British Female Emigration Societies and the New World, 1860-1914

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxvii

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2. Introduction

   • Marie Ruiz

   Pages 1-18

3. The Female Emigration Societies and the ‘Eye of Power’

   • Marie Ruiz

   Pages 19-61

4. The Female Emigration Societies and Philanthropy

   • Marie Ruiz

   Pages 63-92

5. Selecting and Training Female Emigrants

   • Marie Ruiz

   Pages 93-128

6. From the Abduction of the Sabine Women to the Exportation of British Women

   • Marie Ruiz

   Pages 129-151

7. Imperialist Ladies: A Gender Recodification

   • Marie Ruiz

   Pages 153-183

8. Australia and New Zealand: Heterotopias of the Metropole?

   • Marie Ruiz

   Pages 185-209

9. Arrival in the Colonies: The Building Up of a New Social Body Through Gender, Class and Race

   • Marie Ruiz

   Pages 211-243

10. Conclusion

    • Marie Ruiz

    Pages 245-256

11. Back Matter

    Pages 257-292

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This book focuses on the departure of Britain’s 'surplus' women to Australia and New Zealand organised by Victorian British female emigration societies. Starting with an analysis of the surplus of women question, it then explores the philanthropic nature of the organisations (the Female Middle Class Emigration Society, the Women’s Emigration Society, the British Women’s Emigration Association, and the Church Emigration Society). The study of the strict selection of distressed gentlewomen emigrants is followed by an analysis of their marketing value, and an appraisal of women’s imperialism. Finally, this work shows that the female emigrants under study partook in the consolidation of the colonial middle-class.

• British Empire
• Middle-class women
• Pacific colonies
• Nineteenth-century migration
• Philanthropic societies

• Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens, France

  Marie Ruiz

Marie Ruiz is Associate Professor in British History at Université de Picardie Jules Verne, France. Her research focuses on nineteenth-century British female emigration societies and the surplus of women question. She is currently editing International Migrations in the Victorian Era (2018).

Philippa Levine is the author of the book’s preface. She is the Mary Helen Thompson Centennial Professor in the Humanities at the University of Texas, USA, and Co-Director of the University’s Program in British Studies. Her recent books include Prostitution, Race and Politics: Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire (2003) and The British Empire, Sunrise to Sunset (2007). 

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