Many scholars suggest that credit networks were fundamental to the operation of early modern towns. Unfortunately, the majority of this scholarship ignores the role of women in the debt and credit system. The legal position of early modern women and the nature of the available sources mean that womens experiences are generally not documented in any significant numbers. Historians are therefore forced to speculate on how women might have been involved in borrowing and lending and often end up writing as though the female experience of credit was identical to mens experience of the system. The records of the Baillie Court of Aberdeen, Scotland offer a glimpse at women engaging in debt and credit transactions in large numbers and pursuing transactions that went awry. This study looks at 671 debt cases brought before Aberdeens court system in two years in the late seventeenth-century and reveals that women participated in 46% of these cases. Similar studies, focusing mainly on England, have found female participation in debt and credit to hover closer to the 15% range. While there are some unique characteristics that might explain how Aberdeen would see more women becoming involved in the court system, there is little evidence that Aberdonian women were unusually active in the debt and credit system as a whole, in comparison to the rest of early modern Europe. Instead, Aberdeens court records reveal what was likely a very common, but undocumented, experience in the rest of the pre-industrial world. As a result of this unprecedented level of documentation, we see women involved who would otherwise be invisible to us. The Baillie Court shows married women involved in far greater numbers than either single women or widows, a fact which goes against the traditional image of single and widowed women as the only ones involved in the credit system through their roles as moneylenders. Instead, we find another level of women using debt and credit to secure goods for their households and participating in the economy of the town. We find that, although women were heavily involved in borrowing and lending, their experience of that system was significantly different than that of early modern men. The causes of debt and the amounts for which people would both sue and be sued were substantially different depending on ones gender and marital status. While the statistics that come out of this study are impressive, the human stories are even more enlightening. By examining individual cases, we can see how women negotiated the debt and credit and how they shaped that system to their own needs.

Many scholars suggest that credit networks were fundamental to the operation of early modern towns. Unfortunately, the majority of this scholarship ignores the role of women in the debt and credit system. The legal position of early modern women and the nature of the available sources mean that womens experiences are generally not documented in any significant numbers. Historians are therefore forced to speculate on how women might have been involved in borrowing and lending and often end up writing as though the female experience of credit was identical to mens experience of the system. The records of the Baillie Court of Aberdeen, Scotland offer a glimpse at women engaging in debt and credit transactions in large numbers and pursuing transactions that went awry. This study looks at 671 debt cases brought before Aberdeens court system in two years in the late seventeenth-century and reveals that women participated in 46% of these cases. Similar studies, focusing mainly on England, have found female participation in debt and credit to hover closer to the 15% range. While there are some unique characteristics that might explain how Aberdeen would see more women becoming involved in the court system, there is little evidence that Aberdonian women were unusually active in the debt and credit system as a whole, in comparison to the rest of early modern Europe. Instead, Aberdeens court records reveal what was likely a very common, but undocumented, experience in the rest of the pre-industrial world. As a result of this unprecedented level of documentation, we see women involved who would otherwise be invisible to us. The Baillie Court shows married women involved in far greater numbers than either single women or widows, a fact which goes against the traditional image of single and widowed women as the only ones involved in the credit system through their roles as moneylenders. Instead, we find another level of women using debt and credit to secure goods for their households and participating in the economy of the town. We find that, although women were heavily involved in borrowing and lending, their experience of that system was significantly different than that of early modern men. The causes of debt and the amounts for which people would both sue and be sued were substantially different depending on ones gender and marital status. While the statistics that come out of this study are impressive, the human stories are even more enlightening. By examining individual cases, we can see how women negotiated the debt and credit and how they shaped that system to their own needs.

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2017-10-16T12:54:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Renan Nunes da Silva_.pdf: 1614465 bytes, checksum: 6a3516897a000fa775dc1dca68563bd9 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-10-16T12:54:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Renan Nunes da Silva_.pdf: 1614465 bytes, checksum: 6a3516897a000fa775dc1dca68563bd9 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-22 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Essa dissertação aborda o tema das práticas colaborativas de criação de conhecimento em redes de cooperativas de crédito. Os pequenos negócios são importantes agentes nas economias globais, tanto dos países desenvolvidos ou em desenvolvimento. No entanto, historicamente esse segmento apresenta dificuldades para obter acesso a produtos e serviços financeiros formais no mercado bancário tradicional. Como alternativa para a inclusão financeira dos pequenos negócios, surgem as cooperativas de crédito, que atuando em rede realizam práticas que geram ativos de conhecimento relevantes para a inclusão financeira dessas empresas. O estudo tem como objetivo identificar as principais práticas colaborativas de criação de conhecimento, realizadas em redes de cooperativas de crédito, e como elas mobilizam diferentes tipos de conhecimento capazes de gerar ativos que fomentam a inclusão financeira. Para investigar e aprofundar o problema, foi realizada uma pesquisa empírica em três Redes de Cooperativas de Crédito voltadas à criação de conhecimento para a inclusão financeira de pequenos negócios, situadas nos estados do Mato Grosso, Paraná e Minas Gerais, bem como a coordenação nacional das Redes, que é realizada pelo Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro e Pequenas Empresas (Sebrae). Os resultados permitem realizar uma descrição das principais práticas e do contexto necessário para que a realização dessas práticas colaborativas tenha relação com o fomento da inclusão financeira de pequenos negócios. / This dissertation addresses the theme of collaborative practices of knowledge creation in credit cooperative networks. Small businesses are important players in world economies, whether in developed or developing countries. However, historically this segment presents difficulties in obtaining access to formal financial products and services in the traditional banking market. As an alternative to the financial inclusion of small businesses, credit cooperatives emerge that, acting in networks, carry out practices that generate knowledge assets relevant to the financial inclusion of these companies. The study aims to identify the main collaborative practices of knowledge creation, carried out in networks of credit cooperatives, and how they mobilize different types of knowledge capable of generating assets that foster financial inclusion. In order to investigate and deepen the problem, an empirical research was carried out on three Credit Cooperative Networks aimed at creating knowledge for the financial inclusion of small businesses located in the states of Mato Grosso, Paraná and Minas Gerais, as well as the national coordination of Networks, which is carried out by the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae). The results allow a description of the main practices and the context necessary for the accomplishment of these collaborative practices to be related to the promotion of financial inclusion of small businesses.