Demographic Behavior in the Past: A Study of Fourteen German Village Populations in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries (Cambridge Studies in ... and Society in Past Time, Series Number 6)

This book provides a detailed examination of the demographic behavior of families during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in a sample of fourteen villages in five different regions of Germany. It is based on the reconstituted family histories of vital events (births, deaths and marriages) compiled by genealogies for the entire populations of these villages. The book applies the type of micro-level analysis possible with family reconstitution data for the crucial period leading to and encompassing the early stages of the demographic transition, including the initial onset of the decline of fertility to low modern levels. The analysis explores many aspects of demographic behavior which have been largely ignored by previous macro-level investigations of the demographic transition. These include infant and child mortality, maternal mortality, marriage, marital dissolution, bridal pregnancy and illegitimacy. The core of the study, however, deals with marital reproduction, examining the modernization of reproductive behavior in terms of the transition from a situation of natural fertility to one characterized by pervasive family limitation. Contents......Page 6 Figures......Page 21 Acknowledgements......Page 24 PART I Introduction......Page 28 Family reconstitution and the historical study of demographic behavior......Page 30 The source and the sample......Page 39 PART II Mortality......Page 59 Infant and child mortality: levels, trends and seasonality......Page 61 Infant and child mortality: socio-economic and demographic differentials......Page 95 Maternal mortality......Page 125 PART III Family formation......Page 140 Marriage......Page 142 Marital dissolution and remarriage......Page 174 Illegitimacy......Page 206 Bridal pregnancy and prenuptial births......Page 230 PART IV Marital reproduction......Page 265 Trends in marital fertility and underlying natural fertility components......Page 267 From natural fertility to family limitation......Page 307 Starting, stopping, spacing and the fertility transition......Page 336 PART V Interrelationships in demographic behavior......Page 369 Family size, fertility and nuptiality interrelationships......Page 371 Child mortality and reproductive behavior......Page 408 PART VI Conclusion......Page 453 Population dynamics of the past: summing up......Page 455 Appendix A Selection of couples for analysis......Page 471 Appendix B Assessment of the quality of demographic data contained in German village genealogies......Page 487 Appendix C Local village conditions......Page 510 Appendix D The occupational and status classification schemes......Page 527 Appendix E Calculation of infant and child mortality risks......Page 542 Appendix F Prevailing infant-feeding patterns......Page 549 Appendix G Evidence of biases in the determination of legitimization status......Page 557 Bibliography......Page 564 Index......Page 578 Cambridge University Pres Contents 6 Figures 21 Acknowledgements 24 PART I Introduction 28 Family reconstitution and the historical study of demographic behavior 30 The source and the sample 39 PART II Mortality 59 Infant and child mortality: levels, trends and seasonality 61 Infant and child mortality: socio-economic and demographic differentials 95 Maternal mortality 125 PART III Family formation 140 Marriage 142 Marital dissolution and remarriage 174 Illegitimacy 206 Bridal pregnancy and prenuptial births 230 PART IV Marital reproduction 265 Trends in marital fertility and underlying natural fertility components 267 From natural fertility to family limitation 307 Starting, stopping, spacing and the fertility transition 336 PART V Interrelationships in demographic behavior 369 Family size, fertility and nuptiality interrelationships 371 Child mortality and reproductive behavior 408 PART VI Conclusion 453 Population dynamics of the past: summing up 455 Appendix A Selection of couples for analysis 471 Appendix B Assessment of the quality of demographic data contained in German village genealogies 487 Appendix C Local village conditions 510 Appendix D The occupational and status classification schemes 527 Appendix E Calculation of infant and child mortality risks 542 Appendix F Prevailing infant-feeding patterns 549 Appendix G Evidence of biases in the determination of legitimization status 557 Bibliography 564 Index 578 9780521892810,9780521327152 European historical demography was revolutionized in the 1950s by the pioneering analyses of Louis Henry using data assembled through the technique of family reconstitution. John E. Knodel. Includes Bibliography (p. 557-570) And Index.