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Illegitimacy in France at the time of the Revolution

Author

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  • Tommaso D'Amelio

Abstract

The French Revolution disrupted local inheritance practices by mandating equal division ofassets among all offspring, including illegitimate children—a historically marginalized group.I compare children born before and after the inclusion in 1793 of illegitimate children inthe inheritance, across bailliages where the reform had a transformative impact and thosewhere local practices remained unaltered. The analysis employs three novel datasets: oneon inheritance rights for out-of-wedlock children in pre-revolutionary France, one built fromgenealogical sources, and one digitizing a demographic survey on illegitimacy prevalence in18th–19th century France. My findings reveal that the reform led to a significant decline inillegitimate births by two thirds.

Suggested Citation

  • Tommaso D'Amelio, 2026. "Illegitimacy in France at the time of the Revolution," Working Papers ECARES 2026-28, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/413186
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    JEL classification:

    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • K36 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Family and Personal Law

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