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Dear Emilie, thank you for your great poster! Your example of the prison workhouse suggests very clearly that more comparative work on the Danish and Swedish poor relief and punishment systems would be welcome. Seeing your analysis of the Danish system helps me to think about new questions concerning the eastern part of the Swedish kingdom. Looking forward to a joint workshop as soon as possible!
Dear Pirjo,
Thank you for comment. I think a comparative analysis of the prison workhouses in Denmark and Sweden would be most welcome and interesting – a workshop sounds like a really good idea!
– Emilie
Thank you Emilie! The Copenhagen prison workshouse seems to be a prime example of how individual experience turns into an institution and changes the institution. I like the way you use statistics to discuss this change.
Dear Raisa,
Thank you for your comment and your kind words. The statistics stem from a large database containing more than 20.000 entries into the prison workhouse. I think the statistics gives a good overview of general tendencies and strategies utilised by the prison population, especially when combining it with qualitative materials such as letters and interrogations from the prison.
Dear Emilie Luther Valentin –
Thank you so much for sharing your fascinating research on incarcerated agencies in eighteenth-century Copenhagen! I really enjoyed learning about how the state responded to the tactics and strategies of non-state actors on an almost ‘improvisatory’ carceral stage.
One quick question/comment I had for you – is it just me, or is there something unremittingly bleak about the picture you present?
That is: Copenhagen’s impoverished strategically sought relief from material deprivation in prison workhouses – only to accomplish the transformation of the entire city into a workhouse for the poor… Copenhagen’s criminalized tactically attempted to escape incarceration, only to accomplish the adding of further fetters by the state… I found these stories to be incredibly interesting, but almost structurally pessimistic – stories highlighting a very different notion of ‘agency’ than that which is used in common political parlance.
I’d love it if you could share your thoughts on this, as well as whether or not there is a ‘principle of hope’ in your work.
Thank you!
– Nick
Dear Nick,
Thank you for comment and for taking the time to watch my poster.
There is definitely a bleak notion echoed in the stories/experiences from the prison workhouse. As you point out, the examples presented in my poster represent the changes seen in the penal system as a consequence of how the inmates’ actions increased the coercive measures taken within the prison; however, I do believe that the inmates also worked from a position of ‘hope’ (if I am to connect it to this principle). My work explores the experiences of the inmates in the last part of the eighteenth century, and there are as many examples of inmates succeeding in creating a better life for themselves both within the prison walls and after being released, as there are examples of inmates struggling against the system. I think that these various experiences and reactions to this system of coercion encapsulate the importance of the notion of agency, as the inmates’ actions shaped the system which they were navigating.
Thank you!
– Emilie
Thanks for a fascinating poster, Emilie!
Just curious: What happened in the 1780s – why did an increasing amount of infirm and young people actually turn to the prison workhouse for food and shelter? What other options were there for them in Copenhagen that time?
While the actions of the prisoners certainly had an impact on the prison itself, I think that also the international developments in penal ideology may have played a role here, right? How would you describe the relationship between these ideologies and the developments in Copenhagen prison workhouse?
Johanna Annola
10.3.2021 17:45
Dear Johanna,
Thank you for your comment and for your thought-provoking questions. I’m still working on explaining these things, but there are (as usual) no straight forward answer.
In regard to your first question: I don’t think there is one specific reason for this, but rather it was a combination of several things. For one thing, the period saw an increased centralisation of the state which focused the efforts of capturing illegal beggars and vagrants from around the country. Another thing is that the 1780s was a time of high prices and epidemics, which perhaps can explain the increased number of old and decrepit beggars – both because this likely would have increased the number of beggars on the streets as well as making the sick ward in the prison workhouse a kind of last resort sought by desperate and/or sick people.
In regard to you second question: I definitely think you are right here. The period was influenced by Enlightened thoughts concerning public corporal punishments and we both see a decreased number of public corporal punishments and executions as well as an increase of legislative changes concerning the same. E.g., in 1771 the death penalty for theft was abolished – consequently, the prison workhouse received an increasing number of criminals who previously would have faced corporal punishments. Moreover, as the prison workhouse was separated from the poor relief system in 1781, the responsibilities of the institution diversified. From the sources it is clear that there was some confusion as to the prison’s societal responsibilities, i.e., whether it should house illegal poor or hardened criminals. There is an almost palpable sense of the prison being drawn between these different perspectives as the prison authorities struggled with joining the different types of inmates under the same roof.
I think it is really interesting how the experiences (erfarenhed) made by the prison authorities in this period shaped the prison system. Many of the practical solutions made in this period can be seen in a larger effect in the beginning of the 19th century.
I would love to discuss this further with you. Pirjo suggested a joint workshop on the Scandinavian/Northern poor relief and penal system, which I think could be a really fruitful exercise.
– Emilie
Emilie Luther Valentin
12.3.2021 21:34