The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified? Page: 11
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childhood so that it included employment so far as possible and in so far as it was necessary"
(Black 1990). Children were also used as pawns to "assist in begging," and employed to handle
all sorts of tasks, even at what we might consider extremely early ages. In Altopascio, near
Tuscany, children as young as 4 and 5 years old were used to tend to the livestock. It was very
common for children to perform agricultural and even industrial type work. The child labor laws
that exist in modern times simply were not a factor in 17th and 18th century Europe. In fact, the
government approved and actually even encouraged children to work. Officials argued that the
work "prevented idleness and begging, educated children to useful employment and accustomed
them to work" (Black 1990). In order to survive, every able family member had to work, women
and children included. Social care simply didn't exist in the capacity that it could help families.
Desperation even led some families to abandon their children completely to "foundling
hospitals," which were basically the orphanages of the time. These hospitals, founded in Milan in
the 8th century, served as a make-shift "dumping ground" for unwanted children. The idea spread
beyond Italy into the rest of Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. Yet Italy was the country of
origin, and sadly, versions of those institutions still exist there today (Owen 2005).
Family relationships were also rather different than they can be in modern times. A father
showing tender expressions or concern to a child was seen as a negation of his authority. That
kind of affection was not to be shown, as it would be contrary to his establishment as head of the
family. The priority was to teach the children respect, rather than love. In modern family units,
the needs of the child are often more important than the well-being of the parents. Today many
parents make sacrifices for their children, to give them a better life. But the close emotional
bonds and the huge concern over a child's well-being that are so prevalent today simply did not
exist back then in the general sense (Black 1990).11
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Sowle, Jennifer. The Castrato Sacrifice: Was it Justified?, thesis, August 2006; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5343/m1/14/: accessed May 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .