Work and Injury in Europe

In my blog post I am going to talk about work and disability within the European mercantile era. As workers, people with disability were able to work and were also beginning to gain more rights. The term disability can be defined in many different ways especially throughout the past and the present. Today’s society has generally stereotyped us to think of a person who has to use a wheelchair, while in the past, disability could range from mental illness, general sickness, disease and those who were cripple.

I found an article that explains the recent progress in European countries in workmen’s compensation, including those who are injured, sick or disabled. Two of the first main industries were navigation and mining which were very dangerous and if the employer were to be seriously injured “the law required the owner of the undertaking to provide in advance a special fund from which the benefits for this purpose were paid” (Harris, 1911, pg. 246). In the thirties the railroad industry was introduced, and insurance policies were in order, as a small sum of money would be taken from the wages of the employers to cover any kind of injury that may occur on the job.

“The plan of compensating industrial accidents by determining who was at fault and assessing the cost on the negligent party, has never applied to all industries, and in fact has long been discarded in those industries which most closely resemble the industries of the present day” (Harris, 1911, pg.248). Furthermore, in this era, those who were of dis-advantage, were almost at an advantage because they maintained many benefits in comparison to those who were on welfare or could not find work.

Therefore in conclusion, those of disability in the mercantile era were not at a total loss in comparison to others. Many employer’s who were injured on the job causing them not to be able to work, had many benefits. In comparison to our society today, it is almost the same, as these peoples have many benefits but are discriminated when it comes to work. “The simplest, and most frequently answered questions posed to the welfare state concern the nature and extent of the benefits now won by the disadvantaged” (Baldwin, 1990). 

Baldwin, P. (1990). The Politics of Social Solidarity. Cambridge, UK: Press Syndicate of University of Cambridge.

Harris, H. J. (1911). Recent Progress in European Countries in Workmen's Compensation. Annals of the American Academy and Political Social Science, 38(1), 246-256. Retrieved from JSTOR database.

Alysha