ABSTRACT
In a world dominated by poverty, a central characteristic has been the plight of orphans and abandoned children. Over the centuries, State, Church and individuals have all attempted to tackle the issue, but can we trace any change over the course of time when it comes to the welfare system intended for these disadvantaged children and acts of philanthropy? What kind of social policies did States follow and what were the main differences between countries and regions? Drawing on historical evidence across several centuries and a range of European countries, the contributors to this volume provide a transnational overview.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|78 pages
In search of an identity
chapter 1|10 pages
Orphaned, abandoned, without a family
The establishment and consequences of the institution of slavery
chapter 2|22 pages
Should abandoned children be baptised?
The French case, the sixteenth to the early twentieth century
chapter 3|26 pages
Constructing a social identity
State, abandoned children and family in mid-nineteenth-century Bucharest
part II|76 pages
What path to follow
chapter 5|22 pages
Seminario Soleti
Higher education for abandoned children in Siena in the early modern period (1645–1784)
chapter 7|13 pages
Children admitted to public care in the Basses-Alpes department (France) in the late nineteenth century (1874–1904)
Modes of training and work placement
chapter 8|19 pages
Play, work and petty crime
Children on the streets and public spaces of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Vienna
part III|98 pages
Life in urban and rural environment
chapter 11|32 pages
Orphaned children in Bohemian rural society in the first half of the nineteenth century
Care, co-residence and inheritance practices
1
chapter 12|28 pages
Who should be placed in the countryside?
Changing practices of rural placement for abandoned infants in La Inclusa de Madrid, 1890–1935
1
