Tadeusz Mazur
The Level of Births and Deaths in the
Lublin Province in 1867-1912
Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska. Sectio H, Oeconomia 18,
233-254
A N N A L E S
U N I V E R S I T A T I S M A R I A E C U R I E - S K Ł O D O W S K A
L U B L I N — P O L O N I A
VOL. X V III, 13 SECTIO H 1984
Z a k ła d H is to r ii G o s p o d a r c z e j i M y śli E k o n o m ic z n e j W y d z ia ł E k o n o m ic z n y U M C S
T a d e u s z M A Z U R
The L evel of Births and D eaths in the Lublin Province in 1867— 1912
U rodzenia i zgony w guberni lubelskiej w latach 1867— 1912 Уровень рож даем ости и смертности в Лю блинской губернии
в г 1867— 1912 гг.
A m ong th e changes th a t took place in th e C ongress K in gd om of P o la n d in th e second h a lf of th e X lX th cent, d em o g rap h ic changes w h ich s ta r te d w ith a c o n sta n t d ec rea se in d e a th lev el below 30%o p lay ed a sp e cial role. T h a t m e a n t a co m p lete b re ak d o w n of n a tu r a l d em o g ra p h ic sy ste m an d p assin g on to a n ew sta g e of d ev e lo p m e n t of p o p u la tio n — th e f irs t sta g e of d em o g ra p h ic m o d ern iz atio n . A h ig h b ir th - r a te (a t th e b o rd e r of n a tu r a l b irth -ra te ) w as m a in ta in e d w h ich w ith th e d ec lin in g r a te of d e a th s an d sm all p ro p o rtio n s of e m ig ra tio n gave an u n re c o rd e d e a rlie r ra te of in c re a se in th e n u m b e r of p o p u latio n , h ig h e r th a n th a t in th e te rr ito r ie s of th e P ru s s ia n a n d A u stria n secto rs of th e p a rtitio n e d P o la n d , an d a t th e sam e tim e , one of th e h ig h e s t in E u rop e. T h a t w as co n d itio n ed b y th e social-econom ic ch anges in th e C on gress K ingd om of P o la n d w h ic h s ta rte d w ith th e e n fra n c h is e m e n t re fo rm of 1864. In th e p ro v in ce s s itu a te d W est of V istu la a fa c to r w h ich s tim u la te d a h ig h ra te of p o p u la tio n in c re a se w as th e g ro w in g d e v e lo p m e n t of in d u s try , w h e re a s th e esse n tia l m e a n in g fo r th e w hole K ing do m h a d th e ch an g es in a g ric u ltu r e an d sp ec ia lly th e ch anges in a g ra ria n s tru c tu r e b ein g th e re s u lt of p a rc e llin g o u t of g re a t la n d p ro p e rty , sp re a d in g of n o t ly in g fa llo w th re e -fie ld sy ste m a n d crop ro ta tio n , as w e ll as m o re co n sid erab le in c re a se of c u ltiv a tio n a c rea g e an d th e p ro g ress of a g ric u ltu ra l tec h n iq u e . T he re s u lts w e re th a t global a g ric u ltu ra l p ro d u c tio n w as so h ig h th a t in sp ite of h ig h ra te of in c re a se in th e n u m b e r of p o p u la tio n th e lev el of c o n su m p tio n w as o v er th e m in im u m of existen ce. The p h a n to m s of fa m ine, w h ich sy s te m a tic a lly re c u rre d in e a rlie r p eriods ca u sin g g re a t losses in th e n u m b e r of p o p u la tio n ceased to th re a te n .
2 3 4 T. M azur
In th e p erio d b e tw e e n th e J a n u a r y u p ris in g a n d th e 1st W o rld W a r sp e c ia lly h ig h d y n am ics of d em o g ra p h ic d e v e lo p m e n t could be seen in th e in d u s tria liz e d P io trk ó w a n d W a rsaw p ro v in ce s w h ich w as d u e m a in ly to th e m ig ra tio n fro m th e ou tsid e. T he L u b lin p r o v i n c e 1, w ith q u ite a d iffe re n t ty p e of ^economy th a n in th e p re v io u s p ro v in ces, took th e th ird place in th e C ong ress K in g d o m of P o la n d in re s p e c t of th e ra te of in c re a se of th e p o p u la tio n . T he a g r ic u ltu r e p re v a ile d h ere, w h e re a s th e in d u s tr y did n o t p la y s ig n ific a n t p a rt.
A t th e en d of 1867 th e L u b lin p ro v in c e n u m b e re d 659,5 th o u s a n d of people. B y th e en d of 1912 th e n u m b e r of p o p u la tio n in c re a se d by 998,3 th o u s a n d , th a t is, b y 150,7°/o, re a c h in g 1.653,3 th o u sa n d .2 A t th e sam e tim e th e n u m b e r of p o p u la tio n of th e C o n g ress K in g d o m of P o la n d in c re a se d fro m 5.705,7 th o u s a n d to 13.055,2 th o u sa n d , th e re la tiv e in c re a se a m o u n te d to 128,8°/o.3 T h e a v e ra g e y e a rly ra te of in c re a se w as 1,9% in th e C o n g ress K in d o m of P o la n d an d 2 ,1% in th e L u b lin p ro vince. A cco rd in g to J. M. P o u r s in ’s s c a l e 4 th e in c re a se in th e n u m b e r of p o p u la tio n in th e L u b lin p ro v in c e in th e discussed p e rio d w as e x plosive. S u ch a d y n a m ic d e m o g ra p h ic d e v e lo p m e n t could be possible d u e to sig n ific a n t ch a n g es w ith in n a tu r a l m o v em en t. F u r t h e r on in th e p a p e r an a tte m p t w ill be m a d e to d e te rm in e n ew te n d e n c ie s w ith in th e sp h e re of b irth s , d e a th s a n d b ir th - r a te in th e L u b lin p ro v in ce in 1867— 1912 as w ell as th e ir causes.
BIR TH S
B irth s are th e m o st im p o rta n t e le m e n t in th e p o p u la tio n n a tu r a l m o v e m e n t b ecau se th e y re v e a l, abo ve all, th e d e m o g ra p h ic a c tiv ity of th e c o m m u n ity . T he n u m b e r of b irth s d e te rm in e s th e co u rse of th e process of p o p u la tio n re p ro d u c tio n . T he n u m b e r of b irth s a n d b ir th - r a te co e fficien ts in th e L u b lin p ro v in ce in 1867— 1912 w as p re s e n te d in Tab. 1.
1 This concerns the L ublin p rovin ce w ith in the borders from the change of a d m in istra tiv e d ivision of the C ongress K ingdom in 1866 to the sep aration of the Chełm p rovin ce in 1913. This also determ in ed the ch ronological fram es of the p a per (1867— 1912).
2 The data con cern in g the num ber of p opulation of th e L ublin p rovince com e from th e fo llo w in g sources: O tczet lu b lin sk ogo gubiernatora (for 1867— 1904), D ocu m en tation O ffice of th e L ublin G overnor G eneral, V oievod sh ip S ta te A rchives in L ublin, Obzor L ublinskoj guberni. P riłożen ije k w siep od d an iejszem u otczotu (for 1872— 1912). C alcu lation s ow n.
3 S to s u n k i ro lnic ze K r ó l e s t w a K o n g r e s o w e g o (A gricu ltu ral R ela tio n sh ip s of th e
C ongress K i n g d o m ), W arszaw a 1918, p. 23.
4 J. M. P o u r s i n: L udność ś w i a t a (The W o r ld Population), Warsaw 1976, p. 18,
The L evel of Births and D eaths in the L ublin P rovin ce in 1867— 1912 2 3 5
Tab. 1 Births in the Lublin province in 1867— 1912 U rodzenia w guberni lu belskiej w latach 1867—-1912
Year Births N um ber of boys per 1000 of n ew -b orn in fa n ts N um ber C oefficient in °/oo
1 2 3 4 1867 29.080 499,2 1868 27.500 41,4 501,7 1869 24.991 37,1 500,3 1870 27.855 40,2 .486,3 1871 27.028 38,4 506,0 1872 29.225 40,6 493,6 1873 29.184 39,6 496,9 1874 31.002 41,8 498,4 1875 32.972 43,6 503,4 1876 33.678 45,5 514,1 1877 31.651 40,2 492,0 1878 32.835 41,0 502,9 1879 34.503 42,1 484,1 1880 33.776 40,4 523,3 1881 34.520 40,5 500,9 1882 32.709 37,9 507,9 1883 34.841 39,7 496,5 1884 36.709 41,1 501,6 1885 38.864 42,1 504,1 1886 38.578 41,2 506,2 1887 40.847 42,2 509,3 1888 40.623 40,9 507,6 1889 41.895 40,7 510,6 1890 43.251 40,6 509,4 1891 42.805 39,3 502,4 1892 42.031 37,9 506,6 1893 42.687 37,9 (.) 1894 45.230 39,5 512,9 1895 43.533 37,3 515,3 1896 44.879 37,7 515,8 1897 45.282 37,2 512,0 1898 49.006 39,2 508,7 1899 50.524 39,4 513,2 1900 52.608 40,1 514,5 1901 55.263 41,3 517,3 1902 55.429 40,3 525,3 1903 53.443 38,1 525,8 1904 53.788 37,1 513,0 1905 50.952 35,2 523,2 1906 51.761 35,1 517,7 1907 52.574 35,1 (•)
2 3 6 T. M azur
Source: O tcziot lu b lin sk ogo gubiernatora (for the years 1867— 1904), The L ublin G overn or’s O ffice, V oievod - ship State R ecord O ffice in L ublin, Obzor lublinskoj guberni. P riłożen ije k w siep od d an iejszem u otcziotu (for the y ears 1872— 1912). C alculations own. Źródło: O tcziot lu b lin sk ogo gubiernatora (za lata 1867— 1904),
K ancelaria G ubernatora L u b elsk iego, W ojew ódzkie A rch iw u m P a ń stw o w e w L ublinie, Obzor lu b lin - skoj guberni. P riłożen ije k w siep od d an n iejszem u otcziotu (za lata 1872— 1912). O bliczenia w łasne.
