Harriet Martineau: biography of this philosopher

History is full of feminist women who have already taken their first steps in the fight for women's rights. This is the case of Harriet Martineau, a British writer who was also a philosopher, social activist and sociologist. Harriet also actively defended the abolitionist movement, and she also fought for the rights of the poor and slaves.

In this article we will see in a summarized way a biography of Harriet Martineau: her origins and studies, her philosophy, career and the importance of her work.

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Harriet Martineau Bio: Who Was She?

Harriet Martineau was a 19th century British writer and feminist, and also a philosopher, social activist and sociologist, that she was very interested in political economy. In addition, she is considered by some experts as the first sociologist in history.

She was a woman who she very actively supported the establishment of laws for the poor, as well as the abolitionist movement. This movement tried to defend the annulment of laws or customs considered infringing on people's rights and ethics.

Regarding her ideology, Harriet was very much in favor of “laissez-faire” (the “letting go”, which implies refrain from a direction or mandate), although she also defended the right to strike and to syndication.

• You may be interested: "Beatrice Webb: biography of this British sociologist and activist"

Birth and youth

Harriet Martineau was born in England on June 12, 1802 (specifically, in Norwick). The daughter of French Huguenots (a type of Protestant), her father was a well-positioned businessman, so she she received a very good education.

This education was far superior to that received by most women of the time. In addition to studying subjects such as physics, mathematics, history, and astronomy, she learned various languages.

Woman of letters

Later, Harriet she decided to study philosophy and social sciences. With the death of her father, in 1825, she had to start embroidery work, but she combined it with jobs writing for newspapers, through which she achieved a certain prestige. For example, she collaborated for several years in the newspaper Daily news, where she wrote more than 1,000 articles.

In 1832, at the age of 30, she produced a collection of 25 novels, titled Political economy illustrations, where she presented her ideas and explanations of her in relation to the consumption of wealth, its production and distribution, in addition to the implications it had on poor people.

What's more, She was very interested in the works of Jane Marcet (English writer and popular science writer), which made her interested in Political Economy. This theme was very recurrent in her work.

Her work in sociology

As we have already begun to see, between the years 1819 and 1830, Harriet Martineau began to contribute to the field of sociology, publishing in local newspapers. A remarkable fact is that in 1821 she openly published in the Monthly Repository her rejection of the unequal treatment received by women.

In this way, her feminist ideas tried to extol the rights and capacities of women, and then began to emerge, through her articles, works and publications.

Her involvement in feminism

It can be said that Harriet Martineau was a feminist fighter, a great defender of women's rights. Her advice or ideas included educating girls and boys equitably, claiming that her intellectual abilities were the same.

In fact, and for example, in one of her articles, entitled Women's EducationShe explained that the “supposed” differences between women and men were exclusively due to the educational discrimination to which they were subjected. To write this article she was inspired by Mary Wollstonecraft, also an English philosopher and writer.

Another example of her feminist ideas is found in her defense of the woman's decision not to marry if she so wishes. Idea that she also practiced, since she never married.

Travels

Harriet Martineau made important trips that influenced her work and ideology, as well as providing her with extensive experience in the field of social activism.

In 1834, Harriet traveled to the United States to support the abolitionist movement, as we saw at the beginning of the article. She stayed there for two years, and that experience prompted her to write the book Society in America, which consisted of an exhaustive analysis of social strategies around the female figure, slavery and morality.

Another of her important trips was, years later (in 1846), through the Middle East, Egypt and the Holy Land. As a result of her experiences there, in 1848 she wrote a new book, entitled Oriental life. Present and past, where she speculated on the treasures hidden under the sands of those places she visited.

Construction site

Some of the most important works of Harriet Martineau They were:

• Illustrations of Political Economy, 1832-34
• Poor Laws and Paupers, 1833
• Illustrations of Taxation, 1834.
• Society in America, 1837.
• Letters on the Laws of Man's Nature and Development, 1851
• The Philosophy of Comte, Freely translated and condensed, 1853
• Autobiography, 1837.

Death

At the age of 53, in 1855, Harriet became seriously ill, and she began to write her Autobiography, which would be published one year after her death (in 1877). In her last days, Harriet continued to journal Daily newsher, until she died at the age of 74, on June 27, 1876 in Ambleside (England).

It is said that it was Harriet herself who wrote her obituary, published in the same Daily news, the day of her death.

Bibliographic references:

• Freedgood, E. (1995). Banishing Panic: Harriet Martineau and the Popularization of Political Economy. - Victorian Studies, Indiana University Press, 39 (1): 33-53.

• Martineau, H. (2005). How to Observe: Morals and Manners. Kessinger Publishing.

• O'Brien, D. OR. (1989). The classical economists. Madrid: University Alliance.

• Salazar, M. (2018). Harriet Martineau: A revolutionary of her time. What is economy.