VII Expedição Científica do Departamento de Biologia - São Jorge e Topo - 1992.During the 1992 Scientific Expedition to São Jorge, parish registers were consulted
referring to some villages of the district of Velas, according to the following described: Baptisms (1875-1900)- Variables include date of birth, place of birth,
legitimacy/illegitimacy (Velas; Santo Amaro).
Marriages (1876-l900)- Variables include place of birth of the couple, residency,
age, marital status, occupation and consanguinity (Urzelina-146; Velas-279; Santo Amaro-148; Norte Grande-290; Manadas-136). Deaths (1876-1900)- Variables include date of burial, sex, age, marital status and legitimacy (Santo Amaro; Velas).
For purposes of this report, only data referring to the baptisms were dealt with,
giving particular emphasize to the variable of illegitimacy

Abade, Augusto

Lima, Manuela

Smith, Malcolm T.

Repository of the University of the Azores

Child abandonment and illegitimacy in the Island of São Jorge (Azores-Portugal).

Repositório da Universidade dos Açores

São Jorge e Topo/92: Rela tór io  ( 3 - 7 )  CHILD ABANDONMENT AND ILLEGITIMACY IN THE ISLAND OF SAO JORGE (AZORES-PORTUGAL) LIMA M. Au~us.r.o  ABADE^. & MI\L( :OL~I  S M I T H ~  Departamento de  Biologia. Univers idade dos A ~ o r e s  Rua Mãe d e  Deus. 58 .  P - 9 5 0 2  P O N T A  DELGADA codex Departamento d e  Antropologia. Universidade de  Coimbra 3 Depar tment  of Anthropology. Univers i ty  of Durham INTRODUCTION 1- Data gathered During the  1992 Scient i f ic  Expedi t ion  to São Jorge.  pa r i sh  r eg i s t e r s  were consul ted  r e f e r r i n g  to some vil lages of the d i s t r i c t  of Velas. accor'ding to the  following desc r i  bed: (1875-19001- V a r i a b l e s  i n c l u d e  d a t e  of b i r t h .  p l a c e  of b i r t h .  legitimacy/illegitimacy. - Velas - Santo Amaro aaes  (1876- l900) -  Var iables  inc lude  place of bir-th of the  couple .  r e s idency .  age. mar i t a l  s t a t u s ,  occupation and consanguini ty .  - Urzel ina-  146 - Velas- 2 7 9  - Santo Amaro- 148 - Norte Grande- 2 9 0  - Manadas- 136 s (1876-l9001- Var iables  inc lude  date  of b u r i a l .  s ex .  age,  mar i t a l  s t a t u s  and  legi t imacy. - Santo Amaro - Velas For p u r p o s e s  of t h i s  r epor t .  o n l y  da ta  r e f e r r i n g  to the  bapt isms were  dea l t  w i th .  giving p a r t i c u l a r  emphasize  to the var iable  of i l legit i inacy.  2-  Evidence of "Expostos" in Azores Evidence of "Expostos"  o r  "Engeitados" (abandoned c h i l d r e n )  in  Portugal a r e  v e r y  r a re :  t h i s  fac t  i s  a l so  t r u e  for  the  Azores.  The avai lable  azoi-ian sources  on t h i s  subject  a r e  not t h e  same on every  i s l and  : in Faia l ,  for  example .  "Livros de  Entradas  d e  Expostos" have been found .  conta in ing o n l y  the  b i r t h s  of "expos tos" .  and  in many  cases  the  da te  of d e a t h  (Lima & Smith .  1991) .  In fac t .  legis la t ion  da t ing  from 1820  (Gouveia-Pinto.  1 8 2 0 )  advised a11 m u n i c i p a l i t i e s  to keep sepa ra te  books for "expos tos" ,  bu t  tha t  d i d n ' t  happen.  For example .  s u c h  records  d o  not e x i s t  for  the i s l and  of S. Jorge.  