T h e d a ta ,5 th e re sh o w th a t th e n u m b e r of b irth s , in sp ite of co n sid erab le flu c tu a tio n s , sh o w ed th e g ro w in g te n d e n c y u n til 1902, an d th e n th e fa llin g one. T he b ir th - r a te co efficien ts in th e d iscu ssed p erio d re m a in e d on a v e r y h ig h le v e l b o th in th e p ro v in c e an d in th e w h o le C ongress K in gdom . T h a t w a s ty p ic a l of th e m a jo rity of E u ro p e a n co u n trie s, sp e c ia lly th o se w h ic h w e re b a c k w a rd in th e ir econom ic d e v e lo p m e n t b e cause th e y w e re ju s t ste p p in g in to th e p erio d of d em o g ra p h ic re v o lu tio n . T he a n a ly sis of th e size of co e fficien ts fro m t h a t p erio d leads to th e co nclusion th a t th e b ir t h - r a t e in P o lish te rr ito r ie s in th e second h a lf of th e X lX th cen t, w as one of th e h ig h e s t in E u ro p e .6
5 In con n ection w ith m any reservation s concerning the com p leten ess of r e g i stration of the facts from the fie ld of n atural m ovem en t in 1867— 1912 a q u estion arises as to the v a lu e of in q u iries based on o fficia l sta tistic a l data. If the aim of in v estig a tio n s w as the p recise d eterm in ation of either ab solu te v a lu es or of c o e ffi cien ts, th en the resu lts w ould n ot be ex a ct. A certain p ositive asp ect m ay only be the fa c t th at in ev e r y case th e direction of d eviation is know n. B asing on th ese data one can, h ow ever, in v estig a te quite p recisely the changes tak in g place in tim e, w h ich is even a m ore im p ortan t task for a h istorian than th e p revious ones. S. Szulc stated th at the n on com p leten ess of the m aterial does not sig n ifica n tly a ffect ’’the gen eral im age of evolu tion w h ere w e have to do not w ith m inute m od ifica tions, but w ith e ss e n tia l ch an ges (S. S z u l c : D okła dność r e j e s t r a c j i u ro d z e ń i zgon ów . Zag a d n ien ia d e m o g r a fic z n e P o lsk i (Fulness of bir th s and d e a th s r e g i s tr a
tion. D em o g ra p h ic p r o b l e m s of Poland). „ S tatystyk a P o lsk i” Series C, 1936, -fasc.
41, p. 133. Such changes w ere occurring in 1864— 1912 in dem ographic develop m en t of the L u b lin province.
6 E. R o s s e t: P r o le t a r i a t ł ó d z k i w ś w i e t l e badań d e m o g r a f ic z n y c h (The Ł ó d ź
P ro le ta ria te in the L ig h t of D e m o g ra p h ic In vestigatio ns). W arszaw a 1930, p. . 46;
M. N i e t y k s z a : L u d n o ść W a r s z a w y na p r z e ło m i e X I X i X X w i e k u (The P o p u
la tio n of W a r s a w on th e Turn of the X l X t h C e n t u r y ). W arszaw a 1971, p. 109,
1 2 3 4 1908 52.125 34,1 (•) 1909 54.795 35,3 (•) 1910 51.912 32,8 (•) 1911 50.468 31,3 (•) 1912 48.147 29,4 (•)
The L evel of Births and D eaths in the L ublin P rovin ce in 1867— 1912 2 3 7
B irth co efficien ts in th e C ongress K in g d o m of P o la n d w e re on th e lev el of n a tu r a l b ir th - r a te w h ich, accord in g to d e m o g ra p h e rs is 40— 45%>.7 O n ly a t th e end of th e X lX th cent, a s lig h tly d ec rea sin g te n d e n c y in re s p e c t of th e size of th is co e fficien t w as o b serv ab le w h ich can be e x p la in e d w ith a g ra d u a l in tro d u c tio n of b irth co n tro l an d b re a k in g u p of n a tu r a l rig o u r in m id d le -class c o m m u n ity .8 In th e p erio d of n a tu r a l f e r tility of a fa m ily th e n u m b e r of ch ild re n d ep e n d ed on re p ro d u c tiv e a b ility of m a rrie d coup le a n d d u ra tio n of th e ir m a rria g e . On th e tu r n of th e X lX th c e n tu r y m eth o d s of av o id in g th e u n w a n te d p ro g e n y s ta rte d to sp re ad . T hose w e re, above all, th e m eth o d s w h ich did n o t re q u ire th e u se of c o n tra cep tiv es: coitus in te rru p tu s an d r h y th m m eth o d (a b sta in in g fro m se x u a l in te rc o u rse s d u rin g w o m a n ’s fe rtile period). A t th a t tim e c o n tra c e p tiv e sh e a th s s ta r te d to ap p e a r, ab o rtio n w as sp o ra d ic a lly p e r fo rm e d (c e rta in ly ille g a lly ).9
T h e h ig h e st b irth co e fficien t in th e L u b lin p ro v in ce in th e e x a m in e d p erio d w as re a c h e d in 1875 — it am o u n te d to 43,6%0, an d th e lo w est one; — 29,4%o in 1912 (th e o nly one d ecrease below 30%o in th e w hole e x a m in e d period). A cco rd in g to th e scale of b ir th - r a te co efficien ts e la b o ra te d b y an Ita lia n sta tis tic ia n F. V e r g i li 10 b ir th - r a te in th e p ro v in c e w as h ig h — w ith 21 y e a rs, m ed iu m — w ith 24 y e a rs an d low — w ith o ne y e a r. B irth co efficients in th e L u b lin p ro v in ce w e re g e n e ra lly lo w e r th a n in th e w hole C ongress K ing do m of P o la n d . T he L u b lin p ro v in ce b elo n g ed to econom ically an d c u ltu ra lly b a c k w a rd re g io n s of th e C ongress K ingdom . It seem s, h o w ev er, th a t in fa c t th e lo w e r level of c a lc u la te d coefficien ts w as due to d efectiv en e ss of r e g is tra tio n causing th e re d u c tio n of ‘th e re a l n u m b e r of b irth s an d o v e re stim a tio n of the, n u m b e r of p o p u la tio n in th e official statistics. M ost lik e ly n o t e a rlie r th a n in 1903 b ir th - r a te co efficien ts did n o t d ro p in fa ct below 40u/oo, an d th u s th e ir lev el u n til th a t tim e can be e s tim a te d as high . O n ly in th e la st y e a rs b efo re th e 1st W o rld W ar th e y d ro p p e d to a m e d iu m b ir th - r a te level.
G ra p h ic a lly b ir th - r a te lev el in th e L u b lin p ro v in ce in 1868— 1912 is p re s e n te d in th e D ia g ra m 1. In o rd e r to d istin g u ish th e d e v e lo p m e n t te n d e n c y th e em p iric a l seq u e n ce w as lev elled by th e m ech a n ical m eth o d ,
7 M. L a t u c h : D em ografia . M a te ria ły do w y k ł a d u (D emography. M ateria ls for a Lecture). P a r t I, W a r sz a w a 1967, p. 124.
8 E. R o s s e t: Proces starzen ia się ludności (The Pro cess of A gein g of P o p u lation), W a r sz a w a 1959, pp. 491—496.
9 S. B o r o w s k i : F u n kcje p r o k r e a c y jn e r o d z in y pols k iej (Pro cr eation Functions of th e Polish F am ily ) [in:l D em ogra fia sp ołeczn a (Social Demogra phy). W a r sz a w a 1974, p. 86.
10 T h is s c a le , o b s o le te n o w a d a y s , is f u lly u s e fu l fo r th e in v e s tig a te d p erio d , R o s s e: Pro ces starzenia się..., p. 467.
