The Women's Emigration Society was a 19th-century English organization devoted to helping poor young women

emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

from England to the colonies of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. It was superseded by other organisations and alliances.

History

Societies concerned with women emigrants to the British colonies had existed since at least 1849. This society was established by

Louisa Hubbard Louisa Maria Hubbard (8 March 1836 – 5 November 1906) was an English feminist social reformer and writer. She is best known for her activism for increased opportunities for women's education and employment. Born into a wealthy merchant fam ...

and Caroline Blanchard in 1880 and was active until superseded in 1884. Another person credited with founding the organisation was

Emily Anne Smythe Lady Strangford, Emily Ann Smythe or Emily Anne Beaufort (1826 – 24 March 1887) was a British illustrator, writer and nurse. There are streets named after her and permanent museum exhibits about her in Bulgaria. She established hospitals and m ...

. The goal of the society was to allow women with few opportunities in England to move to places such as North America or New Zealand. The organizers of the society believed that women would be able to find employment much more easily in these locations than they were able to in England. They generally attempted to find women jobs as

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...

es or helpers for families. They also believed that women would be able to find husbands through these professions. Hubbard began believing in the importance of female emigration from England in 1877. A writer pointed out to her that many more men than women had emigrated from England and that there were many opportunities for women in the British colonies. She then began publishing articles about this in her magazine, ''The Women's Gazette''. These articles caught the attention of other emigration advocates and they soon met with Hubbard and decided to form the society. The society often worked with branches of the

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

in the locations that they sought to place women. Hubbard later realized that there were several different societies working interdependently to promote emigration and decided to try to unify them. She then published a book titled ''The United Englishwomen's Emigration Register'' and founded the United Englishwomen's Emigration Association to try to unify the women's emigration movement. In 1884 Caroline Blanchard also began the Colonial Emigration Society to focus on promoting emigration.

Later

The Imperial Colonist British Women's Emigration Association and the South African Expansion Committee (January 1905)

Ellen Joyce Hon. Ellen Joyce CBE CStJ born Ellen Rice (12 January 1832 – 21 May 1924) was a British organiser of women's emigration from the UK. She started and ran the British Women's Emigration Association. Life She was the eldest child of Francis Rice, ...

founded the United British Women's Emigration Association in 1888. She became Vice-President of the society and she became a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1920. A fellow awardee that year was Grace Lefroy who was the honorary secretary of the WES.

Louisa Knightley Louisa Mary Knightley, Lady Knightley (25 April 1842 – 2 October 1913) was a British Anglican and women's rights activist. Life Born on Lower Grosvenor Street in London as Louisa Bowater, she was the daughter of General Edward Bowater an ...

was president of the South African Colonisation Society and she was the editor the society's ''Imperial Colonist'' journal from 1901 to 1913.

References

{{Reflist Emigration Organizations established in 1880 Women's organisations based in the United Kingdom 1884 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 1880 establishments in England Poverty in England 1880s in England History of the British Empire