6533b82dfe1ef96bd1291997

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Agency or impotence: Sicilian women in the context of captivity.

subject

description

In this position paper I will put forward a small array of case studies in order to better understand the role of sicilian women in captivity related situations during the XVII-XVIIIXIX centuries, specifically how much gender influenced the practices of mediation, ransom and redemption of slaves. Those case studies constitutes part of my research work, and my aim is to test the conclusions of this paper by further archival research. I will highlight the role of sicilian women not only as captives but also in the mediation for the rescue of their relatives and in the funding of the redeeming missions. Of course, women in those centuries were generally subjugated to the will of their fathers, husbands and the clergy, and this reverberates in the historical sources that I will discuss here. But my position is that we must dismiss the idea that they were mere objects in the hands of men. The roles of sicilian women in captivity related situations1 that I will discuss here are: the captive; the relative of the captive; the backers of the missions.