyed market
women and tndes women asshrcws,with charectcrizationsthat not only ridiculed
or scolded them for taking on roles in tnarket production but frcquendy even
chatged them with sexud aggression"(p.182).
In a thorough critiquc of l7th-century socid contract theory, as formulatcd by
Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, Carol Pateman (1988) argues that the "social
contrect" was basdon I more firndamental "sexud contract," which recognized
meni right to approprirte women3 bodies and women! labor.
Ruth Mazo Karns (1996)wdtes that "'Common woman'meant a women avail-
L29
j"rJ,;;;%.
oior
;38).
..tn:td;;J;;;;;#il,,I
ofle
rii,,r,
I::1""1*U^*
l:lod Lebrun,..pri*o,
Andr6
BurguiircandFnngois
pri""e ;iffiffitilri;;
"
69.
74-
,y.Famity:rhc
rmpatt
olModq,itye:.d) .v;*i," i*? nun
:: ,lthc charecter
:::!, t of I 76{cnturv DarrirEh"lr""
on
i; p;*;;.'
75.
:;;..0.
"re,
pj:.:li.':.,1 .ont"""t
p;;;;ii,iJrl,
th.ory,,..
f::'::11
Eisensrein,
The Rodical
Futureof Liberali,"rrr",i";;Oraf lrarri"r*r*l ",
t.T1jy":
l
dsubiation
:
A|itudes
rb
w";;
;
;;
E";;";;;;i,llli
fj1 :l
it ondifcre.nt
grounds.n.i"g-.;;";;;';;:;.*
il.",io;;yio,nn
.Pjj:L::l'S.o
theprinciplcof 'nrtunl equality,"
and,.gorc.,,-; ".
ty.;;;;;,fiiJr'*
r,,
76.
77.
;""
io"a
.a_
*" 6*y,ly"Ten,s..natunlinferioi.r;;
::ffff
1t1}r.:11:1",0
which women
would consentto th"i" h"rb"ndr,;;;;;i.oi.ft;;
"."",u,t,g
i" A;.;n;;r,.,
yrly.M*:m E,,qraldi,
3:*:,^:*:.:?.in
Stevenson
(1985),I 1C-136;Mcndetsonanj Cnwforditlii;;;:;;.
""0rr,"
71. On womenl lossof rightsin 16.haffl 176_centu.y
d-p.,;
d"ng orher)
Merry Wiesner(1993),who writcstlut:
"The spteadofRoman law hada la4eJynegative
effecton women! civil tcgrt
statusin thc carlymodernpcriod both beca'L
of the
*ml
juriss choseto adoptfromit andthesnicte.
"i.*r.i*.-*
of.*irJ.gi"*r,"
*,ri"l
it gavedse"(p.33).
"nfor..-.o,
78.
*ith thci;;;;sil;;,',*"
3.:::Y:::n
rcfusing
to enterservice,
wivisdomine*r.g* u."r.g ii".l.-irrl";t,;:::;
33H,T*F:f.spe-cded
developmcnt."He writes:
l3l
TheGreatCalibrnI
TheStruggle
Asainsrthe RebelBody
I
LiG is but a motion of limbs.... For
what is the hean, but a
spring; and the nerves,but so many
strings;and tfr..;oirrt.
--"
but so nranywheels,giving motion
to the whole U"ay.
(Hobbes,kviat han,7 650)
Yet I will be a rnore noble creature,
and at the very time
*l:n
naturalnecessities
debasenre rnto the condition
ly
o.fthe Beast,my Spitit shall rise
and soar and n; u;,;;#
the ernployntentofthe aleels.
(Coiton Mathet, Diary, t
680_1708)
-*"i';:#:y;t;n*fi 'ljffii
*,ri'
i"
l,
T
l.l"t.'."
T i6-tlof Morrey to p"y fo, Co6n
*mi:l*
*";.,
*ff'1.1$1ir:,,ffi*",,'.
$i:,:}ii:
conceived'na','.ai"i.i,"-.i
or.,r.-
rog*:**+l;r*r*";
133
'-nt
'!'ul
subjccts"'
and"rebc-llious
ir,"l a,".r",'ng a h'd't.rp.' r,rhalitedbf "rulers"
LP,fl"
t'-l'-.:
(wir}r Thomas
and
sedrtion\, 'chairr:".rnd "inrperious cortrnralrds"
betweenllt'asoIt
conflict
2
this
shall
(rl'iJ
we
:
72)
As
the cxeeuri.'ner
'rec'
llin.l
DYli.
the "bet
betwcen
""""
confrontition
a
riotous
plrrlosophcrs
as
the
i"au. a."..iUe<lby
f1,i-iu.1'to*..
sorts! iJr)not bc ascribedonly to the barocluetastefor the figuralanguagcl The batdewhich tlte
ill]-''^''
nursedir) f.r',orof .r"r.ore nrasculine"
"t
rive. rd"'
ofthe ildi""a*.,.sc orr the
in thc nricrocoslrr
unfolding
imagincs
ferron
l)Li.o*ty
tl,l
broader
oftlr;rt
lt
is
an
aspecr
tiurc
reality
ofthe
rn
thc
foundarrort
i,.
"r*rrttlv,
bourgcoisie
"Agc
the
rising
Reason"'
the
of
iD
rrlrt'rcby,
lJ.lr, "f *.ta ."L,.,,t^tio,'.
ilt confornriry rvith the needsofthc devel
thc rubordrrrateclasses
ln"a-p,"a,o renrold
{
r"a
*tt
ofthe llre 'linpest (1612),,,vho cornbines the celestial spiritualiry ofAric'l;urd the brutish
materiality of Caliban.Yet he bctrays an anxiety over the equilibrium achieveclthat rules
out any pridc for "Man\" unique position in the Great Chain ofBeing.l ln defelring
Caliban, Prospero nrust admit that "this thing ofdarkeness is rnine," rhus renrirding his
audience that our human partaking ofthe angel and the beast is problenratic ndeed.
ln the 17th century, rvhat in Prospero rcmains a sublirninal forcbodrng rs fornr.Jized as the con{lict beflvecn Reason and the Passionsofthe Body, whic}r rcr.,n.eptu,rl
izcs classicJudeo-Chdstian thenres to produce a new anthropologic:rl paradignr.The outconre is reniniscent of the medieval skirrnishes between ansels and dcrrl' f.rr thc
possessionof the departing sor.rl.But the conflict is no',v stagcd within thc persoll \lho
is reconstructcd as a battlcficld, where opposite elenrents clash for donrinirtioo. C)n the
one side, tlrere :rre the "forces ofRerson": parsimony, prudence, sense ofrcspolsibiliry
self control. On the other, the "low instincts ofthe Body": lewdness, idletress,svstenrltrc
dissipation of onc! vital cncrgics. Thc banle is fought on orany fronts becausr Rexson
nrust be vilihnt a6pinst the attacks of the carnal sell and prevent "the wlsdonr of the
llesh" (in Lurher's words) frorn corrupring the porvers ofthe mind.ln
thc pcrson beconrcs a tcrrain for a lvar ofall against all:
thc extrcrrrr'cltse'
;:*1,'i;:'Xl"'i,'if,
,o a.,''
enlralled
tnatthebourlteoisie
,'."u rypeof ilrdividual
"
rhe ho.ly tlut hastecoile its historic rlrark According to MaxWeber'
i,, dut battle agPlnst
the corc ofthc borrrgeois ethic becausecapitalisnlnakes acqui
ire refo.m ofthe boa; is at
oflifc," instead of treatirrg it as a urcans ftrr the satisfactiorlof
purpose
iJorr,,th" ultl-","
we forfeit all spontaneous c'njoylrtent oflife (lvc'bcr 19511:
that
it
requires
our needs;thus,
to
u\elcome our "traturrl satc," by breaking the b'rrricrs of
altenrpts
i3), C"pitrlit"t also
working
day beyond the Lirits sct by the sun' the se$onal
the
lerrgthenrng
natu.eind by
in pre ittdustrial socicq
itself,
as
constitutc'd
body
rycles,and the
the body as a distiltguishing trait ofthe capifronr
alienation
sees
the
too,
Marx,
into a coltuuodity, capitalislrr causcsworkers
ung
labor
rraltsfor
By
work-relation.
talist
order
over which they h:rvc no control and u'ith
an
extcrnal
activity
to
their
subrnit
to
which they cannot identify.Thus, the labor processbeconres a ground ofself-cstrange
ment:the worker"only fccls hinxelfourside his work, altd io his work fcels outsidc hrm
self.He is at home when he is not working alld u'hen he is rvorldltg is nor tt honre"
(Man<1961:72).Furtherrtrore,with thc developrneotofa capitalistecoltotny'the worker
becomes(though only fornrally) the "frcc owner" of"his" labor-power, rvhich (ur ikc
the slave)he can place at the disposal of the buyer for a liurited period of time This
irnpliesthat "[h]e nrust constantly look upon his labour-porver" (his cnergies, his facul
ties)"as his own property, his owlr conurodity" (Marx 1906,Vr1. l: 1l|6) 'tThis too leads
to a senseof dissociarion fronr the bodv u'hich bccornes reificd, recluccd to :rIr objcct
with which the person ceasesto be inutrcdiarely idettti6ed.
The image ofr lvorker freely alienatirtg his labot, or confrorrtirrg his body as cap
.
rbl to be delivered to the highest biddcr, refers to a workillg classalready rnolded by the
crPitalistwork-rliscrpJrnc. BLrt on l1 rn the secortd halfofthe 19tlr ccntury cJn lve glirtrpsc
ht 9pe of worker
tcnrferitc. prudcnr, responsible,proucl to possessa wrtch
!rhompson 196-l),;rntl..rpablc.-,flooking upon the irrposed conditions ofthe capit;rl
l8t mode
of production as"self-evident laws of naturc" (Marx 1909,Vol. I: 809) - that
Petsonifiesthe crpitalisr utopia and is rhe poirtt of refirclcc for Marx.
The sttuat,on*as .rJr.ally drtTcrentin the period ofprinritivc' accuttrulationwhcn
iL*rc emerglng
thil is' the
boursc'iste drseovered that thc "libcrltioll oflabor-porver"
$mpriarion
was not sufficient to force
of chc pc;s.rntrv tiom the collrnron lalds
t|rc dispossessed
upott
p.,rl.tr i.rn. ,,,
*'"g. labor- Ultlike Milton! Adanr,
"vho,
".."p,
Mman
sellin!
and vagabond.
'ags
peasahB \nd
a''i_
^ted
sant did not peateJully qlree
U 14
Jot a uta4e.Morc ojen iey be@n
beggfis, figaborril s or cri.,titlals.
r ne exprop
Design by Louis-Uopold
4i11"
(1751-1845).
being expelled [qm 1tre621dsn o,fEden, setforth cheerfully for a life dedicatedto work,S
the expropriatedpeasntsand arcisans did not peacefully agreeto work for a wage.Motc
often they becang6eggars,ragal>onds or criminds.A long processwould be requiredto
produce a disciplined
work-force. In the 16thand 17thcentuies, the hatred for wagelabor was so intqn5gthat many prolearians pteferred to risk the gallows,rather than submit to the new conditionsof work (Hll 1975:21\3\.e
This war thg 6rst caoitalist crisis, one far more serious than all the comrnercid
crisesthat threatsns4the foundarions ofthe capitalist systemin the first phaseofits development.TAsis well-known,the resporrseofthe bourgeoisiewasthe institution ofa tn:e
regirne ofterrot, implemented *rrough the intensfication ofpenalties (particularly those
punishing the crimesagainst property), the introduction of "bloody laws" aginst
ragabonds,intended,. ii"J *o.t."
a thejobs imposed on them, asonce the ser6had
been bound to the1."a,
,fr. rnultiplicadon ofexecutions.In England a1or.e,72,0N
""J ,i. vul iiuring the thirty-eight y."r, ofhi, reigu and thc
people were hung by H*"y
massacrecontinuq6lnto th; bte l6th century In the 1570s,300to 4O0"rogues"wcrc
"devoured by the gallowsin o11e place or another every year" (Hoskins 1977:9)' ln
Devon alone.sevspsy-four
Deople were hangedjustin 1598 (ibid.).
But the violenceof ihs'rrrling classwas not confined to the repressionof trane
It
gressors.Italso6qlaAat oai."f tra-nsformationofthe penon, intended to eradrcarc
worf,"
the prcletariatanyform ofbehawior not conduciveto the irnposition ofa srricter
discipline.The{6"n ions ofthis attackare apparentin the sociallegislationthar.DyLr"middle ofthe 16tt'.ennrry, was ;ntroduced in England and France.Games were lorur-_
den, particularlyga4esof chance that, besidesbeing useless,
undermined the tno'Ji.
ual's senseof resionsibilityand "work ethic." Tavernswere closed,along with puo""
t36
discourse? One. is
to answerthat this obsessionwith the body reflecs the fear that the proletariat
alike
in the ruling class.gIt was the fear felt by the bourgeois or the nobleman
by
a
threatenwere
besieged
or
on
their
travels,
streets
they went, in the
I,begging them or preparingto rob them. lt wasalsothe fearfelt by thosewho
over the administration of the sate, whose consolidation was continuously
- but alsodetermined- by the threat ofriots and socialdisorders.
there was more.We must not forget that dle beggarly and riotous proletariat
forced the rich to travel by carriage to escapeits assaults,or to go to bed with
under the pillow - was the sarnesocial subject who increasingly appearedas
of all wealth, It was the same of whom the mercantfists, the first economists
society,never tired of repeating (though not without second thoughts) drat
l0
the better," often deploring that so many bodies were wastedon the gallows
dre
lalue
oflabor
entered
concept
of
the
before
the
were
to
decader
Dass
ofeconomic tltought. But that work ("industry"), more than land or any other
wealth," is the primary source of accumulation was a truth well understood at
when the low level of tecbnological development made human being the most
productive resource.As Thomas Mun (the son of a London merchant and
for the rnercantilist position) put it:
...we know that our own naturalwaresdo not yield us so much
prcfit asour industry.... For lron in the Mines is of no greatworth,
when it is compared with the employment and advanage it felds
being digged, tried, trarxported, bought, sold, castinto Ordnance,
Muskets..,wroughtinto Anchors,bolts,spikes,nailsand the like, for
the useofShips, Houses,Carts,Coaches,Ploughs,and other instru(Abbott 1946:2)
ments for Tillage.
But, as'tis
Wc cannot rniss hirn. He does make our 6re
Fetchin our wood, and servesin office
(The Tempest,
Act l,Scene 2)
That profit us.
body, then, cameto the foregroundofsocial policiesbecauseit appearednot
e beastinert to the stimuli ofwork, but also as the container of labor-powel, a
t37
l3a
can be opened" (in the words ofa 176-century physician) r'rzsa.lsothe develof anaaomyas scieftific discipline, following is long relegation to the intellec^
in the Middle Ages (Wightrtan 1972:9O-92; Galzigna 1978).
while the body emerged as the main prtagonist in the ph.ilosophical and
scenes,a striking feature ofthese investigationsis the degraded conception they
deseofit,The anatomy"theatre"l3 disclosesto the pubLiceye a disenchanted,
ptinciple
as
the
site
of
the
soul,
but
actuin
can
conceived
be
body, which only
(Calzigna
16H4).1a'Ib
1978
the
eye
of
the
anatomist
rcality
asa separate
is a 6ctory asshown by the tide that ArdreasVesaliusgave to his epocha.lwork
(1543).In MechanicalPbilosophy,
ing industry": De &nmanicorporisJabtia
with
the
uachine,
often
with emphasison its ir,?rria.
andogy
by
is described
matter,
wholly
divorced
from
any rational qudities: it
as
brute
is conceived
"collection of mempure
not
feel.
The
body
is
a
not
want,
does
lnow, does
or Method(1973,Yol.l,152). He is echoed
claimsin his 1634 Discourse
Malebranche who, in the Dialogueson Metaphysicsand ox Religion(1688),
cmcial question"Can a body thinl<?"to prompdy answer,"No,beyonda doubt,
modi6cationsofsuch an cxtensionconsistonly in certain relationsofdistance;
pleasures,
drat suchrelationsarenot perceptions,reasonings,
desires.
Gel(Popkin
1966:280).
For
Hobbes,
as
well,
thoughts"
the
body
is
a
conword,
ofmechanical motioru that, lacking autonomous power, operateson the basis
causation,in a play ofattrections and aversionswhere everythingis reguan uttomzan (Leviattal Part I, Chaptervl).
It is true, however, of Mechanical Philosophy what Michel Foucault mainrains
to the 17thand l8th-century socialdisciplines(Foucault 1977:137).Here,
a dif,ercnt perspective&om dnt ofmedieval asceticism,where the degndabody had a purcly negativefunction, seekingto esablish the temponl and illuofcanhly pleasuresand consequendy the need to renounce the body itself.
In Mechanicd Ph.ilosophywe perceivea new bourgeoisspirit that calculares,
makes distinctions, and degradesthe body only in order to rationalize its facnot just at intensifying its subjection but at maximizing its social utiliry
Far fron renouncingthe body,mechanicd theoristsseekto conceptualtbat make its operations intelligible and controllable.Thus the senseofpride
comrniseration) with which Descartesiruists that "this machine" (ashe perelfs the body in the Tieatkeol Man) is just an automaton, end its death is no
lx rnourned than the breakineofa tool.l5
Certainly, neither Hobbes nor Descartesspent many words on economic matvould be atsund to read into dreir philosophies the everyday concerns ofthe
Dutch merchants.Yet,we cannot fail to seethe imDortant contribution which
on human naturegaveto the emerging capitalistscienceofwork.To
tndy asmechanical manet, void ofany intrinsic teleology - the "occult virtues"
to it by both Natural Magic and the popular superstitions ofthe time - was
the possibility ofsubordinating it to a work proces that increasingly
trniform and oredicuble forms ofbehavior.
its deviceswere decorutructedand it wasitselfreducedto a tool. the bodv
openedto an infinite manipulation ofits powersand possibiliries.One could
139
irucstigatethe vicesand limis ofimagination, the virtues ofhabit, the usesof fear,1.*
certain passions
can be avoidedor neutrdized,and how they can be more rarionallr,,.]
lized.ln this sense,
M echanicalPhilosophycontributedto increasingthe ruling-clas56i)
trol over the naturalworld, conrrol over human naturebeing the 6nt, most ;nd;tp"n.^"
ble step.Justaslt4rrle,reducedto a "Great Machine,"could be conqueredand (in 51.o]i
words)"penetratedin all her secrets,"
likewisethe 6ody,emptiedofis occuJtforces,6qu;
be "caught in a systemofsubjection," whereby its behavior could be calculated.ory.nized,technicallythought and investedofpower relations"(Foucadt 1977:26\.
ln Descertes,
body and natureare identified,for both are made ofthe sameprniclesand act in obedienceto uniform phlsical lawssetin motion by Codt will.Thgs,6,
only is the Cartesianbody pauperizedand expropriatedfrom any nagical virrue:in th.
great ontological divide which Descartesirxtitutes between the essenceofhumanigy an4
is accidental conditions, the body is divorced frorn the penon, it is literally dehurnanized. "I am not this body," Descartesinsiststhroughout his Meditations(1641).And
indeed,in his philosophythe bodyjoins a continuum ofclock-like manerthat the u4i1tered will can now contemplateasthe object ofits domination.
As we will see,Descartesand Hobbes expresstwo different projects with re5ps6
the reduction ofthe body to mechanicalmatterallqws
to corpored reality.In Descartes,
for the development ofmechanisms of self-management that make the body the subjcct
ofthe will.In Hobbes,by contrast,the mechanizationofthe bodyjustifies the total submission of the individual to the power of the sate. In both, howevei, the outcorne is r
redefinition of bodily attributes that makes the body, ideally, at least,suited for the regularity and automatism demanded by the capitalist work-discipline. 16I emphasize"i&dly" because,in the years in which Descartesand Hobbes were writing their treatiscq
the ruling classhad to confront a corporedity that was far different from that appearing
in their prefi gurations.
It is diffcult. in fact. to reconcilethe insubordinatebodies that haunt the socid
liteiature ofthe "lron Century" with the clock-like imagesby which the body is representedin Descartes'andHobbes'works.Yet,though seeminglyrcmoved from the daily
affairsofthe classstruggle,it is in the speculationsofthe two philosophen that we find
6rst conceptualizedthe developmentofthe body into a work-machine,one ofthe mun
(ts)
trk of p.iooitiueaccumulation.When,for example,Hobbesdeclaresthat "the heart
but a spring... and the joins so many wheels,"we perceivein his words a bourg9orj
t)rc
spirit, whereby ,,ot only is woir. the ionditiott and mitive oJexistenteof the body,b*
need is felt to transform dl bodily powers into work powers.
