Apprenticeship in England, 1600-1914

Apprenticeship was one of the most enduring economic and social institutions in the lives of the English working class. The young apprentice, "bound by indentures to a tradesman, who is to teach him his mystery or trade", endured seven years of strict subordinate labour to learn his chosen skill. The social and economic shifts in a modernizing England, however, changed the shape of apprenticeship, nearly leaving it behind as a relic of progress. As an institution, apprenticeship reflected the social history of England. It mirrored the change from domestic handicraft skills to mass-produced factory goods; it indicated new consumption patterns; and above all, it failed to respond to England's population growth from the 18th century onwards. The inflexibility of the institution severely limited its ability to adapt to economic and societal shifts brought on by dramatic surges in Britain's population. Drawing on primary-source materials, this study examines such diverse aspects of the apprenticeship practice as sexual abuse, occupational health, projected earnings, social mobility and leisure activities, as well as the social roots of apprentices and the changing status of apprenticeship.