2 3 8 M azur
Fig. 1. D ev elo p m en ta l ten d en cy of b irth and death co efficien ts in the L ublin pro v in ce in 1868— 1912 (the seq u en ce lev elled by 5-year m ovab le m ean)
T en d en cja rozw ojow a w sp ó łczy n n ik ó w urodzeń i zgon ów w guberni lu b elsk iej w latach 1868— 1912 (szereg w y g ła d zo n y 5-letn ią średnią ruchom ą)
by m e a n s of 5 -y e a r m o v a b le m ean . T his seem s to be m o st a p p ro p ria te m e th o d becau se in c id e n ta l flu c tu a tio n s , u n in te re s tin g fo r us w e re re m o ved, w h e re a s c e rta in p e rio d ic ity v isib le a lre a d y in th e em p irica l seq u e n c e w a s e n h a n c e d e v e n m ore.
In th e le v e lle d seq u e n ce th re e p erio d s can be d istin g u ish e d ; th e f ir s t <.f th e m fa lls on 1871— 1882, th e second on 1882— 1895, an d th e th ird on 1895— 1910. A c h a ra c te ris tic f e a tu r e of each of th e m is th a t th e co effi c ie n ts g re w to a c e rta in m a x im u m a n d th e n th e y b eg an to fa ll g ra d u a lly .
In th e second a n d th ird p erio d s th e tim e of d e c re a sin g of th e co e fficien ts v alu e w as th e fo llow ing:
C o efficien t v a lu e 1871 39,5°/o 1877 42,l%o 1882 39,9% 1886 41,6°/oo 1895 37,9% 1900 40,1%« 1910 32,6%
The L ev el of Births and D eaths in the L ublin P rovince in 1867— 1912 2 3 9
T his p ro v es th a t th e b ir th - r a te in th e L u b lin p ro v in ce in th e discu ssed p erio d sh ow ed a te n d e n c y to fall.
T he a n a ly sis of fa c tu a l b irth co efficien ts in th e L u b lin p ro v in ce in the ex a m in e d p erio d allow s to d ra w th e conclusion th a t th e e sse n tia l change.' of th e ir lev el can be o b serv ab le since 1905. T he fa c t th a t in 1905— 1907 ev en th e lo w est co efficien t fro m th e p re v io u s p e rio d w as n o t re p e a te d pro v es th e decided b ir th - r a te decrease. T he chang e in b irth fre q u e n c y w h ic h can be o b serv ed on th e tu r n of th e X lX th cent., th e b re a k d o w n of n a tu r a l fe c u n d ity w e re th e re s u lts of se v e ra l fa cto rs. C h anges in b ir th - r a te a re caused b y changes in fe c u n d ity , w h ich d ep e n d s b o th on re p ro d u c tiv e ca p acity an d p ro d u c tio n a ttitu d e s of p o p u la tio n .11 R e p ro d u c tio n cap acities do n o t underg o , in p rin cip le, a n y s ig n ific a n t changes, a n d in co n n ex io n w ith it, p ro c re a tiv e a ttitu d e s of p o p u la tio n d e te rm in e th e in cre ase o r d ec rea se of fe c u n d ity , an d th e re b y — of b ir th - - r a t e .12 To be m o re p recise, w e a re co n cern ed w ith p ro c re a tiv e a ttitu d e s of th e fa m ily , w h ich in p rin c ip le is th e on ly p ro c re a tiv e g ro u p g u a ra n te e in g biological c o n tin u ity of th e c o m m u n ity .13 T he fa m ily is th e basic social u n it w h ich decides ab o u t th e b irth of a child 14.
T he p ro c re a tiv e a ttitu d e s of th e fa m ily a re d e te rm in e d by fa c to rs of econom ic, social, p o litica l an d m o ra l n a tu re . T h e in flu en c e of relig io n , tra d itio n , cu sto m s as w e ll as biological fa cto rs, an d sp ec ia lly an i n s tin c tiv e d r if t to w a rd s p re s e rv a tio n of species ca n n o t be n e g le c te d h e r e .15 It is d iffic u lt to d e te rm in e e x p lic itly th e e ffec t of th ese fa c to rs w h ich can be e ith e r s tim u la tiv e o r in h ib ito ry , d ep e n d in g on local conditions.
A s long as h ig h d e a th - r a te w as re ta in e d , h u m a n fa c u n d ity w as d e te r m in e d only b y biological fa cto rs. O n ly th e d eclin e of d e a th - ra te an d p o ssib ility of re ta in in g p ro g e n y a t sm a lle r n u m b e r of liv e b irth s a ffe c te d th e w e a k e n in g of, stro n g till now , p ro n a ta listic a ttitu d e s. F e c u n d ity w as in flu e n c e d b y a psy chological fa cto r, i.e. conscious decision a b o u t th e
11 M. Okólski: R o z w ó j e k o n o m i c z n y a za gadnienia rozrodczości (Economic d e
v e l o p m e n t and the p r o b l e m of reproductiveness). „Studia D em ograficzn e” 1971,
no. 26: p. 78.
12 M. O k ó l s k i : C z y n n ik d e m o g r a fic z n y w r o z w o j u g o sp o d a r c z y m (A d e m o
g ra phic factor in the ec onom ic d evelo p m en t). „E konom ista” 1970, no. 3, p. 558.
13 In the L ublin p rovince 2,7 of illeg itim a te children fell to 100 births in 1867— 1869, 4 in 1876— 1880, 3 in 1887— 1891. H. W i e r c i e ń s k.i: O pis s t a t y s t y c z n y g u
berni lu b elsk iej (A S ta tis tic D escription of the Lublin Province). W arszaw a 1901,
p. 193. *
14 O. Ł a r n i n: D em ografia i socjologia (D em o g r a p h y and sociology). „Studia
D e m o g r a f ic z n e ” 1972, no. 30: p. 22.
15 S. Z y r o m s k i : Rozrodczość a ś r o d o w isk o (R ep ro d u ctiven ess and E n v ir o n
ment). W arszaw a 1972, p. 72; B. S z m u l e w i c z : O dwóch p se u dosocjalistyczn ych
teoria ch ludności (On t w o pseudos ociological theories of the population). „Studia
2 4 0 T. M azur
c h ild ’s b irth . T h e d ec rea se in th e fre q u e n c y of d e a th s of n e w -b o rn b a b ies an d c h ild re n could s lig h tly a ffe c t th e d e c rea se of th e b ir th - r a te in th e ex a m in e d te r r ito r y o n ly a t th e en d of th e an a ly z e d p eriod . In th e seco n d h a lf of th e X lX th cen t, in th e p ro v in ce , ju s t as in th e w h ole C on g ress K in g d o m of P o la n d th e d e a th - r a te in th e y o u n g e st age g ro up s, in s p ite of c e rta in fa ll, w as s till v e ry high. Its s lig h t lo w e rin g could n o t e s se n tia lly a ffe c t th e c h a n g e of p ro c re a tiv e a ttitu d e s .16
A q u e stio n w id e ly d iscu ssed in d e m o g ra p h y is th e p ro b le m of in flu e n c e of th e lev el a n d d y n am ics of econom ic d e v e lo p m e n t on th e co u rse of pro cess of p o p u la tio n re p ro d u c tio n ; ac co rd in g to one g ro u p of re s e a rc h sc h o la rs th e e ffe c t of econom ic d e v e lo p m e n t on fe c u n d ity is s tim u la tiv e , ac co rd in g to o th e rs — it is in h ib ito ry . T he o pinion th a t b ir th - r a te is closely re le v a n t to th e in c re a se of liv in g s ta n d a r d of th e c o m m u n ity w as w id e ly s p re a d b y R. M a lth u s .17 He assu m ed th a t n a tu r a l fe c u n d ity of p eo p le is m u c h b ig g e r th a n m a te r ia l p o ssib ilities to su rv iv e. In th is c o n n e x io n th e n u m b e r of p o p u la tio n m u s t be c o n tro lle d by ’’n a tu r a l la w ” (a c tin g th ro u g h h u n g e r, epid em ics a n d w a rs) w h ic h b rin g s it to th e s ta te w h ic h is p ossib le to feed. F o r „th is re a so n one sh o u ld n o t te n d to econom ic im p ro v e m e n t of th e w hole c o m m u n ity b ecau se it w ill reisult in th e in c re a se in b ir th n u m b e r. T h u s th e re w ill h a v e to occu r som e d iffic u ltie s co n n e cted w ith re sp e c tiv e in c re a se of food s tu ffs an d th e n ’’th e la w of n a tu r e ” w ill ac t even stro n g e r. M a lth u s fo rm u la te d his th e o ry in tim e s w h e n th e d e v e lo p m e n t of p o p u la tio n w as in d e e d re g u la te d b y n a tu re . T he la te r r e a lity p ro v e d , h o w e v e r, th a t th e r e g u la rity is ju s t th e o p p o site to th e o ne M a lth u s w as sp e a k in g of. If th e s ta n d a r d of liv in g is a t th e b o rd e r of th e m in im u m of e x iste n c e no s tim u li a ffe c tin g th e lim itin g of p ro g e n y act. T h e g ro w th of th e s ta n d a r d of liv in g causes t h a t th e p o ssib ilitie s of p ro v id in g fo r th e n e e d s of a h ig h e r ra n k w h ic h th e n o cc u r s t a r t to in h ib it re p ro d u c tiv e n e ss (so-called B e r- tillo n ’s law ).18
T h e econom ic fa c to r d id n o t e x e r t a n y g r e a te r in flu e n c e on th e lo w e rin g of th e le v e l of b ir t h - r a t e in th e L u b lin p ro v in c e in th e seco nd h a lf of th e X lX th cent, a n d a t th e b e g in n in g of th e X X th cen t., becau se th e lev el of liv in g of tlie p re v a ilin g p a r t of p o p u la tio n w a s v e ry little th e re . T he in v e stig a tio n s b y W. S t y ś 19 a n d S. B o ro w s k i20 p ro v e d th a t
16 Z y r o m s k i : op. cit., p. 68.
17 B. S z m u l e w i c z : K r y t y k a b u r ż u a z y j n y c h te o r ii lu d n o ś c io w y c h (The C ri-
ticicm of Bourg eo is T h eories of Popula tio n). W arszaw a 1960, pp. 140— 163.