This project is a clue to understandingwhy so much ofthe philosophicd andrtligious specuiationofthe 16thand 1?thcenturiesconsistsofa true vivkeaionolthe hutun
t'body,wherebyit wasdecidedwhich of its prcpertiescould live and which, insteao'
powr6
to die. It was a soriaI alchemyttat did not turrrbase metals into gold, but bodily
into work-powers.For the samerelation that capitalismintroduced U"*".n i'na,tnd
Whl?
work wasalsobeginning to command the relation between the body and labor'
labor wasbeginning to appeerase dynamic force infinitely capableof development'.Sc
body wasseenasinert, sterilematter that only the will could mou", in a .o.tiition{
*t'"t' th;
esablishedbetween mass
that which Newton's physics
ilar to
uar
t() urdr
Puys(s csuuurrcu
"td -o,ion, to be'had
messtendsto ine.tia unles a force is appliedto it. Like the land,the body
l,trO
;^.-"q
<-----_
fint ofall broken up, so that it could relinquish is hidden treasures.For while
is the conditionoJthe existeweoJlabor-po*et,it is also ics limit, a5the main elercsistanceto its exDenditure.It was not suffcient, then. to decide that ir irselfthe
no vdue.The body had to die so that labor-powercould live.
died wasthe conceptofthe body asa receptacleofmagical powersthat had
in tlrc medievalworld, In realiryit wasdestroyed.For in the backgroundofthe
we 6nd a vastinitiativeby rhe state,wherebywhat rhe philosophersclas"irrational" wasbrandedascrime.Thisstateintervention wasthe necessary"subPhilosophy."Knowledge"canonly become"power"ifit canenforce
This meansthat the mechanical bodv. the body-machine. could not have
a nodel of social behavior without the destruction by the state of a vast rangc
belie6, practices,and socid subjecs whose existencecontradictedthe
ion of corporeal behaviorptomisedby MechanicalPhilosophy.This is why,
ofthe "Age of Reason"- the age ofscepticismand methodicd doubt a fercciousatteckon the body,well-supportedby many who subscribedto the
is how we must read the attack against witchcrali
t4L
and bioGedback practicesthat areincreasingly applied even by mainsrreammedrevival of magica.lbelie6 is possible today becauseit no longer representsa
The mechanization
Ftontispieeto thejrst edtion
nt
Christopha Malou,e's Dor,i,Paysrus1t604),pfluring
t6::
ntagitianconjuringlhe Devillinn
ne pr.toktudspaceoJhisftagi.a!
element wasin "sympatletic" rclation with the rest.In this penpective, where nature
rt
viewed as a universe of signs and signatures,marking invisible afiiniries that had
to btdeciphered (Foucaulc 1970:26-27), every element - herbs,plants, metals,and
mostof
all the human body - hid virtues and powen peculiarto it.Thus, a variety ofpnctic6
were designed to appropriate the secretsof nature and bend its powers to the humen
will. From palmistry to divination,6om t}te use ofcharms to qnnpathetic healing,magic
opened a vast number of possibilities.There was magic designed to win card games,to
play unknown instruments, to become invisible, to win somebody'slove, to gain immu_
ruty in war, to make children sleep (Thomas 1971; Wilson 2000).
Eradicating these practices was a necesury condition for rhe capitalist r:tionalization ofwork, since magic appearedasan illicit fotm ofpower and an instrument to orf4it,
what one wanted*ithout unrh, that is, a refirsal of work in action. ..Masic kills industvj,
lamenredFrancisBacon.admining tlat nothing repelledhim so much"asrhe assumption
dnt one could obtain resuls with a few idle expedients.rather than with the sweatofonc!
brow (Bacon1870:381).
Magic, moreover, restedupon a qualitative conception ofspace and time that pncluded a regularizationofthe labor process.How could the new entrepreneurs
impos!
regular work patterns on a proletariar anchoted in the belief that there a.e lucky end
unlucky da1s,that is, days on which one can travel and othen on which one shouldnot
move fron home, dayson which to marry and others on which every enterprise shou.ld
be cautiouslyavoided?Equally incompatiblewith the capitalistwork-disciplinerw.r
conception ofthe cosmos that attributed specialpowers to the individual: the magtletr
look, the power to make oneselfinvisible, to leave onet body, to chdn the will ofoth'
ers by magicalincanradons.
It would not be fruitfiI to investigate whether these powers werc real or ir4i9nary. It can be said that all precapitalist societies have believed in them and, in recel,l
times, we have witnessed a relaluation ofpractices that, et the time we refer ro, w@
have been condemned as witchcraft. Let us mention the growing intelest h parapsyt42
ofthe
body is so constitutive
ofthe
individual
that, at
indusnializedcountries,giving spaceto the beliefin occult forcesdoesnotjeopregularity ofsocia.l behavior. Astrology too can be allowed to return, with the
that even dre most devoted corsumer of astral charts will automatically conwrtch before going to work.
this was not an option for the 17th-century ru.Lingclasswhich, in this
xperimental phaseofcapitalist development, had not yet achieved the social
necessaryto neutra-lizettre practice ofmagic, nor could they functiondly inteinto t}le organization ofsocial life. From their viewpoint it hardlv mattered
the powen that people claimed to have,or aspired to have,were real or not, for
existence of magical belie6 was a source ofsocial insubordination.
for cxample, the widespreadbeliefin the posibiliry offinding hidden mashelp ofmagicd charms (Thomas 1977:23417).This wascertainly an impedthe irxtitution ofa rigorous and spontaneouslyacceptedwork-discipline. Equally
*as the use that the lower classesmade of propheeies,wlich,particularly durCivilWar (asalready in the Ivliddle Age$, served to formulate a program
@lton 1972:742fl,Propheciesarenot simply the expressionofa fatalisticresHistorically they havebeen a meansby which the "poor" have extemalized their
given legitirnary to their plans,and have been spurred to action. Hobbes rccoswhen he warned that "There is nothing that... so well directs men in their
asthe foresight of the sequelsof their actions;prophecy being many times
causeof the eventsforetold" (Hobbes,"B ehernotj' WorksW: 399\.
legardlessofthe dangerswhich magic posed,the bourgeoisie had to combat
becauseit undermined the principle ofindividual responsibility,asmagic placed
ofsocial action in the rea.lmofthe stars,out oftheir reachand control.
the rationalization ofspace and time that characterized the ph.ilosophicalspecfthe 16th and 17th centuries, prophecy was replaced with the ratculition ofptobwhos ad ntage, om a capitalist viewpoint, is that here the future can be antrcinsofar as the regulariry and immutabfiry of the system is assumed;that rs,
as it is assumedthat the future will be like the past, and no major change,
In, will upset the coordinates of individual decision-making. Similarly, the
had to conbat the assumption that it is possible to be in two placesat the
for theJixation oJthe bodyin spaceand time.that is, the indi,idnal\ spatiotempois an essentialcondition for the regularity ofthe work-process.l7
mcompatibility ofmagic with the capitalist work-discipline and the requirelocia.lcontrol is one ofthe reasonswhy a campaignofterror waslaunched against
state - a terror applauded without leservations by many who are presently
aurong the founders of scientific rationalism:Jean Bodin, Mersenne,the
ph.ilosopherrnd member of the Royal Sociery Richand Boyle, and Newtont
IsaacBarrow.ls Even the rnaterialist Hobbes, while keeping his distance,gave
rvd. "As for witches," he wrote, "l think not that their witchcraft is any real
tn.)t that they arejusdy punished, for the false belief they have that they can
mrschief,joined with *reir purpose to do it if they can" (Leviathan 1963: 67\.
Hc addecl that if thesc'superstitiom were clinrinated. "men rvould be much rrrorc fined
than thcy are for civil obcdience" (ilid.). Hobbcs rvas rvell advised The stakcs on rvhich
witches and other practitioncrs of nagic died, and the charnbers irr which thcir rortures
were executcd, were a leboratory in rvhich nuch social drscipline lvas sedirnenrcd.:rnd
much knorvledge about the body was gained. Here thosc irrationllities rverc tLnrrn rted
that stood in the lvirv ofthe trAllsforll)ation ofthe individual and social bodv i to a \et
ofprcdictable arxl controllable nrech.nisnN.And it was here tgain that the s,-icno6c u'c
oftoitlrrc was born. for blood aird torture were nccessaryto "brccd an anrrrrll c''P'hlc
oI
of regular, honogcneous, arld unifortn behavior, indclibly rnarked with the ruerlror,v
90).
thc nerv rules (Nietzsche 1965: 1ll9
A signifrcant elcrttcnt in this coDtext lvas the co[delnnation as fittl(!idunt ol 'lbotto J
tidl and contraception,rvhich consigned the fc'tnalebody - thc ur.rr'r rcdtrirJ
lr
nrachine for thc reprocluctiorroflabor - into the hands ofthe statc and the rrtdf
profession. I rvill rcturn later to this point, in the chapter on the rvitch hunt rvhere'
argue th:rt thc persecution ofthe witches was the cliiDax ofthe statc intervention ;rgJlllsr
thc proletrri:ur bocly in the rlroclt'rn era.
Here let us stressthat clespite the violc'lce deployed by the state,thc dis'i|Lirrillg
r:enofthe prolctrriat procccdcd slowly throughout the 17tl'century and into thc lijtb
olt,t.
tu.y iri rh" face ofa strong resistalce thxt trot even the fetr of execution aoulti
fhf
c(n1e.An el)rblcmatrcexanrplc oI this resistanceis analyzedby Peter Lineb.ruglrrn
Tyburr Riots Agalnst the Surgeons." Lircbaugh reports that in earlv 18rh-'t'Irtrrr)
l1rlr
it. On one side, we h:rve a concept ofthe body that seesit endowcd uith polvers everl
1fterdeath; the corpse does ttot inspire repulsion, and is not trelted as solllething rortclr
or irreducibly alien. ()n the other, thc body is sccn as dead everr rvhen still alive, insoflr
asit is conceived as a nleclulrical dc'vicc, to be caken rpartjust like any machine. "At the
standing at the conjunction oftheTybur:r and Edgtare roads," Peter Linebaugh
ga.llows,
writes,"we find that thc llstory ofthe Loudon poor attd thc history ofEnglish science
intenect." This was not a coincidence; nor."vas it a coinciderlac' that chc progrcss of
anatomy depended ol the ability ofthe surgeons to snatch the bodies ofthc hangcd at
Tyburn.19The course of scientific rationalization *as intinrately corrlcctccl to thc
attempt by the state to inlpose its control ovcr an unrvilling torkforce.
This attenpt was even rnore inrportant, as r detcn)liirant ofnew attitudes towards
the body, than the developnrent oftechnology.As David Dicksor ar!$es, connecring the
new scientific worldvierv to thc incrcasing rlechanization ofproductiorr cln only holcl as
I metaphor (Dicksorr 1979: 2,1).Certainly, thc clock and the autorluted devices that so
much intrigued Descartes and his coDtenrporaries (e'.g.hydraulically rn,ovedsr:rtues),pro
vided models for the ncw scicnce, lnd for the speculatiorrsof Mechanical Philosoph-rron
tle_movementsofthe body. It is also true that srarring tionl rhe 17th ce[tury, anaron)ical
'rulogles were drawn from the workshoos ofthc nranufac rers:the arnrs were vieu,ed as
leven,the herrt
d\ r l\rnl\. lhc hrrrg .r. belL,,*'. rh( (.y(. J, lcrr.t.. rlr, 6.r .r. .r lr,rrrurrcr
(Mlmford
tyo2: 12). Bur rhc'c rnt'ch;rnic:rl rnetaphors rcflect rrot rhe influcnr:c oftcchtrologyper sq
but the flrct that the Dfidinc Mts b(ot]tit{ tht' nroltl Ltfsotial btlmtLtr.
The insprratronJl forcc (,f rhc need for soci:rl control is evidcnt even nr the field
ot- uttottonty.
A cla\si! ex.ul)plc ,\ fh.rr of Edlnord Halley (thc sccrc'tary ofthc Royel
Jotitty).
*ho, in a,rrrcon tnrtrc \\lth thc rppcarancern 1(r95ofthe corrretliter nan)cd
&t him' o.filur".l
.lubr .rll ovcr Englancl in ordcr to denrorrstrate the predicrabrlity of
Qhol ph"*nr"nr,
.n.l ro LL\pcl th.: popular belic'f rhat cor)retsannouncc'dsocill dis"&n.That rhe parh rrf .e rr-nric ,rrr.r,r,rlir.rti,rni,rcc.sectedrvith thc'tlisciplining of thc'
-"rlal body
rs everl Drr,r( crrdeoc rrr the social scicnces.We can see,in fact, that rheir
r45
developnrelt \\'as prenrised on the hon)ogcnizatron of social bchavior. lncl drc con_
struction of a prototypical irxlividual to whoil all rvould be expectc'cl to conforllr. Ir
Marx'.s ternrs, this is an "abstract individual," constructed iD :t ulliforln wly. ai I soclill
avcrage,and subject to t rudical dcchxracreriziltion,so that all of its ficultics can hc
graspcd only in their rnost standa(lized aspects.Theconstruction ofthis Irc'rvilldivrclual was the basis for the developntent of what wrllian Petty rvould hter call (usittg
a ncw science that was to strlcl) cvcrv tbrnr
Hobbes' terrrrirrology) Politiral Arithnetiti
of social behavior ilt terlus of N r,rcrt Wei,qhts,and M?dstrlsr. Petty\ project \\'rs rnuized with thc . devekrprnent of -{ldli-rli.,{and demognphy fiVilson 19(16; Qullsl l(//r/
lhe
rvhich perforrn on the social bocly the satneoperations that arlato ry pcrfornls olr
Itrtdfrotu
individual bod,v,:rsthey disscct the population and stttdy its nlovenlents lru5ity to rrrortaliryrates,fronr gene'rationalto occupatiortalstructures- in thcir lllosr
thc
thrrt
sificd and regulrr aspccts.Alsofrorl the point ofview ofthe abstractionproce'ss
clofn'fltt
in<lividual uirderwent in the tnnsition to ctpitalisn),wc' cair see that the .lcr
de\''ofthe "hunran nrachine" rvasthe rn:lill tcchnological leap,the tnain step in th''
tttrl"',,
r'.'
oplrrent ofthe productivc forccs that rook place in thc pc'rioclof Prinitr',c
stt', in othct u,Ltnls,thil thr huntutttbody anrl tot lh. ll(dn enlittL, tttl tt " '
tion. l+b a111
t46
r47
ii
t4a
he introduces us to the prospect ofa constant batde between the lower and
I:35'+-55).
With the institution ofa hierarchicalrelation betweenmind and body,Descartes
the theoreticalpremisesfor the work-discipline requiredby the developirrg
economy. For the mind's supremacyover the body implies that the will can (in
cont ol the needs,reactions,reflexesofthe body; it can imposea regularorder
vial functions, and force the body to work according to external specifications,
ofits desires.
the supremacyof the wi.ll allowsfor the interiorization of the
importandy,
Moct
of power.Thus, the counterpart of the mechanizationof the body is the
of Reason in its role asjudge, inquisitor,manager,administratorWe find
origirx ofbourgeois subjectivity assellmanagement, self-ownership,law,responwith is corollaries of memory and identiry Here we also 6nd the origin of that
of"micro-powers" that Michel Foucaulthasdescribedin his critique ofthc
discunive model of Power (Foucault 1977),'lhe Cartesian model shows,howPower can be decenteredand diffused thrcugh the social body only to the extent
is recenteredin the person,which is thus reconstitutedasa nicm-state. In other
in being dif,used, Power does not lose is vector - that is, its content and its arms
rimply acquiresthe collaborationofthe Selfin their promotion.
Consider,in this context, the thesisproposed by Brian Easlea,accondingro which
benefit that Canesian dualism ofered to the caoitelist clas was the Christian
ofdre immortality ofthe soul, and the possibiliry ofdeGating the atheism implicit
Magic, which wasloaded with subveniveirnplications@aslea1980: 132fl.
ergues,in support of this view,that the defenseofreligion w,rsa centnl theme rn
which, particularlyin its English version,neverforgot that "No Spirit, No
No Bishop,No K)ng" (ibid.:202).Easlea!argumentis attractiveiyet ils insisrence
"reactionary"elemens in Descartestthought makesit impossiblefor Easleato
e questionthat he himself raises.Whywasthe hold ofCartesianismin Eur<rpcs<.r
6at, even a:fterNewtonian physicsdispelled the belief in a natunl world void of
povcn, and even after the advent of religious tolerance, Cartesianism continued
the dominant worldview? I sugest that the populariry of Cartesianismanrorrg
and upper classwasdirecdy relatedto the p rcgrerlr.of self-nastery
that Descar.tes'
promoted. In its social implications, this program was as irnportant to
elite contemporirries asthe hegemonic relation between humans and nature
t,tcgitirnizedby Cartesian dualism.
.The developmentof self-management(i.e.,self-government,self-development)
an essentialrequirernentin a capitalistsocio-economicsystemin which selfPis assum3dto be the fundamentalsocialrelation,anddisciplineno longerrelies
on externalcoercion.The socialsignificanceofCartesian philosophylies in pan
l/19
in the fact that it provides an intellectualjustification for it. In this way,Desca(es'61q.of self-management deJeats
brt also rcctperdtesthe active side of Naturel Magic. Fot i'.
replacesthe unpredictable power of the magician (built on t}te subde manipulation qf
astral influences and correspondences)with a power far more prcfitable - a power 60,
which no soul hasto be forfeited - generatedor y through the administntion and dornination of one's body and, by extension, the administration and domination ofthe bo4ies ofother Gllow beings.We cannot say,then, asEasleadoes (repeating a criticism raiss4
by Leibniz), that Cartesianism failed to translateis tenes into a set of practical !egu6tions, that is, that it failed to demonstrateto the philosophers - and aboveall to the rnqlchans and manufacturcrs- how they would benefit &om it in tltet attempt to contbl
the matter of t}le world (ibid.:1'57).
IfCartesianismfailed to give a technologicaltrarxlationofits precep6,ir nonethelessprovided precious information with regard to the development of"human technology." Its insights into the dynamics of self-conrol would lead to tlte constluction oft
new model ofthe penon, wherein the individual would function at once asboth master and slave.It is becauseit interpreted so well the requiremens ofthe capitalistwotkdiscipline that Descartes'doctrine, by the end ofthe 17th century had spreadthroughout Europe and survived even the advent of vitalistic biology as well as the increasing
obsolescenceof the mechanistic paradigm.
The reasorufor Descartes'triumph are clearestwhen we comPare his account of
the person with that of his English rival, Thomas Hobbes Hobbes' biological monisn
rejects the posnrlate ofan imrnaterial mind or soul that is *re basisof Descartes'concepl
ofthe penon, and with it the Canesianassumptiondrat the human will can ftee iselffiom
corporeal and irstinctual determinism.22For Hobbes, human behavior is a conglomente
ofreflex actions that follow precise natural laws, and compel the individual to incesandy
stiive for power and domination over othets (Itiathan:141ff1.Thts the war of all agaiDit
all (in a hypothetical state of nature), and the necessiryfor an absolutepower guaranteeing, through fear and punishment, the survival ofthe individual in society.
For the laws ofnature, asjustice, equity, modesry mercy, and, in sum,
doing to others aswe would be done to, of themselves,without dre
terror of some powei to causethem to be observed,are conffary to
our natural Passions,that carry us to partiality, pride, revenge and the
like (ibid.:173).
As is well known, Hobbes'political doctrine causeda scandalamong his corltelrl.
h;
poraries, who coruidered it dangerous and subversive,so much so thatialthoueh
to theRolal societv(Bowle1e52:163)
,
"a"u""d
,^"-r't^.
exPrer.. th
for t"
it .*r"rsed
model .a^"'-tlat prerailed,
---^r,
Agairst Hobbes, it was tJle Cartesian
.-.
ffi;J;;ff;;;;u*
*"t-"i"..
public
disciplinemustbe rootedin the heartsof rnen,for in tlre absence.f-PurruL u5LrPrrc
illtlii
"
-^, rrn
iegislation men are inevitably led to revolution (quoted in Bowle 1951: n7-un]., to
Hobbes," complained Henry Moore, "there is no fteedom of will and consequendY",
150
ofcorscience or reason,but only what pleasesthe one with the longest sword"
in Eadea 1980: 159). More explicit wasAlexander Ross, who observedthat "it is
ofconscience dut restrainsmen from rebellion, there is no outwald law or force
powerfi.rl.. . therc is no judge so severe,no torturer so cruel as an accusing con6" (quotedin Bowle 1952:167).
fhe contemporaneous critique of Hobbes' atheism and materialism was clearly
purely by religious concerrs. His view of the individual as a machine
its
appetitesand aversioru wasrejected not becauseit eliminated the conby
only
crearurerurde in the image of God, but becauseit eliminated the
human
the
ofsocial control not depending wholly on the iron ru.le ofthe state.
form
ofa
main
dillerence berween Hobbes'philosophy and Cartesianism.This,
is
the
argue,
ifwe insist on stressingthe feudal elemens in Descanes'phibe
seen
cannot
particular
is defense of the existence of God with all that this entailed,
in
, and
ofthe power ofthe state.If we do privilege the feudal Descarteswe miss the
the elimination of the rcligious element in Hobbes (i.e., the beliefin the exrsof,iocorporeal substances)was actually a responseto the defiooatization ifltplhit itl
which Hobbes undoubtedly distrusted.As rhe activism
modeloJselJ-mwtery
secs dutiog the English CivilWar had demonstrated, self-mastery could
into a subversiveproposition. For t}le Puritans' appeal to return the manageone's behavior to the individual conscience,and to make of onet conscience
judge oftruth, had become radicalized in the hands of the secaries into an
rcfirsal ofestablished authority.23The example of the Diggen and Ranrec, and
reores ofmechanic preacherswho, in the name ofthe "light of conscience,"had
state legislarion as well as private prcperty, must have convinced Hobbes that
to "Reason" was a dangerously double-edged weapon.24
con{lict between Cartesian "tleism" and Hobbesian "matedalism" was to bc
in tirne in their reciprocal assimilation, in the sensethat (asalwaysin the hiscepitalism) t}le decentralization ofthe mechanisms of command, through their
in the individual, was finally obained only to the extent that a centnlization
in the power ofthe state.Toput dris resolution in the terms in which the debate
in the course of the English CivilWar:"neither the Diggers nor Absolutism,"
mixture ofboth, whereby the democratization ofcommand would
the shoulders ofa sate alwaysready,like the Newtonian God, to reimpose order
rouls who proceeded too far in the ways of self-determination. The crux ofthe
,naslucidly expressedbyJoseph Glanvil, a Cartesianmember ofthe Rolal Sociery
a polemic agairxt Hobbes, argued that the crucial issue was the control of the
the body.This, however, did not simply imply the connol ofthe nrling class
par excellentelover the body-proleariat, but, equally imporant, the developthe capacity for self-control within the person.
Foucault hasdemorxtrated, the mechanization ofthe bodv did not or y involve
ofdesircs. emotions. or forms ofbehavior that werc to be endicated. lt also
the developent ofnew faculties in the individual that would appearasotfterwith
the body iself, and become the agens ofits transformation.The product ofthis
&om the body, in other worrds,was the development ofindividuei identitf, coaas"otherness" fiom the body, and in perennial anagonism witl it.
