Historical Demography

The historical demography is a historical discipline which studies the behaviors and the structures of the Population S of the past.

Beginnings of historical demography

Historical demography is a French creation. Its inventor is a polytechnician, Louis Henry, which sought to explain the problems of fruitfulness at the XXe century. He took conscience quickly that it had to take retreat to study his object; historical demography had been born. Attention not to confuse historical demography with the History of the populations, other connects history already cleared by the École of Annals. The distinction between these two vaults is all the more delicate as a sulfurous debate took place in the years 1950 on this subject. Thus, the historian Pierre Goubert disputed in Louis Henry the paternity of the discipline. The systematic studies of Henry admittedly held more work of genealogists than historians. Henry retorts in Goubert in 1956 by publishing with Michel Fleury one little book blue entitled Of the parochial registers to the history of the population. Handbook of examination and exploitation of the old civil statue . This key work resumes in particular similar studies undertaken in Germany and Sweden. From 1958 to 1960, three major events are to be announced: publication of the first parochial monograph (by Gautier and Henry), the launching of the great national survey " to know the population of France since Louis XIV" (by Fleury and Henry) and publication of the work of Pierre Goubert: Beauvais and Beauvaisis of 1600 to 1730 . The discipline of historical demography was born.

If the French historians play a " eminent role sometimes even dominant" , to show here the words of Jean-Pierre Poussou, England and Canada quickly studies of foregrounds set up. Let us quote here the study undertaken at the University of Montreal under the direction of Hubert Charbonneau and Jacques Légaré on the population of Canada of XVIIe and XVIIIe centuries and maintaining in the hands of Bertrand Desjardins.

The field of study of historical demography

If demography automatically belongs to the geography, historical demography is, at the base, the fact and the thing of the historians. Pierre Goubert, already quoted, Jacques Dupâquier, Pierre Chaunu, Philippe Ariès or Herve the Arm, to quote only them, are eminent historians who revolutionized our knowledge on the demography of the past. This discipline has its review reference, the Annales of historical demography (founded in 1964), and its " company of demography historique" founded by Marcel Reinhard, then chaired by Pierre Goubert and Jacques Dupâquier. Work reference of this French school were the four volumes published under the direction of Jacques Dupâquier: History of the French population , which gathers one half-century of work. While being based on this basic work and their methodology, geographers, sociologists and same lawyers are interested today of close with historical demography. The historical Laboratoire of demography (LDH) of founded CNRS in 1972 is a perfect example of this interdisciplinarity.

Evolution of the population, with its crises and its movements, but also studies more targeted on the diseases and the care, the sexual practices, or on the heritages, for example, appear in the program of historical demography. This so typical bursting of the current history, mainly explains the interdisciplinary character of historical demography.

One can thus deduct from the demographic study of a population a certain number of information, by coupling the demographic data with other historical knowledge.

Example of use of historical demography

For example, for the population of the village of the Plessis-Fire-Aussoux, small village of Seine-et-Marne, a study of the population under the Old Mode and the 19th century, carried out thanks to the good conservation of the parochial registers, makes it possible to know well the lifestyle of the inhabitants of this village. The study made of 1668 to 1892.

Mortality was studied over 3 periods during which the registers are well tenus.
1668-1689 Enfants from 0 to 1 year: 350 per thousand. Children not reaching the 15 years age: 550 per thousand is more than one child on deux.
1720-1749 From 0 to 1 year: 458 per thousand. Less than 15 years: 462 for mille.
1762-1792 From 0 to 1 year: 260 per thousand. Less than 15 years: 434 for mille.
Cette mortality is very high compared to the population: 140 inhabitants in 1709 and 150 by 1789.
Avant 1750, the national averages were respectively of 271 and 500 per thousand with disparities régionales.
1803-1832 Enfants from 0 to 1 year: 241 per thousand
1833-1862 Children from 0 to 1 year: 212 for mille
1863-1892 Children from 0 to 1 year: 283 for mille.
Pour the children who will not reach 15 years the rates are catastrophic. For the period going from 1803 to 1892, average rate is of 370 per thousand. The highest rate is that of 1803 with 1812: 614 for mille.
De 150 inhabitants in 1789, the population passes to 238 in 1891. It will drop then quickly.