18 B. G e r e m e k , K. P i e s o w i c z : L u dzie, t o w a r y , p ie n ią d ze (People, C o m
m o d itie s, Money). W arszaw a 1968, p. 357.
18 W. S t y ś : W s p ó łz a l e ż n o ś ć r o z w o j u r o d z in y ch ło p s k ie j i j e j g o s p o d a r s tw a
(C orr ela tion b e t w e e n P ea sa n t F a m i ly and Its Farm). W roclaw 1959, pp. 34—35.
The L ev el of Births and D eaths in the L ublin P rovin ce in 1867— 1912 241
in th e P o lish te rr ito r ie s a t th a t tim e th e rise of th e n u m b e r of c h ild re n in a fa m ily co rresp o n d ed to th e g ro w th of afflu en ce. T his w as sp ec ia lly visib le in th e villages.
T he econom ic-social ch an ges caused by e n fra n c h is e m e n t fa v o u re d th e p re s e rv a tio n of h ig h re p ro d u c tiv e n e s s am ong v illag e p o p u latio n . T h e sp eci fic ity of p e a s a n t fa m ily of th e discu ssed p e rio d w as th a t all th e fo rm s of econom ic a c tiv ity w e re ta k in g place w ith in its fram es. It w as b o th th e p ro d u c e r an d th e m ain co n su m e r of goods w h ic h it pro d u ced . P e a s a n ts ’ econ om y w as of se lf-a lim e n ta tio n n a tu re , h en c e it w as n e c e s s a ry to p e r fo rm all th e se k in d s of p ro d u c tio n w h ich w e re in d isp en sab le fo r fe ed in g th e fam ily . It re q u ire d h ig h e x p e n d itu re of liv e w o rk . In v illa g e fa m i lies th e d ivision of ac tiv itie s w as s tric tly o b lig ato ry re s p e c tiv e ly to age a n d sex a n d th e re fo re , a fu ll fa m ily , con sistin g of g ra n d p a re n ts , p a re n ts , a n d a g re a t n u m b e r of c h ild re n w as n e c essary . D eficien cy of la b o u re rs w as m u c h m o re th a n th e ir excess.21
O ne of th e fa c to rs a ffe c tin g th e chang e o r p re s e rv a tio n of th e fo rm e r p ro c re a tiv e a ttitu d e s , w h ic h is stro n g ly s tre s se d by m a n y d e m o g ra p h e rs, is th e tra d itio n , i.e. h a n d lin g dow n fro m g e n e ra tio n to g e n e ra tio n of c e r ta in c u ltu ra l co n ten t: opinions, custo m s an d n o rm s of b eh a v io u r. 22 T h a t fa c to r in th e p erio d discussed e x e rte d a g re a t in flu e n c e on re ta in in g h ig h fe c u n d ity , esp e cially in villages. In th e tra d itio n a l r u r a l c u ltu re b o th th e c o n tra c tin g of m a rria g e an d h a v in g p ro g e n y w e re tre a te d as o b lig a tio n . S p in ste rh o o d elicited co n tem p t, an d o ld -b ac h elo rh o o d — ev e n con d e m n a tio n . N ot b efo re m a rria g e c o n tra c t a n d h a v in g p ro g e n y a g ro w n -u p m a n re c e iv e d th e s ta tu s of fu ll rig h ts ’ m e m b e r of r u r a l c o m m u n ity .23
H igh re p ro d u c tiv e n e ss w as p ro p a g a te d b y th e C h u rc h w h ich , in
21 B. G a ł ę s k i : Społe czn a organizacja ro l n ic t w a i z m i a n y społeczn e w s i (Social organization of agriculture an d social changes in th e vilage). „Rocznik i
S ocjologii W si” 1969, Vol. IX: p. 34; D. M a r k o w s k a : C z y n n ik i p r z e m ia n w s t r u k tu r z e i fu n k cja ch ro d z in y w i e j s k i e j (Changing Factors in th e S tr u c tu r e and Functions of the Villa ge F am ily) [in:] P o li ty k a lu dnoś ciowa. W spółc zesne p r o b l e m y (Popula tio n Policy. C o n te m p o r a r y Pro blem s). W arszaw a 1973, p. 312; D. M a r
k o w s k a : Z p r o b l e m a t y k i z m ia n s t r u k t u r y r o d z in y (rodzina w ie l o p o k o le n i o w a a lu dzie s t a r z y ) In th e W a y of th e P ro b le m s of Changes in th e F a m ily S tr u c tu r e (M a n y -g e n e ra tio n s F a m i ly an d the O ld People) [in:] Z m i a n y k u l t u r y chło pskie j. P r o b l e m a t y k a i m e t o d y prac etn ografic zn ych (Changes in P e a sa n t Culture. The P r o b le m s and M ethods of Ethnogra phic Proceedings). W rocław 1973, p. 58.
22 E. R o s s e t: P o lsk a w roku 1985. W i z ja de m o g r a fic z n a (P oland of 1985. A D em ograph ic Vision). W arszaw a 1963, p. 13; W. B i 11 i g: O p r a w a c h r o z w o j u ludności (On the L a w s of P opula tio n D evelopm en t). W arszawa 1963, p. 108.
23 D. M a r k o w s k a : R odzin a w społeczności w ie j s k ie j . Ciągłość i zm ia n a (A F a m ily in the Villa ge C o m m u n ity . C o n tin u ity and Change). W arszaw a 1976, p. 71.
2 4 2 T. Mazur
acco rd a n ce w ith S t. A u g u s tin e ’s d o ctrin e , w as of th e o p inion th a t e v e ry se x u a l in te rc o u rs e could b e re g a rd e d as ’’g oo d ” o n ly in case its aim w as p ro c re a tio n . E v e ry se x u a l in te rc o u rs e w h e re th e p o ssib ility of co n cep tio n w as ex c lu d e d in a d v a n ce w as im m o ra l a n d bad . T h e re b y th e C h u rc h stood o u t a g a in s t all th e m e th o d s of b ir th co n tro l, ev e n a g a in s t h a v in g se x u a l in te rc o u rs e s d u rin g w o m a n ’s s te rile period s; th e C h u rc h also could c o n tro l peo p le th ro u g h co nfession an d a ffe c te d th e s ta b ility of m a rria g e w h ic h p o sitiv e ly a ffe c te d re p ro d u c tiv e n e ss. O n th e t u r n of th e X IX cent, d iv o rce s w e re ra r e , th e y o cc u rre d o n ly in to w n s.24
T h e se p a ra tio n of s e x u a l fu n c tio n of a fa m ily fro m its p ro c re a tiv e fu n c tio n is s tr ic tly co n n e cted w ith th e p ro b le m of b ir th co n tro l. C e rta in ly , th e p rin c ip a l fu n c tio n of a fa m ily w as a n d is p ro c re a tio n . D u rin g n a tu r a l fe c u n d ity p e rio d th e s e x u a l fu n c tio n w as e n tire ly s u b m itte d to p ro c re a tio n w h ic h w a s e x p re ss e d in th e C h u rc h d o c trin e . I t w as o n ly d u e to th e d e v e lo p m e n t of m ed ica l k n o w le d g e an d s p re a d in g of th e m e th o d s of c o n tra c e p tio n th a t s y s te m a tic sa tisfa c tio n of s e x u a l im p u lse w ith o u t co n
seq u e n ces b e in g p re g n a n c y a n d d e liv e ry b ecam e p ossib le.25 T h e
d e v e lo p m e n t of e d u c a tio n a n d h e ig h te n in g of e d u c a tio n a l le v e l fa v o u re d this. T h e ab o v e -d isc u sse d fa c to rs m ig h t h a v e a n in h ib ito ry e ffec t on b ir th - r a te in th e u p p e r a n d m id d le classes of th e co m m u n ity . O n ly am ong tho se classes th e te n d e n c y to conscious b irth -c o n tro l b eg an to s p re a d a t t h a t tim e .26
A t th e b e g in n in g of th e X X th cen t, b ir th - r a te in th e L u b lin p ro v in c e w as n e g a tiv e ly a ffe c te d b y in c re a s in g e m ig ra tio n ; th e m a jo rity of m i g ra tin g p erso n s w e re y o u n g p eople, b ein g in th e ir re p ro d u c tiv e perio d. S im ila rly n e g a tiv e in flu e n c e could h a v e e x e rte d th e u n fa v o u ra b le , also fro m d e m o g ra p h ic p o in t of view , p o litica l s itu a tio n of th e tim e (R u ssian - -J a p a n w ar, re v o lu tio n of 1905— 1907). T h e r e s u lt of th e s e fa c to rs w as a d ec id e d fa ll of b ir th f r e q u e n c y a t th e b eg in n in g of th e X X th cen t. I t c a n n o t be th u s s ta te d t h a t in th e p e rio d d iscussed th e m o d e rn iz a tio n of b irth s w a s in itia te d .
