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Regulation of human population in northern France and adjacent lands in the Middle Ages

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Abstract

In northern France and Europe the population trebled after 1000 and then ceased to increase about 1300, before the Black Death caused an abrupt decline. The birthrate, as indicated by number of surviving children, increased and then declined. Death rates increased after 1250 and, of course, during the Black Death. Migration (assarting) was high after 1100 but ceased by about 1250. The evidence about resources, disease, and internecine strife is compatible with this scenario which can be predicted based on other animal populations.

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Davis, D.E. Regulation of human population in northern France and adjacent lands in the Middle Ages. Hum Ecol 14, 245–267 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00889240

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