These data make it possible for example to show that infant mortality is more important there than the national average.

The historian leans then more finely on the registers, in order to seek causes of this surmortality. He seeks his answers at the same time in historical knowledge (social history, of hygiene etc…) on the village and its environment:

One knows thus that in the villages, the conditions of hygiene are worse than in the agglomerations having a certain importance. The human ones live under the same roof that the animals, the manure is stored close to the wells and water is contaminated causing entérocolites. The women, hardly been confined, must resume work with the farm and thus have little time to deal with their offspring. The woman is confined at it in the common room, very often single part, surrounded by the neighbors with in the forefront the Matrone which acts as Sage-femme. She is elected by the women of the parish.

In 1663, Bossuet, visits some in a parish close to Plessis-Fire-Aussoux, orders that the women will be assembled to elect one of enters to make function of matron, which will be received and approved according to the form present in the ritual of the diocese and will have to lend oath on the Gospel . At that time, the essential requirement is the baptism which passes before the concern of the life of the mother or the child. The clergy insists that the newborn is baptized quickly. The Church authorizes " in the event of danger of mort" during the childbirth the matron to pour a little water on the body while pronouncing the sacramental words thus proceeding to the Undulation.
On can add congenital malformations much marriages being consanguineous, the alive inhabitants in the restricted circle of the village.
Il does not have there a doctor, nor midwife in the village, these people having domiciled with approximately 3 kilometers. and in the demographic data.

But these data are not enough to explain the surmortality. Thus the place of the children placed as a nurse in the countryside is studied: breast feeding by the mother is the rule in the campaigns, i.e. the majority of the families au16e century. Downtown, the practice of the setting as a nurse of the newborn, still limited to XVIe and XVIIe centuries to the nobility and the middle-class, spreads at the next century. In the easy families, the maintenance with a nurse in residence does not pose a problem. The popular families are forced to send their newborn where the nurses less expensive but also less sure and are supervised.

Two or three days after the birth, the newborn is taken along instead of residence of the nurse. It is not rare that it dies during transport: very long way, ways of communication in very bad condition, means of transport inconfortables.
Le poor newborn will live " with the campagne". Perhaps it will have an air healthier than at the city but in let us conditons of hygiene déplorables.
De' 1758 to 1789 , one notes 7 deaths of children whose parents did not domicile in the village.

5 live Paris the two others being nearby villages. Only one profession is indicated: a chiurgien which lives in a village voisin.
De 1823 to 1892 the number of deaths of children as a nurse is of 69 on a total of 216 births of children of the village is 32 percent.
Dans the certificates of the doctors all the children in low-age died of acute Bronchite, of Entérocolite, the Croup.

Three epidemics of Choléra in 1832, 1849 and 1853 - 1854 are as responsible for numerous décès.
Ce is only in 1874 as the law Theophilus Rousset will be voted which introduces the regular control of the nourrices.
Tous the parents of the deceased children live Paris. The professions are indicated on the registers of civil statue: gilder on metals, clerk office, washing machine, mason, stove setter, typographer, linen maid (natural child), roadmender.
Le railroad will modify the access to the village supporting the arrival of the parents coming from Paris. On the basis of the station of the East, the line serving Coulommiers is completed in 1863 but since 1861, it serves approximately 2 hours and half Marles-in-Brie from where a horse-drawn service of transport brings the travellers to Plessis Feu Aussoux located at about fifteen kilometers. Creation in 1850 of the road connecting Provins to Lagny-sur-Marne facilitates the arrival of the doctor who places with 3 kilometers.

Thus, historical demography makes it possible to supplement the local history. Led to large scales, it helps with the knowledge of the daily life of the studied population. The study made on infant mortality shows what it is living conditions of the children, but one also often studies the marriages, in order to determine the degree of Endogamie and that of Homogamie in the parishes. This study is done thanks to the mentions of the source of the husbands at the time of a marriage. The impact of the conflicts and the conscription on the population of a village, but also its relations with its entourage, is still fields which are enriched by historical demography.

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