24 J. S t r o j n o w s k i : P r o b l e m regulacji u r o d z e ń z p u n k t u w id z e n i a m o r a l
ności la ick iej i c h r z e ś c ij a ń s k ie j (The P r c b l e m of Birth C ontrol f r o m th e P oin t of V i e w of L a y a n d C hris tian M o r a lity) [in:] P o l i t y k a ludnościowa..., pp. 361— 363;
J. P i o t r o w s k i : P r z e o b r a ż e n ia w f u n k c j a c h r o d z in y a r e p r o d u k c ja lu dności (T ra n s fo rm a tio n s in th e F a m i ly Functions and R e p ro d u c tio n of Popula tio n, (in:) P o l i t y k a lu dnoś ciowa..., p. 282; Z. J a b ł o n o w s k a : R o d zin a w X I X i na p o c z ą t k u X X w i e k u (F am ily in th e X l X t h and at th e Begin ning of the X X t h C e n tu r y) [in:j P r z e m i a n y r o d z in y p o ls k ie j (T ra n s fo rm a tio n s of th e Polish Family).
W arszaw a 1975, p. 58.
' 25 B o r o w s k i : op. cit., p. 103. 26 J a b ł o n o w s k a : op. cit., p. 59.
The L ev el of B irths and D eaths in the L ublin P rovin ce in 1867—-i 912 243
DEATHS
C h an g es in d e a th - ra te lev el w e re th e esse n tia l c h a ra c te ris tic of. d e m o g ra p h ic processes ta k in g place in th e P o lish te rr ito r ie s of th e second h a lf of th e X lX th cen t. A lre a d y on th e t u r n of th e 60’s in th e t e r r i to rie s u n d e r G e rm a n a d m in is tra tio n an d in th e C ongress K in g d o m of P o la n d an d , s lig h tly la te r in th e A u s tria n p a rtitio n d e a th fre q u e n c y d ro p p e d below 30%o. In th e su b se q u e n t y e a rs th e d ro p w as p ro c eed in g u n til it re a c h e d ca. 20%o.27 In a sm u c h as in th e b eg in n in g th e d e a th - r a te w as c h a ra c te riz e d b y co n sid erab le flu c tu a tio n s in th e p a r tic u la r y e a rs, it w as re la tiv e ly sta b iliz e d a f te r 1880. T h e re w as also a p e rs is te n t d ro p of re a th fre q u e n c y — m o st e a rlie r, since 1886 in th e te rr ito r ie s u n d e r G e rm a n a d m in is tra tio n .28 T he d ro p of d e a th - ra te to th e lev el w h ic h w as n o t o b serv ed e a rlie r m e a n t th e b re ak d o w n of n a tu ra l d em o g ra p h ic sy s tem in th e P o lish te rr ito r ie s a n d e n te rin g th e f irs t stag e of d em o g ra p h ic m o d e rn iz a tio n (th e stag e of m o d e rn iz a tio n of d e a th -ra te ).29
T he s im ila r ch an g es in resp e cto f d e a th -ra te in th e second h a lf of th e X lX th cent, can also be o b serv ed in th e L u b lin p ro vince. T his can be p ro v e d b y th e d a ta fro m th e T ab. 2, in w h ic h th e n u m b e rs d en o tin g d e a th s an d co efficien ts .of th a t e le m e n t of n a tu r a l m o v e m e n t h a v e b een co m p ared. I t re s u lts fro m tho se d a ta th a t th e ab so lu te n u m b e r of d e a th s, in s p ite of c e rta in flu c tu a tio n s, show ed a risin g te n d e n c y u p to 1904. S ix tim e s, in 1873, 1881, 1889, 1892, 1902 an d 1904 a m o re co n sid erab le in c re a se in d e a th n u m b e r can be observed. T he in c re a se d d e a th - ra te in th e se y e a rs w as, above all, cau sed by a co n sid erab le in c re a se of e p id e m ic diseases (ch o lera an d b lack sm allpox).
W ith a v e ry ra p id d e v e lo p m e n t of p o p u latio n w h ich w as c h a ra c te ris tic of th a t p erio d in th e L u b lin pro v in ce, th e r a te of in c re a sin g of d e a th n u m b e r w a s n o t too big. In a con seq u en ce th is led to a d ec rea se of d e a th co e fficien t w h ic h w as p a r tic u la rly o b serv ab le in th e seco nd h a lf of th e 90’s of th e X lX th cent, an d in 1900— 1912. In th e p erio d e x a m in e d
27 B o r o w s k i : op. cit., p. 97; T. Ł a d o g ó r s k i : P e r io d y z a c ja r o z w o j u d e
m ogr aficz n ego ludnoś ci pols kic h z i e m zachodnich i półn ocnych w latach 1816— 1914, a r t y k u ł p o le m ic z n y (D iv ision in to stages of dem ographic d e v e l o p m e n t of p o p u la tion in the Polish W e s te r n an d N o rth er n territories in 1816— 1914, polem ic article).
„Przeszłość D em ograficzna P o lsk i” 1972, Vol. V: pp./ 115—-116. 28 Ł a d o g ó r s k i : op. cit., p. 116.
29 The change in d eath -rate lev el w as necessary for in itiatin g the second sta ge of dem ographic m odernization, i.e. the decline of reproductiveness. H. H a n s - l u w k a : U m ie raln ość a c y k l życia ro d z in y (D eath -rate and th e cycle of fa m i l y
life). „Studia D em ograficzn e” 1976, no 44, p. 3.
2 4 4 T. M azur
Tab. 2. D eaths in the L u b lin p rovin ce in' 1867— 1912 Z gony w gu berni lu b elsk iej w latach 1867— 1912
Y ear N um ber D eaths C o efficien t _ in %o N um ber of deaths am ong m en - per 1000 of deaths 1 2 3 4 1867 18.902 (•) 495,1 1868 18.380 27,7 494,8 1869 18.378 27,3 502,9 1870 18.156 26,5 492,5 1871 16.417 23,6 494,8* 1872 20.451 28,4 489,9 1873 24.821 33,0 488,7 1874 21.232 28,7 502,1 1875 21.514 28,4 492,6 1876 20.386 26,3 499,3 1877 21.447 27,3 512,7 1878 21.590 26,7 489,7 1879 20.873 25,5 475,6 1880 23.895 28,6 489,5 1881 25.582 30,1 511,7 1882 23.374 27,1 502,1 1883 21.868 25,0 495,1 1884 21.909 24,5 484,0 1885 23.050 25,2 485,9 1886 22.859 24,4 484,7 1887 24.406 25,3 467,2 1888 25.914 26,1 494,2 1889 27.431 26,6 503,6 1890 26.770 25,1 492,5 1891 25.603 23,5 496,1 1892 29.773 26,9 503,4 1893 26.046 25,6 (•) 1894 27.760 24,3 502,0 1895 25.452 21,9 499,1 1896 25.148 21,1 506,0 1897 25.714 21,1 501,9 1898 25.757 20,6 500,0 1899 28.550 22,3 500,8 1900 29.302 22,4 501,7 1901 30.564 22,8 500,0 1902 29.108 21,2 501,7 1903 31.928 22,7 507,8 1904 33.092 23,2 513.6 1905 29.867 22,0 503,6
The L ev el of Births and D eaths in the L ublin P rovin ce in 1867— 1912 2 4 5 1 2 3 4 1906 31.891 20,3 511,7 1907 30.879 20,6 (•) 1908 31.322 20,5 (•) 1909 30.517 19,7 (•) 1910 30.597 19,3 (.) 1911 28.282 17,6 (•) 1912 25.619 15,6 (•)
Source: O tcziot lublinskogo gubiernatora (for the years 1867—1904), The L ublin G overnor’s O ffice, V oievod - ship State R ecord O ffice in Lublin, Obzor lu b lin - skoj gubierni. P riłożenije k w siepoddanniejszem u otcziotu (for the years 1872— 1912). C alculations own. Źródło: Otcziot lubinskogo gubiernatora (za lata 1867— 1904), K ancelaria Gubernatora L ubelskiego, W ojew ódzkie A rchiw um P a ń stw o w e w L ublinie, Obzor lublinskoj guberni. P riłożen ije k w siep od d an n iejszem u otczio tu (za lata 1872— 1912). O bliczenia w łasne.
