English individualism and continental altruism? Servants, remittances, and family welfare in eighteenth-century rural Europe

Life-cycle service was one of the characteristic aspects of the European marriage pattern. The majority of the children of labourers and peasants left the households of their parents during adolescence to acquire material resources and skills in preparation for marriage. While in service, adolescents could save part of their wages. As most of them worked in close geographical proximity to their family, children in service were also a potential source of income for their parents. This article studies the nature, frequency, and value of remittances from farm servants to their parents in three countries during the eighteenth century. Important differences emerge from this comparative study. Farm servants in Belgium and France frequently supported their parents from their earnings. In contrast, English labouring households could in most cases not rely on structural assistance from their unmarried adolescent children. I argue that ownership of land is instrumental in explaining these differences. The absence of land that could be passed on by inheritance operated as a check to intergenerational solidarity. Copyright , Oxford University Press.