where  the  bapt ism of an  abandoned c h i l d  i s  kept  together wi th  a l l  the  o ther  baptisiris. In Por tugal  t h e  l eg i s l a t ion  on "expos tos"  e x i s t s  s i n c e  the  beginning of the  19th c e n t u r y  (Couveia-Pinto.  1820) .  There  were 65 laws conta in ing a l l  t he  principies b y  which "expos tos"  shou ld  be looked a f t e r .  These  r u l e s  inc luded  the  e x i s t e n c e  of one o r  severa1 women capab le  of receiving and  taking cace of the bab ies .  d u r i n g  theii- f i r s t  d a y s  ( ca l l ed  " r o d e i r a " ) .  Another  person ( u s u a l l y  a  man)  should  be sen t  to look for  p rope r  n u r s e s .  A I 1  t h e  belongings  of the baby  shou ld  be ca re fu l ly  kept  to al low h i s  ident i f ica t ion in case  the  p a r e n t s  wanted him back.  Th i s  in  fac t  happened f r equen t ly .  and can be conf i rmed fo r  the  i s l and  of Sáo Jorge.  In theory .  a11 med ica l  cace  shou ld  be provided to "expos tos" .  a n d  the  n u r s e  cou ld  be seve re ly  p u n i s h e d  if s u c h  d i d n ' t  happen.  On the  o the r  hand ,  a  good c a r i n g  n u r s e  shou ld  be rewarded.  Severa1 o b l i g a t i o n s  were  d u e  to the  n u r s e .  i n c l u d i n g  good c a r e .  i n  t e rms  of c lo th ing .  food. a n d  hea l th .  They should  have the  babies  vaccinated .  and  when col lec t ing t h e i r  fee.  t h e y  shou ld  show the  baby.  in o r d e r  to demonstr'ate he was receiving good care .  These  r u l e s  were  p robab ly  followed to some ex ten t .  but  ther'e i s  no p o s s i b i l i t y  of knowing so. In Faia l .  Lima & Smith  ( 1 9 9 1 )  were ab le  to f ind  a  l i s t  of nui-ses to whom no "exposto"  shou ld  be given to. t h u s  demons t ra t ing  that  some sor t  of contr'ol was done.  In S. Jorge. the  m u n i c i p a l i t y  expenses  wi th  "expostos"  began even before 1800  ( the  f i r s t  r e c o r d  d a t e s  f rom 1 7 2 6 ) :  neve r the le s s .  t h i s  was not seen a s  an  ob l iga t ion  of t h e  m u n i c i p a l i t y  b u t  r a t h e r  a s  a  proof of humani ty ,  once t h e r e  were  no laws on the  subject .  The c r a d l e  ( " r o d a " )  in  Velas. was crea ted  in 1806.  and  the  obl igat ions  of the  m u n i c i p a l i t y  towards  "expostos"  were  d ivided into 9  s imple  r u l e s  (Avel lar .  1902) .  Once the  c r a d l e  was replaced by  the  Hospicio ( a  house spec ia l ly  crea ted  to receive abandoned  bab ies .  a l so  known a s  "casa  d a  roda" ) .  i t  was de te rmined  that  i t  could  receive  abandoned  bab ies  of a n y  place  in  the  i s l and .  The Hospicio could  take  ca re .  b e s i d e s  the  "expostos ."  of a n y  c h i l d  u n d e r  t h e  age of 7 wliose mother' f u l f i l l e d  one of t h e  following condi t ions :  a -  S i n g l e  women b e l o n g i n g  to t r a d i t i o n a l  f a m i l i e s .  t h a t  wou ld  become "dishonored ' .  b- Single women w i t h  no financia1 condi t ions  to r a i se  t h e i r  babies .  c -  Single women that  would become unab le  to work because of the i r  babies .  An allowance was given to the  n u r s e s  d u r i n g  the f i r s t  7 y e a r s  of the  baby 's  l i fe .  T h e  abandoned  b a b i e s  were  a t  t he  r e s p o n s i b i  l i t y  of the  m u n i c i p a l i  t y .  