Structure and Mobility: The Men and Women of Marseille, 1820-1870

Abstract

This book traces the processes and social consequences of rapid economic and urban growth in the great French port of Marseille during the nineteenth century. Basing his analysis primarily on a detailed examination of marriage registers and other forms of quantitative data, the author describes changes both in the major structures of urban society - economic, occupational, residential, and demographic - and in patterns of social mobility. Professor Sewell's analysis of migration into Marseille challenges the commonly held notion that migration to cities during the nineteenth century led to widespread social and personal deterioration. He demonstrates instead that many immigrants were surprisingly well-prepared for urban life and took full advantage of the opportunities for upward mobility afforded by rapid economic growth. He pays particularly close attention to the social experience of women, providing the most detailed quantitative study of women's social mobility to be found in the literature of social history.