tw ice, i.e. in 1873 an d 1881, th o se coefficien ts re a c h e d v alu es ex ceed in g 30%o, w h e re a s fo u r tim e s (1909— 1912) th e y w e re below 20%o.30
T he D ia g ra m 1 is a g ra p h ic p re se n ta tio n of d e a th - ra te le v e l in th e L u b lin p ro v in c e in 1868— 1912. T h e em p irica l seq u e n ce w as lev elled , ju s t as in case of b ir th coefficients, b y m ech a n ical m e th o d by m e a n s of a 5 '-y ear-m o v ab le m ean . In th e lev elled seq u en ce fo u r p erio d s can be d istin g u ish e d : 1870— 1877, 1877— 1885, 1885— 1897, 1897— 1910'. In each of th e se p erio d s th e d e a th coefficien ts v alu es g ro w to a c e rta in m a x im u m , a n d th e n fa ll g ra d u a lly . T h e lo w est an d th e h ig h e st co efficien ts in th e le v e lle d seq u en ce can be p re se n te d as follow s:
Y ear C oefficien t v a lu e 1870 26,7%o 1874 29,0%o 1877 26,8% 1880 27,6%o 1885 24,9%o
30 This concerns the calcu lated coefficien ts. In fact, just as in case of births, the deaths co efficien ts w ere u n doubtedly higher. The d ifferen ce resulted from in correct registration of facts in the range of natural m ovem en t and overestim ated num ber of population. Probably that difference w as slig h tly low er than in case of births (the registration of deaths w as m ore com plete than that of births). A ccor ding to M . Latuch, w ith birth coefficien ts over 30%o, death coefficien ts should not be low er than 20%o. W ith rapidly grow in g num ber of population this w ou ld cor respond to the average furth«r ljfç of a n ew -b orn in fan t below 55 years. L a t u c h :
2 4 6 T. M azur 1890 1897 1902 1912 25,6%o 21,4%o 22,5%o 18,5%o
T he above d a ta p ro v e a fa llin g te n d e n c y of d e a th - r a te lev el in th e L u b lin p ro v in c e in 1867— 1912 an d a c e rta in p e rio d ic ity in th is field. A n in c re a se of d e a th -c o e ffic ie n ts in each of th e m e n tio n e d p erio d s w as as a r u le cau sed b y th e in te n s ific a tio n of ep id em ic diseases.
A n a n a ly sis of fa c tu a l v a lu e s of d e a th co efficien ts h a s to lead to th e conclu sion t h a t a d ecided a n d p e r s is te n t fa ll of d e a th fre q u e n c y o c c u rre d sin ce 1895. In 1895— 1912 e v e n th e lo w est co e fficien t of th a t e le m e n t of th e n a tu r a l m o v e m e n t fro m th e p re v io u s p e rio d w as n o t re p e a te d .
J u s t as in th e w h o le p ro v in ce , so in its p a r tic u la r a d m in is tra tiv e d is tric ts d e a th -c o e ffic ie n ts w e re alw a y s lo w e r th a n w e re b ir th co effi cien ts. T he n u m b e r of d e a th s w as h ig h e r th a n th e n u m b e r of b irth s o n ly once in B iłg o raj a d m in is tr a tiv e d is tric t (1873) an d T om aszó w a d m in i s tr a tiv e d is tric t (1869), w h e re a s it w as sev e n tim e s h ig h e r in th e L u b lin to w n (in 1869, 1872, 1873, 1880, 1881, 188S, 1892) 31. In th e m id d le of th e X lX th cent, a h ig h e r d e a th - r a te in to w n s in co m p ariso n w ith v illa g es w as th e ru le , a n d in th e C o n g ress K in g d o m of P o la n d th a t s ta te la ste d till th e b e g in n in g of th e X lX th c e n t.32 T he excess of d e a th s w as o b serv ed in L u b lin , above all, in th e y e a rs in w h ic h th e n u m b e r of ch o le ra an d b lack s m a llp o x cases w a s in te n sifie d .
T h e lev el of d e a th - r a te w a s s till c o n sid e ra b ly in flu e n c e d b y epidem ic diseases. T h e y e a rs 1867— 1912 w e re th e y e a rs of ch o le ra ep id em ic in th e L u b lin p ro v in c e (1867— 1868, 1872— 1873, 1889, 1892— 1893, 1904),33
31 O bzor lu b lin s k o j gu bern i za... go d (for 1872— 1912). 32 R o s s e t: Proces sta r z e n i a się..., p. 197.
33 B. B. D z i e r ż a w s k i , O. H e w e l k e , W. J a n o w s k i , J. Z a w a d z- k i: Cholera, j e j d a w n i e j s z e e p id e m ie u nas, p r z y c z y n y , o b ja w y , z apobiegan ie i le
c zenie (Cholera, Its F orm er E p id e m ic s in Pola nd, Causes, S y m p t o m s , P r e v e n ti o n and Trea tm en t). W arszaw a 1892, pp. 11— 13; W. C h w i e j c z a k , S. P i e t r a s : U m ier a ln o ść n i e m o w l ą t w p o w ie c i e z a m o j s k i m w latach 1865— 1965 (M o ra lity of In fan ts in th e Z a m o ść D istrict in 1865— 1965). „A nnales U M CS”, Sec. C, 1970, p. 334;
S. S e r k o w s k i : E p id em io lo g ia i p r o f i l a k t y k a c h o ler y (E pidem iology and P r o p h y
laxis of Cholera). W arszaw a 1965, pp. 6— 8; The cholera e p id e m ic s f r o m 1892— 1893 s t a r t e d in the C on gress K i n g d o m of Pola nd w i t h B isk u p ic e villa g e in th e Lublin p ro vin ce, w h e r e it had been bro u g h t m o s t p r o b a b l y f r o m R o s tó w b y a m a n com ing b ack f r o m th e a r m y . O. B u j w i d : K i l k a s ł ó w o p o c zą tk a c h obecnej e p id e m ii c h o le r y w K r ó l e s t w i e P o ls k i m (A f e w w o r d s on the beginning of p r e s e n t cholera e p id e m ic in th e Congress K i n g d o m of Poland), „N ow iny L u b elsk ie” 1892, V ol. IV,
The L evel of B irths and D eaths in the L ublin P rovin ce in 1867— 1912 2 4 7
b la c k s m a llp o x (am ong o th ers: 1872— 1873, 1892) 34, ty p h u s am ong
o th ers: 1892, 1909.35 T hese diseases caused a su d d en in cre ase of d e a th - -r a te level in c e rta in p eriods, w h e re a s h ig h d e a th ra te d u e to tu b e rc u lo sis w a s p e rm a n e n tly p re s e rv e d .36 G e n e ra lly , it sh o u ld be a sc e rta in e d th a t th e m ain cause of d e a th s in th e L u b lin p rov in ce, ju s t as in a ll co m m u n itie s of a h ig h d e a th -ra te , w e re egzogenic diseases, i.e. in fec tio u s an d p a ra sitic diseases, a ir passages diseases, d y se n te ry , a n d th e lik e .37 B ad co n d itio n s of housing, low s a n ita ry sta te of v illag es, la c k of m ed ica l care en h a n c e d th o se diseases to sp re ad . T he v illag e people u su a lly liv ed in o n e-ro o m d w e llin g s w ith o u t floor; p igsties an d cow -sheds w e re beside. In w in te r th e p o u ltry an d calves w e re k e p t in sid e th e d w ellin g s, th e sw in e w e re fed th e re , too .38 N o u rish m e n t, esp ecially in villages, w as in s u ffic ie n t. T he p e a s a n ts ate, above all, m eals of v e g a ta b le o rigin, w h ile m e a t an d fa ts w e re la c k in g .39
M edical care w as v e ry poor. As it w as estim ated , a t th e b e g in n in g of th e X X th cent, am on g th e n p a tie n ts in th e p ro v in ces of th e C ongress K in g d o m of P o la n d only one could avail of m ed ical h e lp .40 In 1910 th e re
34 A. S o k o ł o w s k i : W ielk ie klęs ki społeczne (Ospa. C h oroby t y f u s o w e . D żum a. G ry pa. Cholera. C h o ro b y za k a ź n e w ła ś c i w e w i e k o w i dziecię cem u. S u c h o ty płucn e. C h o ro b y w e n e r y c z n e . A lk o h o l iz m i w a lk a z nimi. G rea t Social D isaste rs (B lack S m a llp o x . T y p h u s Diseases. Plague. Influenza. Cholera. Contagious D iseases T y p ic a l of Childhood. P u lm o n a r y Consu mptio n. V enereal Diseases. A lc oholism ) and S tr ife again st Them . W arsaw 1917, pp. 74— 75; C h w i e j c z a k, P i e t r a s : op. cit., p. 334.
