Failure to become freemen: urban apprentices in early modern England.

The article examines the careers of about two-thirds of the Bristol apprentices recorded in the apprentice register between 1600 and 1645 who failed to obtain the freedom of the town when their apprenticeship came to an end. It argues that most of them migrated away from the town, and that their migration was dominated by both 'push' and 'pull' forces, although the latter was possibly more pronounced. The article then examines the likelihood of early departure from service, and concludes that while most of the apprentices were not recorded as having been dismissed before their official seven-year term came to an end, they none the less departed after three, four or five years of training. For the majority of apprentices, the normal course was one of a relatively short apprenticeship followed by migration to the countryside or overseas. The conclusion emphasizes the impact which apprentices had on the diffusion of crafts and particularly of commercial activities in small towns and villages in the regions surrounding the town and farther afield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]