¿Pasó de largo por la España interior la primera fase de la transición demográfica? La mortalidad en Ávila y Guadalajara, 1700-1895

Abstract

What happened in inland Spain during the first phase of the European demographic transition? Was there a significant reduction in death rates over the long run? This article aims to answer these questions. The main sources used in the work are the registers of baptisms and deaths corresponding to different locations of the provinces of Avila and Guadalajara. The most important conclusions are: (1)inland Spain did not remain apart from the initial phase of the European demographic transition since death rates tended to decline from the mid-eighteenth century, albeit with significant interruptions and fluctuations; (2)the decrease in ordinary mortality contributed more to that decline than that of the extraordinary mortality; (3)infant and child death rates fell less than that of adults, and (4)the total death rate remained unchanged or slightly increased between 1860 and 1889.