ABSTRACT

This study examines the influence of short-term economic stress on mortality in nineteenth-century rural Estonia. We utilised vital registration, ‘soul revisions’ and listings of migrants from 1834 to 1884 to focus on two parishes in the northern part of Livland (now southern Estonia). In this period, rural areas were transitioning from the old manorial system to a more market-oriented society, and we hypothesise that some groups were more vulnerable during this process. We investigate whether the type of local manor – state – or privately owned – was related with the level of mortality and moderated the association between mortality and grain price changes. Our second question concerns the importance of social status as a predictor of mortality rates. The results indicate that infant and child mortality rates were lower in the state estate, compared with privately owned manors, but child mortality in the state estate was more responsive to price changes. Socio-economic status appears to be a relevant predictor for child and adult mortality, as landless and semi-landless labourers experienced a higher level of mortality risk compared with farmers and skilled workers. Increases in grain prices, however, were mostly related to mortality risk of farmers.

摘要

本研究考察了短期经济压力对19世纪爱沙尼亚农村地区死亡率的影响。我们利用重要的登记，“灵魂修订”和从1834年至1884年的移民清单来集中研究Livland北部（现为爱沙尼亚南部）的两个教区。在此期间，农村地区正在从旧的庄园制过渡到更加市场化的社会，我们假设在此过程中某些群体更加脆弱。我们调查了当地庄园的类型（国有或私有）是否与死亡率有关，并调节了死亡率与谷物价格变化之间的联系。我们的第二个问题涉及社会地位作为死亡率预测指标的重要性。结果表明，该州的婴幼儿死亡率较低，与私有庄园相比，但国有庄园中的儿童死亡率对价格变化更敏感。社会经济状况似乎是儿童和成人死亡率的重要预测指标，因为与农民和熟练工人相比，无地和半无地劳动者的死亡率风险更高。然而，谷物价格上涨主要与农民死亡风险有关。