Itrt
ill
nd subversion.
Yet, the sm.rggleagainstthis "great beast" was not solely directed againstthe "lowr
sort ofpeople." It wrasalio interiorized by the dominant classesin the battle they rva/
own "rratural state."As we have seen,no les than Prospero,the bourggoisic
"g.instlheir
too had to recognize that "[tlhis thing ofdarknes is mine," that is, that Caliban wasP'r
of itself @rowntl88; Tyllard 1961:3,F35).Thisawarenesperndes tlre literary produl
stion ofthe 16thand 17thcenturies.Theterminology is evealing. Even those wbo
connot follow Descartessaw the body asa beastthat had to bc kept incesantly under
rr
trol. Its instincs were compared to "subjects" to be "governed," the senseswere seen
a prison for the reasoning soul.
Andrew Marvell, in his "Dialogue Between the Soul and the Body.',
With bols of Bones, that fener'd stands
In Feet;and manacledin Hands,
Here blinded with an Eye; and there
Deaf with the drumming of an Ear.
A Soul hung up, as t'werc, in Chain
Of Nerves,andArteries,andVeiru
(quoted by Hill 1964b:345).
conllict between appetitcs and reasonwas a key theme in Elizabethan liter_
1961:75),wbile among the Pu.itansrhe ideabeganto tale hold that the
iJ in every man. Meanwhile, debateson educetionand on the,,nature of
nt among the "middle sorr" cenrered around the body/mind con0ict, posing
ofwhgther human beings arc voluntary or involuntary agents.
9u1ti9n
ut the &6nition ofa new relation with the body did not remain at a p"urelvide_
lcvel. Many pnctices began to appearin daily life to signal the deep transforrnag,rn this domain: the useofcutlery *re development ofshame with
respect
the advent
"yT:""
that attempted to regulate how one laughed,
:f
cezed,how one should behaveat the table,and to *Lt e*terrt on. could"rrr,g,
@lias 1978: 1291i).While the individual was increasingly disociated from the
lener becane an object ofconstant obserr"rtion,asifit riere an enemy.The
body
irspirc fear and repugnance.,,Thebody ofman is full of6lth,,,declaredJoruthan
whose anitude is typical of the pudtan experience, where the subjulation
of
wasa daily practice (Gteven 1977:67).ptticutady repugnant
*..eih"ose Uoa_
tions that directly conGonted ,.men" with their.animafif.,,Witnes
the lase of
Mather whq in his Diary, confesed how humiliated he felt
one day *h.r, ,r.,_
a rzll, he saw a dog doing the same:
Thought I'what vile and meanThings are the Children ofMen
in
this mortal Sate. How much do our nattrrrl Necesities
abaseus,
rnd plarceus in some regard on the samelevel with the
very Dogs,...
Accotdingly I resolved that it should be my ooaUry
lo"ti..,
wer I stepto answerthe one or the other Necessity
of Nature, to-Lomake
it an Oppomrniry of shapingin my Mind some
holy, noble,divine
Thought (rbrd).
great medical passion of the tirne, the aralpis of
ercqemen
s _ from which
i"airjara
to this conception of
asa receptacleoffilth and hidden dangen, Clearly, this
obsessionwith human
tellected in part the disgust that the middle classwas beginni"g;;;i;,
aspecs of the body - a disgust ineviably accentuatedln an urban
whre excrements posed a logistic problem, in addition to appeating
as
But in this obsessionwe can also read the bourgeoisn..a
,o .lg"l"a;;na
153
talcrrts,
r'e st'crhat a sirrr.l!,
thrcadrrc,;tt,c sccr)nr)
pl,l;.:,,1:ct.tl lcgr.l.rtihn,
"t-t'1::.T:::l:1.:1.1']:l:,j,,'
n.hgrorrs
rcfirrrr,encithc scicrrrific
d*tq",
r.uioo.rliz:rtioo
hu,,,,,,,,"ru,",,.1,,,s.
,h"."r"-",fjtl:.::L:l1l:.:""?'t, ro r:rtioriiiizc
1,,'^"..h".tt,, b
sllboRllr)rtrJr(' thc
developrrrent
rr)clfirrrrr:rtion
Fchannellcd,rnd
ofi,rl,o, pot,cr.
As we hrvc \ccn.rllc b,,tlyrr.rsincrelsrngly
poliricizcdirr thisp.o."rr: ,, ,ua,
,1",,,,
drc "othcr,"the.<,ute,r
and rede6lred,as
li'rit
uralized
.tir.ii,;;:. ;rrus, r1c birrl
"f.,,.i,,1
ofthe body nr rhe 17tl)centuryursoru.rrkcdrrr cnJ..rsrrr.,.,,,,*pl .ia* b,,dy .,r,ou
a
spccit'ic
de6ne
orgr'ic
to
rcalcr Jrd.hc.uDr( ,,,,,..,.t.,
dcase
,,;rrfier ofcl:rs
ofrhe shiliirrg,r..ntirruorr.l1,rcJrar'rr
rclatiorx,arrd
\\:hrch
'..ril;;rhcs;cti*ro's pro
in the rnapofhunran cxploitatiorr.
'uu'.i.rrrc\
6fuce
jtt,o' ,o t" .
' iH;:iiiil:}il;,il'fl::,;,"il:it::f
::ill:
:::il:'lt,,:tl,[
active life in his nativc kingdor
from
thegovern,ncr,,
"rr;;."bj'.'.:;::;',,i:,:*lT:,i:"ilT:,H:,r:.,1,,J
ities prefigrrre a nerv worlcl
ord
unbricllerlfar:tls1ir'ver reidy to cxplode ir) riotous .onlnlotions. Above all, ir u.rs incliscipline, leck of pnrductivin', incontinencc, lust for irnrnediate physic srcisf:rction;
16
utopia bcing not a life ofl:rbor, but the laltd of Cockaigne (lltlrkc 1978: C;rirus1987),t6
wherc housesrverc rruclc ()fsug.rr,rivcrs ()f milk, and shere not only could orrc obtrin
\\'hat onc \\'ishcd $ ithout cffort. but one was paid to eat and drink:
To slcep one hour
of dccp sleep
without rvaking
() c cilrns six fr.lircs;
rnd to drink well
one c:lrns r pistol;
rhis country is jolll:
()ne carns ten francs a clay
to
Thc' idea of transforrling this hzy being, rvho drcantt of liG ts :r lo'rg ( lrtrlri\':'
into tn ilrlefitigalrle lvorkcr, nrtrst hlrve sc'cnrccla cicsperatecnterprisc. It tllcalrt Iir.r'lllr
to "turn the world upsicledorvn,"buc in t rct.lly c.pitdiit fashion,rvherc irrcrri.rto corrrlnar)d \\()ulcl lte trrnsfirrrncclinto latk ofdesire'ancl autononrottswill, wl)clc Ii' il('rrJ
uro llb (,ofict'i!lL, r v dr ir , , r , andwhc r eneedwould b c 'c x p ( 'r i c n . c d o n l y a s l a c k , t b r t i c r r c (
ancl cternrl irdigcrcc'.
Hencr'this batdc agrinst the body. rvhich .hiractcrizcd the eirly phlsc of'Jfrtalist clcvclopruerlt,anci rvhich ir:rsconriiued, in differr'nt w:rys,to our d:l)1Hctlcc tltt'
nre.hlnizitior) ofthe bod1, shich \\'is thc.projcct ofthc ncw Natur:rl Philosolh) 'rr'"
the ftrcalPoiIlt for the first exPerirnentsiIt the organizttion ofthc'statc.Ifrve nrote ii"rr'
thc witch hunt ro the spccularionsof Mcchenical Phikrsophy,end thc P,,ri,.ttr'ut"u'-
tt
geitlcd tlrr.uglr a rrt:tgic rvarrrl
but through the cnsr..errent -:: -t-:ntt"ilt:*
itoc
nlrny oalib;rns in
llr disr;rnt colol)les' I)rospe()li
exploitativc nranagc'r,r.rrtofc.r?l
ili:,;,;.;,,il:J[:il'.::],::i
ll:,ii:,il,,lfi
:n:::falri
::ii:
;:,:l:il,
.;,'i..;'il"i:;llili:::',1,',;;:;::,,:,T
:::.Hl
[Xl,;,1;.;.,.,.1;']
l;L:
Mthout strifi....Thus hc is
ahv
4r2,130)'ij';,r," ;;;.;.;:rii::::
:l:l:td
c. The refornr.rtiorr
ufl.rrrgu.rlle
_ jiev thenrciIr
l6rh irr)d17rh ccrrturyphilosophy.
ftorr Bacon," f,;;:
;:: ;.a
tttllcerrr
ofJoscplt
( ilrtn'il * h'r in his
o!.Dogut,uizi,t.4
I i;riry'
1tr,rr,;1, o.o.lit"t"
tul)crcrrcc'
b
tirc
crrtcsi;rn
aovocatc'sa la'guagc "rr",
world
*rcw.
ll
fir ,; d"::'::i:11*clcar
ind distirrctcnrirics /(iianvrl
1e70.
y"i-"r").A, s. il.;:,,,;:,,;;rl;:"""
irr hisirtrroducrron
ro clenvil\ $ork,.r iangu.rgc
f t to descnbc,r.;;;#';;i'l
sirtrilrrritics
to rrrathentetics,
*o.d' ors...,,
r'ill leve
i,lud
s:.;,.;,;r;:.i:i-::l:
\\1ll,pr!'\('Irt
jng
:r
picttrre
.f chc uni'ersc accorclco it. iog,.j ,,;r.;;;:
.;'; ,,1':f'
betsc'ert
uti**,'
r'irrda'd nr.r*er,
rncr
rvoidt'etrtphor
'.fi..r,r" ,il':';,:::11;"""f'sir,shrrpl;'
..d a"r..,u,ug,
as
r
rv:ry
of
k'o*i'g
r".,,,;;j;il:',:it^.]:ill.
;::fflllll.lil rilil:'fi::':TJ';i',:'.1'i:::'i,:'i
lifn do.'.u,nu',,',rs'ur\h
hc',,(.ir
.ri;;j;:.i;;:ii',1',*,,,..,1"l"'H1.::',:;1
ull:,::,,
il,'i1,il
:il::::l:
-'rc rn thc .1..,irr1,11.,11
of rhrr P1occ5. \vllilc ..6ccti,,firrrrr
,i;:, ,.;;;;,:,,,,r. *.,,,,.,,
r55
till
l
li
5.
,,Y"t
3f:;l"l'J.:1i.%H.:'i,*:*11:i*:*T:
l*l.".":#fi
J-1i
blessedgarden(Patadise
l-ast,verses1054-56,P. 579).
points
out, until the 15th century, wage-labor could hav.
6. As Christopher Hill
appearedasa conqueredfreedom,becausepeople still had accessto the comqo*
and had land of their own, thus they were not solely dependent on a wage.But
by the 16thcentury,those who worked for a wage had been expropriated;66..
over,the employersclaimed that wageswere only cornplementary,and kept thenr
at their lowest level.Thus,working for a wage rneant to fall to the bottom ofrhe
social ladder, and people struggled desperately to avoid this lot (Hill, 1975:
220-22).By the 17thcentury wage-laborwasstill considereda form ofslavery,s6
nuch so that the Levelersexcluded wage wolkers from the franchise,asthey 4i6
not consider them independent enough to be able to freely choosetheir reprssentatives(Macpherson1962: 107-59)
the causes
ofthe eco7. When in 1622ThomasMun wasaskedbyjamesI to investigate
blaning
his
report
by
the pmbhe
concluded
country,
nomic crisisthat had struck the
in
particular
He
referred
workers.
English
ofthe
16
lems ofthe nation on the idleness
"the genenl leprosy of our piping, poning, feasting,factions and misspendingof our
in
time in idlenessand pleasure"which, in his vieq placed England at a disadvantage
(Hitl'
125)
1975:
Dutch
industrious
with
the
its commercialcompetition
(Wright 1960: 80-83; Thomas 7977; Yar' Ussel 1971: 25-92; Rilev 1973: 19tr,
lJnderdown 79a5:7J2).
The fear the lower classes(the "base,""meaner sorts,"in the jargon of the time)
inspired in the ruling classcan be measuredby this tale narrated in SocialEngland
Itlistated fi903it.ln 1580.FrancisHitchcock, in a pamptrlettided "New Year! Gift
to England," forwarded the proposal to draft the poor ofthe country into the Navy'
rebellionor tojoin with whomarguing:"thepoore. sot ofpeople are.. . apt to assist
meet guidesto bring soldien
they
are
then
island...
noble
it
u"de
this
,o""u.rL.. to
point
with their 6nger'there
can
For
they
wealth.
rich
men!
the
or men of war to
with murder to many
marryrdom
procure
and
so
hath
it',
it is','yonderit is'and'He
it
*.rlthy p..sorr, fo, their wealth.. .." Hitchcock'sproposal,however,wasdefeated;
steel
was objected that if the poor ofEngland w"r. draft.ii,tto the naly they would
the ships or become pintes (SocialEnglandlllustated L903:85-86)'
oJ-fa*t
10. Eli F Heckscherwrites that..In his mo-;timportant theoreticalwork ATieatbe
compul(1662) [Sn Winiam Petty] suggestedthe substitutionof
,rd Cottttibutions
" "WhI
sory labour for all penalties,'whichwill l.'.L"rii"bou' ""d pubLt *tt1t1."
punished with slaverythd
[he inquired] should not insolvent Thieves be rather
a5
il;i;;il;;-t1."*
u( rrrE JcY\r
,oaybe forcedto
u'\/
they
",
,nuth l"bou',
"t'd
ascheeofare'
r.L
nature will endu.e, and thereby become as two men added to th" Cot*nnt""""'
l|.pf(
In Firnce t^ or4
-1.
8".
exhorted the Court ofJustice to condemn asmany convictsaspossibleto^tne
1962,II:297)
rL (Heckscher
uuur it"
Lali'srr away
dway from
as olrc
one taken
not as
and not
ano
\rN!aJ!u!!
i;::XhH;:';;ii"liii'
(irirr':2e8-ee)'
tothestate"
..*'-tch isnecessarv
.'
reys rrr urusr
."l$l
years ^frr
twelve
'fhe
which
was
(Tiaiti
rle
I'Homme)'
Man
Tieatiseon
Published
-';
11.
;::.-J"*
"'"uun
;" ;;;* ;';,';:;;;'i*'ii,,'ri*^\.,i"*b",."',"i
r57
I8.
16.l0,irr rcsPorrsc
r() Mcrscnne,who ha.l uskcdIurD slry rDilrt.rlsfi'cl
finally,inJurrc
ltare
tro
rortl,
l),t..trtcs
reassuredhillr th.rt thcl do not: for llur !'xr\ts
."rn iftltc)
r
r
l
r
,
t
,
'r
.
l
.
r
'r
r
tt.l
i
r
r
g
l
r
r
'.r
l
) .c1 t r r r l ) r tr r ( \ {l {"\( r r l i ( l J l 'r r 'h x)
l.lu rvrtlt
" '- 'T h i r . , r *, , , l r " n,.&r .r r r tl r .l tscr r r i tl ze d n r ;r Ir l o fl ) csctr tcs sci e l ti i c'l l l r Ir r i l l d cd
lo the pairriDflictcd orr anirDalsb,vvivisctrion This is ho$' Nich'rl'r'
conterlPortries
the :rtnro\llhcrc crcared et Porr l{oyll by thc. belict' irr.rlrirnll
ciescribcd
iontai'c
fhcy
'Tlrerc' lr.rs
wlx) didrrt rllk of autonnta
.l
a,rronr.rtit,,,:
_lr.rr.llr' -,,r/rt.lir'a'
tu iJ.,6^'rrrtlr pcrfcct i clit'Itrcrtccltrd IDadefLrr ofth'x' rvlrrr
h..,,,n95
l6rrri[ir,"r".l
pail Ther':iritl tlt.lt .rrrinrals\cr!'clock\i lhrr
liriad,h" ..".,,ut"t.r. Lfrhel lr'rJ tilr
.trtrck
rr
cre
onlv dlc norsc oi.r lictlc spring rl lrit h ll'rtl
u
hcrt
,h"u
l,a a.,".
"uu,,.d
\\'l)olc bodv $ as $ ithour fi'clrlrg.fhel Juilcli loor rrnr
been touchcd, but thrt thc
sce chc crrcul:rtitrrrttl tlrt'
four
thcir
by
bolrds
Prl\\'sto vivisect thclrt :rrlr.1
orr
mals
ofconversarion" (l{oscnlicld l96lt:5-l)
blood which u'asa grcat subjcct
rncchanicll nlcure oflulinrlls reprcscl)tcd;l t{)t;ll
thc
cotrccrniltg
doctrine
21. Descartcs'
ofamnuls tlt.rt ltad prcvarledin dtc Mititllc
to
th!'cotrceptiorr
respect
with
inversion
Agesand until dre 16thccntur!'.rvbich viewcd thcrrrasintcllige'rtt,rclxrnsrblc bcing':.
with a parricularlydevelopcd itlugilutioIr arld cven the .rbilir; to spc:rk.AsE.lrverd
'Westerrrrarck,
and nrorc rc'actltl)Esthcr CoheIt, hlvc slrtxl n. in severalaoutl!rics of
il::1,i::,':1,,'illi:ili::':,:*lli:"'.:$,,:,11T;:ll'.ll;:i;i;';'"'l:::Jill
passed by thc .trrthorities allorviltg thc bodies of those cxcctttccl to be trscd for
anatorni.,rlstrrdics.lIl England "thc Oollegc of Physicilr)serlt('rcd tlle aD'ltrn)licd
field rn 15(,5 rvhcrr Elizlbeth I grtnred thenl the right ofclrinring tlte bodics6f61.the authorrtr<\'urd
sccted felons" (t)'Mlllc,v 196'l). OD thc collaboration be!\\'ccn
Fcrr'rri (pp 59 6{1,61,
Giovannrr
see
llologra.
17th-celltur)
rrtd
in
1(nh
Iraronrists
thc..Iltclrtest..oftlr<xt'
|17-ll)' rr'}ropoirlts out tlrat not onl,vthosr:executedbut tlro
.w'erc
set lsidc fbr dtc anatontists. In ()nc c.lse.] sentcnccto
rvho died at the lro.ilrit:rl
lifewa scon rltt t r t c dint < r adet t lr s c ' lr ler lc c t os : r t i s f y t h e c . l c l l t l l r r c l o f d r e s c h o h r s .
lllillt t' irr prepantion for
2(). Accordirtg to I )cscartcs'firstbiogrlplrcr. Mottsieur Adrien
chily visircclthe slirughhis ?eatisr',rf,\'/,r4,iI) 1a)29'Dcscrrtcs.whilc in Antsterdalu'
plrl of rninr;rls:
vtriotls
terltous.s oftlt.' towll. and Pefornlccl tlisscctionson
ing
iln:rt('rr\"to
...he scr ;rbout thc' executioD ofhis dcsigr by stuLlf
sfent rI)
hc
th't!
'rvhich hc r'levoted the wholc of the winter
lor
clllcrne\s
hi\
thit
Ansrerchrn'Iir Fether Merscnnt' hc testified
I
butcher-s'
rltill;
knorvleclgc'oftltis subject hrd tletlc hirl visrt' alrnost
thcncc
to rvinrcssthc shughter:attd tlut hc Itld causedto bc ['rorrgltt
di'sccr
ro
he
dcsircd
to his tl*'cllillg rvhicheverofthc illiDlals' orgrns
wherc
placcs
otltcr
ill
ga"rt.'al"t.ur" Hc oftcn clicltllc s:lnlething
"r
or
tlnRorth|
h.' .rt.rve.l.rite, th.rt' flndrng nothing pcrsonall; sherDct'irl'
that could
his position ill I prectice tl):rt wirs innocent irr itsclf rrrlcl
nlrllcfic!-tlt
c!'rtlill
of
p.o.1r',." ,1,'it" useful results Thtrs, hc lllade fuD
allll
crlllllllrl
or'lt
ll
hiltr
artaletttr,rttap"aso,truho. hlcl tricd to ruake
sec
thc
to
village's
1)ig\
htd itcctrsctl hillr of"going throttgh thc
t]re ntosr
killc'ci".. .. Il I lc clid not neglcct to look at rvhat Vcsalus atrd
l]llt he
experirllac:clofothcr authors hed *ritten about :lllll(nll)'
inillr:lls
cllssccting
penonally
t,rtrglrthrltsclf in a ntuch sLrrcruey by
n'rrrtlcsrite s.'l"hrc^
..,,.,,,t.ttr
"'"i'''e
'
l t ttl el )l "l N
q llo t ( ' r ll\l\lclll ltttl rgtttrtt'rrl
','trt D
e
n
cxp
lr
,lL
te
r
.a
t i tnt D
t . lauuxx l[ t' (, ,)trtr
rr
..,i.,:,'rr'
rrr'l ",,r
i
o
exP
erl
trl
el
rt\-t
i
Il
cl
tti
ti
l
JlllL
ltttr
rrrrY
,v 2 0 h c refers
a terr o rfJe
iI) a le tte
Also lI)
4 5 ) . Also
.t
V o l . l vV:: 2 5
| . .i i r r't
tl tt" t1''' '.'.',,,u,ul
cn ttttt
cn
vi vi l l rtl api n vrvillrtcl'tln
ttn lapln
p o itr in c d
' A p r cs ilvoir
o u ve r tc h Poitrlnc
ilvo ir ouvertc
ssectioll:
e c t i o l l : 'APrcs
.. ,,,u,u,I
cler''j,;"ir,r.
l'r dissection-9ttt
."1:l:.l.l-::::..,*:.j
. Poursuivant
|ll
acrrclenr'
voycn facilcrrtent
I irorrcsc voyc't
cocur dc I'rortc'sc
lc .oc.rr.l.i
),i,i Vol
.r", ',_,r,.,a,t.
