Page 120 - Changing Living Spaces

Josef Grulich

in České Budějovice. Rural girls who did not wish to work in agriculture
sought jobs as maids in urban households. Women outnumbered men in
the urban population because of the large number of female household
servants.21

Recruiting and Military Service
The period under analysis here (1750–1787) included the Seven Years’ War
(1756–1763), which generated an increased demand for soldiers. Many re-
cruits came from the rural population. In their applications for release
from the estate, would-be soldiers usually announced that sooner or lat-
er they would leave the estate to serve in the army.22 In some cases, a fa-
ther applied for the release of a son in the son’s absence. Men who were
serfs of the town were mostly recruited by the artillery, whose barracks
were situated in České Budějovice. The army valued young men who able
to practise certain crafts (such as smiths, wheelwrights, and saddlers).
Enlistment in the army is observed in connection with the death of par-
ents and the incurring of extraordinary expenses. It was expected that
the individual’s financial obligations would be covered by the regular pay
of a soldier. However, not every villager was interested in military ser-
vice. In a number of cases, a man who had been designated to serve in the
army was given a deadline by which he was required to secure a substi-
tute to take his place.

From the Army to Civilian Life
Particularly after the end of the Seven Years’ War (1763), there are also
frequent cases in which a soldier returned to civilian life.23 If he had not
been released from serfdom before his enlistment in the army, he might
apply for release after his return home. This took place in connection with
a marriage, transfer of parental property, or completion of apprentice-
ship. There are also sporadic examples in which a soldier prolonged his

21 The labour migration of women – unlike that of men – is often neglected in his-
torical sources and contemporary statistics, see: Hahn (2008, 85–98).
22 ‘The ‘fiscal-military’ state […] converted taxpayers’ money into mercenaries’ sala-
ries, thereby contributing to the mobilization of wage labor and its spatial mobil-
ity’ (Lucassen and Lucassen 2009, 366).
23 By using lists of serfs from the estate of Protivín (1780–1830), Václav Černý
demonstrated that between one-fifth and one-quarter of recruits had died dur-
ing military service. He also documented that veterans sought to get married,
take over a landholding and practice a craft after their return (Černý 2017, 23–
37, 34–6).

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