Welfare Levels of the Rural Population in Murcia, 1769-1895. Mortality and Demographic and Economic Instability

The main objective of this study is to make an estimation of the welfare levels of the Murcian population between the last third of the eighteenth century and the end of the nineteenth century. In order to tackle this topic, we have built several indicators for general mortality, catastrophic mortality, and economic and demographic instability. The main sources that have been used for the development of this research are baptism and burial parish registers, as well as the mercurial of Murcia city. The most relevant conclusions that can be drawn from this essay are: 1st) Murcian welfare levels went through important ups and downs between 1769 and 1889: in the first fifteen years of the 19th century their situation worsened dramatically; there was an improvement between 1815 and 1839 that drove welfare levels above the ones attained during the last quarter of the 18th century; and they deteriorated again from the 1840s till the 1880s, but not as sharply as between 1800 and 1814. 2nd) Almost all the indicators used in this research suggest that the well-being of the regional population had not improved substantially by 1865-1889 when compared with the last quarter of the eighteenth century.