.,ir'",,,1"lui a,tup".ette partir'dtlcoctrr(1tl'onnonlnresl poirltc"(rbrri
Europe, anitttals w'erc triecl lltd lt rittrcs pubhcly cxt'ctrtcci firr crirncs drct hld coIIt
mitted.They were assigrecla Lrrvycraltd the entirc proccdtrre trial, sclltcllcc, exc
cutron- was conducted rvith .rll fornral legalities.Irt I 5(,5,thc citizcnsof Arlcs.filr
example,askedfor thc expulsiorl ofthe grasshoppersfnrlrr clteir tolvl. arlciirlr ,li1]
Thc lrrsttrill
ferent cascthe worrns that iDfcstcdtlte parish wcre cxcorrlrrlunicatc'd.
rt
:rlso
lccepted
in
cotrrt .rsrvrtofan aninral* asheld in Frlncc in I ti.l5.Anirrtals trc
nessesfor thc anryurlatit. A nr.rn rvho had beert conclclnned for nrurdcr lppc.trccl
in cgurt with his cat end his c()ck rnd m their presertcc!$orc thar hc \\'it5iI)rtocctlt
and was rclcascd. (lVesternurck I 92.1:25.lfl.; CoheIr l9t3(r).
22. It has been argucd that Hobbcs trch-tncchanistic pcrspectiveactually concccicd
more powcrs and dynanrisnrto thc body than dre (l:rrtcsirn tccoul)t. Hobbcs R'Jccts
Descartesdualistic ontology, errd in particular thc norion of the DIirld As!rr lrllrll.r
tedal,incorporeal substrncc'.Vicrvingbody and rttirrcli\ lt nronisric colltir)trrrlt).he
accountsfor rnental opcration\ on thc basisofphl'sic.rl rnd physiologicrl principlc's.
However,no lcssthan Desclrtes,hc disenlpo\\'crsthc hunun orgEattisnr,ls
hc clcnics
self-modon to it,:Lndre'ciuccs
Scrtsc
irech.tltisrtts.
ch.rnges
to
ilcliorl-rexction
brrdily
percePtion,for insr:urce,
duc
to
thc
prodrrct
ofirrr
.rction-relcriort,
is for Hobbcs the
resistanceopposcd by thc scr)scorg.rrrto the :Ltornit-in4rulscs colning fronl rl)c cxt! r
nal object;inr,rginrrioniq J d( r,ryrrg \errse.Rcason trxr is but a conlputirrg trlilclllrrc.
No lessthrrr in Descartes,ir H.bhes the opcrilions of rhc bodv are undcrrtood il
tertlx of a rnechanicalceuselitl:and irc subjc'atcd!o thL' \itrrrc'univcrsallegisl.rrion
lhat regulatcs the rvorld of irrlnirrr;rtc nlJtter.
13.A'sHobbes
larncntcd in lJchtntoth.
[A]fter the Bible wastr.lnshtcd irrto ErIglish,r:vcrl Irren.nayicvc'ryboy
and wcnch, that could rcrrd English, thought thcv spoke rvith (iotl
Alurighty rnd undersrood rvher hc siridwhcr) by ;r ccrrlin nunrber of
chaptersa dav tbe-vh.rd rc.rtltlrc Scripturcsotrcc or !rvicr:.The rt'r'cr
159
l5a
160
(1567).
GreatWitcLt-Huntin Etnope
Une bte imparfaicte, sansfoy, sanscninte, sanscostance.
(French 17th_centurysayingabout
women)
Down from the waistethey are Centaurs,
Though Women all above,
But to the girdle do the gods inherit,
Beneathis all the 6ends;
There is hell, there is darkness,
There is the suJphurous
pit,
Burning, scalding,stench,consumptron.
(Sha-kespeare,
Kiag Izar)
You arethe true Hyenas,thatallureus with
the fairnessofyour skins
and when folly hasbrought us within your
reach.you l.r;;;";;;.
You are chetraiton of Wisdom, the impediraent
;" i;;:;
.. ;;
clogs.to Vinue and rhe goadsthat drive
us to
ruin.You arethe Fool! paradise,
"ff "i."r,lrr;l*
the wisem""l plrg""
;;l ;;;;;; ""a
Error of Nature (WalterCharleton,Ep
hesianMairon,1659).
Introductio! r
JonLn*"o.lln
ir 1571
o"*tion oJAnneHendrickJu vithoaJt in Amstetdattr
163
nination of the witches, many have insistedon portraying them as wrctched fbot"
afflicted by hallucinations,so that their persecutioncould be explainedas, pro.",,
^i,
"social therapy,"serving to reinforceneighborly cohesion(Midelfort 1972:3; or 66uij
be describedin medicalterms asa "panic,"a "craze,"an "epidemic,"all characterizatiofi
that exculpatethe witch hunter and depoliticizetheir crimes.
Examplesofthe misogynythat hasinspiredthe scholarlyapproachto the wi1qlhunt abound.AsMary Daly pointed out aslate as 1978,much ofthe litenturc on th;"
topic hasbeen wriften from "a woman-execuringviewpoint" that discreditsthe victiifr
ofthe penecution by portnying them associalfailurcs (women "dishonorcd" or ftus_
tratedin love),or even aspe.vertswho enjoyedteasingtheir male inquisitorswith thcir
Daly citesthe exampleofF G.Alexandert and S.T.SelesnicktTheHirron,
sexud fantasies.
of Psychiatrywherc we read that:
...accusedwitches oftentimesplayedinto the handsof the persecutors. A witch relieved her guilt by confesing her sexud fantasiesin
open court; at the sametime, she achievedsome erotic gtatification
severely
by dwelling on all the detailsbefore her male accusers.These
emotionally disturbed women were particularly susceptibleto the
suggestionthat they harboreddemon and devilsand would conGssto
cohabiting with evil spiris, much asdisturbed individuals today,influthemselvesassought-aftermurencedby newspaperheadlines,fantasy
deren (Daly 19?8:213).
There have been exceptions to this tendenry to blame the victims, both among
the 6nt and secondgenention of witch-hunt scholan.Among the latter we should
rememberAlan Macfarlane(1970),E. W Monter (1969,1976,1977),and Alfred Somu
(1992). But it was only in the r+'akeof the feminist movement that the witch-hunt
emergedfrom the undergroundto which it had been con6ned,thanksto the feminiss'
identification with the witches, who were soon adopted as a symbol of fernale rerolt
@ovenschen1978:83ft).2Feminiss were quick to recognizethat hundredsofthousrnds
and subjectedto the cruelesttorturesunles
of women could not havebeen massacred
they poseda challengeto the power structure.Theyalsorealizedthat sucha war agarrsr
women, carried out ovet a period ofat leasttwo centuries,w?s a turning point in thc
history ofwomen in Europe,the "origind sin" in the processofsocial degndarion-d{
women suffetedwith the advent of capitalism,and a phenomenon,therefore,to whrc[
we must continually return if we are to understand the misogyny that still characterlzd
institutional practiceand male-femde relations.
Marxist historians,by contrast,even when studying the "ransidon to calts
to oblivion, asifil
talism," with very few exceptions,have consignedth.
-itch--hurrt
were irrelevant to the history ofthe classstruggle.Yet,the dimensionsofrhe mlssacf
*"t" butnt"'
should have raisedsone suspicions,ashundredsofthousandSof-o-.n
hanged,and tortured in lessthan two centuries.3It should also have seemedsiStlDcant that the witch-hunt occurred simultaneouslywith the colonization and effr'
mination ofthe populations ofthe NewWorld, the English enclosures,the be8indnj
ofthe slavetrade,the enactment of"bloody laws" againstvagabondsand begFt5 "''
t6/,
in that interregnum between the end offeudalism and the capitalist "take
when the peasantryin Europe reachedthe peak of its power but, in time, also
its historic defeat.So far, however,this aspectof primitive accurnularemained
a secret.4
truly
h2s
I
l W ttch-burn ing
t ir nes
and
t he
St at e
hasnot been recognizedis that the witch-hunt was one of the most important
in the development of capielist society and the formation ofthe modern proleFor the unleashing of a campaign of terror against women, unmatched by any
prrsecution,weakenedthe resistanceof the European peasantryto the assault
aginst it by the gentry and the state,at a time when the peasantcotrununity
jready disintegratingunder the combined impact ofland privatization,increased
and the extension of state control over every aspect of social life. The witch_
dccpened the divisions between women and men, teaching men to Gar thc power
and destroyeda universeofpractices,belie6, and socialsubiectswhose exrs_
wrs incornpatible with the capitalist work discipline, thus redefining the main ele_
ofsocid reproduction.Io this sense,likethe contemporirryattackon..popularcul_
f' end the "Great Confnement" of paupen and vagabondsin work-houses and
houses,the witch-hunt wasan essential
aspectofprimitive accumulationand
" to capitdism,
I:ter, we wi.ll seewhat fearsthe witch-hunt dispelled for the European ruling class
hatwereis efects for the position ofwomen in Europe.Here I want to stressthat,
to dre view ptopagated by the Enlightcnment, the witch-hunt was not the last
ofa dying feudal world. It is well establishedthat the ,,supentitious,,MiddleAges
pelsecuteany witches;the very conceptof,.witchcraft" did not takeshapeuntil
Middle Ages,and never,in the "Dark Ages,"were there masstrials andexecu_
dcspite dre fact that magic permeated daily liG and, since the late Roman Empire,
becn Gated by the mling classasa tool ofirxubordination among the slaves.5
In the 7th and 8th centuries,the critne of malejtiumwas introduced in rhe codes
new Teutonic kingdoms,asit had been in the Roman code.Thiswasthe time of
conquestthat, apparcndy,infamed the hears ofthe slavesin Europe with the
offreedom, inspiring them to take arms agarnsttheir ownen.6Thus, this leral
rn uray have been a reaction to the fear generated among the elites by the
oftlte "saracens"who were,reputedly,greatexpertsin the magicalarts(Cirelne
11$-32).But, at this time, undei the narmeof ialejeilrz, only
i.nagicalpractices
Puoishedthat inflicted damageto personsand thinp, and the church criticizea
who believedin maeicaldeeds.T
Thc. situation changedby the mid the 15rhcentury.It wasin
this age ofpopular
I' cpidemics,and incipient feudal crisis that we
have the first wiich tiials 1in
France,Germany,Switzerland,Italy),the first descriptionsofthe Sabbat,ri end
ofthe doctrine ofwitchcraft, by which sorcerywasdeclareda form of
and the highestcrime agarrutCod, Nature,and the State(Monter
1976:l t-I7).
1435 and 1487,twenty-eight treatiseson wirchcraft w.re *.itter, (Monr..
r65
166
'7..
167
(Strauss1975: 54). In Northern Itdy, it was the ministers and the authorities who ft.6a
suspicions,and made sure that they would result in denunciations; they also made 5ui
that the accusedwould be totally isolated,forcing them, among other thin5, to carry s19r.
on their dressesso that people would keep awayfiom them (Mazzali 1988: ll2l.
The witch-hunt wes also the 6nt penecution in Eurcpe dtat made use ofa r61imedia propagal& to generatea masspsychosisamong the population.Alerting the pub_
lic to the dangen posed by the witches, through pamphlets publicizing the most f1'nqus
trials and the detailsoftheir atrocious deeds,was one ofthe first tasksofthe printing p6o
(Mandrou 1968:136).Artists were recruited to the ask, among them the German 11"*
Baldung, to whom we owe ttre most damning portraits ofwitches. But it was the juds6.
the magistrates,and the demonologiss, often embodied by the sarneperson. who pso
contributed to the penecution. They were the ones who systematizedthe argurnenb,
arxwered the critics and perfected a legal machine that, by fie end of*te 16thcentury g*
a standardized,almost bureaucratic forrnat to the trials, accounting for the similaritiesof
the confesions acros national boundaries' In tleir work, the men ofthe law could s6qft
on the cooperetion of the most reputed intellecnrals of the iime, including philosophsrs
and scientistswho are still praisedasthe fathen ofmodern rrtionalism.Among them wu
the English politicd theorist Thomas Hobbes, who despite his skepticism concerning the
reality ofwitchcraft, approvedtlre persecution asa meansofsocial control'A 6erce enemy
of witches - obsessivein his hatred for them and in his callsfor bloodshed - wasJean
Bodin, t}le famous French lawyer and political tleorist, whom historian Trevor Roper calls
the Aristotle and Montesquieu ofthe 16thcentury.Bodin, who is credited with audroring
the fi$t treatise on inflation, participated in many trials, wlote a volume of "proo6"
(Deuomania,1580), in which he insisted tlnt witches should be burned alive insteadof
being "mercifirlly" strangledbefore being thrown to the flames,that tley should be cruterized so tlut their flesh should rot before death,and that children too be burned'
Bodin wasnot an isolated case.In this "centuly ofgeniuses" - Bacon' Kepler'
of the
Galileo, Shakespeare,Pascal,Descaltes - a century that saw the triumph
Copernican Revolution, the birth of modern science' and the develoPment,ot
subphiiosophical and scientific rationalism, witchcraft became one ofthe favorite
statesmen'
j".,, oi d.b"t" fot the European intellectual elites. Judges, lawyers'
-philoroph".r,
scientists,theologians all became p,"otittpi"d with the "problem"'
demonologies,agreedthat this was the most nefarious crrme'
*"ot" p"-phl.t,
"nd
and called for its punishment.lo
There can be no doubt, then, that the witch-hunt was z maiot politial iritifiw'
persfl;
To shessthis point is not to minimize the role that the Church played in the
;:,i:H::il,#;:#i""ii"iJp-"u.a
4luvuL
vus!!r.
andideologicjscdold
themetaphvsical
yrv
ins['
of the witch-hunt and instigated the penecution of witcles as it had previoudy
gatedthe persecutionof the h.reti.r.*ithout the Inquisition,the-manygapal:1]::5
t";;;
rfi;;;rii*.
,o ,""t o*
""d
punish"wiiches" and,aboveall,withoutrcn-
LduPd
Lnurcns rrusogylruus
;'""::ffi
tufles oI ule;r,'.;ffi
;il;;;il;";;;;;fi
l
'*it't'-t'u"'l*o'rdnf
notJust a,t';,
'--.k.
urE witch-hunt was
sLcrcw'yPc' the
Luc stereotype,
t() the
but, contrrry
contrrry to
posslDte. But,
have
have been
been possible.
"'" '"'rP:";
Romen Inquisition At its.:;do
ofthe
machinations
ofthe
or
ranau
fanaticism
of popish
uct oI
uc[
Pop$n
thq
Lus trials, while in the are"t
ofthe
most u!
"'-, Inqursw
conducted llrurr
cou.t conoucfcu
tlre secuar
the
s"..,1". cour6
.' . Ahet
-1t91g
low 'operated (Italy and Spain) the number of executions remained comparatively
L6a
D ew i l B el i ef s
and Chanqes
in t he M ode
of Pr oduct ion
be immediately stated that, to this day,there are no sure answersto these quesmajor obsacle in the way of an explanation has been the fact that the charges
the witches are so grotesqueand unbelievableasto be incommensurable witl any
or crime.12 How to account for the fact that for more than two centuries. in
European countries, hundredsoJthousandsof women were tried, totured, burned
hanged,accusedofhaving sold body and soul to tlre devil and,by magical rneans,
scoresofcbildren, suckedtheir blood, made potiors with their flesh.causedthe
their neighbors, destroyedcatde and crops, raised storms, and pedormed many
(However, even today, some historians ask us to believe that the
wasquite reasonable
in checontext ofthe conremporarybeliefstrucrure!)
addedproblem is that we do not have the viewpoint ofthe victims, for all that
of tleir voices are the confessions styled by the inquisiton, usually obtained
and no matter how well we listen - asCarlo Ginzburg (1991) hasdone
transpires of traditional folklore frorn between the cracks in the recorrded
we have no way of establishingtheir authenticity. Further, one cannot
for the extermination of the witches assimply a product ofgreed, asno reward
to the riches ofthe Americas could be obtained from the execution and thc
ofthe goods ofwomen who in the majority were very poor.l3
is for theseteasonsthat some historians,like Brian Leleck. absta.inftom presenrcxplamtory theory. contenring rhemselveswith identi$,ing the preconditions for
- for insance, the shift in legal procedule from a pri te to a public accutlrat occurred in the late Middle Ages,the centnlization ofstate-power, the
drc Reformation and Counter-Reformation on social life (Levack 1987).
t69
t70
fear and tepubion at the communal forms oflife that had been typicd of
Europe.It was by the initiative ofthis proto-capitdist classthat the witch6f,, both as"a platform on which a wide range ofpopular beliel! and pnccould be punued" lNormand and Robers 20O0:65), and a weapon by which
to socid and cconomic restructuringcould be defeated.
is lignif,cant that, in England, most ofthe witch tdals occurred in Essex,where
6th ccntury the bulk ofthe land had been enclosed,l4while in those regionsof
Ides where land priratization had neither occurred nor was on the agenda
no rccond ofwitch-hunting.The most outsanding examplesin this context are
rnd the SconishVesternHighlands,where no trececan be found ofthe pcncbecausea collective land-tenure system and kinship ties still prevailed in
dret prccluded the communal divisiors and the qpe of compliciry with the
snde a witch-hunt possible.Thus - while in the Anglicized and privatized
Lowlands, where the subsistenceeconomy was vanishing under the irnpact of
Reformation, the witch-hunt claimed at least 4,000 victims, the equiv;rcrcent ofthe female population - in the Highlands and in Ireland, women
during the witch-burning tirnes.
the spreadofrunl capitalism,with all its conrequences(land expropriation,
ofsocial distances,the breakdown ofcollective relatiorx) wasa decisivefacbackgound ofthe witch-hunt is also poven by the fact that the majority of
wcrc poor peasantwomen - cottans,wage laboren - while those who
thern were wealthy and prcstigious memben of the cornrnuniry often their
n or landlords, that is, individuals who were part of the locd power structurs
brd closeties with the central statc.Only a.sthe persecution progressed,and the
(aswell asthe feat ofbeing accusedofwitchcnft, or of..subvenive assowzs sowedamong the population, did accusationsalso come 6om neighbon.In
the witches were usually old women on public assisunceor worn.n-*ho ,.r"going 6om house to house begging for bits offood or a pot ofwine or milk;
erc srrrried, their husbandswere day laboren, but morc often they were wid_
hted alone.Their poverty standsout in the confessions.[t wasin times ofneed
Devil appeatedto them, to assurethem that from now on they',should ltcvcr
the money he would give them on such occasionswould soon turn to
Cctril perhaps related to the experience of superinllation cornmon at the nme
1983:95; Mandrou 1968:77).As for the diabolicalcrimes ofthe witches.thev
) ur as nodring morc than the classstruggle played out at the village level: the
ithe crrne ofthe beggar to whom an alm hasbeen refused,the de-faulton the
ofrent, the demand for pubLic assisance(Macfartane 1970: 97: Thomas 1971:
1929: 163).'lhe narry ways in which the classstruggle contributed to the
an English witch are shown by the chargesagainstMargaret Harkett, and old
si:tty-five hanged at Tyburn in 1585:
Shc had picked a basketofpean in the neighbor! 6eld without perto return them sheflung them down in angcr;sincethen
ao pean would grow in rhe 6eld. Lsrer Williarn Coodwin! senenr
her yeast,whereupon his brewing standdtied up, Shewasstruck
t7L
rlr'' pLrrlhlrc.rl
onc llurlcr. r,vhodcrrierl lrcr l l)ic.e ot l'rerr (ilil.:
hcr rw:l: |crILr.\h.
lrt)!l I \ll n rl rr lrJtr(rrLrr| \r,;tl.rntl, $icrc rlrc .lc.u\cd \\ erc .rl\o p()or ( ()tr.lt\,
119).W('
stri
orr t.' I ptric,,,,f I rrrtl ,,l clrcir orvrr,brrr brrr.lr' survir irrg urrtl rttcrr lrrusrrrq
hol&ng
tirr,
ot tlrclr Irclglrh,\r\trr) .r(r!,llnr of hNirrg ptI\Irr,il clrerrc.rrtlc,t{r gr.lil(.()ll
hosciliry
rhcrl
iot hlvilrg p.rrl thc rcrrt (t-urrrer l{)ll-}).
hnd, or
il
I
I1^/itch
' ylt.h lir ,lt: o li, ttcnl 'tt,:trr,'tn,l md I'v h'r 'unnal ' 'n'l
, 1 , / ,r iir i r r r ,4 q ,' o Ir lr rlh
ho intlil\, nrr! )\t ,t,tl,tt,ti,rry d ltfiatr po..run
I-
R e vo l t
Onr: fintls thc stltrc pattcrl ll) thc cascof tlrc lvollte'll wlto rvcrc prcsclrtttl-trr
(ilrcln]'tirrelttr
.ourr xt (lhclnr\fbrll,Wirtrlsor rrnd()svth Mother'Warcrhottsc.h'rngeclit
tJllir)!'l
I56(r.rves.r"vcrvpooln'ortr.rn."descrjbcd esbcggrllt for solltc cakc or Itottcr illltl
l)ottt'
Mothcr
Stilc'
Elizebetlr
(lloscrr
1t)69:7(r-ll2)'
out" with I)nr))';fhet lcighbor!
1lr1tpotx NiJ_
Morltcr M.rrg:rrctarrclMothc-r I )tttton. cxccrrtccltt Windsor ir' 157t1.11g1g
Jrr"
like tlteir ;rllegcdlelder Moth'r Sc'lcr'
,r.*s:Mothc'r Merglrcl livcd irr the ilt)rshousc'.
(ifi'i
:rll oftheru wcnt:rrotlncl begttng.rlld lrcsrll))ablv taking rcvengc *hcn tlcrri'''l'
(lhchrrslorL'
lJ3-91). ()n bcirg rcfust'rl .,rt,te ,tl.l ,.'.trt' Elizlbcth Frlncis. one of th"
Nl"th'r
rvitchcs. cursed l rrcighbor rvho llter 'rlcvclopccl.1 gre:lt pain in hcr hc r''l
Lrl'dr)
rqhL'"r'
nc
rt
goillg
velst
b1'
*
hcrt
tlcnied
ll.r1.
