Prostitution in Seventeenth Century Europe

Prostitution, from its earliest inceptions, has carried a rather unflattering connotation. A legal age of the population attaches pejorative labels such as slut or whore to its practitioners, and deem the institution in general as a taboo subject not mentioned in mannerly conversation. Regardless of its negative stereotypes, harlotry has become an omnipresent candor even in todays modern world. This essay looks at prostitution in three European countries- Italy, The Netherlands, and England. It will examine how intimately people viewed such an establishment, the various methods of regulation (if such gist existed), and the resulting consequences on seventeenth century society.

Most of Europe viewed prostitution in the seventeenth century as a degrading and disreputable marrow of making a living. This was especially true in Italy, particularly in the city of Florence, which had been transformed by the Renaissance into the ethnic and artistic center of the country. As a result, many prostitutes flocked to Florence due(p) to the potential for lavish financial gains. Most of these women of ill concoct migrated from the northern countries of Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium. Only around fifteen percent of Florentine prostitutes came from Italian origins.

As John Brackett describes in his article The Florentine Onesta and the confine of Prostitution, 1403-1680, several of the citizens of Florence regarded prostitution as immoral and viewed it with suspicion.



The prevailing imagination was that women should not flaunt their libidinous intentions even in the or so clandestine settings, and certainly not advertise themselves in public. However, many also realized that lasciviousness was, at the time, a demand which would be difficult to eradicate altogether. Therefore, the Italian government created the Onesta (Office of Decency) to arrange the practice of prostitution.

Instead, the Onesta became a device of exploitation and completely ostacized prostitutes from tyhe easing of the community.

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