On the reconstruction of families from the Naxxar parish records, 1546-1650

Abstract

This research looks at social issues, which have never been t scientifically analysed before, such as reproductive periods, age specific fertility rates and mortality trends. Although average age at marriage for both sexes was around 23 years, there were persons marrying at 14 or 70 years of age! High rates of child mortality and widowhood were very common because of wars and epidemics. Widows needed a husband to provide money, and a widower needed a wife to do housework. That is why widowing people tended to remarry as quickly as possible. Further investigations about places of origin, pointed a Maltese society in which women were much more static then males. Likewise interesting was the number of Naxxar women espousing with foreigners. The major analyses were about distribution of Marriages, Baptisms and Burials, per day and month. One may also notice how some families were forced to marry during prohibited periods as Advent or Lent. There were several reasons to this, but in the majority of cases, pre-marital pregnancies were the main cause. This research goes quite in depth about this particular topic, to discover patterns, age tendencies of mothers, monthly distribution of conceptions and intervals between baptisms and marriage.