Alice Reid
@amrcampop.bsky.social
Historical demographer at CAMPOP, Geography Dept Cambridge University. See also http://PopulationsPast.org. Views my own.
During the period usually thought of as the first Demographic Transition in England (1870-1930) fertility fell faster than mortality and the population growth rate was slowing ... 3/4
July 31, 2025 at 9:08 AM
During the period usually thought of as the first Demographic Transition in England (1870-1930) fertility fell faster than mortality and the population growth rate was slowing ... 3/4
Instead of following the classic Demographic Transition Model, in England very rapid population growth before the mid 19C was driven by rises in fertility as well as falls in mortality, and fertility contributed more than mortality did ... 2/4
July 31, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Instead of following the classic Demographic Transition Model, in England very rapid population growth before the mid 19C was driven by rises in fertility as well as falls in mortality, and fertility contributed more than mortality did ... 2/4
and England and Wales! see www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/11... for more detail
July 24, 2025 at 3:02 PM
and England and Wales! see www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/11... for more detail
... places with high fertility have low CO2 emissions, & few places have lowered fertility without massively increasing emissions. So 'population control' is unlikely to reduce environmental impacts on its own. Better to focus on reducing per capita consumption and waste where these are still high.
July 17, 2025 at 12:40 PM
... places with high fertility have low CO2 emissions, & few places have lowered fertility without massively increasing emissions. So 'population control' is unlikely to reduce environmental impacts on its own. Better to focus on reducing per capita consumption and waste where these are still high.
Campop blog #33: In the UK the infants of non-cohabiting parents are still at higher risk of infant death than those of cohabiting parents. This week's blog explores the historical trends and reasons for such disadvantage
@camunicampop.bsky.social
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2025/01...
@camunicampop.bsky.social
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2025/01...
January 31, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Campop blog #33: In the UK the infants of non-cohabiting parents are still at higher risk of infant death than those of cohabiting parents. This week's blog explores the historical trends and reasons for such disadvantage
@camunicampop.bsky.social
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2025/01...
@camunicampop.bsky.social
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2025/01...
In the pre-industrial period the seasonality of births reflected the agricultural working year, with fewer conceptions during harvest, and a peak of births in Feb-March. As first births were a relatively small proportion of overall births, it bore little relation to the seasonality of marriage 4/5
January 2, 2025 at 5:08 PM
In the pre-industrial period the seasonality of births reflected the agricultural working year, with fewer conceptions during harvest, and a peak of births in Feb-March. As first births were a relatively small proportion of overall births, it bore little relation to the seasonality of marriage 4/5
The seasonality of marriage in the 16th-18th centuries was shaped by religious bans on marriage in Lent and other times of year, and because after the harvest work was over, workers were paid and released from a year's work. 2/5
January 2, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The seasonality of marriage in the 16th-18th centuries was shaped by religious bans on marriage in Lent and other times of year, and because after the harvest work was over, workers were paid and released from a year's work. 2/5
The English Industrial Revolution (1750-1850) was characterised by substantial regional specialisation. Some areas specialised in industry but others de-industrialised during this period: Norfolk went from being the most industrial county to one of the least industrial. 3/3
January 2, 2025 at 10:34 AM
The English Industrial Revolution (1750-1850) was characterised by substantial regional specialisation. Some areas specialised in industry but others de-industrialised during this period: Norfolk went from being the most industrial county to one of the least industrial. 3/3
The major increase in people working in the English industrial sector took place between 1550 and 1700. What happened in the Industrial Revolution was technological intensification: mechanisation raised efficiency, allowing output to increase without increases in labour. 2/3
January 2, 2025 at 10:34 AM
The major increase in people working in the English industrial sector took place between 1550 and 1700. What happened in the Industrial Revolution was technological intensification: mechanisation raised efficiency, allowing output to increase without increases in labour. 2/3
... although average age of women at childbirth is the same now as in the 19th century, women have fewer children, so the average age at first birth is much higher now. 2/2
November 28, 2024 at 10:21 AM
... although average age of women at childbirth is the same now as in the 19th century, women have fewer children, so the average age at first birth is much higher now. 2/2
Campop blog #22: Queen Elizabeth II died of 'old age' - a rare cause today but common in the past. The history of this cause of death can tell us about changes in medical provision, medical knowledge and acceptable causes of death
@camunicampop.bsky.social
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/11...
@camunicampop.bsky.social
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/11...
November 14, 2024 at 10:40 AM
Campop blog #22: Queen Elizabeth II died of 'old age' - a rare cause today but common in the past. The history of this cause of death can tell us about changes in medical provision, medical knowledge and acceptable causes of death
@camunicampop.bsky.social
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/11...
@camunicampop.bsky.social
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/11...
The dependency ratio (ratio of older people and children to working age people) is also driven by fertility. In England it was lowest in 1671 (low fertility and high early age mortality), and peaked in 1826. Since then lower fertility has counteracted the effects of population ageing
October 10, 2024 at 9:17 AM
The dependency ratio (ratio of older people and children to working age people) is also driven by fertility. In England it was lowest in 1671 (low fertility and high early age mortality), and peaked in 1826. Since then lower fertility has counteracted the effects of population ageing
Until recently, population ageing was driven by fertility (determining the size of different generations) not mortality. Older people were relatively more common in the late 17th century when fertility was low, and less common in the 19th when fertility was high.
