About Women's Rights in Colonial North Carolina

Women in colonial North Carolina had limited legal rights, largely dependent upon their marital status. An unmarried woman or widow could legally act as an adult in her own right. A married woman had no rights within her marriage or as an independent individual, but often worked alongside her husband in the home, business and community.

Time Frame

The status of women in colonial North Carolina was quite similar to that of women throughout the colonies and even in Europe. Women had few legal rights, but slightly more in the context of common law than formal law. The communities of the colonies, including North Carolina, were less formal and rigidly hierarchical. This did lead to women occasionally gaining roles of power within their communities. The roles and rights of women changed little in North Carolina during the colonial period, beginning with the establishment of the first permanent settlement in 1650. By 1729, the colony was officially under British control, with an appointed governor and colonial assembly.

History

Women settled the colonies, alongside their husbands and families. Labor was especially critical in the colonial world, and women provided a substantial portion of that labor. Traditional divisions of tasks on the farm and in the home were less rigid in the rougher environment of the North Carolina colony. The rights of women during this period were dependent upon their marital status.

Types

Women did have some rights protected by law, at least if widowed or unmarried. Unmarried women could own and sell property, keep their own wages, collect rent, make contracts and use the court system if needed. If widowed, a woman could inherit her husband's property and even run his business in her own right. When married, all property rights passed to the husband save for rights to small personal possessions. While women had a limited role in colonial government, if her husband was unavailable, she would often be able to cast the family vote. Within the family, women played a prominent role; however, spousal abuse and rape were common. Even with limited rights, many women worked in family businesses, shared in farming tasks and contributed significant economic gains to the family.

Considerations

Even with limited legal rights, many colonial women in North Carolina and elsewhere were able to distinguish themselves. Women might run a late husband's business or work in their father's occupation. Others were seamstresses or ran boarding houses. A very few women found places in traditionally male fields. Wealthier women were typically taught to read, but the majority of the skills of the colonial woman were centered around production in the home.

Potential

The additional freedoms of women in the New World offered by sheer need and desperation allowed women to carve out their own roles in colonial North Carolina. Early in the olonial period, labor shortages were common, and the labor of women was some of the most critical. As such, women traded their labor, either in their own names or under their husbands'. There was something of a shortage of women in the colonies, making them more highly valued as wives and laborers than they were in Europe.