Population Index - Volume 58

Volume 58 - Number 4 - Winter 1992

I. Historical Demography and Demographic History

Studies dealing with the demographic events of any given period from the early historical to the modern, defined as being World War I.

I.1. General Historical Demography

Comprehensive surveys, notes of sources, and items on the state of research. Particularly concerned with the period before modern vital registration was introduced and censuses were taken. Historical items that primarily pertain to one specific demographic variable are classified first under the specific heading and then cross-referenced to this heading.

58:40600 Crosby, Alfred W. Infectious disease and the demography of the Atlantic peoples. Journal of World History, Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall 1991. 119-33 pp. Honolulu, Hawaii. In Eng.
The author defends the hypothesis that the main factors affecting population developments in the Americas since 1492 have been concerned with demography and epidemiology rather than with politics and war. Specifically, the hypothesis "focuses on deadly disease, and on how most of us who are now living in the Americas are doing so because our ancestors were either attracted or dragged across the Atlantic to fill vacancies opened up by disease." The author suggests that population densities in the Old and New Worlds at the time of Columbus's voyages were roughly the same; the main difference was that the population of the New World suffered from fewer infectious diseases. Those brought by Columbus and his successors "obliterated millions of Amerindians, broke the morale of the survivors, and rendered vacant large parts of the New World, or at least reduced the population of the original inhabitants to such small numbers that the invaders could claim that the land was going unused...." In contrast, European populations grew faster as a result of improved transportation and imported American crops such as the potato, providing a population surplus that then emigrated to repopulate the Americas.
Correspondence: A. W. Crosby, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712-1088. Location: Princeton University Library (FST).

58:40601 Le Mee, Rene. Population and economic growth in the district of Rosay in the eighteenth century. [Croissance demographique et economie dans l'election de Rosay au XVIIIe siecle.] Paris et Ile-de-France Memoires, Vol. 43, 1992. 39-108 pp. Paris, France. In Fre.
The relationship between economic change and population trends is explored using data for the French region of Brie from 1720 to the French Revolution. The impact of road location on population distribution is noted.
Correspondence: R. Le Mee, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Laboratoire de Demographie Historique, 54 boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris, France. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

58:40602 Tittarelli, Luigi. Towns and dioceses in seventeenth-century demographic data sources. [Citta e diocesi nelle fonti demografiche seicentesche.] In: Assisi in eta barocca, edited by Alberto Grohmann. 1992. 119-56 pp. Accademia Properziana del Subasio: Assisi, Italy. In Ita.
The author outlines demographic trends in the region surrounding the Italian town of Assisi during the seventeenth century. Demographic differences between town and country and among the mountain regions, the hills, and the plains are examined. Particular attention is given to the church records from which the data are drawn and to their suitability for demographic research.
Correspondence: L. Tittarelli, Universita degli Studi di Perugia, Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche, 06100 Perugia, Italy. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

I.2. Methods of Historical Demography

Applications of demographic methodology to the records of the past in order to obtain further demographic information. Relevant items are coded here and cross-referenced to N. Methods of Research and Analysis Including Models if of more general interest than to historical demography alone.

58:40603 Bouchard, Gerard. Current issues and new prospects for computerized record linkage in the province of Quebec. Historical Methods, Vol. 25, No. 2, Spring 1992. 67-73 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
Computerized data linkage techniques and their application to family reconstitution work concerning the period 1608-1765 in Quebec are reviewed. Plans to expand population registers using marriage records are also described.
Correspondence: G. Bouchard, Universite du Quebec, Inter-University Center for Population Research, 555 boulevard de l'Universite, Chicoutimi, Quebec G7H 2B1, Canada. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).

58:40604 Schofield, Roger. Automatic family reconstitution: the Cambridge experience. Historical Methods, Vol. 25, No. 2, Spring 1992. 75-9 pp. Washington, D.C. In Eng.
The author describes an automatic record linking program developed by England's Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure. The purpose of the program is to facilitate family reconstitution functions using data from historical parish registers. In the program, "all the decisions, including the difficult cases, were to be made by the computer in accordance with a set of basic principles."
Correspondence: R. Schofield, Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure, 27 Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QA, England. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).