ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book focuses on the relations between prostitutes and the middle and labouring classes on a daily basis. It aims to study and analyse prostitution in port cities in order to determine specificities in prostitution in this particular type of urban space. The book highlights the relationship between provincial and capital cities, and the extent to which these port cities were able to act autonomously. The autonomy of officials and the importance of personal initiatives in the treatment of prostitution show that Nantes and Bristol were responding to prostitution in a manner that they judged more adequate to the local problem, using the national legislation as a very loose framework for their own practice. Development in both Bristol and Nantes was highly comparable, with districts of similar social composition and similar economic growth.