Staurrconsuspictottslv rtrrtrnrrtrr'ci.
r
tr
":,
lfiic)r tl:c ncighbor'schiltlfcll vellcrnerrrlvsick (i6irl:96) Ursula Kenrp'hrrruL'i
r '\ \ " r " 'i
inl5 lJ2 ,rrr,rdclon e( lr ac c Lr nt r . ' lt f t r : r bc ilr ildc lt ie . l x r r n e c h e c s e ; s h c a l s o c a l r \ i l
denicrl ltcr sorner' "ttr tttI "" ,,,
in thc bottorn ,rfAgrrcsI ,.'thertlllc'scltilti lftcr thc l.tcte'r
r'trrt"
Alicc Ncrvrnun Pl.rgtred-lohl)\on, thc- (lollc't ror f()r the po()r. to tleath rficr hc
172
C l a ss
and
1 , . \/1 1 ( ;tlr
H u n ti n g
,, i hsrrrsrhc*inttor,,,,rr
rrght.uhcnlorrcor(.!rcr\
liliTl::l
l l t or d !,, \ \ , h1,,,]
r. l t . l \ 1 , \
rt )
.l \r
sayer
ro.rsk
*'o .,bbc,1
,,,:.',',T:,:;ll,il.;;:,1;1:i::i]:;,':,ji:
::.:ii;
noiscs
rn,rgesrrrrc:.
Ar.r,',:,,ll:l:i]..,1
i: ,i;,1'lL, :i:ll;:li:l:.
A s S t c p l r c rWr
r l v,r )
F( ,rr r r \r ,u ! i r
,rosrry
r,,,,.
i.il;,1'iill:l':.l,lillilll];lll::;iil]l
;;jl::::.""r,wcre
-rcq
rh^- -
l,,,t,rtrrlrrngrlrcrull,n,..ropl.rc.rtc,
c.rlolc,:rntlcvcn rnlrripul.r!crltcse,con
h[n"o"ltq.r..r
r , , r ccl \,r \\.r yl r .r r r D e r r r l cvi l .l tl r o p r o cl r r c
o f -t *l
"
,
.
.
1
_
r l l c q o o ( l \\l l r ch ( r ) n \i \r cd
" 'r ! T w e i l - h c r r r g .
h c r l r r r ,r r r r rr r r i - ( '.xr .i i i ) .Il r r ti r ,'""y",.r fr l r ",,"* .:u 'r tu r r stc1 u ss.
t73
t{
,.''ar'*","t""lt"'t"iti''"'"itt'':'it",o.i::l:':l.1:::ltl::l[T:il]i:ll:
1"i".',i,.'
i'".."'*"n'
iii:.
i:;'li'i,'.Ti
!lll[iii;,:]llllll,
i"t*-i,i'ii
"liri'i1'.:1,''i.l,l.
c$)etik Midclfort has excluded tl1'
cncl of the' PelsrrrltWar' Wrrtrng t""'ttt "tt'J"tt'
*'i:ill;
(Midclfort 1972:6tl)
te'ce .f :r colrncction tt"tttt"" t""'"' tt*t'' 1iftf''.,nt"""
t't',
stlch as
rclatiolls'
colttrDunity
,l1
lrc has not askcd if there'rvere firrlily or
:"' :"* Ir'
ofP!'ilsantswho tro'll
bct*eerr drc thotrsencls
Laduric founcl iIr the (lcvc'nnes'17
17/r
1 5 0 5t 0
t0
r I l i , o r) l t J
tO
J rJ
50
Thi .{rnth, iul'n i .{ tht rlymnio rtl rhL u,ittlt t ttl! bdtutut I505 n tl
1650, nfLys sttiljcally n th drut rtl lidt,nr tul I ttrrdnr n lidua, bur ir t:
rtpn:utdtn't ol rlt pu:tanLu n orlnr I)rnlxrut ttxntrit:. DtryrhLrL, rhr
kty & idt
{a
' ud.
K |,nt,
^'
197).)
lk
il
1525, continuously rose up in arm5 againstGudal power and werc so brutdly defeal.q
and the scoresof women who,less than two decadeslater, in the same region and y1
lages,were brought to the stake.Yet,we can well imagine that the ferociousra,q*.,
repressionwhich the German printes conducted,and the hundredsand thousan6
^c
peasantscrucified, decapitated, burned alive, sedimented unquenchable hatreds,secrtt
plars of revenge,above all among older women, who had seen and remembered,an;
were likely to make their hostfiry known in nurnerous ways to the locd elites.
The persecution of witches grcw on this terrein. It was classwar carried ougbv
other means.In this context, we cannot fail to seea connection between the Gar ofupr6ing and the prosecutors' insistence on the Witches Sabbat,or Synagogue,l8 the flqou,
nocturnd reunion where thousandsofpeople presumably congtegated, travelling often
from far distant places.'Wlether or not, by evoking the horron ofthe Sabbat,the authotities targeted actual forms of organization, cannot be esablished. But there is no doubt
that, through thejudges'obsession with these devilish gatherings,besidesthe echo ofthc
pelsecution of the Jews, we hear the echo of the secret meetings the peasantsheld a1
night, on lonesome hills and in t}le forests,to plot their revolts.lg The ltalian historian
Luisa Murarc has written on this matter, io Ia Sigxota del Gioco (The lady of th
Came)(1977),t sttdy of witch trids drat took place in the ltalian Alps at the beginning
of the 16thcentury:
During the trials inVal di Fiemme one ofthe accusedspontaneously
told the judges that one night, while she was in the mountains with
her mother in law, she saw a great 6re in the distance."Run away,run
away,"her grand-mother had cried, "this is the 6re of the Iady of the
game."'Game'@iocd in many dialecs of Nonhern ltaly is the oldest
name for the Sabbat (in the trids ofVal di Fiemme there is still mention ofa Gmale 6gure who directedthe game)..,.In the sameregion
in 1525 there was a vast peasantuprising.They demanded dre elimirution oftithes and tributes, the frcedom to hunt,less convents,hostels for the poor, the right of each village to elcct is Priett....They
burned casdes,convents and the clergy's houses.But they were
deGated,massacred,and those who survived for yean were hunted by
the revengeofthe authorines.
Muraro concludes:
The 6re of the lady of the game fades in thc distance' wh.ile in the
foreground therc are the fires ofthe rcvolt and the Pyresofthe repression.... But to us there seemsto be a connection between the peasant revolt that was being prepared and the talcs ofmysterious nighdy
gatherings....We can only assumethat the peasantsat night sectedy
met around a firc to warrn up and to communicate with each other"'
and that those who knew guarded the secretofthese fotbidden meetings, by appeding to thc old legend.... lf the witches had secres this
may have been one (Munrc 1977:46-47) '
t76
yi::J
11q
.woddrurnedupsidedown,',a ."*.r.", i-"g.';,h"'t
the Mrddle it'""
Ages.
r_
f*,".,
f1 " ld*i
:"*:preation
'uewpornr-of
the developing
capitdistdisciplineofwork. patinettopointsout
dimension of the Sabbat was a violation ofthe .or,,"-prre.y
l"pl
ofwor!;tirne, yd
challenge to pri te prop..ty .nd .exu.l o.tho_
1
c night shadowsblurred the distinctions between
th; sexes;dl.r*.*;_i""
argucs tiat theIMt, the travel,ur vnportant
1" ,f,.
:,31len".
":.
the witches,
"f"-"",
should be interpreted asan attack on the mobiliry
ofimmi_
ant worken, a new phenomenon, reflected in the fear
ofvagai"nar,it
lccupiedthe_authorirics
",
in rhis period, parinetto concludestha,,"ui.*.J in ,,,
nocrurnal Sabbatappearsas,a demonizarion of
the utopia
:"".fl"l
:f
rn
.hissense,
there
isac""rittrrtyu.*."ri,t. ;iJ;#ffi;""::#':I.._
theheretics-which
alsopunisiedspecificfo.-,
ofro.i"t *iu"rrir".rlt"",rr"
177
Northern
WiichHrrnting',
1A/olrran - llurrtin9|,
and the Accr r r nulat ion
of Labor
moot impoitant differencebetween heresyand witchcralt is that witchcraft was
a Gmale crirne.This was especiallytrue at the peak of the persecution,rn
between 1550 and 1650.In an earlierphase,nren had representedup to forry
of the accused,and a smallernumber continued to be prosecutedlater,mostly
ftom the nnls ofthe vagabonds,beggars,itinerant laborers,aswell asthe g)plower-classptiests.By the 16rhcentury,moreover,the chargeofdevil worship
a comnon theme in political and religious struggle;there was hardly a
or a politician who,in the heat ofthe moment, was not accused ofbeine a witch.
17a
accusedCatholics.especia.lly
the pope,ofserving the devil; Luther himself
of rnagic,and so wereJohn Knox in Scodand,JeanBodin in France,and
othe$.Jeur'stoo were ritually accusedofworshipping the devil, often being porwith horns and claws.But the outsanding fact is that more than eighty pcrcent
who were tried and executedin Europe in the 16thand 17thcenturiesfor the
ofwitchcraft were women. In fact,morc women were persecutedfor witchcralt
periodthan for rny other crime,excepr.signrGcandy,
infanticide.
rhat the wirch wasa womrn wasalsostressed
by the demonologists,
who rejoiced
had sparedmen fron such a scourge.AsSigrid Brauner (1995)hasnoted, the
usedto justify this phenomenon changed.Wbilethe authorsof the Malleus
explainedthat women were lnore prone to witchcraft becauseoftheir"insa-
179
tiable lust," Martin Luther and humanist writen sEessedwomen's moral and mqnql
weaknessasthe origin ofthis perversion. But dl singled out women as evil being.
A further difference between the petsecutions of the he.etics and that of q6
witches is that in the latter the chargesof sexual pcrvenion and infanticide had a ce1_
tral role,being accompaniedby the virtual demonizationofcontiacePtivepractices,
The associationbetween contraception, abortion, and witchcraft 6rst appearcdin
the Bull oflnnocentvlll (1484)which complainedthat
by their incanatiors, spells,conjuratioru and other accuned supentitions and horrid charms,enormities and offenses,(witches) destoy the
oftpring ofwomen. . . .They hindcr men fiom genereting and women
ftom conceiving; whence neithcr husbandswith their wives nor wives
with thcir husbands can perform thcir sexual acs (Kors and Peters
1972: 10748) .
From then on, reproductive crimes featurcd prominendy in the trials. By the 176
century witcheswerc accusedofconspiring to destroythe generativepower ofhuml5
and animals,ofprocuring abortions, and ofbelonging to an inlanticidal sect devotedto
killing childrcn or offering them to the devil. In the popular imagination as well, thc
witch came to be associatedwith a lccherous old woman, hostile to new life, who fcd
upon infant flesh or used childrenl bodies to make her magical potioru - a steteotypc
later popularized by children! books.
Why swh a chatgein tfu tajeaoryfrom hetsy to wit!fur{r? Wy' itt otheru'o/ds,in tht
course
of a cettury did the heaetkbeconea wma4 and why wosrcligiousand suial transgrcsshn
rcJocused
osptedominantlya rcptoduttiw aime?
In the 1920s the English anthropologist Margaret Murrey it The With-Cdt in
WeslemEurcpe (1921) proposed an explanation that has recendy been revived by ecofeminiss ani practitionen of "Wicca." Murray argued that witchcraft wes an ancient
mattifocal re[;ion to which the Inquisition turned its attention after t]re defeat ofhercsl
sputred by a new Gar ofdoctrinal deviation. In other words, the women whom demoas witches were (according to this theory) practitionen of ancient
,rologirt p-."*t"d
in thc
fe.tlti"ty cds Aming to pmpitiate binh and reproduction - cults that had existed
ritcs
pagan
as
opposed
Mediterranean arcasfor thousandsofyean,but which the Church
rolc
the
the
accused,
and a challenge to its power.22The prcsence of midwives among
16d
the
until
fact
that
the
th"t *o-"r, piy"d in the MiddleAg; ascommunity healen,
citcd
been
have
facton
ofthese
century child-birth wasconsidereda female"m)stery," all
in support ofthis view, But this hlpothesis cannot cxplain the timing ofthe witch-hunq
nor tell us why these fertility cults became so abominable in the eyesofthe authoriti6
asto call for the extermination ofthe women Practicing the old reLigion'
in thc
A different explanation is that the prominence of reproductive crimes
f
ofthe high infant mortality ratesthat were rypicd
witch-trials *",
" "oor"q,t"n".
the 16thand 17rhcenturies due to the giowth of poverty and malnurition.Vitchd;
dteo
it is argued,were blamed for the fact th"i ro rn"ny ihild..,, died, died so suddenly'
shortli after birth, or were vtrlnerable to a broai array of ailmens But this explad;
lao'"tion too does not go far enough.It does not account for the fatt that
-o-en
lao
cs were alsoaccusedofpreventing conception,and it fails to place the witchthe context of16th-centuty economic and institutional policy.Thus,it misses
connection between the attack on witches and the development of a
among European statistsand economists,with the question of reptozlrd population sizc,the rubric under which the question of the size of the
was discussedat the time. As we have seen earlier. the labor ouestion
! capecidlyurgent in the 17rhcentury when population in Europe beganagain
f$ oi"i"g the spectre of e demographic collapse similar to tirat which had
in thc American colonies in the decades after the Conquest. Against this
I, it seemsplausible that the witch-hunt was,at lcast in part, an attempt to
bith control and place the female body, the uterus, at the service ofpopuand the production and accumulation oflabor-power.
tts is a hyprothesis;what is certain is that dre witch-hunt waspromoted by a politdut wasprcoccupied with population decline and motilated by th. .orrui-ction
population is the wealth of the nation. The fact that the 16th and 17th cerrthe heyday of Mercantiiism, and saw the beginning ofdemographic reconddeatlu and marriages),of census-taking,and the formalization of demog-
raphy itselfas the 6rst "state-science" is a clear proofofthe strategic importance that controlling population movements was acquirini in the political circles that instigated ge
witch-hunt (Cullen 1975: 6ft)23.
'We
also know that many witches were midwives or "wise wonen," traditioql,
that they did not hide their pregnanciesor deliver children out of wedlock weremarginalized.Both in Franceand England,startingfrom the end ofthe 16'hcenfew women were allowed to practice obstetrics, an activity that, until that time, had
their inviolable mystery.Then, by the beginning of the 17th century, the 6rst male
ta2
143
It
la1!
not only the deviant woman, but the womanas such,paticularlythe womanoJthe
that wosput ot rrrl1,a wornan who generated so much fear that in her case
between educationand punishment was turned upsidedown. "We must,"
declarcd, "spread terror among some by punishing many." And indeed, in
few were spared.
the sexual sadismdisplayedby the tonures to which the accusedwere subtlrrcals a misogyny that hasno parallel in history, and cannot be accounted for on
of aay specific crime. According to the standardprocedure, the accusedwere
Dtcd and completely shaved(it wasargued that the devil hid among their harr.1;
Ef were pricked wirh long needlesa.llover their bodies,including their vagrnas,rn
tor the mark with which the devil prcsumably bnnded his creatures(ust as the
in England did with runaway slavei;. Often they were nped; it was investigated
ot not they were virgins- a sign ofinnocence;and ifthey did not confess,
they
oEutted to even more atrocious ondeals:their limbs were torn. thev were seated
clnin under which 6reswere lit; their boneswere crushed.Andwhen they were
trurnt, care was aken so that the lessonto be drewn 6om their end would nor
The execution was an important public event, which all the memben of
had to attend,including the children of the witches,especiallytheir
las
daughters who, in some cases,woutd be whipped in ftont of the t*" ot1 which thor
could seetheir mother burning alive.
The witch-hunt, then, was a \,!er agalnst women; it was a concerted atlstt, ,^
degnde them, dernonize them, and desttoy their social power.At the sarnetune. it wqsf,
the tornrre chamben and on the stakeson which the witches perished that the bourgo]
idealsofwomanhood and domesticiry were forged'
In tb.iscase,too, the witch-hunt ampliied contemponry socialtrends.Thereis.in
fact, an unmistakable continuiry between the practices targeted by the witch-hunt a14
those banned by the new legislation that in the same yean was introduced to rcgqfta
fanily life, gender and prcperty relations.Acrosswestern Europe, asthe witch-hunt rv4
p.ogresirrg, la*s were passedthat punished the adulteresswith death (in England q6
prostitution w.
ScJand by the stake,asin the caseof High Treason) At the sametime
made
a
capital crime,lt
was
outlawed and so wasbirth out ofwedlock, while infanticide
denounced
of
suspicion'
ftom tl'o
object
Simultaneously,Gmale Aiendships became an
as
wornen-to-wo6qo
wife,just
and
pulpit assubversiveofthe alliance between husband
rrvho forced them 3q
..l"iiorr, *"r" demonized by the prosecutorsof the witches
period that the wod
this
in
was
also
It
denounce each other as accomplicesin crime'
meaning' acquirioS
its
changed
"ftiend"'
"gossip," which in the Middle Ages had meant
power of womcn
the
which
to
connotation, a further sign of the degree
"",1"-gtory
and communal ties were undermined'
t}te degndcd
Also at the ideological level, there is a close corespondence between
constructld
Gmininity
of
image
the
and
image of women fo.geJ by the demonologiss
a stetocanonized
which
sexes"'28
ofthe
Uy ,'tt" .orrr"-pooty debateson the "nature
effectively
tlat
evil'
prcne
to
biologically
mind and
ryli.A *o-"rr, *""t in body and
oder,e*.d to losti$ m"le concol over women and the new patriarchal
. wit c h-
a n d Ma Ie
H u n ti n q
of Wornen
The Tarning
.,
I'"i;;'
::H*:fi
;'"il:ijffi,ff:'lii"::ff:',:T,i:lf'xi'i:Jlil::
ra6
S rr prernacy:
o"f"''n"*?,'iffi
Tlrc dedl 6nies awry the souloJa ummn uln seneil hitr,
WoodutJron OIus Magnus,H$toRtA DE cl:t tTrBUs
IlI"jj'J;;"1-.'relationbetweenth.deuila"dthewitch'lt
woman now who wasthe serlent, the slave,the srrrabasin bodv and soul. whi.le
functioned as her owner and rnaster,pimp and husbandat once. It was the
instance,who "approachedthe intended witch. She rarely coniured him up',
1983: 148).After revealing himself to her, he would ask her to become his serwhat would follow then would be a classicexample of a masrer/slave.hustelation. He stampedher with his rnark, had sexua.lintercourse with her and,
irutances,he even changedher name (Larner 1983: 148).Moreovel in a clear
iltion of women! matrimonial destiny,the witch-hunt introduced onesingle
the place ofthe multitude ofdevils to be found in the medieval and Renaissance
lfi a,maculine Devil dt /rrat,in contr"astwith the female figures (Diana, Hera,../a
dcl zogo"),whose culs were spreadamong women in the Middle Ages, in both
andTeutonic regions.
llow preoccupied were the witch hunters with the afirmation ofmale suorcmacv
recnfrom the fact that,evenwhen in revoltagarnsthumau rnd diuine law,women
be portrayedassubservientto a man, and the culnination oftheir rebellion
pact with the devil - had to be representedasa pervertedmarriageconmatital analogywascarriedso far that the witcheswould confessthat they,,did
ra7
I
that they did n91 fi1d anv lleasun 6
not darc to disobey the devil," ot, more curiously'
with respectto the ideology ofthe rvii"ltth"i" .opul"tions *ith him - a contradiction
lust'
a""it"a witchcraft ftom women! insatiable
f,uni
"'"- *ii.ft
it also instigated 6to
supremacy'
djd the witch-hunt sancti$ male
N"i.ttfy
male sex,Wlmen' qrc
the
of
"
even to look at them as the destroyers
e* *.-"",
at
but contaminating oo
"ia
look
to
lovely
are
preached'
Malefcoum
Malleus
;;"
;;;;
grust havc been terrified upon hearing drat at night some women left dre marbcd to travel to the Sabbat,fooling their deeping husbandsby putting a stick next
9r hearing that wornen had the power to rnake their penisesdisappear,like the
mentioned in the Malleas, who had stoted dozens in a tree.
That this propagnda successfirllydivided women ftom men is suggestedby the
dcspite individud attempts by sons,husbands,or fathers to savetheir Gmale rel6,om the stake,with one exception, we have no record ofany male orgenizations
the persecution.The exception is the caseof the fishermen of the Basque
wherc the French Inquisitor Pierre Lancre was conducting masstrials that led to
ofperhaps asmany assix hundred women. Mark Kurlansky reports that the
had been been absent,engagedin the annualcod season.But.
[when the men] ofthe St.-Jean-de-Luzcod fleet, one of the largest
[&om Basque country] heard rumors of dteir wives, mothen, and
daughten peing] striPped, stabbed,and many dready executed, t}re
1609 cod campaign was ended two months early.The fishermen
rcturned, clubs in hands,and libented a convoy ofwitches being taken
wasall it took to stop
to the burning place,Thisone popularresistance
dre trids... (Kudansky2001: 102)
Thc intervention ofthe Basquefishermenageinstthe persecutionoftheir Gmale
was a unique event. No other group or organization rose up in defenseofthe
Ve know, instead, that some men made a businessof denouncing women,
themselvesas"witch finden," tnvelling from village to vilJagethreatening to
women unlessthey paid up. Other men took advanageofthe climate ofsuspiwomen to free themselvesfrom unwanted wives and loven, or to blunt
of women thev had reoed or seduced.Undoubtedlv. men's failure to acr
the atrocities to which women werc subiected was often motivated bv the Gar
inplicated in the charges,asthe majority of the men tried for this crime were
of suspectedot convictedwitches.But there is no doubt that yean of propaterror sowedamong men the seedsof a deep psychologicd alienacionfrom
that broke classsolidariryand undermined their own collectivepower.We can
Marvin Harris that,
applyi'g **-"
WomenJlyon theirbrcomsro rhe Saltbataier
DulocuEs
hastul\
I tt <zuury kewh fin fmntThomas
(1570)
r"o{,orR Dtrs soRc[)Rns
t:
::::,',:0,':
IP
lo|cHll
149
taa
the power that women had won against the authorities as a power women would
ue
againstthem.All the deep-seated
Garsthat men harboredwith regardto women 1qo"ri
becauseofthe Church'smisogynouspropaganda)were mobilized in thlr.on,"",. Nll
or y were women accusedof rnaking nen impotent; even their sexualirywasturh;
into an object ofGar, a dangerous,demonic force,asmen were aught that a witch cojl
enslavethem and chain tlem to her will (Kors and Peten 7972:130-32).
