What was the lowest paying job for families living in England in the 1700s?

Question

I'm writing a story... so it needs to be an intesting job... sort of.

Answer 1

Tosser. They sought out any valuables in the gutters.

Answer 2

When (which part of the 18th century) and where?  There was a lot of class distinction, so if you had a job you weren't part of the upper social classes.  Jobs for ladies and gentlemen who might be impoverished would be the army, the church (perhaps a curate or such), lady's companion or governess.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GhwnK...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady%27s_co...

Those not attached to the upper classes might be shopkeepers, farmers (not gentleman farmers), those employed in trade.

The lowest levels would be working in the mills in the north, servants (the lowest, like scullery maid, boot-black, link boy, etc), prostitution, pimping, laundresses, etc.  Highwaymen would generally come from the lower classes, but a very few have come from the upper classes.

Middle classes might also be physicians, or a country doctor.

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsit...

http://www.localhistories.org/18thcent.h...

Answer 3

The eighteenth century saw a major revolution in agricultural practice. Factory conditions were horrific. Long hours,  poor conditions, low wages and the employment of children were some of the abuses. Industrial towns sprang up with poor living conditions. As well, a movement from the country by people displaced by the agricultural revolution to industrial towns led to the dislocation of families and the shaking of established social traditions.

Answer 4

town drunk.  self-explanatory.

Answer 5

In Bath,England  was a widowed mother with children. She had to work long hours little pay many women couldn't get jobs.Feed her children the little food she had.She would sometimes go to sleep hungry.A widowed mother if not rich had to struggle.

Answer 6

Should this have been put in another section, like history or homework  as it has naught to do with royalty