ABSTRACT
The Basses-Alpes is a rural department in south-eastern France which experienced a significant demographic shift in 1846, when it had around 159,000 inhabitants. The youth, attracted by the great coastal cities of the Mediterranean – particularly Nice, Toulon and Marseille which were important labour markets for harbour activities as well as craftsmanship and industry – left their agricultural work and began to migrate there. This study explores the lives of almost 500 children in state welfare institutions, who were sent to the villages of the Basses-Alpes department. At the age of thirteen, the State made an official agreement with the child’s employer, favouring farming activities for the boys in an area that focused on sheep-breeding. The official discourse of the elite placed great value on agricultural labour and rural life, but what options did the children have? Were they likely to leave for the city? Would they change to learning a craft? Our enquiry opens up new directions using these children’s individual files.