35 S o k o ł o w s k i : op. cit., pp. 113— 115.
36 Ca. 1/3 of the total num ber of deaths of p eople aged 20—40 w as caused by tuberculosis. S. B u l i k o w s k i : J esz cze słów kilka o p o tr ze b ie u p a ń s t w o w i e n ia
p r z e p i s ó w p r o f ila k t y c z n y c h p r z e c iw k o gru ź licy s k i e r o w a n y c h (More a bout the need of n a tionalizatio n of p r o p h y la c tic reg ulations against tu berculo sis of patients),
„Z drow ie”, 1898, Vol. X IV: no. 54, pp. 366—377.
37 T ogether w ith an increase of econom ic w elfa re and m edical a ch ievem en ts the m ortality caused by those diseases in Europe during th e form er and presen t cen tu ries w as rap id ly ceasing. H ow ever, the decline of m ortality w as not se le c tiv e as regards age; therefore, in sp ite of len gth en in g of the average period of m en ’s life, the structure of p opulation according to age did not undergo any greater changes. H. W a n d e r : D em ograficzn e i społeczn o -ek o n o m iczn e k o n s e k w e n c je postępu ją cego
w y d ł u ż e n i a się p rz eciętn eg o tr w a n ia ż y c i a w okresie po m o d e r n iz a c j i d e m o g r a f ic z n e j (na p r z y k ła d z i e R F N ) D em ograph ic and soci al-ec onom ic co nsequences of th e proceedin g le ngth en in g of th e a v e ra g e li fe -tim e a ft e r de m o g r a p h ic m o d e r n iz a t io n (as e x e m p l if ie d by W e s t G erm any). „Studia D em ograficzne” 1976, Vol. 44, p. 83.
38 K. R akow iecki: M ieszkania lu dności w i e j s k i e j (D wellings of V illa ge P o p u
lation). „Z drow ie” 1900, Vol. XVI: no. 16, pp. 186— 196, no. 17, pp. 256—263.
39 S. K o z ł o w s k i : Co w i e m y o ż y w i e n i u się lu du nasz ego (W hat do w e k n o w
a b o u t our c o u n tr y p e o p le ’s feeding). „Z drow ie” 1900, Vol. XVI: no. 181, pp. 441— 460.
40 W. B i e g a ń s k i : S p r a w a p o l i t y k i le k a r sk ie j lu d o w e j , (The m a t t e r of m e d i
2 4 8 T. M azur
w e re 98 p h y sic ia n s in th e L u b lin p ro v in ce . 16,3 th o u s a n d of peo p le fell to ea ch of th e m (6,7 th o u s a n d in th e w h o le C o n g ress K ing do m ), in c lu d in g to w n s — 2,8 th o u s a n d (1,5 th o u s a n d in th e C on gress K in gd om ) a n d v il lages — 40,6 th o u s a n d (30 th o u s a n d in th e C o n g ress K ingdom ). It sho u ld be s ta te d , h o w e v e r, th a t in re s p e c t of a c c e ssib ility of m ed ica l a ssistan ce th e L u b lin p ro v in c e w as m u c h th e sam e as th e m a jo rity of p ro v in ce s in th e C o n g ress K in g d o m . A n ex c e p tio n w as W a rsa w w h ic h in 1910 con c e n tr a te d 52,3% of a ll th e p h y sic ia n s in th e K ing do m . In th e W a rsaw p ro v in c e (in clu d in g W a rsaw ) a n d in th e P io trk ó w p ro v in ce s w e re 75,6% of to ta l n u m b e r of p h y sic ia n s in th e K in g d o m .41 T h e le v e l of o b ste tric care, esp e c ia lly in v illag es, w a s v e ry low . In 1910 th e re w e re 1,3 m id w iv e s p e r 10,000 w o m e n in th e L u b lin p ro v in ce ; s till lo w e r co e fficien ts in th is re s p e c t w e re in S u w a łk i, R ad o m a n d S ied lce p ro v in c e s.42 T he v illa g e m id w iv e s p la y e d th e ro le of q u a lifie d m id w iv es in v illag es. T h e ir in c o m p e te n t b e h a v io u r d u rin g d e liv e ry a n d n o t a b id in g b y th e ru le s of h y g ie n e cau sed h ig h m o r ta lity b o th of th e n e w -b o rn in fa n ts a n d ly in g -in w o m en . S p e c ia lly d a n g e ro u s w e re in te r n a l in te rv e n tio n s p e rfo rm e d b y v illa g e m id w iv es, sin ce th e y led to p u e r p e ria l sep sis w h ic h w a s s till v e ry com m on a t th a t tim e .43 In case of in n e r h a e m o rrh a g e w o m en u s u a lly died. A s it w as e s tim a te d a t le a s t 5 p e r 1,000 of d e liv e rie s in th e C on gress K in g d o m e n d e d w ith d e a th of a p a r tu r it r ie n t w o m a n .44 A serio u s d a n g e r b o th fo r w o m e n a n d in fa n ts w e re d e e p ly -ro o te d s u p e rstitio u s p ra c tic e s a n d w iz a r d r y co n n e cted w ith c h ild b irth . I t s h o u ld be ad d ed th a t w o m en w o rk e d h a r d th ro u g h th e w h o le p e rio d of p re g n a n c y , th e ir tim e of r e s t a f te r d e liv e ry w as, again , too sh o rt. It seem s th a t th e b elow sa y in g ca n r e f e r n o t o n ly to th e f ir s t b u t also to th e second h a lf of th e X lX th c e n tu ry : ’’O u r p e a s a n ts o ften ca re m o re fo r th e co n v en ien ce of a cow in calf th a n fo r th a t of th e ir ow n p r e g n a n t w ife ” .45
M an y n e w -b o rn b ab ies a n d c h ild re n d ied b ec au se of in a p p ro p ria te fe ed in g . T hose c h ild re n w h o w e re sto p p e d to be b re a s tfe d w e re g iv en th e
41 R o c z n ik S t a t y s t y c z n y K r ó l e s t w a P olskiego. R ok 1913, W arszaw a 1914, pp. 294— 295.
42 Ib id e m .
43 H. R a d z i s z e w s k i : Z a lu d n ie n ie K r ó l e s t w a Polsk ieg o (The popu lation of
th e C ongress K i n g d o m of P o la n d ), „E konom ista” 1903, v ol. II; A. J a r o s i ń s k i :
O z a d a n ia c h s p o ł e c z n y c h le k a r z a p r o w in c j o n a ln e g o w n a s z y c h w a r u n k a c h (On th e
Social T a sk s of a P ro v in c ia l D o cto r in O ur Conditio ns) [in :] Tre D ia r y of th e Ilnd C ongress of P ro v in c ia l D octo rs on 31st M a y and 1st June 1914, in L u b lin , L ublin
(w ithout th e date of issue), p. 57.
44 L. W i ś n i e w s k i : D la czeg o lud p r o s t y d o tą d za m a ło się le c z y (W h y A re
C o m m o n P eople I n s u ffic ie n tly C u re d ) [in:] The D ia ry of th e Ilnd Congress..., p. 149.
45 Z. K u c h o w i c z : L e k i i gu sła d a w n e j w s i (M edic in es and S o r c e r y of the F o rm er Village). W arszaw a 1954, p. 86.
The L ev el of Births and D eaths in the L ublin P rovin ce in 1867— 1912 249
sam e food as th e o ld er ch ild re n , an d the- food w as e a rlie r m a stic a te d by th e ir m o th e rs. In v illag es, ju s t as in to w n s th e d e a th - ra te am o n g th e c h ild re n w as h ig h d u e to diseases ty p ic a l of childhood. A cco rd ing to th e e s tim a te , s till on th e tu r n of th e X lX th c e n tu ry th e d e a th - ra te coeffi c ie n t of n e w -b o rn in fa n ts (i.e. th e n u m b e r of d e a th cases am o ng ch ild re n u p to one y e a r of life p e r 1,00 of live b o rn bab ies in a giv en y ea r) w e re on th e lev el of 200%o.46 T his m ean s e v e ry fif th ch ild died, liv in g n o t lo n g e r th a n 12 m o n th s.
