ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the social and geographical origins of prostitutes from Bristol and Nantes, as well as their marital status as they appeared in the archives. It looks at the more extensive family, including parents, siblings and the third degree or higher of kinship. Economically active port cities such as Nantes and Bristol appeared as attractive working places for female migrants, who had already some knowledge of the urban environment and possibly some network ties within the city. Historians of prostitution never devote much attention to the family situation of prostitutes, but a close study of labour relations in prostitution reveals the importance of family in the initial decision to enter prostitution. T. Henderson mentions prostitutes’ social origins and family history but avoids an analysis of their marital status; van de Pol mentions only 3 per cent of married women in Amsterdam, but insists on the fact that it was easy to conceal a marriage made outside Amsterdam.
