Poverty of Poles Working in France in the Light of the Minutes of the Meetings of the Ladies Benevolent Society of Poland (1834–1863)
Poverty of Poles Working in France in the Light of the Minutes of the Meetings of the Ladies Benevolent Society of Poland (1834–1863)

Summary/Abstract: Participants in the Great Emigration took up employment in France in about 120 occupations. Mostly in public works, housekeeping, crafts or private entrepreneurs. The material situation of working Poles can, to some extent, be known thanks to the minutes of meetings of the Polish Ladies Benevolent Society. Documents of this organization are in the Polish Library in Paris. At the monthly sessions of the Society, requests for material support were considered, and the sources of poverty of individual emigrants were discussed, among other things. Due to low qualifications, the need to learn new professions, and frequent interruptions in employment, some Poles were falling into poverty. Sources of poverty also included the maintenance of large families, unfamiliarity with the French language, and failure to cope in a foreign environment. The chronological framework of the article covers the period from the establishment of the Polish Ladies Benevolent Society to the end of the post-November emigration.

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