wh ich  p rov ided  an  a l lowance to the  n u r s e s .  d u r i n g  the  f i r s t  7 yeai-s of the  c h i l d ' s  l i fe .  Af te r  tha t .  t hey  cou ld  s t a y  wi th  t h e i r  n u r s e s .  b u t  no f u r t h e r  paynient would be done.  Once t h i s  was not t h e  wi l l  of the  n u r s e .  t he  "exposto"  would be given to the person in  charge  of the  o r p h a n s  i n  t h e  m u n i c i p a l i t y .  The m u n i c i p a l i t y .  t hen .  was f r e e  to give t h e  c h i l d  to whomever pa id  more.  The economic cos t s  re la ted  wi th  "expostos"  where .  without a  doub t .  a  bu rden  to the  m u n i c i p a l i t i e s  (F igue i ra .  1869) :  even tua l ly .  and i f  these  expenses  were  too high.  a l l  t he  popula t ion could  be ca l led  to con t r ibu te .  The i l l eg i t imacy  cate in a  popula t ion i s  an i inportan t plienorilenoii. because among o t h e r  a spec t s  i t  can conceal  the  popula t ion 's  [ r u e  genealogical s t r u c t u r e ,  h id ing  poss ib le  b io logical  l i n k s .  t ha t  become imposs ib le  to t r ace .  Consanguini ty .  f o r  example .  can be s e r i o u s l y  underes t ima ted  in  a  popula t ion wi th  a  high Ievel of i l legi t imacy.  and  where  the  i l l eg i t ima te  c h i l d  has  s i m i l a r  chances  to survive  a s  the  legi t imate  one .  ( A r e i a .  1 9 8 5 ) .  Therefore .  to ana lyze  Lhe importance of i l legi t imacy in the s t r u c t u r e  of th i s  popula t ion i t  would be essen t i a l  to de te rmine  i f  t he re  i s  d i f ferent ia l  mor ta l i ty  r a t e s  for abandoned and i l legi t imate .  that  i s .  to de te rmine  if they had equal oppor tun i ty  to survive.  MATERIAL AND METHODS The non- legi t imate  b i r t h s  were  annota ted wi th  the ind ica t ions  of yea r  of b i r t h .  s t a t u s  ( i l legi t imate  o r  abandoned) .  sex.  place of b i r th .  and year' of death .  This  information was kept  in  a  f i l e  program. consis t ing of 4 3 6  records .  The percentage of non-legit imacy was calculated for each d i s t r i c t  sepa ra te ly .  The s e x  r a t i o  ( n u m b e r  of b o y s / n u m b e r  of gir'ls x  1 0 0 )  a t  bir 'th. for' non- leg i t ima te  a n d  legi t imate  c h i l d r e n  was calcula ted and analyzed. It was impossible  to s t u d y  the  mor ta l i ty  of Lhe abandoned d u e  to the  insuf f i c i en t  information.  Only in  ve ry  few cases  the da te  of death was annotated in the  b i r t h  record.  RESULTS The  number  of non- legi t imate  c h i l d r e n  and the nurnber of legi t imate  b y  d i s t r i c t  a n d  b y  pe r iods  of 5  yea r s  a r e  shown in Table I .  Table 1- Number of non-legit imate and legit imate ch i ld ren .  In abso lu te  t e rms  Velas p resen t s  the highest  number  of non-legit imate b i r t h s .  but  a l s o  t h e  h ighes t  n u m b e r  of legi t imate .  Non-legit imacy percentages  by y e a r .  for  each d i s t r i c t  a r e  shown in  Figure  1 .  Years 1876-80  188  1 -85  1886-90  189  1 - 9 5  1896-00  The  values  obse rved  a r e  e x t r e m e l y  high.  r each ing  6 2 %  in  the  y e a r  of 1 8 8 7  in  Velas. being the  average for  the  two d i s t r i c t s  and for the total per iod of time 3 0 % .  