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Mortality, migration and epidemiological change in English cities, 1600-1870
1Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, CB2 3EN, Cambridge, UK.
International Journal of Paleopathology
|June 19, 2021
Summary
Urban health in England did not dramatically worsen during industrialisation. Instead, mortality declined from 1750-1820, influenced by infant care and pathogen evolution, not just sanitation.
Area of Science:
- Historical epidemiology
- Demographic history
- Public health
Background:
- The prevailing argument suggests industrialisation led to a severe decline in urban health in England.
- Understanding historical urban health impacts is crucial for contemporary public health policy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that industrialisation caused a dramatic worsening of urban health in England.
- To analyze long-term trends in urban mortality and their determinants.
Main Methods:
- Utilized family reconstitutions from pre-1837 records (baptism, marriage, burial).
- Analyzed civil registration of deaths and census data from 1837-1900.
- Employed age-specific mortality rates as key indicators of population health.
Main Results:
- Observed a decline in urban mortality between c.1750-1820, particularly for infants and migrants.
- Infant and young child mortality rates (ages 1-4) initially fell but rose sharply by the mid-nineteenth century.
- Mortality patterns among young adult migrants shifted from acute to chronic infectious diseases.
Conclusions:
- Changes in breastfeeding practices and pathogen virulence better explain mortality patterns than sanitation or poverty.
- Infant care, pathogen evolution, and migration significantly influenced mortality trends during industrialisation.
- Historical studies of industrialisation's health impacts should prioritize these factors.
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