A recurrent chargein the witch trials wesdrat witches engagedin degeneratesqxuel
practices,centering on copulation with the devil and participation in the orgies tlpl o[
sunably took place at the Sabbat.But witches were alsoaccusedofgenerating an ex.qssilh
erotic passionin men, so that it was an euy step for men caught in an illicit affair to qlei;
they had been bewitched,or, for a family wanting to terminate a son'srelation with a wo421
ofwhom they did not approve,to accusethe latter ofbeing a witch.Wrote the Mallea3l
there are,..sevenmethods by which [witches] infect ... the venereal
act and the conception ofthe womb: Fint, by inclining the rninds of
a rwman
fie Devil seduees
into m.tkingd patl with him,
From Uich Molitot, Dr
I-AMrEs(1489)
r9l
Hislory oJ Sexuali,y
caseofthe witch-hunt - u/hich Foucault surprisingly ignores in his
asan altetnative
not
deployed
was
on
sex"
(Vol. 1, 1978)- the "interminable discoune
we
can-say
that the tanCertainly
denial
to, but in the service of repression,censonhip,
a
bein-g
species,
sursSexa'r;.,
difetent
as
a
"produced"
theWoman
guageofthe witch-hunt
production
of
"fsmel.
the
the
that
also
say
can
We
nature.
petverted by
ir-role ."rn"l
"nd
Dervert'.wasastepinthetransformationofthefemaledsercti.lit\tovisla|}ontiv|-that
'is,
oJlemalesexualiyinto u'otk Bot we shouldappreciatq
dr.
afl$t stepin rhetnnsJormation
which also demorxtrates the limits of a general"bisprocess,
d.si.,ctiue ch"n.te" of this
treas sexudity from the pe1tow of sexuality" of the qpe Foucault hasproposed,which
as
an activity presuma\ cqand
subject,
gender-neutral
.oective ofan undifferentiated,
women'
and
for
men
rying the samecorsequences
a n d th e C a p i ta l i st
T he wit c h- l l rrn t
R at io nal. iz a ti o n o f S e x u a Ii tY
or sublimated pleasuresfot
The witch-hunt did not result in new sexual capacities
"clean sex between clean
towards
march
long
in
the
*om"rr, I.rrt""d, it *"s the first step
a service to men,and
work,
into
activity
sexual
female
,rr".o4rra ,n" ,ra"sformation of
virtually demonic'
and
as
anti-social
the
banning'
was
process
p-.r""aiorr. C"ntrd to this
sexualiry'
female
of
forms
of
- all non-productive, non-procreative
beginning to-inspire is v/ell
fi" repulsion thai non-procreative sexuality was
broom' which'like the anirnalsshe
capturedbv the'myth ofthe old witch flying on her
extendedpenis'svmbolof
;n;; G;"ts, mares,dogs)'wasthe projection of an
;;;;"
new sexual discipline that denied the "old and
i-"g"ry b"toy'
f"*fhi,
t"U.ia.i
"
of this stereo""
anger fe-rtile,the right to a sexualliG' In the creation
*"-"",
rJ;
illustratedby
as
"t
.onfotrntd to t"he moral sersibiliry of their time'
ir?i ,rr"l"-"""f
"gisis
witch-hunt:
tire *ord, oft*o illustlious contemporariesofthe
A disputebetu.Yen
a witchand dn
Inqukitot Hans Buthtn.tb (beJote
1514).
Marry unner aausedard ttiedJot
wixhoaJtueft old andpoot O.ften
theydepewledonpublt thatityJor
their suflinl WitchclaJt- ue
ale told - is the uteaponoJ the
powelets. But okl wonen were
ako thosein the ommunity ttrost
likely to rcsist the destwetionoJ
conmunal relationstausedby the
spreadoJapitalist relations.They
wde the onesulrc embodiedthe
eom wily's knouledgeandflrcnory The wit.hlunt turncd the
inage oJ the ol.l tuott.urupsiile
doun: tnditionally onsideteda
wisernman, shelteeame
a symbol
oJsterility dnd hostility to W.
be more absurd?
To seean old lecher,what more odious?What can
in men Whilst
And yet so common. " ' Wone it is in women than
hear'a mere carsheis an old crone,a beldam,shecan neither seenor
1977156)'
cass,she caterwauls and must have a stallion (Burton
can scarcelycarry
Yet it is evenmore fun to seethe old women who
to havc rtsen
Jeir weight of yearsand look like corpsesthat seem
is good"' sill in heat'
fiom the Lad.They still go around saying"liG
faceswith make
looking for a mate. "they are forever smearing their
saggrng'
t"kirrg tweezers to their pubic hair' exposing theit
up
with their-quavery
"nJ
withered breastsand trying to rousefailing desire
and scribbletheir
girls
among
dance
theyirink'
while
whining voices,
love letten @tasmus!947:42)'
bu1|
the Wife ofB'th' aft"t Do
This wasa far cry from the world ofChaucer'where
ro
mean
the sixth " I don't
ing five husbands,couta ,ti[ opt"ri!"tU"tliW"ttornt
t93
t92
7l k d& u,o
tl
riliuts,
llJrtt
191t
r95
the Piesblterians opposed ascongregations ofthe devil and occasionsfor lewd ag1i.r.^
a generaltendenry, throughout dris period, any potentially trarsgressivemeconq
- ,,^"ants'gatherings,rebel camps,festivals,and dances- was descriUedby the authoritiell]
virtual Sabbat.3s
It is also sigrfficant that, in some areasofNorhern Italy, going to the Sabbat
_^_
called "going to the dance" or "going to the gtme', (al zogo), p""C."t".ly *h.n on.
siders the campaign that Church and state were conducting
"oi-*
p"r,i.f,il
"gi"rt,".h
(Muraro 1977:109S Hill 1964:183ft).AsGinzburg points out,,,once
we remove
[fiq'
the Sabbatl the m)ths and the fanastic tlappings, we discover a gathering of
DeonL
accompaniedby dancesand sexualpromiscuity" (Ginzburg tS06: tSe), and. we
{u,j
add, much eating and drinling, surcly a fantasy at a time when hunger was a co[unon
experience in Europe, (How revealing concerning the nature ofclass relations at the tiq6
ofthe witch-hunt, that dreamsofroasted mutton and ale could be frow.r"d upon by
a
well-fed, beef-eating bourgeoisie aJ signs of a diabolical connirance!) Ginzburg, how_
ever,following a well-trodden path,labelsthe otgies associated
with the Sabbatas,,hallucinations ofpoor women, to whom they serveasa recompensefor a squalid existence,,,
Thus, ttre role that the witch_hunt has played in the development of the
bour_
wodd, and specGcally in the development ofthe capitarist discipline ofsexuality,
:en enued from our memoryYeq we can tmce back to this processsome oI
the
aboos of our time. This is the casewith ho-ose*u".lity, *hi.i in severalparts
of
c n"s s'll fully acceptedduring the Renaissance,
but wasweededout in the .ourse
witch-hunt. So fierce was the persecution ofhomosexuals that its memory
is still
ed in our language."Faggot', reninds us that homosexuals *"r.
airiro ,t .
for the stakesupon which witches were burned, while the ltali
"i
rs to the practice ofscattering these aromatic vegetableson "nfunorai 6.nthe ,iak s i., i.le.
the stench ofburning flesh.
Ofparticular significance is the relation the witch-hunt established
between the
d1 ytctr, reflecting the p-rocessof devaluation which p-rA*jor,
l..rra.r_
1e.14
in the capiralistreorganizarionof sexualwork. As ,h" *yrrg;.;;,;;"o-ru*,"
when old," for both usedsex onJy to a..ei,i"
.Tl3,:-yj:h
a lovethatwasonlymercenary
(StieGlm tslzi +ttS.i"ii"i "rd.o.r'up,
-..,,
,"iii[r^*r*
;:"_:::::::li"d.il
tr.u
io**:te
rhe.prcstirute
"r,
witch(whosoldh.,,o,rio ,r,",r*il)
a clandestine
fashion)only aslong asth. *i
*;;;;
kii.a; ro,
l*::qlf"
"h (in
dangercus
subject,
the
one
who
the
eyes
of the
::,Y
T.
:::t.ry
-o*
lo.s) waslessconttollable;
it wasshewho could give pain or ple",.*, ie-J * ,r*rrr,
X:l
d .s"
ah
G
197
fr.rv.cdrrpor,.rs
it .rppc:rrr'rl
:rr idlcprrrsrritend,ussur-',u rv:rscc
,rr,,rrr".l:r:i:.::ll;ll,:
Thc rrragicierrsucrc:rn clitc. r."ho oitcn ser',.icedprirrccs lnrl othcr l:iglrlv posrtiorrej
pr.'oplc((iouli.roo 19137:l5(rf-i)..rndthc clernonologistsclrefullv distiugrri.hcdI,ct*q1u
thcnr unri thc * itchcs.bv rnclurl:nu High Magic (pirticul.rrl\' .rstrolog] e1d .r\6onor)r\.)
,,,1
I
lTh e
vvitc h- hunt
and
t he
New
Wo r l d
.:1.
t"\
I6rh<lnry
nyrtiL utariot ,,1C,nl,l,L,ut Itnti,ut: d: ltit: frLtr ililit: Cuvtt
S n<tl hrtl ,on4ti Lrl , ".l c i )\rr.\/)l
\1 ()t j t tt :\tk
l \l ) / \/l /i / t/\/\r;
fr)tr4(rtt.\,
tr(,r J /|/) /\ I (:tl R t)\t)LIx ;| ..tL \/tR //
" //rro/,r' l i rl r/,r\
(;(0/(f
S nol l tr, 1;6 6. )
199
T lr e wit c h,
th e Il e a l e t
M oder n
Sc i e n c e
and
th e
B i rth
of
witches), was amorous intiigue (Burckhardt 1927: 319-20). ttn urban embodrme -"'
this qpe of witch was t}le Celestina, in the play by Fernando de lloiix 1fh, C'lutitt
1499).Ofher it wassaidthat:
200
She bad six trades,to wit:launderess, perfumer, a rraster hand at rnaking cosrneiics and replacing damaged maidenheads, procuress, and
sometling ofa witch.... Her first trade was a cover for the rest and
with this excuse many servant girls went to her house to do their
washing. . . .You cant imagine the tra6c shecarried on. She wasa ba\
doctor; she Picked up flax in one house and brought it to another, all
this asan excuseto get in everywhere. One would say:"Mother, come
here!" Or "Here comesthe mistress!"Everyoneknew her.And yet in
spite ofher rnany duties shefound time to go to MassorVesper" (Rojas
1959:17-18) '
'A more typical heder, however, was Gostanza,a woman tried as a witch in San
smdl town ofloscana in 1594.After becoming a widow Gostanzahad set herasa professionalhealer,soon becoming well-known in the region for her therarcmediesand exorcisms.Shelived with her niece and two other women, widows
A next-door neighbor, alsoa widow, gaveher the spicesfor her drup. She received
in her home, but shealsotriveled wherever shewas needed,to "mark" an arua sick pecon, he$ people carry out a revengeor free themselvesIiom the efects
charms (Carrdini1989:51-58). Her tools were natural oils and powders,as
dvicesapt to cure and protect by "syrnpathy" or " contact." It was not in her interfear in her communiry aspracticing her ars was her way ofmaking a livwas,in fact, very popular, everyone would go to her to be cured, to have his or
told, to 6nd missing objecs or to buy love potiorx. But she did not escape
A.fterthe Council ofTrento (1545-1563),the Counter-Reformation took
position againstpopular healen, Garing their power and deep roots in the cultheir communties. In England as well, the fate ofthe "good witches" was sealed
when a statute passedbyJames I establishedthe death penalty for anyone who
and magic. even ifthey causedno visibleharm.se
the penecution of the folk healer,women were expropriated from a patriempirical knowledge, regarding herbs and heding rernedies,that they had accuand transmitted fiom generation to generation, its losspaving the way for a new
enclosure.This was the rise of professionalmedicine. which erected in front of
dasses"a wall ofunchallengeable scientific knowledge, unafordable and alien,
its curative pretenses(Ehrenreich and English 1973; Sarhawk 1997).
displacement of the folk-healer/witch by the doctor raisesthe question of
that the development ofmodern scienceand the scientific worldview played in
and fall ofthe witch-hunt. On this question we have two opposite viewpoints.
one side we have the theory descendingfrom the Enlightenment, which credof scientificrationalismasthe key factor in the termination ofthe perseformulated by JosephKlairs (1985),this theoty aiguesthat the new science
intellectual life, generating a new skepticism as"it revealed the un-iverseas
ism in which direct and constant divinc rnrervenuon walsunnec-
20r
ting a brcak on witch trials never questioncd the reality ofwitchcraft."Neither in Fnnc
nor any"whereelsedid the seventeenth-centuryjudges
who put an end ro witch-hunting professthat there were no witches,Like Newton and other scientistsof the timc,
judges continued to ecceptsupernaturalmagic astheoreticallyplausible"(ilid.:163).
Indeed, there is no evidence that the new sciencehad a libenting efect. Thc
mechanisticview ofNatute that came into existencewith the rise ofmodern sciencc
"disenchantedthe world." But therc is no evidencethat those who prcmoted ir cver
spokein defenseoftie women accusedaswitches.Descartesdeclaredhimselfan agnostic on this matter; other mechanica.lphilosophers (ike Joseph Glanvil and Thonur
Hobbes) strongly supported the witch-hunt. 'What ended the witch-hunr (asBrian
Easleahas convincingly shown) wes the annihilation of the world of the witches ano
the imposition ofthe socialdiscipline that the victorious cepitalistsystemrequited.ln
othet words,the witch-hunt came to an end,by the late 17thcentury becausethe rding classby this time enjoyed a growing senseof security concerning its power, oot
becausea more enlightcned view of the world had emerged.
The question that rcmairs is whether the rise of the modern scientificmethd
can be consideredthe causeofthe witch-hunt.This view hasbeen arguedmost fotre
fully by Carolyn Merchant in The Death of Nature(198O) which roots the persecusor
of the witches in the paradigm shift the scientific revolution, and particularly the rlts
of Cartesian mechanistic philosophy, provoked. According to Merchanr, thi5 sp'
202
an organic worldview that had looked at nature,women, and the earth asnurmothers,with a mechanicalone that degradedthem to the nnk of..standing
;cs," removing any ethical constraints to their exploitation (Merchant
127fi).Thewoman-as-witch,Merchantargues,waspeEecutedasthe embodiment
.'wild side" ofnature, ofall that in nature seemeddisorderly,
unconrollable, and
enagonisticto the project undertakenby rhe new science.Merchant 6nds a proof
r connection between the persecutionofthe witches and the rise ofmodern sciin the work of FrancisBacon, one of the reputed fathers of the new scientific
showing that his concept ofthe scientific investigation ofnature was modeled
intcrrogation ofthe witches under tomrre, porFaing natute asa woman to be
unveiled,and raped (Merchant 1980:168-72).
Mcrchant'saccounthasthe great metit ofchallenging the assumptionthat scien_
riooalisrn was a vehicle ofprogres, and focuses our attention on the Drofound
drat modern science basinstituted between human being and nature. lt also
witch-hunt to the destruction ofthe envirorunent, and connects the caDitalist
on of rhe naruralworld with rhe exploitation ofwomen.
however, overlooks the fact that the ,,organic worldview" which the
in pre-scientifc Europe, left room for slavery and the cxtermirution of
We also know drat the aspiration to the technological domination ofnature
appropriation of women's creative powers has accommodated di(Grent cosmo_
fremcworls.The Renaissancemagicians were no lessinterested in these objec_
while Newtonian physics owed its discovery of gnvitational attraction nor ro a
rtic but to a magical view of nature. Furthermore, when the vogue for philo_
nrechanign had run is course,by the beginning ofthe lgth cenar.y, rr.* phito_
I trcnds emerged that stressedthe value of tyrnpathy,"..seruibiliry," and..passion,,,
w!rc easilfintegratedin the project ofthe new science
@arnesandShapin19Zl;.
Vc shou.ldalsoconsiderthat the intellecrualscalfoldrhar supportedthe persecufthc witches was not directly taken from the pagesofphitosophical rationatism.
wrs a hansitional phenomenon, a sort of ideolog4cd bricolagethat evolved under
rc of dre ask it had to accomplish.Within it, elements taken from the fanas_
of medieval Christianity, rationalistic arguments, and modern bureaucrahc
ccdurescombined, in the sane way asin the forging of Nazism the cult
ofscitechnology combined with a scenario pretending to restore an archaic,
myth_
grH ofblood bonds and pre-moneury allegiances.
This point is suggestedby Parineao who observesthat the
witch_hunt was a clas_
(udomrnately, not the last) ofhow, in the history of capitalism,,,going
back,.
ofstepping forward, ftom the viewpoint of esablishinq the .o"rrditi-o^ fo.
umulation, For in conjuring the devil, the inquisitors disposedofpopular
ani_
pantheism, redeEning in a more centralized fahion the
Lcation anj distribu_
,h: cosmos and sociery.Thus, paradoxically @arinetto writes), in the
!o*:.
tlnt theTdevil functioned asthe true senant ofGod; he
wasth. op"ra,o. ,h",
to paving the way to the new science.Like a bafifi or God's secretagent,
-or,
the
rt order into the world, emptying it liom competing inlluences, and .easse.t_
the exclusiveruler. He so well consolidatedGodl command over
human afain
203
the witch-hunt was the fact that the nrling classwas beginning to lose connol
6oming under the 6re ofits own rcpressivemachine, with denunciations targetfts own members. Midelfort writes that in Germany:
as the flames licked closer to the narnesofpeople who enjoyed high
nnk and power, thejudges lost confdence in the confessionsand the
panic ceased...(Midelfort 7972: 206)-
ll
nte dkhahkt\ "desircto drytopiate theJurction of fidkrnity" is u'ellrcfte.tedii thk pic le oJHetmesTiismegistus(alchetry\ nrythitalJounder)
holdingaJaus in hh rwmb dnd sullestittg"the inseminalingroleof the
that, within a century with the advent of Newtonian physics,Cod would be ableto restl
from the world, content to guard is clock-like opentions ftorn afar.
Rationalism and mechanism, then, wete not the btnediate causeof the persecltions,although they contributed to createa world committed to thc exploiation ofnatur'
@
Morc imporant, in instigating the witch-hunt, was the need of the European elites
thratetrn5
eradicate an entire mode of existence which, by the late Middle Ages, was
de
their political and economic power.When this task wasaccomplished- when social
o1atl
wirch
cipline was restored and the ruling classsaw its hegemony consolidated cameto en end.Thebcliefin witchcraftcould evenbecomean obiect ofridicule, decdd
asa supentition,and soon put out ofmemory.
;,";:*'J.:*:"'.".-J!:ff"*T.T:i**:::,i?:*.'li::il##
20.t
205
lE ndnot eg
1. As Erik Midelfort has pointed out "With a few notable exceptions, the study of
It is indeed sriking how few decent
witch-hunts has remainedimpressionistic....
surveys ofwitchcraft exist for Europe, surveysthat aftempt to list all the witch trialsin a given town or region" (Ivlidelfoft 1972t7).
An expressionof this identification was tJre creation of WITCH, a nerwork of
autonomous feminist groups that played an important role in the initial phaseofthc
women's liberation movement in the United States.As Robin Morg'an reporu.in
is Powful (1970),WITCH wasborn on Halloween 1968 in NewYo*'
Sistethood
but"covens"soon were formed in severalcities.Whatthe figure of the witch melnt
to these activirs is shown in a flyer wdtten by the New York coven which, aftcr
recalling that witches were the first practitionen of birth control and abortion'
stated:
'Witches have alwaysbeen women who dared to be coumgeous,
intelligent,non-conformists,curious,independent,
aggressive,
sexuallyliberated,rcvolutionary...WITCH lives and lauglx in
every woman. She is the free part ofeach ofus...You are a
Witch by being female, untemed, angry,joyous and immortd.
(Morgen 1970:605-6).
Among North American feminist writen, those who have most conscioudy idnMd
tified the history of the witches with the struggle for women\ liberanon are
206
Abouc:"Petrcleuses,"
alot lithogtaphIry
&rull teproduced
in
LEs CoMMltNDAUx,
n.20.
Nght: "T\rc Women
d kis." Wood
agtadng reproduttd
irr THE CRAutrc,
Apt;|29, 1871.
207
Daly (1978), Starhawk (1982), and Barbara Ehrenreich and Deidre English, w5o,u
Wixhes,Midtt,iresand Nurses:AHisnry ollVomen Heaiers(1973) was for many 6.ainiss, myselfincluded,the 6rst introducrion to the history ofthe witch-hunt.
3. How many witches were burned? This has been a controvenial question in
Ue
scholarship on the witch-hunt and a difficult one to answer,since many trials q,.i
not recondedor, ifthey were,the number ofwomen executedwasnot specified.
I;
addition, many documents in which we may 6nd referencesto witchcraft trials 6.ui
not yet been shrdiedor havebeen destroyed.In the 1970s,E.W Monter noted,6ei
instance, that it was impossible to calculate the number of secular witch-trials 6u;
had taken place in Switzerland becausethese werc often mentioned only in frsqal
recordsand theserecordshad not yet havenot been analyzed(1976:21).Tlurryyea13
later, accounts still widely difer.
