Migration and Poverty in Early Modern London : Analysis of Examination Papers of Westminster

对18世纪威斯敏斯特殖民地考卷的研究分为两种方式。一种是定量方法，即从试卷中收集信息，建立一个关于穷人职业生涯各个方面的数据库，如出生地、职业、学徒、仆人工作经历、工资、租房、婚姻、与亲戚的关系、学校教育、文化水平等。我们建立了一个大约1200名考生或他们的丈夫的数据库。另一种是用定性或叙事的方式重构个体穷人的一些典型职业生涯，引用他们讲述自己过去的修辞。为了做到这一点，其中一本试卷（WAC, F5015, St Martin In the Fields, 1721-1723）被完整地转录和编辑。只有三分之一的考生或他们的丈夫出生在威斯敏斯特和伦敦地区（伦敦人），但大约四分之三的人在这个地区当学徒或当仆人并结婚。在18世纪20年代占婚姻总数27%的舰队婚姻在18世纪末几乎消失了。虽然杰出的长途移民是爱尔兰人，但一些英国男人和女人已经移居海外并回到英国，成为水手，贵族或士兵的仆人。租房的平均期限为74个月，但对个别案例的仔细审查显示，许多人在成为留宿者之前，在短时间内频繁搬家。18世纪末的女性识字率为46%，相当高的水平等。

This study on the settlement examination papers of Westminster in the 18^<th>century was done in two ways. One is a quantitative approach, that is to pick up the information from the examination papers and create a database on the various aspects of poor's careers such as birth place, occupation, apprenticeship, working experience as a servant, wage, renting house, marriage, relation with the relatives, schooling, literacy and so on. We finished creating a database of around 1200 examinees or their husbands. Another is a qualitative or narrative way to reconstruct some typical careers of individual poor, quoting their rhetoric of telling their own past. In order to do that, one of the examination books (WAC, F5015, St Martin in the Fields, 1721-1723) was fully transcripted and edited. Only one thirds of all examinees or their husbands were born in Westminster and London region (Londoners), but around three quarters apprenticed or worked as servants and married in this region. Fleet marriage which occupied 27% of all marriage in the 1720s almost disappeared in the late l8^<th> century. While exceptional long distance immigrants were Irish, some English men and women had moved to overseas and returned to England, as sailors, servants to noblemen or soldiers. Average term of renting house was 74 months, but scrutiny of individual cases reveals many moved frequently in a short time before becoming stayers. Literacy rate of female in the late 18^<th>century was 46%, rather high level, etc.