English Population History from Family Reconstitution 1580-1837 is the most important single contribution to English historical demography since Wrigley and Schofield's Population History of England. It represents the culmination of work carried out at the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure over the past quarter-century. This work demonstrates the value of the technique of family reconstitution as a means of obtaining accurate and detailed information about fertility, morality, and nuptiality in the past. Indeed, more is now known about many aspects of English demography in the parish register period than about the post-1837 period when the Registrar-General collected and published information. Using data from 26 parishes, the authors show clearly that their results are representative not only of the demographic situation of the parishes from which the data were drawn, but also of the country as a whole. Some very surprising features of the behaviour of past populations are brought to light for the first time.

This book uses data from 26 Anglican to provide information about fertility, morality and nuptiality in the past.
Reviews
"...the volume...addresses the most perplexing and persistent problems regarding demographic history that is based on parish registers: how reliable or representative are the samples used and how tentative--or certain--are the conclusions derived from them?...this excellent study should prove almost as illuminating as the classic study it complements." Choice
"....intensely detailed....This work provides subtle additions to our knowledge of the English population's purely demographic behaviour..." David Levine, Journal of Interdisciplinary History
"Guaranteed to be an essential reference for European social historians, it eschews the excitement of speculation to convey more authority." Ernest Benz, Journal of Social History
"...an essential reference for all who work in the subjects or the period they have so masterfully surveyed." Theodore K. Rabb, American Historical Review



Book Information
ISBN 9780521022385
Author E. A. Wrigley
Format Paperback
Page Count 684
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 1001g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 150mm * 46mm