Female prostitution and entrepreneurship in Valletta, c.1630 – c.1798

Abstract

The first two chapters constitute the contours of the study. These chapters set out to provide the requisite bearings. They provide a concise summary of the main elements in the historiography of prostitution and discuss conceptions of prostitution and the sources that deal with the practice. They take issue with prevalent modern arguments suggesting that prostitution in Valletta in the early modern period was rampant and widespread and that prostitutes were largely victims of circumstance. Chapter One ‘History and Historiography of Prostitution’ argues that scholarly investigations on prostitution largely work towards a common goal of locating the prostitute within the wider social framework. In the process the ideas, values and beliefs of the prostitutes themselves may have been obscured. It proposes an ethnographic approach as an alternative way of looking at the practice. The insiders’ view point may contribute towards understanding how and why prostitution was meaningful and made sense to some early modern women. Chapter Two ‘Sources, Myths and Realities’ questions lingering, prevalent theories on high numbers of prostitutes and examines some realities of prostitution. It engages with issues concerning terminology, migration, household compositions, age and permanence. Prostitution in early modern Valletta, similar to other forms of trading, may have adapted to the port’s fluctuating vitality. The following chapters deal with different realities that these women faced. These realities are placed under social, religious, regulatory and geographical lenses. These areas of interest are interwoven to give a consolidated picture of the experience of various circumstances prostitutes in early modern Valletta faced and the initiatives that they took. Chapter Three ‘Attitudes, Action and Negotiation’ questions their capacity to negotiate their social status and image. It shows how community and church attitudes and views were mediated through a specific social background. It suggests that social attitudes towards prostitutes and prostitution were not always intolerant, hostile or negative. Chapter Four, ‘Regulating Prostitution’, examines the strictures and structures that controlled prostitution. It suggests that sumptuary laws and laws restricting carnal commerce failed to address change and offered ample leeway for entrepreneurial prostitutes to navigate their way around legal obstacles and plough more deeply into their practice. Chapter Five ‘Lawbreakers, Deviants and Troublemakers‘, essentially argues that there were good entrepreneurs and there were bad ones. This chapter focuses on the latter. An analysis of the incarcerations of prostitutes from 1741-1798 revealed that prostitutes who featured in court records were real troublemakers and some were even criminal. It argues that in modern histories of prostitution this overarching perspective may have overshadowed nondeviant entrepreneurial pursuits. Chapter Six, ‘A Geography of Prostitution’, suggests that notwithstanding the fact that Valletta was a small, compact male Convent city characterised by face-to-face relationships, prostitution was sustainable. It shows how this was possible because some early modern women were endowed with the capacity to manoeuvre their way around restrictions, work diligently, sacrifice certain expenses, save money and invest wisely. Some prostitutes successfully navigated male terrain, negotiated social, cultural, legal and religious norms, improved their condition and battled on with their lives. The city of Valletta in early modern times was above all a city that hosted men and women from different cultural backgrounds. The evidence suggests a dynamic image of a city in transformation, rather than a bleak narrative of exploitation and exclusion.