Introduction

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Introduction: unmarried and unknown: urban men and women in the low countries since the early modern period

This essay introduces a special issue on The Lure of the City that examines the attraction of towns to unmarried men and women in the Low Countries during the early modern period and the nineteenth century. The issue has the relation between singles and cities as its main focus. Singles were present in disproportionately large numbers in urban areas, but the question is why? This essay sets out the historiographical framework for the contributions in the issue, discusses the sources and methodologies used, and provides a brief overview of the evolution of singleness in the Low Countries. The contributions all demonstrate the relevance of a comparative approach. It is revealed that towns and cities not only attracted but also created singles, that they offered different opportunities for different groups of unmarried people and that they affected men and women differently. Finally, it appears that not every town and city was attractive to men and women without a spouse

Chapter Welfare and demography in the time of Malthus. Regional and local variations in poor relief and population developments in Flanders, c. 1750-1810

Flanders represents a particularly interesting region for research that aims to investigate the development of socio-economic inequalities at the local and regional level. The relationship between and effects of structural socio-economic characteristics on the one hand and micro-level variations on the other hand remain unclear. The data collected by the STREAM project (streamproject.ugent.be) together with its tailored geographical information system (GIS) allow us to explore these relationships for the rural parishes of early modern Flanders. In this chapter we examine spatial patterns in poor relief and demographic behaviour and how these were interrelated

Welfare and demography in the time of Malthus : regional and local variations in poor relief and population developments in Flanders, c. 1750-1810

Flanders represents a particularly interesting region for research that aims to investigate the development of socio-economic inequalities at the local and regional level. The relationship between and effects of structural socio-economic characteristics on the one hand and micro-level variations on the other hand remain unclear. The data collected by the STREAM project (streamproject.ugent.be) together with its tailored geographical information system (GIS) allow us to explore these relationships for the rural parishes of early modern Flanders. In this chapter we examine spatial patterns in poor relief and demographic behaviour and how these were interrelated

Allemaal beestjes. Mortaliteit en morbiditeit in Vlaanderen, 18de-20ste eeuw

This book treats the spectacular rise in life expectancy during the last three centuries. It is the first study to bring together both published and unpublished material about the history of the health of Belgian men and women and to analyze it critically. Isabelle Devos studies the mechanisms of the historic fall in the death rate in an original manner and answers the question why research on the causes of this decline has not progressed faster. While the discipline of historical demography orients the first part of her book, the discipline of historical epidemiology provides the perspective taken in the second part, in which the role of insects as spreaders of disease is explored. Essential in her study is the importance of local medical practitioners who already at the end of the Ancien Régime warned of the dangers present in the environment. Their ‘ecological’ thinking created a consciousness that was decisive for the further development of healthcare