An Approach to the Demographic Dynamics of a Papermaking Town: Sant Pere de Riudebitlles, 1675–1799

Abstract

This article is a résumé of part of the author's Bachelor of Arts dissertation presented at the University of Barcelona in October 1983 and entitled The Population of Sant Pere de Riudebitlles berween 1675 and 1799: A Study of Historical Demography. The most noteworthy developments during the period of study were the considerable population increase and the establishment of hydraulically-powered paper mills which gave employment to a large of expert paper-makers. After more than fifty years of demographic recession, a recovery was noticed after 1740, coinciding with the expansion of the paper industry. The population increased from about 280 inhabitants at the beginning of the century to over 1.000 at the end.

This demographic expansion was influenced by an increase in birth rates as a result of: a) a drop in the average age at marriage, 22, 5 years of age (for first marriages), and b) a parallel decrease in adult mortality rates, which tended to end marriage at child-bearing ages. An examination of marriages registers and family trees made it possible to conclude that Sant Pere gained many millers and hence husbands of working and marrying ages from elsewhere. The vast majority came from within a 15 km. radius (that is, 3 hours walking distance), including, for example, the paper industry settlements of Capellades and la Pobla de Claramunt.