Emigration

Until well into the nineteenth century the average income in most Savoie villages was so low that during the winter young men would emigrate to other parts of Europe to try to supplement their income and come back to their fields in the summer. That left the women alone to cope with young children and older parents and maintain the family holdings during their absence; some sociologists think that this situation has contributed to the conservatism of the Savoie.

If you are wondering about the silly little chimney sweep dolls that are sold in all the kitsch stores of tourist cities and villages, they are good luck charms and are a symbol of the poor little children who at a very tender age left their parents and mountain villages under the direction of shady masters to go to big cities and clean chimneys. This is no legend, this is a fact. Not only little boys were involved in these pitiful arrangements; some little girls were also pressed into service because their bodies were so thin that they could squeeze through very narrow chimneys. These children were exploited by their masters and lived in pitiful conditions all over the big cities, especially in Paris.