T h e co m p ariso n of d e a th coefficien ts show s th a t in th e p erio d d iscu ssed th e s itu a tio n as re g a rd s d e a th - ra te h as im p ro v ed d istin c tly . T he c o n sta n t fa ll of d e a th - r a te w as a com m on p h en o m en o n in th e w h ole C o ngress K in g d o m a t t h a t tim e. H ow ever, th e d e m o g ra p h e rs an d h is to ria n s d iffe r in th e ir o pinio ns in re sp e c t of th e b ase of th is process. T he fo llo w in g fa c to rs a re co n sid ered to be th e cau ses of d ec lin in g d e a th - ra te level: th e im p ro v e m e n t of econom ic an d social conditions, m ed ical disco v e rie s as w e ll as th e p ro g re ss in san ita tio n . U n d o u b ted ly , one of th e m a jo r causes w as th e in c re m e n t of food p ro d u c tio n w h ich m ad e possible to s ta m p o u t fa m in e. W o rth s tre ss in g are also a c h ie v e m e n ts in th e field of fig h tin g w ith b lack s m a llp o x a n d c h o lera epidem ics. S ince th e 70’s of th e X lX th cent, v a c cin atio n a g a in st b lack sm allp o x an d s lig h tly
l a te r — a g a in s t ch o le ra — s ta r te d to sp re a d in th e C o ng ress
K in g d o m .47 T h a n k s to th e k n o w in g of th e causes of th e se diseases m o re e ffe c tiv e ac tio n s p re v e n tin g th e m to sp re a d could be u n d e rta k e n . T his can be p ro v e d b y th e fa c t th a t in th e p erio d d iscussed n o t ev en once, even d u rin g th e m o st se v e re epidem ics in th e p rov in ce, th e d e a th - r a te ex c eed e d th e b irth -ra te . Also th e flu c tu a tio n s in d e a th co efficien ts in th e su ccessive p erio d s of epidem ics w e re sm a lle r an d sm aller.
M edical a c h ie v e m e n ts also in flu e n c e d th e d ec rea se of d e a th - ra te am o n g n e w -b o rn ch ild re n an d ly in g -in w om en. T his sp ec ia lly a p p lie d to th e h ig h e r a n d m id d le classes of th e co m m u n ity . T his also ex p la in e d th e c h a n g e in d e a th p ro p o rtio n s am o n g m en an d w om en. N o w ad ay s th e com m on r e g u la rity is th a t th e d e a th - ra te am o ng m en o u tn u m b e rs th e d e a th - r a te am o n g w o m en in all age groups. T h e causes of th is excessive d e a th - r a te am o n g m e n a re of biological an d social n a tu r e .48 T he social fa c to rs causing excessive m o rta lity am ong m en are d a n g e rs co n n e cted w ith th e ir w o rk , ac cid en ts, alco holism an d tobacco c o n su m p tio n .49 In
46 R o s s e t: Pro ces s ta rzen ia się..., p. 529. 47 S o k o ł o w s k i : op. cit., pp. 71— 78.
48 E. R o s s e t: E w o lu cja i p e r s p e k t y w y tr w a n ia ż y c ia ludzkie go (E volu tio n and
p e r s p e c tiv e s of du ration of m e n ’s life). „Studia D em ograficzne” 1975, Vol. 44, p. 33.
49 C h. B 1 a y o: P e w n e a s p e k t y n a d um ieralności m ę ż c z y z n (C ertain asp ects of
o v e r m o r t a l i t y of men). „Studia D em ograficzn e” 1976, Vol. 44, pp. 64— 67; P. C h . M a t t h i e s s e n : N adu m ieraln ość m ę ż c z y z n w Danii w p e r s p e k t y w i e
hi-250
T. M azur1867— 1891 th e s itu a tio n in th e L u b lin p ro v in c e w as ju s t th e o pposite, d e a th - r a te a m o n g w o m en w as h ig h e r th a n am o n g m en. T his, h o w e v er, ju s t as in case of b irth s c a n n o t be e x p la in e d e x c lu siv e ly b y th e in c o rre c t ness of th e sta tis tic m a te ria l. T he q u a n tita tiv e sex ra tio am ong n e w - - b o m in fa n ts is of c le a rly bio lo gical n a tu re . S e x p ro p o rtio n s of th e d ea d re s u lt, above all, fro m social causes. As d e m o g ra p h e rs sh ow th e ex cessive d e a th - r a te am o n g w o m en co uld occu r in th e co m m u n itie s w hose lev el of d e v e lo p m e n t w a s lo w er, w h e re a s fe c u n d ity an d d e a th - r a te (due to exog en o u s diseases) — h ig h . A t p re s e n t su ch a p h e n o m e n o n is o b serv ed in se v e ra l c o u n trie s in A fric a an d A sia, b e fo re th e Iln d W orld W a r — in H u n g a ry an d in B u lg a ria .50
T h e h ig h e r d e a th - r a te am o n g w o m e n is, f ir s t of all, th e re s u lt of d a n g e rs c o n n e c te d w ith d e liv e ry (h a rd w o rk d u rin g p re g n a n c y , d e liv e ry c o m p licatio n , p u e r p e ra l fe v e r, a n d alike). E ven in th e g ro u p of n e w - -b o rn in fa n ts th e re w as n o t s u re ly su c h a co n sid e ra b le p re v a le n c e in d e a th am ong boys as it is n o w a d a y s in h ig h ly d ev e lo p e d c o u n trie s. N o w a d a y s th e basic cause of r e a th in th e in fa n c y p erio d in th e se co u n trie s a re th e in b o rn d efects, as w e ll as p re m a tu re b i r t h an d in ju rie s d u rin g p a r tu r itio n . T h e boys a re less r e s is ta n t to th e se causes. O n th e t u r n of th e X lX th cen t, a v e r y h ig h d e a th - ra te in th e C o n g ress K in g d o m of P o la n d w as caused b y ex o g e n o u s diseases, w h ic h in th e sam e d eg ree in flu enced boys an d g irls 51.
S ince 1892 th e s u rp lu s of d e a th in te n s ity am o ng m e n w a s " n o rm a l” in th e L u b lin p ro v in ce; th e s im ila r s itu a tio n w a s in th e w h o le C ongress K ingdom . T h is fa c t ag a in p ro v e s th o se te rr ito r ie s e n te re d th e p erio d of d e m o g ra p h ic m o d e rn iz a tio n .
B irth a n d d e a th s a re th e basic fa c to rs m a rk in g th e p ro cess of r e d u c tio n of p o p u la tio n . T h e y d e te rm in e th e size of in c re a se of p o p u la tio n w h ich is th e s u rp lu s of b ir th s o v e r d e a th s. T h e re m a y also o ccur th e o p p o site s itu a tio n w h e n th e n u m b e r of d e a th s ex ceed s th e n u m b e r of b irth s a n d th e n w e face n a tu r a l d e c rea se. T he c o n sta n t p o sitiv e b irth - -r a te w as c h a ra c te ris tic of th e L u b lin p ro v in c e in th e p e rio d ex a m in e d (Tab. 3). T his a lre a d y p ro v e s th a t th e L u b lin p ro v in c e e n te r e d a q u a n ti ta tiv e ly n e w p e rio d of d e m o g ra p h ic d ev e lo p m e n t.
s t o r y c z n e j ( O v e r m o r t a l i t y of m e n in D e n m a r k in historical p e rs p e c tiv e ). „Studia D e
m og ra ficzn e” 1976, V ol. 44, p. 41; R o s s e t: E w o lu c ja i p e r s p e k t y w y ..., p. 33. 50 B 1 a o: op. cit., p. 40—41.
The L ev el of Births and D eaths in the L ublin P rovin ce in 1867— 1912 2 5 1
Tab. 3. B ir th -r a te , of the Lublin p rovin ce population in 1867— 1912
P rzyrost n atu raln y ludności guberni lubelskiej w latach 1867— 1912 Year B irth rate C oefficien t of dem ographic dynam ics absolute num ber co efficien t in %o 1 2 3 4 1867 10.088 (•) 1,53 1868 9.120 13,7 1,50 1869 6.613 9,8 1,36 1870 9.699 13,7 1,53 1871 10.611 14,8 1,65 1872 8.774 12,2 1,43 1873 4.373 6,6 1,18 1874 9.770 13,1 1,46 1875 11.458 15,2 1,53 1876 13.292 17,2 1,65 1877 10.204 12,9 1,48 1878 11.245 14,3 1,52 1879 13.630 16,6 1,65 1880 9.881 11,8 1,41 1881 8.938 10,4 1,35 1882 9.335 10,8 1,40 1883 12.973 14,7 1,59 1884 14.800 16,6 1,68 1885 15.814 17,2 1,69 1886 15.719 16,8 1,68 1887 16.441 16,9 1,67 1888 14.709 14,8 1,57 1889 14.464 14,1 1,52 1890 16.481 15,5 1,61 1891 18.202 16,7 1,67 1892 12.258 11,1 1,41 1893 16.651 14,8 1,63 1894 17.470 15,2 1,71 1895 18.081 15,5 1,78 1896 19.731 16,6 1,76 1897 19.571 16,1 1,90 1898 23.249 18,6 1,77 1899 21.974 17,2 1,79 1900 23.306 17,8 1,80 1901 24.699 18,5 1,81 1902 26.321 19,2 1,90 1903 21.515 15,3 1,67 1904 20.696 14,5 1,63
