Labouring Children: British Immigrant Apprentices to Canada, 1869-1924

Labouring Children (1980) is a study of child immigrants in rural Canada between 1868 and 1925, based on original sources and new perspectives on childhood, social work, and Canadian rural communities. It explores the involvement of Evangelicals and parents, the demand for child labor, and the impact of the apprenticeship system on the lives of British child immigrants. The book highlights their outsider status in rural schools and their transition to factory jobs, service employment, migration to the US, or return to Britain as adults. It also discusses the ending of the movement after World War I, with Canadian social workers arguing for fourteen years of growing and schooling before children were obliged to sell their labor.

Format: Hardback
Length: 180 pages
Publication date: 16 November 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Labouring Children (1980) is a comprehensive study that delves into the lives of child immigrants, drawing upon a wealth of original sources to present fresh perspectives on childhood, social work, and Canadian rural communities. Between 1868 and 1925, a staggering eighty thousand British boys and girls, predominantly under the age of fourteen, were apprenticed as agricultural laborers and domestic servants in rural Canada. A notable aspect of this phenomenon is the involvement of Evangelicals, who believed that they were providing impoverished children with a new beginning in the world, despite their renowned emphasis on close family ties. Conversely, the parents of these children, largely laborers themselves, were often perceived as too consumed by economic pressures to allocate time for affection, yet they made remarkable efforts to maintain contact across vast distances.

This book takes a deep dive into the evolving role of children within these families, exploring the interplay between demands for wage labor and the fear of the "dangerous classes" that shaped emigration policy ideals. It provides an in-depth analysis of the apprenticeship system that facilitated the employment of these children in rural Canada. Furthermore, the book sheds light on how British child immigrants were treated as household members rather than family members in Canada and as outsiders in the rural schoolroom. As adults, these immigrants pursued various career paths, including factory jobs, service employment in urban Canada, migration to the United States, or return to Britain.

In conclusion, Labouring Children (1980) offers a profound exploration of the experiences of child immigrants in rural Canada during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through its meticulous analysis of primary sources and its innovative approach to understanding childhood, social work, and Canadian rural communities, the book provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of this historical period. It sheds light on the challenges faced by these children, their families, and the broader society, and contributes to our understanding of the historical roots of contemporary social and economic issues.

Weight: 520g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032367323