Cantabria - History Lab

Inbred Marriages in Potes and Liébana (1600-1850)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:03 +0000

Emigration in Liébana had a direct effect not only on its demographic density, but also on the marriage patterns of the town. According to the sources, it can be concluded that the social relations of the people of Liébana were restricted almost exclusively to their own community, with more than two thirds of the inhabitants marrying people from their own parish, 87% if we extend this to marriages between individuals from the same valley and 95% if we include the whole region. In Potes, on the contrary, during the 17th century only half of the marriage registers show that both partners were born and resided there.
Over the years, kinship increased the ties of neighbourhood, to the point that in very small parishes they became almost as close as the closest blood relationship. Nevertheless, the figures for endogamous marriages began to fall with the beginning of the 18th century in both places (Liébana being higher at all times), stabilising between 25% and 35% from the middle of the 18th century until the middle of the 19th century.

The post Inbred Marriages in Potes and Liébana (1600-1850) first appeared on History Lab.

Population trends in Northern Spain (1600-1857)

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:29:13 +0000

The territory included in the conceptualisation of northern Spain is, for the author, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country and Navarre; some 63,500 km2 which in the mid-19th century was home to almost 22% of the population of peninsular Spain. The resource deals with the demographic evolution of this territory between 1600 and 1857. Divided into maritime and inland areas, the population in the maritime north (Pontevedra, La Coruña, Asturias, Cantabria, Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa) was larger in 1600 than the inland territories (Orense, Lugo, Álava and Navarre), with a territory/population size ratio giving a similar density: 20.8 inhabitants per square kilometre in the coastal provinces, and 20.2 inhabitants per square kilometre in the inland provinces, exceeding the Spanish average of 15. The two and a half centuries of demographic evolution meant that the maritime north gained up to 225% more inhabitants, while the interior gained less: 85%. As a result, the coastal density increased to 62.9 inhabitants/km2, 3 times more than in 1600; a much lower figure than the growth of Orense, Lugo, Álava and Navarre, which reached 37.4. In short, the development of the maritime provinces, tripling their population, elevated them to the regions with the highest densities in Spain, while the interior grew slightly below the national average.

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Growth of livestock farming in Cantabria, 1598-1752

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:46 +0000

Livestock farming in Cantabria went from a phase of depression in the 17th century to the great expansion of the following century. The author analyses the evolution of this sector through two areas, one Atlantic, the Asturian valleys of Santillana, which showed a demographic explosion greater than the Hermandad de Campoo de Suso, a transition area towards the plateau. The demographic and economic growth, together with a decrease in taxes, led to the expansion of livestock farming: cattle and cattle tripled in number, pigs and horses doubled in number. Moreover, the greater diffusion of agriculture did not mean the decline of livestock as in other areas of Spain; on the contrary, many species became protagonists of the agricultural mechanics: small livestock served as an instrument of the ploughing advance against the mountain, large livestock as a draught force for ploughing, and the manure from both as fertile ferment for the seeds. With regard to the growth of the sector, the spread of maize in the coastal regions of Cantabria was the main reason for the greater growth of this area compared to the inland areas, as the demand for draught animals increased exponentially.

The post Growth of livestock farming in Cantabria, 1598-1752 first appeared on History Lab.

Neighbourhood of 1683, original data and reconstruction

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:40 +0000

In 1683, by order of Charles II, the Vecindario was published, which counted the inhabitants of the Crown of Castile in order to establish a more up-to-date tax system that would allow for more efficient revenue for the Royal Treasury. Who were considered to be inhabitants? Family units were counted as neighbours, so the data does not reflect the number of inhabitants. In order to obtain the total population, the author applies an average coefficient based on the size of the family. The resource shows this demographic data in column “F”, giving a total population of 4,786,882. By region, the North Atlantic coast, Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria had 1,416,200 inhabitants, the largest population, followed by Andalusia (1,117,880) and Castile and Leon (1,087,202). At the provincial level, Seville, Granada and Toledo were the most inhabited areas with 316,800, 304,100 and 241,240 inhabitants respectively. Of all the regions and provinces, Galicia stands out with 950,000 inhabitants, a significant number in relation to the size and type of population. In contrast, the most depopulated territories were Zamora (39,120), Toro (47,576) and Córdoba (65,480). From 1683 to 1753, the years of the Ensenada Cadastre, the general trend continued; although the population increased in all areas, the imbalances were similar.

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Infant mortality in Spain (per thousand children born), 18th century

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:28:33 +0000

In general terms, infant mortality in Ancien Régime Spain obeyed high-pressure demographic dynamics. However, there was a regional variability that can be traced well into the contemporary period. These trends favoured the Spanish periphery to the detriment of the interior: Catalonia, Valencia, Aragon, Galicia, Cantabria, the Balearic Islands, the Basque Country and Navarre were found to have between 209 and 251 deceased children per 1,000 born in the first half of the 18th century, a range of 42, while by the second half of the century this range had decreased to 17. Inland Spain, on the other hand, infant mortality went from 303 to 320, an increase of 17 between the first and second half of the century. The data on the evolution of the Spanish territories also show a contrast between them; while the average for peripheral Spain is 203, the average for inland Spain is 320. What were the possible causes of regional variability? In addition to family trends and socio-economic structure, there were health (epidemics), climatic (bad harvests) and environmental aspects.

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The Enlightenment in Cantabria

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:27:59 +0000

This documentary delves into the economic and commercial features of 18th century Cantabria. In this context, the emerging prominence of the bourgeoisie, the importance of maritime connections, the opening up of trade with the breaking of the mercantile monopoly with America and the economic growth favoured by the road transport network via the Reinosa road, will be dynamic elements of a historical period in which a whole series of themes related to the process of modernisation in the region of Cantabria at the end of the Ancien Régime are raised and suggested to the viewer. The technological evolution of agriculture, mainly with the improvement of the flour industry, is taken as a guiding thread in the narration of the episode. However, the documentary also argues how the fiscal intentions of the State and the strategic location of the seaport of Santander in the European mercantilist networks would lead to the beginning of a process of industrialisation which would take centre stage well into the 19th century. The chapter also shows in great detail how the flour mills worked and the milling process, detailing the complex machinery used to separate and produce the grain.

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