Abstract
What is historical demography? Some writers define it by its object, i.e. by the populations of the past. Most define it by its sources and methods. Since ancient statistics are imperfect, incomplete or even non-existent, new means had to be found to investigate past populations; in particular, material could be extracted from historical sources which had been compiled not for scientific purposes but to allow civil and religious authorities to control populations. These included baptism, marriage and burial registers, tax rolls, cadastral surveys, or family papers such as contracts, inventories and genealogies.
This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, 1st edition, 1987. Edited by John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman.
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Dupâquier, J. (1987). Historical Demography. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_836-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_836-1
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Latest
Historical Demography- Published:
- 21 March 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_836-2
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Historical Demography- Published:
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_836-1