Birgu : a demographic overview : 1558-1658

Abstract

The aim of this research is to grasp family life in Birgu within a wider social context during the rule of the Knights Hospitallers. My investigations on the family rest primarily on quantitative agglomerations derived from the parish archives – a source that for a very long time was left largely dormant by many Maltese historians. The research consisted in copying and entering in an appropriate database all the baptismal and burial records of the parish of Birgu for the period 1558 - 1658 both dates inclusive. In addition, these entries were reconstructed into families thus providing a complete list of the family units residing in Birgu with all the relevant information on them. The information elicited from these entries was then used not only to trace the history of population of Early Modern Birgu but also to picture social and family life of this town during this period. Chapter one concentrates on life in sixteenth and seventeenth century Birgu. It touches on topics like social hierarchy, foreign presence, occupations and the world of women. Chapter two tackles three distinct features of townlife in general with particular reference to Birgu. These are illegitimacy, abandonment and slavery. The chapter in broad terms seeks lo define each feature, to trace its origin and seasonality. Chapters three and four are the results derived from the reconstruction of families. Both chapters analyse the number of births and deaths in relation to population increase and decrease and outline the seasonality of births and deaths. Chapter three deals with marriage influence on female fertility and the interval between marriage and the birth of offspring. Chapter four treats child mortality, adult mortality and widowhood. These chapters are followed by a critical bibliography and an appendix which includes lists of the victims of crimes, the occupations of the Birgu inhabitants, the illegitimate children of Birgu, the offspring of slaves, the foundlings of Birgu, the baptised and the manumitted slaves and finally the results of demographic calculations