While some feminist scholan argue tlnt the number of witches executedequajh
dut of the Jews killed in Nazi Germany, according to Anne L. Bantow, on the basb
ofthe presentstateofarchival work, we arejustified ifwe asume drat apptoximately
200,000 women were accusedofwitchcraft over a spaceof*uee centuries and a leser
numbet ofthem were killed. Bantow adrnis, however,that it is very diffcult to establish how many women were executedor died due to the tornrres inflicted upon thern.
Many recolds [she writes] do no list tle verdicts ofthe trials ...
[or] do not include thosewho died in prison... Others driven
to despairby torture killed themselvesthemselvesin prison ...
Many accusedwitcheswere murderedin prison.,.Others died
in prison frorn the torturesinflicted on them (Balstow:22-3)..
Thking into account also those who were lynched, Bantow concludes that at least
100,000 women were killed, but shead& that those who escapedwere "ruined for
liG," for once accused,"suspicion and ill will followed them to their graves"(ibid.)
Wlile the controvery concerning the sizeofthe witch-hunt continues,regiond
estimateshave been ptovided by Midelfort and Larner. Midelfort (1972) hu found
that in Southwestern Germany at least 3,200 witches were burned just between
1560 and 1670,a period when "tley no longer burnt one or two witches,they
burned twentiesand hundrcds"pea 1922:549).Christina Larner (1981)placesthe
number ofwomen executedin Scotlandbetween 1590 and 1650 at 4,500;butshe
too agleesthat the number may be much higher, since the prerogtive of conducting witch-huns was granted also to local notables,who had a free hand not only
with arresting "witches" but with record keeping.
Two feminist writers - Starhawk and Maria Mies - have placed the witch-hu
in the context of primitive accumulation, reaching conclusions very similar to
those presentedin this volume. ln Dreauing the Daft (1982\ Starhawk hascotr.
nected the witch-hunt with the dispossession
ofthe Europeanpeasant.yfrom the
cornmons,the social effectsofthe price inflation causedby the arriva.lin EuroPe
ofthe American gold and silver,and the rise ofprofessionalmedicine.Shehasabo
noted that:
The [witch] is gone now ... [but] Her fears,and the forces
she struggled againstin her lifetime,live on.
Ve can open our newspapers,and read tlle same charges
204
209
we should not conclude that the Church condoned magical practices becau5s tlh
author ofthe Canon atacked the beliefin magic.According to lvlidelfort, the pqsi
tion of the Canon was the same that the Church held until the 18th
8.
9.
Church condemned the belief that magical deeds are p"*ibl., b""""::ll.?*l:
ered it a Manicheian heresyto attribute divinc powen to witches and deyfl5.y.,
it maintainedthat those who practicedrnagic were rightly punished,because4l
harbored an evil will and allied themselveswith the devil (Midelfort 1975: 16-19i
Midelfort stressesthat even in 16rh-century Germany, the clergy insisted
^'.
the need not to believein the powen ofthe devil. But he points out that (a16jii
ofthe nials were instigated and managed by secular authorities who were not 6so.
cerned with theological disquisitions; (b) among thc clergy as well, the distincliql
between "cvil will" and "evil doing" had litde pnctical efect, for in the final analvsismany clergymen rccommended that the witches should be punished with deatil
Monter (1976),18.TheSabbatfint appearedin Mcdievel literatureto$erd the middle ofthe 15rh century Rossell Hope Robbins writes that:
Nieder (1435)the Sabbat
To the ear! demonologistJohannes
French
tact Enotes Gazatiarum
was unknown, but the anonymous
NicholasJaquier
'synagogue"
(1459)hasa detailedaccount of the
his account was
although
about 1458 usedthe actualword'sabbat,'
persecution
the
witch
in
repon
of
sketchy;'sabbat'dso appeated a
was
an established
the
sabbat
at Lyons in 1460... by the 16th century
part ofwitchcraft (1959:415).
The witch aials were expensive,astley could continue for months and they becamc
a sourcc ofemployment for rnany people (Robbirs 1959:111).Paymens for the"sctvices" and the people involved - thejudge, the surgeon,the tomuer, the scribe,drc
included in the recordsof
guards- including their mealsand wine, arc shamelesssly
cost
ofkeeping fie witcha
and
the
executions
the trials, in addition to tJrecost ofthe
town
ofKirkcaldy in 1636:
Scottish
trid
in
the
in prison.The following is the bill for a
Pounds
For ten loadsofcoal,
to burn them
3
6ve marla or
For a tar barrcl
For huden ftemp fabric)
to be jumps (shon coas)
3
for them
For making ofthern
For one to go to Firunouth
for the laird to sit upon
their assizeasjudge
For the executioner
8
for his pains
For his expenseshere
2LO
Shilling
6
14
10
8
6
14
16
Pence
costsfor a witch-hial were peid by the victirnt relatives,but "where the vrcwss penniless" they wete born by the citizeos of the town or the landlord
i6il.). On this subject,seeRobert Mandrou (1968: 112);and Cbristina
(1983:115),among othen.
R. Trevor-Roper writes: "[The witch-hunt] was forwarded by the cultir,ated
of the Renaissance,by the great Protestant Reformen, by the Saints of the
by the scholars,lawyenand churchmen....Ifthese two cenwele an age of light, we have to adrnit that in one respect at least the dark
werc more civilized...."(Trevor-Ropet 1967:.!22fr\.
[ai 1989:1]-6; Prosperi1989:2174 Martin 1989:32. As Ruth Martin wrrtes
the work ofthe Inquisition inVenice:"A comparisonby [pEl Grendler
ile number of death sentencesawarded by the Inquisition and by civilian trr_
bas led him to conclude that 'Italian Inquisitions exercised great rcstraint
ad to civil ttibunals,' and that 'light punishrnent and commuation, rrther
severiry marked the Venetian lnquisition,' a condusion more recentlv con_
by E.W Monter in his study of the Mediteranean Inquisition.... As far as
Venetian nials were concerned, neither execution nor mutilation was given as
nce and galley service was rare, Long prison sentenceswere also rire, and
these or banishments were issued,they were often commuted after a com_
short spaceoftime,. , . Pleasfrom those in prison that they may be allowed
'to house errest on grounds of ill-health were also treated with sympa_
(Martin 1989:32-33).
is also evidence ofsignficant shifts in the weight attributed to specfic accu_
, the nature ofthe ctimes comrnonly associatedwith witchcraft. and the socral
qition ofthe accusersand accused.The most signifcant
shift, perhaps,is that
cady phase ofthe persecution (during the 15th-century nials) witclrcnft was
predominandy as a collective crime, relying on massgatherinp and orgaruza_
wbile by the 17th century it wasseenasa crime ofan individual ,r"ture,-"r,
".,i1
in which isolated witches specialized- this being a sign of the brcakdown
ommunal bonds brcught about by dre increasing privitization of land tenure
tlre expansion of commercia.lrelations in this oeriod.
rs an exception to this pattern, since the witch_hunt here affected
members of the bourgeoisie, including town councillors. Arguably, in
tny the confiscation ofproperry was a major reasonbehind the persecu_
0,accounting fot the fact that it reachedthere proportions unrnatched
in any
Fr-country, except for Scodand.However, accondingto Midelfort the legal_
of con6scation was controversial;and even in the iase of rich families,
no
third of the propcrty was taken.Midelfort addsthat in Gerrnany
t.9":n.
'it_ is beyond qucstion that most of the people executed were poor,,
la./fott 1972: 1964-169\.
analysisof the relation berween changesin land tenure, above all land
ation, and witch-hunting, is still missing.Alan Macfarlane,who first sus_
a signifcant connecrionberween rhe Essexenclosuresand the witch_huit
lc samearea,later recanted(Macfarlane1978).But the relation between
the
phenomenais unqucstionable.Aswe haveseen(in
Chapter 2),land privatiza-
ztl
ilil
ti
ill
Chapters1 and 2.
19. The reference here is to the conspirators of the "Bundschuh" - the German peas'
ant union, whose sy.rnbolwas the clog - which in the 1490s,in Alsace,ploned to
rise againstchurch and castle,Ofthem Fdedtick Engels wrote that they were wonl
to hold their meetingsat night on the loncsome Hunher Hill (Engels1977:66)'
20. The ltalian historian Luciano Parinetto has suggestedthat the theme ofcanrubal'
cannibalism and devil-woohrP
ism may be an irnport from tlle New Worldll
merged in the reports about the "Indiaru" made by the conquistadors and thclt
clerical accomplices.In support of this thesis Parinetto cites FrancescoMarl'
Gutzzo's Comjexdium Malefcarum (1608) which, in his vieq demonstratesthd
demonologisti in Europe were influenced,in their portrayal of witches ascenobals,by the reports coming from the NewWorld, However, witches in Europe l'cs
accusedofsacrifcing children to the devil long before the conquest and colonltion of the Americas,
2t2
and the
ofwomen ftom the medical profession starting in the 14th and 15th cenShc claims that the restriction: placed on precticing resulted from many social
(in Spain, e.g., from thc conflict between Christians and Mudims) and,
the increasing limitations placed on women's practice can be documented,
rcasonsbehind drem cannot. She admits that the prevailing concerns behind
limitations werc of'moral" origin; that is, they related to consideratioru about
\t/ornan'scharacter (Green 1989: 435fi).
writes that "the state and church traditionally distrusted this woman whosc
often remained secret,and steepedin magic ifnot witchcraft, and who could
count on the supportofthe runl commu ry:' (" I:ttdt et l'&lke semejent
iotlcllementde cettekmme dofit lo pntiqre rcstesorl)entseeTate,
eftprcintede fiagie,
desorcelleieet qui disposeau seinile Ia communautlrutaled'tne audiencecertaine.")
dds that it was above all necesary to break the compliciry oue or imagined, of
ugesfemmesin such crines as abortion, infanticide, child abandonment (Gelis
:927ft). In Fraace thc fust edict regulating the activity ofthe ra3es
Jemmeswes
213
prcmulgated in Strrsbourg at the end of the 16th century. By the end ofthe 17{
century the sages
femmeswete completely under the conttol of the state,and ,4,66
usedby the stateasa rcactionary force in is campaign ofmoral reform (Gelis 1971
26. This may explain why contraceptives,which had been widely used in the lr4i64ii
Ages, disappearedin the 17th century surviving only in the milieu of prcstitutioq
and when they reappearedon the scene they were placed in malc hands, so ttrai
women wer not allowed to usethen except with male permission. For a long tirnc.
in fact, the only contraceptive ofered by bourgeois medicine was to be the cq1dom.The "sheath" begins to appear in England in the 18th century one of the 6t!t
mentions of it is in Janes Boswell'sDiary (quotedby Helleiner 1958:94).
27. In 1556, Henry II in Francc passeda law punishing asmurdercus any woman who
hid her pregnancy and whose child was born dead. A sinilar law was passedin
Scotland in 1563. Until the 18rh century in Eutope infanticide was punished with
the death penalty.In England, during the Protectorate, the deadr penalty wasintreduced for adultery
To the attack on women's reproductive rights, and the introduction ofnew laws
sanctioning the subordination ofthe wife to the husband within dre family, we nult
add the criminalization ofprcstitution, starting in the mid-16th century.As we have
sccn (in Chapter 2), prcstitutes were subjected to atrocious punishrncns such asdnt
England, they were branded on the forehead with hot irons ia
of ttre acabussade.ln
a manner reminiscent ofthe "devilt mark," and they were whipped and shavedlitc
witches. In Germany,the prostitute could be drowned, burned or buried alive Herc,
too, she was shaved- hair was viewed as a favorite seatof the devil' At times her
nose was crrt o6, a practice ofArab origin, used to punish "cdmes of honor" and
inllicted dso on women charged with adultery,
Like the witch, the prcstitute was prcsumably recognized by her "evil eye" k
was assumedthat sexuattrersgession wasdiabolicd and gavewomen rnagicalpowen. On the relation betwcen erosand magic in tlte Renaissance,seeIoan P Couliano
0e87).
then
28. ihe ;cbate on the naturc of the sexesbegan in the late Middle Ages and
reopenedin the 17thcenrury.
29. "Tir non pensavi ch'io loico fosi!" ("You didnt think I was a logicianl") chuckles
*ho h"d
the Devil in Dante! I4farq while snatching the soul ofBonifa"tih"vnl,
cunningly thought of escapingthe cternal fire by rcpenting in the very act ofperpetratinghis crimes (Divine Conedy,InJeno,canto XXVII, verse123)'
,.-rr
jud'cur
lO. itt" sab-oageofthe conjugal act was a major theme abo in contemporary
ppceedingi regarding matrimony and separation, especially in Frrnce As Robcd
of ieing madc irnpotent by women' that vil'
Mandrou observes,m"r, *"r. ,o
"foid
"ryrtg
lage priests often forbade women who wete suspectedofbeing experts in the
device fot causing male irnpotence) ftom attending weddrF
oiknos" 1an
"llegsd
81-82,
391ff.;Le Roy La dvie 1974:2O4-2Q5;Lcky 1886:lw
(Mandrou 1968:
3t. ihis ale appearsin severaldemonologies, lt alwaysends with the man discoverif,9
Shc
the injury inflicted on him and forciig the witcir to rcturo his pcnis to hirn'
rn'n
accorip"nies him to the top ofa tlee Jhere shc hasmany hidden in a nest;the
choosesone but the witch objects:"No, drat one bclongsto the Bishop"
2t4
Merchant atgues tlut the intcrtogations and tortures ofthe witches prothe model for the methodology of the New Science, as defined by Francis
Much ofthc imagery [Bacon] used in delineating his scientifc
objectives and methods derives from the courftooms, and
bccause it treats nature as a female to be tortured through
mechanicd inventions, strongly suggeststhe interrogations of
the witch-trids and thc mechanical devices used to torture witches.
In a relevant passage,Bacon stated that the method by which
nature's secretsmight be discovered consisted in investigating
the secrctsof witchcraft by inquisition...." (Merchant 1980: 168).
drc atack againstanimals,seeChapter 2, pp. 60 and 70n.
in this context, that witches were often accusedby children. Norman
hasinterpreted this phenomcnon asa revolt ofthe young againstthe elderly,
particulat aginst parental authority (N. Cobn 1975;Trevor Roper 2000). But
facton need to be considered.Fint, it is plausible tlut the clirnate offear cre_
by thc witch-hunt over the yean was responsiblefor the large presenceofchil_
n mong the accusen,which began to materialize in the 17rh century. It is also
to notice that those charged aswitches were mostly prolearian women,
ilc thc children who accusedthem were often the children of their employen.
[sr we can prcsune that children were nunipulated by their parens ro make
gr' which they themselveswere reluctant to punue, asit was undoubtedly t}te
in the Sdem witch-trials.We must also considet that, in the 16thand lTth ccnthere was a growing preoccupation among the well-to-do with the physical
ry between their children and their serr"ants,above all their nunes. w*ch was
to appear as a source of indiscipline, The familiarity that had existed
rrasters and serr/rntsin thc Middle Ages wnished with the rise ofthe bour_
ic, who formally irutituted more egalitarian relations between employen and
subordinates (for instance,by levelling clothing stytes),but in realiry increased
physical and psychological distancebetween them. In the bourgeois household,
master would no longer undressin fiont ofhis senents, nor would he sleep in
gernercom with drem.
I true-to-life Sabbat,in which sexual elementsand themes evoking classrevolt
e, seeJulian Cornr*zllt description of the rebcl camp that peasantsset up
the Norfolk uprising of 1549.The camp causedmuch scandal amonq the
who apparendylooked at it asa veriable Sabbat.WritesCorn*ell:
[Tlhe conduct of the rebels was misrepresentedin every way. It
w:s alleged that the camp became the Mecca for every dissolute perlon in the county.... Bandsofrebels foragedfor suppliesand money.
3'000 bullocls and 20,000 sheep,to say nothing of pigs, fowl, deeq
:uans and thousandsofbushels ofcorn, were dtiven in and consumed,
it wassai4 in a few days.Men whose ondinary diet wastoo often sparse
i|nd monotonous revelled in t}te abundance of flesh, and there war
tEcklesswaste. It tasted dl the sweeter for coming ftom the beass
which werc the root ofso much resentrnent(Cornwall 1977:147\.
zla
The "beass" were the much prized wool-producing sheep,which were indesd,,a
Thomas Moore put it in his Utopid,'eating humans', asarablelands and cory1on
fieldswere being enclosedand turned to pasturein order to raisethem.
36. Thorndike 1923-58v:69; Holmes 1974: 85-86: Monter 1969: 57-58. Kurt
Seligman writes that from the middle of dre 14th cenhrry to the 16th cqntuw
alchemywasunivenally accepted,but with the rise ofcapitalismthe attitude of1{
monarchschanged.In Protestantcountries,alchemybecamean object of ridiculs.
The dchemist was depicted asa smoke-seller,who prcmised to change metalsin1.
gold,but failedin his performancc(Seligrnan1948:126ff).He wasoften represenls4
at work in his study,surroundedby strangevasesandinstruments,obliviousto everything around him, while acrcssthe street his wife and children would be knockinp
at the poor house.BenJonson'ssatiricalportrait ofthe alchemistreflectsthis new
attitude.
Astrology, too, was precticed into the 17th century kL tns Denonotogy(159n.
James I maintained tbat it was legitimate, above all when conlfined to the study of
scasonsand $/eather forecasts.A deailed description of the life of an English
astrologerat the end ofthe 16thcentury is found in A. L. Rowse\ Sexand Society
in
Age (1974).Here we learn that in the sameperiod when the witchShakespeare's
hunt was peaking, a male magician could continue to carry on his work, although
with some dificulty and teking some risks at times,
With referenceto the West Indies,Anthony Barker writes that no aspectofthe unfavonble image of the Negro built by the dave owners had wider or deeper rco6
than the allegation of insatiablesexual appetite.Missionariesrepotted that the
libidinous,and told storiesof
Negros refusedto be monogarnous,were excessively
(pp.
fondnes of Africans for
121-23),The
intercourse
with
apes
Negroes having
irrrtional nature(irtd:
instinctud,
them,as
was
also
held
agarnst
music
Proofoftheir
11s).
38. In the Middle Ages when a child took over the family proPcrty, s/he would auto
matically assumethe careofthe aging patents,while in the 16thcentury the parens
began to be abandoned and prioriry was given to investrnent into one's childrcn
(Macfarlane 1970 : 2O5).
39. The statutewhich JamesI passedin 1604,imposed the death Penaltyfor all who
"used spitits and magic" regardlessof whether they had done any harm Ths
statut. 1"t.. beca-e the basisupon which the penecution ofwitches wascarried
on in the American colonies.
2t6
217
Colonization
and
Christianization
Caliban and Witches in the New World
"...and so they s4y that ue haueome to this eafih to destroythe world.
The! saythat the wifldsuin the housa,andut the trees,
and thzjrc burns
them,butthatuEdeww etetythitg,tuecottsurne
thcearth,weredirect
theiuets,
we6e netetEaiet, euetat rcst,butdlwaystun hercandthoe,seeleing
goldond
silva,nevusatisfred,
andthenwegaublewith it, mahevari kill euh othet,rcl1
sunat,nevetsaythetuth, oxd.havedepriuedthan of theirueata oJlivelihood.
And jnally theyurce theseawhkh hasput ott tfu earthsuth edl andharsh
ehildrcn."(Gioluno Benzont, HistoriadelMonlo Nuoto,1565).
ThlodoreCalle (1589).
Introdrrcti orr
ofthe body and the witch-hunt drat I havepresentedis basedon an assumpis summed up by rhe referenceto "Caliban and the Witch," the charactersof
symbolizingthe American Indians'resistance
to colonization.lThe assumpcontinuity betweenthe subjugationofthe populationsofthe NewWorld and
People in Eulope, women in particular, in the transition to capitalism. In both
have the forcible removal of entire cornnunities frora their land, large-scale
the launching of 'Cbristianizing"campaigns destroying people'sauroncommunal relatioru.We also have a corstant cros-fertfization whereby forms
that had been developedin the Old World were trrnsported to the New
re-imported into Europe.
2t9
The diferences should not be underestirnated.By the 18th cenhrry, due to the
flow ofgold, silver and other resourcescoming from the Americas into Europe, an in1..national division of labor had aken shape that divided the new global proletariat bv
meansofdiferent classrelations and systemsofdiscipline, marking the beginning ofo6.i
conflicting histories within the working class.But the similarities in t}re treatnents to
which the populationsof Europe and the Americas were subjectedare sufficieql1o
demonstrate the existence of one single logic governing the development of capitalisnr
and the structuralcharrcterofthe atrocitiesperpetnted in dris process.Anoutstan4inn
example is the extension ofthe witch-hunt to the American colonies.
The persecution of women and men tlrough the charge of witchcraft is a phenomenon that, in the past,was largely consideredby historians to be lirnited to Europe,
The only exception admitted to this rule were t}le Salem witch rials, which remain gs
focus ofthe scholanhip on witch-hunting in the NewWorld. It is now recognized,hqwever,that the charge ofdevil-wonhipping played a key function also in the colonization
of tlte American aboriginal population. On this subject, two te13, in particular, must !s
mentioned that form the basisfor my discussionin this chapter.The first is lrene
Silverblatt'sMooa, Sut andWithes (1987), a study of witch hunting and the redefinition
ofgender relations in Inca sociery and colonial Peru, which (to my knowledge) is the 6nt
in English to reconstruct the history of the Andean women persecuted as witches.The
otlrer is Luciano Painetto\ Steghe e Potere(1998), a series of essaysthat document the
impact ofwitch-hunting in America on the witch trials in Europe, marred, however,by
the author's insistencetlat the persecution of tle witches was gender-neutnl.
