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The History of Infant, Child and Adult Mortality in London, 1550–1850

The History of Infant, Child and Adult Mortality in London, 1550–1850 AbstractThe paper uses a range of sources — parish registers, family histories, bills of mortality, local censuses, marriage licences, apprenticeship indentures, and wills — to document the history of mortality of London in the period 1538–1850. The main conclusions of the research are as follows:1. Infant and child mortality more than doubled between the sixteenth and the middle of the eighteenth century in both wealthy and non-wealthy families.2. Mortality peaked in the middle of the eighteenth century at a very high level, with nearly two-thirds of all children — rich and poor — dying by their fifth birthday.3. Mortality under the age of two fell sharply after the middle of the eighteenth century, and older child mortality decreased mainly during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. By the second quarter of the nineteenth century about 30 per cent of all children had died within the first five years. This latter fall in mortality appears to have occurred equally amongst both the wealthy and the non-wealthy population.4. There was little or no change in paternal mortality from 1600 to 1750, after which date there was a steady reduction until the middle of the nineteenth century. The scale of the fall in adult mortality was probably less than the reduction in infant and child mortality. The latter more than halved between the middle of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, whereas paternal mortality fell by about a third in the same period.5. There appears to have been a minimal social class gradient in infant, child and adult mortality in London during the period 1550–1850. This is an unexpected finding, raising fundamental questions about the role of poverty and social class in shaping mortality in this period.6. Although migration played a leading role in fostering the population increase in London in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, relatively low infant and child mortality made a major contribution to population growth during this period. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The London Journal: A Review of Metropolitan Society Past and Present Taylor & Francis

The History of Infant, Child and Adult Mortality in London, 1550–1850

The History of Infant, Child and Adult Mortality in London, 1550–1850


Abstract

AbstractThe paper uses a range of sources — parish registers, family histories, bills of mortality, local censuses, marriage licences, apprenticeship indentures, and wills — to document the history of mortality of London in the period 1538–1850. The main conclusions of the research are as follows:1. Infant and child mortality more than doubled between the sixteenth and the middle of the eighteenth century in both wealthy and non-wealthy families.2. Mortality peaked in the middle of the eighteenth century at a very high level, with nearly two-thirds of all children — rich and poor — dying by their fifth birthday.3. Mortality under the age of two fell sharply after the middle of the eighteenth century, and older child mortality decreased mainly during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. By the second quarter of the nineteenth century about 30 per cent of all children had died within the first five years. This latter fall in mortality appears to have occurred equally amongst both the wealthy and the non-wealthy population.4. There was little or no change in paternal mortality from 1600 to 1750, after which date there was a steady reduction until the middle of the nineteenth century. The scale of the fall in adult mortality was probably less than the reduction in infant and child mortality. The latter more than halved between the middle of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, whereas paternal mortality fell by about a third in the same period.5. There appears to have been a minimal social class gradient in infant, child and adult mortality in London during the period 1550–1850. This is an unexpected finding, raising fundamental questions about the role of poverty and social class in shaping mortality in this period.6. Although migration played a leading role in fostering the population increase in London in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, relatively low infant and child mortality made a major contribution to population growth during this period.

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References (33)

Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2007 Maney Publishing
ISSN
1749-6322
eISSN
0305-8034
DOI
10.1179/174963207X227578
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractThe paper uses a range of sources — parish registers, family histories, bills of mortality, local censuses, marriage licences, apprenticeship indentures, and wills — to document the history of mortality of London in the period 1538–1850. The main conclusions of the research are as follows:1. Infant and child mortality more than doubled between the sixteenth and the middle of the eighteenth century in both wealthy and non-wealthy families.2. Mortality peaked in the middle of the eighteenth century at a very high level, with nearly two-thirds of all children — rich and poor — dying by their fifth birthday.3. Mortality under the age of two fell sharply after the middle of the eighteenth century, and older child mortality decreased mainly during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. By the second quarter of the nineteenth century about 30 per cent of all children had died within the first five years. This latter fall in mortality appears to have occurred equally amongst both the wealthy and the non-wealthy population.4. There was little or no change in paternal mortality from 1600 to 1750, after which date there was a steady reduction until the middle of the nineteenth century. The scale of the fall in adult mortality was probably less than the reduction in infant and child mortality. The latter more than halved between the middle of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, whereas paternal mortality fell by about a third in the same period.5. There appears to have been a minimal social class gradient in infant, child and adult mortality in London during the period 1550–1850. This is an unexpected finding, raising fundamental questions about the role of poverty and social class in shaping mortality in this period.6. Although migration played a leading role in fostering the population increase in London in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, relatively low infant and child mortality made a major contribution to population growth during this period.

Journal

The London Journal: A Review of Metropolitan Society Past and PresentTaylor & Francis

Published: Nov 1, 2007

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