Written narratives offer some of the most visceral evidence of what it was like to live in a distant time and place. This collection of firsthand historical accounts from Bloomsbury’s Daily Life through History database offers readers a fascinating glimpse into the norms, customs, and values of different eras and cultures.
In this passage from his Sixth Satire, the Roman author Juvenal (ca. 55–127 CE) describes the work performed by enslaved girls as they elaborately style a wealthy woman’s hair.
These two excerpts, both written during the late 13th century CE, come from Chinese writings that record interactions of Chinese merchants and envoys with Westerners in the Byzantine Empire.
Written in 1540 by conquistador Pedro de Cieza de León, Chronicles of the Incas provides a glimpse of this native South American society in the period immediately before its conquest by the Spanish and the start of Spanish colonial rule.
Excerpted here is the Parliamentary Report on Child Labor, also known as the Sadler Report, after Parliamentarian Michael Sadler who sponsored it in 1833. The testimony Sadler gathered helped convinced his fellow parliamentarians to pass the Factory Act of 1833, banning child labor under the age of 9, limiting the workday for children aged 9 to 13 to 8 hours a day and adolescents aged 14 to 18 to no more than 12 hours.
The Oregon Trail was blazed in the early 1840s by men like John C. Frémont and Kit Carson, who sought their fortunes in the American West. Within the decade, thousands of people were following their footsteps. The trip was dangerous, and many did not make it. In the following document, Helen Carpenter describes her perilous journey.
Offering detailed explorations of 65 distinct cultures around the world, Daily Life through History is an invaluable resource for students and researchers seeking insight into the beliefs, customs, and daily practices of the people of the past.