Both tlese works demorxtrate that also in the New Wodd witch-hunting waso
deliberaksfiategyxsedby the autho ties to instill teftoL destroy collective resistance,silence
entire communities, and turn their members against each othet lt wasalso a stfitegyoJ
erclosurewbich, depending on the context, could be enclosure ofland, bodies or social
relations.Above all, asin Europe, witch-hunting was a means ofdehumanization and as
such the paradigmatic form of repression,serving to justify enslavementand genocide'
'Witch-hunting did not desuoy the resistanceofthe colonized. Due Primarily to
t}le struggle ofwomen, the connection ofthe American Indians with the land, the local
religions and nature survived beyond the persecution providing, for mor than five hu[dred years,a source ofanti-colonial and anti-capialist resisance.This is extremely tmportant for us, at a time when a renewed assaultis being made on the resourcesand mode
the
ofexistenceofindigenous populationsacrossthe planet;for we needto rethink how
larconquistadors ,,-u! to ,uid,r. those whom they colonized, and what enabled the
ter t; subvert this plan and, againstthe destruction of their socid and physical universe'
create a new historical reality.
I r he
eir t h
o f th e
Cannibals
When Columbus sailed to "Indies" the witch-hunt in EuroPe was not yet a massPheff
the use ofdevil-wonhip asa weaponto strike at polidcal
nomenon. Nevertheless,
mies and vili$ entire populations Qike Muslims andJews) was already common-am"'i
os"''
the elite.More than tlat, asSeltnour Phillips writes, a "persecutingsociety"had
220
within medierel Europe," fed by mfiarism and Christian intolerance, that looked
"Other" asmainly an object of agresiou (Phillips 1994).Thus,it is not surpriscannibal,""infdel,""barbarian,""mon5trous races,"and devil worshipper were the
ic models" with which the Europeans"enteredthe new ageofexpansion"
the lilter through which missionariesand conquistadors interpreted
providing
62),
religions, and sexud customs ofthe peoples they encountered.2 Other cuJmarls contributed to the invention of the "Indians". Most stigrnatizing and perprojecting the Spaniards'labor needs were "nakedness"and "sodomy," that quatithe Amerindians as beings living in an animal state (thus capable ofbeing turned
ofburden), though some reporti also srfessed,asa sign oftheir bestiality,their
to share and "give evetything they have in rturn for things of little value"
1994:198).
Defning the aboriginal American populations ascannibds, devil-worshippen, and
supported the fiction that the Conquest was not an unabashedquest for gold
but was a converting mission, a clairn that, in 1508, helped the SpanishCrown
it the blessing of the Pope and complete authoriry over the Church in the
It also removed, in the eyesofthe world and possibly ofthe colonizers themsanction agairxt the atrocities which they would commit againstthe.,Indians,"
ing as a license to kill regardlessof what the intended victims mieht do.
"The whip, gibbet, and stock, irnprisonment, torrure, iape, and occasional
became standard weapons for enforcing labor discipline" in the New World
1990:19).
In a 6rst phase,however, the image of the colonized as devil-worshippen could
with a more positive, even idyllic one, picturing the "Indians" asinnocent, and
beinp,living a life "free of toil and ryranny," recalling the mythical,,Golden
ot an earthly paradise@randon 1986:6-8; Sale1991:100-101).
Thir characterization may have been a litenry stereotype or, asRoberto Reramar,
others, has suggested,the rhetorical counterpart of the image of the ,,savage,"
the Europeans' inability to see the people they met as real human beings.3
optimistic view also corresponded to a period in the conquest (from 1520 to
in which the Spaniardsstill believed drat the aboriginal populatioru would be
converted and subjugated (Cerrantes 1994).This was the time ofmass bapusms,
much zeal was deployed in convincing the "Indians" to change their names and
their gods and sexualcustorns,especiallypolygamy and homosexuality.
[B]arewomen were forced to cover themselves,men in loincloths had to pur on
(Cockcroft: 1983:21).But at this tirne, the struggleagarnsrthe devil consisted
ofbonfires oflocal "idols," even though many political and religious leadersfrom
Mexico were put on trial and burned at the stakeby the FranciscanfatherJuan
in the yearsbetween1536 (when the Inquisition wasintroducedin South
and 1543.
the Conquest proceeded,however, no spacewas left fot any accommodatioru.
one'spower over other people is not possiblewithout denigreting them to the
the posibility ofidentfication is precluded.Thus, despite the earlier homithe gende Tlinos, an ideologica.l machine was set in motion, complemenung
one, drat portreyed the colonized as"filtly" and demonic beings practicing
all kinds of abominations, while the sarnecrimes that previously had been atttibuted to
lack of religious education - sodomy, cannibalism, incest, crossdrcssing - were now
treatedassignsthat the "lndians" were under the dominion ofthe devil and they cqu.l6
be justifiably deprived oftheir landsand their lives (Williams 1986:136-137). ln refe.
ence to this irnage-shift, Fernando Cervanteswrites in TheDevil inThe Newworld (1994\.
before 1530it would havebeen difficult to predict which one ofthese
views would emergeasthe dominent one.By the niddle ofthe sxteenth century, however, [a] negative demonic view of Amerindian
cultureshad tiumphed, and is inlluence wasseento descendlike a
thick fog on every statement officially and unofficially made on the
subject(1994:8).
It could be surmised,on the basisof the contemporiry historiesofthe "lndies',
- such asDe Gomara's(1556) and Acosta's(1590) - that this changeof penpectivc
was prompted by the Europeans' encounter with imperialistic stateslike the Aztec and
Inca, whose represive machinery included the practice ofhuman sacrifices (Martinez 6
al 1976). In the Histoia NaturalY Monl de lzs ftdias, published in Sevilla, in 1590,by thq
JesuitJosephde Acosta,tttere ale descriptionsthat give us a vivid senseofthe repulsion
generated, among the Spanianrls,by the masssacrifices carried out, particularly by thc
Aztecs, which involved tlousands of youths (war captives or purchased children and
slaves).4
Yet, when we read Bartolem6 De Las Casas'accountofthe destructionof thc
have
Indiesor any other accountofthe Conquest,wewonder why shouldthe Spaniands
been shockedby this prrctice when they thenselves had no qualms committing unspeakableatrocitiesfor the sakeof God and gold and,accondingto Cortez, in 1521,they had
slaughtercd100,000people,justto conquerTenochtidan(Cockroft 1983:19).
Similarly, the cannibdistic rituals they discoveredin America, which figure prominently in the records ofthe Conquest, must not have been too different from the medica.lpracticestlat wete popular in Eurcpe at the time. In the 16'h,17'hand even18'hcenturies, the &inking of human blood (especiallythe blood of those who had died ofr
violent death) and mummy water, obtained by soaking human flesh in various spiris'
was a co[unon cure for epilepsy and other illnessesin many Eu.opean counlri6
Furthermore, this type of cannibalism,"involving human flesh, blood, heart, skull, bonc
marrow,and other body partswasnot limited to fringe groupsofsociery but waspracticed in the most respectablecircles" (Gordon-Grube 1988:406-407).sThus,the oew
bc
horror that the SpaniartlsGlt for the aboriginal populations, after the 1550s,cannot
lo9c
the
to
inherent
easily attributed m a cultural shock, but must be seen asa rcsponse
ofcolonization that inevitably must dehumanizeand fear those it wantsto enslave. ,How succesfirl wasthis strrtegy canbe seenftom the easewith which the Spaniatd5
d'
.".,red by the epidemics that swept the regon- in
rationalized the high
"at".
-onality they interpretedasGod'spunishmentfor the lndiansbeasdy
rake ofthe Conquest,which
conduct.6Also the debate that took place in 1550, at Valladolid,in Spain,betwed
v'
Bartolom6 de las Casasand the Spanishjurist Juan Gines de Sepulveda,on whether
not the "Indians" were to be consideredashuman beings,would have been unrtTnlrblc
T
without an ideological campaign representing the laner asanimals and demons
222
The spreadofillusrntions portreyng Lifein the New World, that beganto circuEuropeafter the 1550s,completedthis work ofdegradation,with their multitudes
d bodiesand cannibalisticbanqueL!,reminiscentof witches' Sabbars,
fearuring
lreadsand limbs asthe main coune. A late exampleofthis genre oflicereture
is
tbsAntipodes(1630),compiled by
Johann Ludwig Gotdried, which displaysa
ofhorrific images:women and childrenstuftng themselveswith human entrails,
cannibal community gathered around a grill, feasting on legs and arms
while
og thc roastingofhuman rcmairs.Prior conributions to the cultural ptoducuon
Amerindiansasbestialbeinp are the illustrationsin Its Singulatlz'de
la Fruwe
lle (Paris1557)by the FrenchFranciscanAndr6 Thevet,alreadvcenteredon the
ofthe human quartering,cooking, and banquet;and Hans Sta,.den's
Wahrhafiige
(Marburg 1557),in which the author describeshis captiviry
among rhe canru_
)s ofBrazil (parinetto 799a:428\.
223
I
I E xpl oi tati on,
Resist ar r ce,
point, in the anti-lndian propagaadaand anti-idolatry campaignthat accompathe colonization process,wasdre decisionby the SpanishCrcwn, in the 1550s,to innoin the Amedcan colonies a far morc severesystemofexploitation.The decision was
by the crisis of the "plunder economy" that had been introduced after the
whereby the accumulation ofwea.lth continued to depend on the expropriation
.'Indians"'surplus goodsmore than on the direct exploitation oftheir labor (Spalding
and the exploitation assoSteveJ.Stem 1982).Until dre 1550s,despitethe massacres
had not completely disrupted the
with the systemof the encofiienda,the SpanianCs
economieswhich they had found in the areasthev colonized. Instead.thev had
for the wealth they accumulated,on the tribute systemsput into placeby the Aztecs
whereby desigruted chie& (ucfuuezin Mexjco, burocas
in Pent) delivered them
ofgoods andlabor supposedlycompaciblewith the survivalofthe localeconomies.
which the Spaniardsexactedwasmuch hieher than that the Aztecs and Incas
demanded ofthose they conquered;but it was still not suftcient to satisfytheir
By the 1550s,they were finding it dilfcult to obtain enough labor for the both the
(manufacturing workshops where goods were produced for the interrutional marthe exploitation of the newly discoveredsilver arrd mercury rnines,like the legone at Potosi.8
The need to squeezemore work ftorn the aborignal populations largely derived
the situation at home where the SpanishCrown wasliterally floating on the Arnencan
which bought food and goods no longer produced in Spain.ln addition, the plunwealth financed the Crown! Eurcpean territorial expansion.This wasso dependent
continuous arrival of massesof silver and gold 6om the New World that, by the
the Crown wasreadyto undermine the powet ofthe entomenduos
in order to approthe bulk ofthe Indiars'labor for the extraction ofsilver to be shippedto Spain.gBut
to colonizationwasmounting (Spalding1984:134-135;Stern 1982).10It w"5
to dris challengetbat, both in Mexico and Peru, a war wasdeclarcdon indigecufturcspaving the way to a draconian intensifcation ofcolonial nrle.
In Medco, this turn occurred in 1562 when, by the initiative of the Provincia.l
de Landa,an anti-idolatry campaign waslaunched in theYucatan peninsula,in the
ofwhich more than 4,500 people were roundedup and brutally tortured under
of practicing human sacrifices.Theywere then subjectedto a well-orchespublic punishment which finished destroying their bodies and their morale
1987:71-92).So cruel were the penaltiesin{icted (floggingsso severethat
the blood flow, yean ofenslavement in the rnines) that many people died or
unft for work; others fled their homes or committed suicide, so that work
to an end and the regional economy was disrupted. However, the persecution that
mounted wasthe foundation ofa new colonial economy,sinceit signaledto the
population that the Spaniardswere there to stay and that the rule ofthe old gods
trr(i&/.: 190).
' In Peru,aswell,the 6lst large-scale
attackon diabolismoccurredin the 1560s,
with the rise of the Taki Onqoy movement,ll
2211
225
Lz t '11Lw|'
lil\:ll*;il*:;*;::i***i'irl$r;l';;rl;':r':;l"llr'l;l:
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lil::,l'
ll::
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urge
fronr thc' Spatuards'They 'r'lso
'f'*t
;;:1,:T:ii:-j'ilT:ff$'l'il'i'liiii
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olre'irrce by c'rllirrgfor 'r prrr-lequionqo'rv't' t
'eriotr<
thr("rrno\edhv the
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t'!
..ldol, rverc destroved.te rP,les
(ong\.and(hr1.i'
Ti-:lill":.
.,,.r-,,, uarrquerr.
IPo"tt, th" investig.rrion rvls conducted according to thc slrrrc 1'rirttr'rrrofthe rvitch
tuns in Europe. It beg.ur wirh rlre rc'ading ofthe edict ag'arnsticlohtry and the preach&8 ofa sermon against this sirr.This rvas follorved by sc'crerde'nurrcilrions supplied b,v
rnonymous
infornralts, thcn crnre the questiorung ofthe suspccts,the use oftorture to
clGact confessions,
and then the sentencing and punisluncut, iu this casc corrsisting of
Nbt. whippirrg,
and various other forurs of humiliation:
"*ile,
"* llLl*li:l;;:,
J*:nl;1;*l'*:li;T;H::::x'ti:
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226
l"lll$Jllilj';;;"
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:H:11
227
l*o.."t
and wiichea
in Arnerica
'1660
a coincidence tlpt "[m]ost ofthe people convicted in the investigtion of
rhiri'wete women (28 out of32)" (Spdding 1984 :258), in the sameway as
hed been the main prcsencein the Taki Onqoy movement' lt was women who
defendedthe old mode ofexistence and opposed the new power structure'
tly becausethey were also the ones who were most negatively afected by it'
*omcn t"d hda a powerfirl position in pre-Colurnbian societies,as reflected by
ofmanv imporant fernale deities in their religions' Reaching an idand off
229
224
230
(irid. 187-88).
As it wasin Europe,torhrrc end terror wereusedto force the accusedto deliver
nemesso that the circlesof the oersecutionbecamewider andwider But one of
of the witch-hunt, the isolation of the witches 6om the rest of the comwas not achieved.The Andean witches were not turned into outcass. On the
"they were actively sought for as comadtaand their presencewas required in
village reunions, for in the consciousnessofthe colonized, witchcraft, the nainofancient traditions, and consciouspolitical resistancebecameincreasingly inter(i6id.), Indeed, it was largely due to women's resistancethat the old religion was
Changes occurred in the meaning ofthe practicesassociatedwith it.Wontup
underground at the expenseofits collective nature in pre-conquest times. But
with the mountains and tlre other sitesof the frlaraswere not destroyed.
231
lT he
232
E ur op e a n
w i tc h e d
and
th e
" Indtod"
lil
231t
tlemonolo2ists
tttostinjuewed by the rcportsfron the
Aneriits,This po toit of wikha surounilinX the teuainso.f
bodiesex.dratedfom thcgroutd ot takm.fion the gallouxis
rchtifiiseht oJlhe annibal bdnquet.
Botton:Cannibals
prcp,trhqtheh rcal.Hdns Staden's
WAHRH4t"tK;E
HrsitrRLa(Mafuury15 57).
235
236
Indians by labetng
and
Adelman 1978:143).
The Salem trials were also explained by the local authorities on this ground, with
argument that the New Englanders had settled in the land of the devil. As Cotton
wrote, yean later, recalling the events in Salem:
I have met with some strange things... which have made me think
that this inexplicable war [i.e., the war made by *re spirits ofthe invisible world againstthe people of Salem] might have is origins among
the Indians whose chief sagamoresare well known unto some of our
captive to have been horrid sorcerersand hellish conjuren and such
asconversedwith the demons (ibid. 145).
It is signifcant, in this context, that the Salem trials were sparkedby the divinaof aWest Indian slave- Tituba - who was amonq the 6nt to be arrested,and
the last execution of a witch, in an English-speaking tetritory. was that of a black
Sanh Bassen,killed in Bermuda in 1730 (Daty 1978:179).By the 18thcentury in
the witch wasbecoming an African practitionerof obeah,a ritual thar the planters
and demonized asan incitement to rebellion.
'Witch hunting did not disappearfrom the repertoireofthe bourgeoisiewirh the
ofslavery. On the contrary, the global expansion of capitalism through coloand Christianization ensuredtlat this persecution would be planted in t}le body
societies,and, in time, would be carried out by the subjugated communiin their own names and aereinsttheir own memben.
In the 1840s,for instance,a wave of witch-burning occurred in Western India.
women in this period were burned aswitches than in the practice ofsari (Skada
: 1lO),Thesekilling occurredin the context ofthe socialcrisiscausedborh by the
authorities' attack on the communities living in the foress (among whom
had a far higher degree ofpower than in the castesocieties that dwelled in the
and the colonial devaluationoffemale power.resuJtingin the declineofthe worof female goddesses(ibid. 139-40).
Vitch-huncing alsocook hold in Africa, where it survivesroday asa key irxtrument
in many countries especially those once implicated in the slave trade, like
and SouthernA&ica. Here, toq witch-hunting hasaccompaniedthe decline in the
ofwomen broughr about by the rise ofcapialism and the intensifiing struggle for
which, in recent years,hasbeen agrarated by the imposition oftle neo-liberal
a consequenceofthe liG-and-death competition for lanishing iesources,scorcs
- generally old and poor - havebeen hunted down in the 1990sin Northern
where sevenw were burned iust in dre fint four months of 7994 (Dia o de
i 1994).Witch-hunts have also been reported in Ken1a,Nigeria, Camercon, in the
and 1990s,concomitant with the imposition by the International Monetary Fund
World Bank ofthe policy ofstructural adjusmrentwhich hasled to a new round
and causedan unprecedentedimpoverishment among the population.lT
237
\
. \'ii
ri
\
I
lEndnore6
Actudly, Sycorax - the witch - has not entered the Latin American revolutionimagination in the way Cdiban has;she is still invisible, in the sane way asthe
of women against colonization has been for a long time. As for Caliban,
what he hascome to stand for hasbeen well expressedin an inlluentiel essayby the
Cuban writer Roberto FernandezRetamar (1989:5-21).
thatwe,themestizo
"Our symbolis notAtiel.,, but ratherCaliban.Thisis something
inuded
Prospero
pa
darity.
lived
see
with
icular
inhabitantsoJ these
uhere
Caliban
isles
safie
'
,hc isla s, killed ow auesto$,enslrled Calibdnand taqht him the languageto nake him- todayhehw no other
tef urdustood.What
elsecar Calibandobut usethesamelanguage
SimoxeBolivar...Jose
mussdint-Iouvetturc,
Amaru,..
Tupac
to cursehim...? Ftom
Iulafli... Fidel Casttu.. . Che Gueuan., . FruntzFaxott- whatis ow historywhatis our
(p.
if not the hktory and culturcof Caliban?" 14).
239
23A
2ltO
vivid senseoflife; through fear there can come not only growth ofself-consciqqrnessbut dso fragrnentation,and then lossofselfconforming to authorig" (Oid.:7I
t4. On the pocition ofwomen in pte-conquestMexico and Peru,seerespectivetyJunepx.l.,
(1978,1980),lreneSilverblatt(1987),and Maria Rostworo*rki (2001).Nuh discu5s.
the decline ofwornent power under the Aztecsin correspondenceto their tnnsfoq"tion ftom a "kiruhip basedsociery... ro e class-structuedempire." She porns out 6pq
by the 15d'cennrry as*re Aztecshad evolved into a war-driven empire,a rigid sexu4
division oflabor emerged;at the sametime, women (ofdeGated enemies)became,,g6
booty to be sharedby the victon" (Nash 1978:356,358). Simultaneously,Gmaledeitics
were dilplaced by rnalegods- especia.lly
the bloodthinty Huieilopochdi - althoudr
tley continued to be worshippedby the corunon people.Still,"[w]omen in Aztec society had nuny specializatioruasindependentcraft prcducen ofpottery and textiles,and
aspriesteses,doctors, and merchans. Spanishdevelopment policy [instead],ascarried
out by priest and crcwn administnton, diverted home production into rnale-operated
craft shopsand mills" (i6id.).
Parineno writes drat dre connectionbetweenthe extermiiation oftheAmerindian "savages"and that ofthe Huguenos wasvery clear in dre consciounes and litennrrc ofdre
French Protestantsafter the Night of San Bartholom6, indirecdy influencing
Monaigne's essays
on the cannibalsand,in a completely diferent wayJeanBodin'sasociation ofthe European witches with the cannibalisticand sodomitic indios. Quoting
Frcnch sources,Parinetto arguesthat this association (betwecn dre savageand the
perHuguenot) climaxed in the last decadesofthe 16thcenturieswhen the massacres
petnted by the Sparriardsin America (including the daughter in Florida, in 1565,of
tlousan& ofFrench coloniss accusedofbeing Luthenns) became"a widely usedpolitical weapon" in the strugle agirut Spanishdominance (Parinetto 199a:429-3O\.
16. I am refering in panicular to dre trials that werc conducted by the Inquisition in the
oi shepherds)
Dauphin6 in the 1440s,during which a number ofpoor people (peasants
were accusedofcooking children to make magic powders with their bodies (Russell
1972:217-18);and to the work ofthe SwabianDominicanJoseph Naider, Forfliratia,
(1435), in which we readdnt witches"cook tleir childrcn, boil therr\ eat their lleshand
drink the soup that is left in the pot.... From the solid matter they make a magicalulve
or oinmrent, the procurement ofwhich is the third rsesonfor child murrder"(rDid.: 240)'
Ruscll poins ou1drat"tlis salveor ointrnent is one oftle most imporant elernensof
witchcraft in the ffteenth century and later."(,bid.)
17. On "the renewedattention to witchcraft [in Afica,] conceptualizd explicitly in rehtion to modern changes,"seethe Decenber 1998 issueof he AJttan StudksRe1'teu
which is dedicatedto this topic. In particular,seeDiane Ciekawy and Peter Gescluere3
"ConainingVitchcrrft: Conflicting Scenariosin PostcolonialA.frica" (ibid.:1-14\. N*.
seeAdam Astrforth, Wtlwaj,l4olewe and Demooatyin guth Afira (C;ttlcago Univ ot
Chicago Ptess,2005) and the video docunentary "Witches in Exile" produced ano
dirccted by Allison Berg (California Newsreel,2005).
242
tT
;l
243