Only  s i n c e  1 8 9 3  has  the re  been an  indicat ion that  these f igures  were decreas ing The expected values  for  i l legi t imacy in  Portugal a r e  bellow these nuinbers.  Areia  ( 1 9 8 5 )  obta ined.  for a  popula t ion of the  c e n t e r  of Portugal.  1 0 %  of i l legi t imate  b i r t h s .  consider ing such  to be a  normal expectancy.  High values of i l legi t imacy were obta ined by Abade ( 1 9 9 2 )  in severa1 popula t ions  in  the  nor th  of Portugal.  According to th i s  au thor' the values observed reveal a  soc ia l  accep tance  towards  s i n g l e  m o t h e r s .  and  c o n s e q u e n t l y  towards  i l l e g i t i m a t e  c h i l d r e n .  We have to keep in  mind.  that .  because the re  was a  specia l  place for abandonment  in  Velas. "expostos"  r ep resen t  a  f a i r l y  high percentage of the non-legi t imate  c h i l d r e n .  From the  4 3 6  complete  r ecords  of non- legi t imate  c h i l d r e n  that  we have anno ta ted .  3 0 3  re fe r  to i l l eg i t ima te  a n d  1 3 3  to abandoned.  The "expostos"  thus  r e p r e s e n t  3 0 . 5 %  of the non-legit imate b i r t h s .  Non-Leg. Velas St. Am. 7 0  2  1 7 7 20 7 8 1 5  8 1 18  3 0  2  7  Legi t. Velas St. Am. 217  9  7  204  120 228  129 1 9 5  115  2  2  2  112 From the two d i s t r i c t s  in s tudy.  Velas shows c lea r ly  the highest percentage of non- legi t imate  b i r t h s .  Th i s  fact  is .  a s  s ta ted before.  re la ted with the existente of a specia l  home for the abandoned in the a rea  ( re fe r red  a s  "Hospicio" in  the records ) .  where  the  babies  could be cared for .  The "Hospicio de  Expostos" name given to the ins t i  tu t ion were the babies  were abandoned.  was created by  the d i s t r i c t  in 1874.  in o r d e r  to replace  the c r a d l e  of Velas. This  was thus  a recognized ins t i tu t ion  accepted and seen a s  beneficia].  once i t  would "save the  honor of honest f ami l i e s  wi thout  jeopardizing the  l i f e  of the  innocents"  (Gouveia-Pinto. 1820) .  % n-legit. V % n-legit SA Years Figure 1- Percentage of non-legitimacy for Velas and St. Amaro. by  year The sex-ra t io  was calculated for non-legitimate and legit imate (Table 2 ) .  On what concerns  Velas. th i s  r a t io  i s  higher for legitimate b i r ths :  for Santo Amaro values a r e  higher  for non-legitimate in three  of the five per'iods in s tudy .  Table  2- Sex-Ratio of non-legitimate and legitimate. by d i s t r i c t .  Considering 106 as  the reference value for the sex- ra t io  (Visar-ia. 1967)  we real ize  that  these  numbers  a r e  very high. with an enormous excess of boys: the small number of b i r t h s  analyzed. can however. be responsible  for some er'r'or. Years 1876-80 1881-85  1886-90  1891-95  1860-00 An ana lys i s  of the place of abandonment reveals that 65 .8  % of the babies were lef t  a t  the  "Hospicio  d e  Expostos".  the o the rs  being abandoned a t  the doors tep of p r iva te  homes . Sex-ratio(Non-Leg.) Velas St.Amaro 6 4  2 16.7 66.4  9 5  121.8  144.4 121.5 166.7  105.1 97.2  Sex-ratio(Leg.1 Velas St.Amai-o 217 125 204 142.8 228 9 2 . 7  195 7 1 . 5  222 105 .7  T h e r e  s e e m s  to be  n o  s p e c i f i c  c r i t e r i a  on choosing t h e  n u r s e s  to whom the  a b a n d o n e d  w e r e  g iven  to: n o  p r e f e r e n c e  i s  g iven to m a r r i e d  women ( T a b l e  3 ) .  