Did medieval peasants have more children on average than royalty? Or is this a modern phenomenon?
In: 71
I’m seeing lots of speculation and not much data. If you want data, check out this review paper which puts together data from a _ton_ of studies.
https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol18/5/18-5.pdf
Looking at all studies together, on average the transition happened around 1800, but this is probably mostly driven by the western world, which has the best data. Seems to have happened more recently in other parts of the world.
Historical records tend to find that in the middle ages the wealthy had more kids on average.
I’m curious what your source is on this, as I think depending on how you define poor you might not find this is the case.
Do you mean globally poor or people in relative poverty in their respective nations or poorer nations when compared to those where people are better off. I think in each case the answer is likely to be different, and without looking at the numbers myself I’m not even sure it’s the case that poor people have more children.
I’m curious what your source is on this, as I think depending on how you define poor you might not find this is the case.
Do you mean globally poor or people in relative poverty in their respective nations or poorer nations when compared to those where people are better off. I think in each case the answer is likely to be different, and without looking at the numbers myself I’m not even sure it’s the case that poor people have more children.
I’m curious what your source is on this, as I think depending on how you define poor you might not find this is the case.
Do you mean globally poor or people in relative poverty in their respective nations or poorer nations when compared to those where people are better off. I think in each case the answer is likely to be different, and without looking at the numbers myself I’m not even sure it’s the case that poor people have more children.
In America, up until the late 1900s, the family farm as an economic unit could not exist without the free labor provided by children. The 9-months on, 3 months off school model we still use here in America is derived directly from the months children were needed for the harvest.
Since most of America lived in the country (and not the cities) in those years, large families were the norm. There is an early photo of a woman who gave birth to 26 children herself, with no twins or triplets. Incredible by today’s standards.
The morality of America at that time ( meaning most Christian religions) was set up to support the idea of God approving of large families, of God wanting women to be mothers, of God wanting women to stay at home and be homemakers. Morality re-enforced the only viable economic model of the time.
But then two remarkable labor-saving technologies appeared. The John Deere “sod buster” iron plow and the “engine”, first the steam and then the gas.
In the span of a single generation, farm work that used to require 10 or 12 people to do could now be done by 2 or 3.
Labor markets in the rural areas of America collapsed. This led directly to large-scale immigration into the cities and the rise of factories and automation in America.
And since women were now relieved of the burden of producing 12 or 15 children to avoid starvation, they were free to pursue other goals in their lives: The rise of women’s rights and the suffragette movement in America
It’s always amazing how the morality of America has always reflected the technology available at that time.
Don’t even get me started about the invention of the birth control pill in late 1950s and it’s effect on America.
In America, up until the late 1900s, the family farm as an economic unit could not exist without the free labor provided by children. The 9-months on, 3 months off school model we still use here in America is derived directly from the months children were needed for the harvest.
Since most of America lived in the country (and not the cities) in those years, large families were the norm. There is an early photo of a woman who gave birth to 26 children herself, with no twins or triplets. Incredible by today’s standards.
The morality of America at that time ( meaning most Christian religions) was set up to support the idea of God approving of large families, of God wanting women to be mothers, of God wanting women to stay at home and be homemakers. Morality re-enforced the only viable economic model of the time.
But then two remarkable labor-saving technologies appeared. The John Deere “sod buster” iron plow and the “engine”, first the steam and then the gas.
In the span of a single generation, farm work that used to require 10 or 12 people to do could now be done by 2 or 3.
Labor markets in the rural areas of America collapsed. This led directly to large-scale immigration into the cities and the rise of factories and automation in America.
And since women were now relieved of the burden of producing 12 or 15 children to avoid starvation, they were free to pursue other goals in their lives: The rise of women’s rights and the suffragette movement in America
It’s always amazing how the morality of America has always reflected the technology available at that time.
Don’t even get me started about the invention of the birth control pill in late 1950s and it’s effect on America.
In America, up until the late 1900s, the family farm as an economic unit could not exist without the free labor provided by children. The 9-months on, 3 months off school model we still use here in America is derived directly from the months children were needed for the harvest.
Since most of America lived in the country (and not the cities) in those years, large families were the norm. There is an early photo of a woman who gave birth to 26 children herself, with no twins or triplets. Incredible by today’s standards.
The morality of America at that time ( meaning most Christian religions) was set up to support the idea of God approving of large families, of God wanting women to be mothers, of God wanting women to stay at home and be homemakers. Morality re-enforced the only viable economic model of the time.
But then two remarkable labor-saving technologies appeared. The John Deere “sod buster” iron plow and the “engine”, first the steam and then the gas.
In the span of a single generation, farm work that used to require 10 or 12 people to do could now be done by 2 or 3.
Labor markets in the rural areas of America collapsed. This led directly to large-scale immigration into the cities and the rise of factories and automation in America.
And since women were now relieved of the burden of producing 12 or 15 children to avoid starvation, they were free to pursue other goals in their lives: The rise of women’s rights and the suffragette movement in America
It’s always amazing how the morality of America has always reflected the technology available at that time.
Don’t even get me started about the invention of the birth control pill in late 1950s and it’s effect on America.
It’s also one of the oddest quirks of humanity I think. When times are bad, when poverty is unbearable, and survivability is in question…. What do humans do, have more kids……
You still see that occurring in lesser developed countries today.
It’s also one of the oddest quirks of humanity I think. When times are bad, when poverty is unbearable, and survivability is in question…. What do humans do, have more kids……
You still see that occurring in lesser developed countries today.
It’s also one of the oddest quirks of humanity I think. When times are bad, when poverty is unbearable, and survivability is in question…. What do humans do, have more kids……
You still see that occurring in lesser developed countries today.
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