October 10, 2024 at 9:08 AM
Until recently, population ageing was driven by fertility (determining the size of different generations) not mortality. Older people were relatively more common in the late 17th century when fertility was low, and less common in the 19th when fertility was high.
Unmarried mothers were predominantly not servant girls taken advantage of by their employer, but those whose marriages had been agreed but fallen through
October 3, 2024 at 11:16 AM
Unmarried mothers were predominantly not servant girls taken advantage of by their employer, but those whose marriages had been agreed but fallen through
Over most of English history, less than 10% of births were born outside marriage, but in many periods over half of all first-born children were conceived before marriage
October 3, 2024 at 11:15 AM
Over most of English history, less than 10% of births were born outside marriage, but in many periods over half of all first-born children were conceived before marriage
At its highest (mid-17th century) the risk of maternal death was 1.7% per birth event, and overall 5.6% of married women died during childbirth.
Correspondingly, 94% of married women never died of childbirth, despite repeated exposure to the risk.
Correspondingly, 94% of married women never died of childbirth, despite repeated exposure to the risk.
September 19, 2024 at 8:49 AM
At its highest (mid-17th century) the risk of maternal death was 1.7% per birth event, and overall 5.6% of married women died during childbirth.
Correspondingly, 94% of married women never died of childbirth, despite repeated exposure to the risk.
Correspondingly, 94% of married women never died of childbirth, despite repeated exposure to the risk.
Campop blog #11: Famine tropes in European fairy tales (Hansel & Gretel) are absent from English ones, due to the early disappearance of famine from England. Romola Davenport attritutes this to agricultural modernisation, economic integration and poor laws www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/08...
August 29, 2024 at 9:15 AM
Campop blog #11: Famine tropes in European fairy tales (Hansel & Gretel) are absent from English ones, due to the early disappearance of famine from England. Romola Davenport attritutes this to agricultural modernisation, economic integration and poor laws www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/08...
From my generation this difference is even larger: Margaret had 14 grandchildren, Moira had 6 and Kathleen 0: our grandmothers had an average of 5.2 children, nearly double the actual number of 2.7. 4/5
August 18, 2024 at 2:33 PM
From my generation this difference is even larger: Margaret had 14 grandchildren, Moira had 6 and Kathleen 0: our grandmothers had an average of 5.2 children, nearly double the actual number of 2.7. 4/5
In their children's generation, there are more people to remember coming from a big family (5 - see picture) than from a small (2), and no-one to remember a family size of 0. The average family size from the child's point of view is 4.9, far larger than the real number of 2.7. 3/5
August 18, 2024 at 2:32 PM
In their children's generation, there are more people to remember coming from a big family (5 - see picture) than from a small (2), and no-one to remember a family size of 0. The average family size from the child's point of view is 4.9, far larger than the real number of 2.7. 3/5
Here's my grandmother, Margaret, with her sisters and mother. The 3 girls went on to have an average of 2.7 children: Kathleen had none, Moira had 2 and Margaret had 6 (5 surviving to adulthood). What does this look like from their descendents' point of view? 2/5
August 18, 2024 at 2:31 PM
Here's my grandmother, Margaret, with her sisters and mother. The 3 girls went on to have an average of 2.7 children: Kathleen had none, Moira had 2 and Margaret had 6 (5 surviving to adulthood). What does this look like from their descendents' point of view? 2/5
Campop blog #7: Looking backwards in time can give the impression that family sizes in the past were larger than they actually were. This blog post, written with Jim Oeppen, explains 1/5
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/08...
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/08...
August 18, 2024 at 2:30 PM
Campop blog #7: Looking backwards in time can give the impression that family sizes in the past were larger than they actually were. This blog post, written with Jim Oeppen, explains 1/5
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/08...
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/08...
Campop blog #5: Before women in Britain started to deliberately restrict their fertility in the late 19th century, they had an average of fewer than 5 births each. This blog explains why this number isn't higher www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/07...
August 18, 2024 at 2:12 PM
Campop blog #5: Before women in Britain started to deliberately restrict their fertility in the late 19th century, they had an average of fewer than 5 births each. This blog explains why this number isn't higher www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/07...
Campop blog #3: With both men and women marrying in their mid-20s, average age at marriage in the British past was relatively old. This blog outlines trends in marriage age and discusses why it is tempting to assume people married young in the past www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/07...
August 18, 2024 at 1:58 PM
Campop blog #3: With both men and women marrying in their mid-20s, average age at marriage in the British past was relatively old. This blog outlines trends in marriage age and discusses why it is tempting to assume people married young in the past www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/07...
Campop blog #2: Until the 1980s no-one know how big the English population was before 1800. Jim Oeppen explains how we found out
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/07...
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/07...
August 18, 2024 at 1:50 PM
Campop blog #2: Until the 1980s no-one know how big the English population was before 1800. Jim Oeppen explains how we found out
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/07...
www.campop.geog.cam.ac.uk/blog/2024/07...