Early population records in Spain / P. Granville Edge.

  • Edge, P. Granville (Percy Granville), 1881-
Date:
1932
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Early population records in Spain / P. Granville Edge. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/28 page 240
    of the kingdom at the end of the i6th century. Particulars of 40 Provinces (i) and of their sub-divisions are available in great detail, referring to each Region {Tierra), Territory assigned to a Royal Prince (Infantazgo), Archiepiscopal territory [Mesa ArzohispaT), area of the jurisdiction of a Royal Sheep-Walk [Merindad) (2), County or Earldom (Condado), district [Partido), municipal Council (Concejo), rural Council (Quadrilla), group of townships [Sesmo], or place pay¬ ing ancient pasturage fees [Roda). The inquiry was unique in the sense, on this occasion there were no class exemptions. In his Ad- vertencia Preliminary Gonzai^ez states that the absence of such exemp¬ tions on this occasion was due to the fact that the tax was a special and extraordinary one known as “ Donativo to which exemptions from ordinary taxation did not apply. The inquiry was conducted with special care and the 1,338,617 tax-paying citizens [vecinos pe¬ cker os) recorded (3) w^ere considered dependable. However, a corrected statement of these figures gives the numbers of tax-payers as 1,340,320, which would mean a population of 6,701,600 persons, and furthermore, it would appear that certain areas were omitted from the records e. g. Vizcaya, Guipuzcoa, Alava, Navarra, Aragon, Valencia, and Cataluiia ; the adjustment necessary for these non-enunerated divisions would result in an approximate estimate of 8,206,791 person in the country at that time. How reliable these figures are it is by no means easy to say, for another estimate based on the records of the 1594 enumeration gives the following results : — 1,340,320 households X 5.6,701,600 persons Basque Provinces (omitted). 208,157 » Nobles of Asturias (omitted) .... 225,000 )> Clergy (omitted) . 169,300 » Total in 1594 .... 7,304,057 » (4) There exists among the Spanish Archives belonging to this pe¬ riod, a statement of the population of the City of Madrid in the year (1) Owing to changCvS in boundaries data are scarcely comparable with those of later times. (2) See Footnote p. 3. (3) By the usual method of estimation (1,338,617 x 5) would mean a total population of 6,693,085 souls. (4) Such variations are by no means peculiar to Spanish estimates relating to the same century. Cf. the estimates of Gregory King, Chai^mers, and others in England ; MESSance, Necker, Vauban, in France, etc. 12 ^
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