Unfor tunate ly .  fo r  2 8 8  records  we have no references  about  the  person who took cace of the  c h i l d .  Table  3- Number of nu r ses .  by  mar i ta l  s t a tus .  Marital  s t a t u s  Number of n u r s e s  Marr ied  3 0  Single 5 8  Widow 3 However i n  Pon ta  Delgada ( t h e  main  c i t y  of S. Miguel) .  t he  l eg i s l a t ion  of 1 8 5 7  s t a t e d  t h a t  a b a n d o n e d  b a b i e s  s h o u l d  not be given to s i n g l e  women. T h i s  r u l e  was  implemen ted  to p reven t  c h i l d r e n  from being given to p r o s t i t u t e s .  tha t  r a i s e d  them a s  a  way of get t ing  t h e  al lowance (J.G.D.A.P.D.. 1857.  1 8 7 9 ) .  From the  total non- legi t imate  c h i l d r e n .  2 7  a r e  s u b s e q u e n t l y  recognized b y  t h e i r  p a r e n t s  ("Legi t imado p o s t e r i o r m e n t e " )  a n d  4 a r e  legal ly  adopted ( - p e r f  i l h a d o s " ) .  T h i s  means  that  if we t r y  to evaluate  the  impact of i l legi t imacy on the popula t ion s t r u c t u r e .  we have to coun t  out  a l l  t hese  ind iv idua l s .  I t  i s  l i k e l y  tha t  t h e  "expostos"  in  Velas r e p r e s e n t  a  f a i r  percentage  of the  total "expos tos"  in  Sâo Jorge:  neve r the le s s .  even in  Santo  Amaro.  i l l eg i t imacy  i s  v e r y  high.  Maybe t h i s  phenomenon i s  r e l a t ed  to the  popula t ion s t r u c t u r e .  namely  wi th  a  l a t e  age a t  mar r i age  a n d  a  h igh r a t e  of ce l ibacy.  These a spec t s  will  be s tud ied  f u r t h e r  more.  BIBLIOGRAPHY ABADE. A. M. E.. 1992 .  A população i n e x i s t e n t e - E s t r u t u r a  demográf ica  e  gené t i ca  na  Lombada. Bragança. Disser tação d e  Doutoramento.  Un ive r s idade  d e  Coimbra.  Coimbra.  AREIA. M. L. R.. 1 9 8 5 .  É tude  p r e l i m i n a i r e  s u r  I 'evolution d e  Ia c o n s a n g u i n i t e  e t  d e  I 'endogamie d a n s  Ia popu la t ion  de  Tábua (Por tuga l ) .  Actas  de1 IV Congreso Espanhol d e  Antropologia Biológica. Barcelona: 12 1 - 129.  AVELLAR. J.  C. S.. 1 9 0 2 .  I lha  d e  São Jorge (Açores)-Apoii tameritos p a r a  a  s u a  h i s t ó r i a .  pp .282-285.  Empresa Gráfica e  Ins ta ladora .  L d a  S. Mamede d e  Infesta.  FIGUEIRA. A. S. O. J..  1869 .  As f inanças  e  a  mor ta l idade  dos Expostos da  Santa  Casa da  Miser icórdia  d e  Lisboa. Imprensa  Nacional. Lisboa. GOUVEIA-PINTO. A. J.. 1 8 2 0 .  Compilação das  p rov idênc ias  q u e  a  bem d a  c r i a ç ã o  e  educaçâo dos  Expostos ou Enjeitados s e  tem pub l i cado  e  achão e s p a l h a d a s  em d i f e r e n t e s  ar t igos  d a  Legislação Pá t r i a .  Impressão Regia. Lisboa. JUNTA GERAL DO DISTRITO ADMINISTRATIVO DE PONTA DELGADA (J.G.D.A.P.D.).  1857.  Regulamento pa ra  a  admin i s t r ação  dos expostos  no Dis t r i to  Admin i s t r a t ivo  d e  Ponta Delgada. Typ. d a s  Letras açor ianas .  Ponta Delgada. - 1879.  Regulamento provisór io  pa ra  a  admin i s t r ação  de  c reanças  abandonadas .  ou expos tas .  e  das  desval idas .  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Child abandonment and illegitimacy in the Island of São Jorge (Azores-Portugal).

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