Population

How many people lived in Europe during the Renaissance—and in various regions or cities of the continent? Although modern historians do not have exact answers to such questions, they have come up with estimates based on population counts made during the period. By applying the techniques of demography* to information about population size in various places at various times, scholars have concluded that the overall population of Europe reached about 89 million by 1600. Population growth during the Renaissance was unsteady, interrupted by periods of decline caused by the plague* and other disasters, and population trends differed from region to region.

Renaissance Censuses. The primary source of information about population size and characteristics is the census, a survey that counts citizens and may include information about their gender, age, marital status, education, and profession. By the 1300s the cities of western Europe began counting their populations, usually for tax purposes. Some counts simply recorded households or heads of families. Other lists, especially those related to military service, included the ages and genders of individuals. From the census-related documents that survive, historians can estimate the total population of Renaissance urban centers and sometimes of the surrounding rural areas. Few sources cover large territories or whole countries before 1500.

One unusually thorough census is the catasto (land register) made in the Italian city of Florence in 1427. It describes the property and real

estate of each taxpayer as well as the entire population under the control of the Florentine republic: 60,000 families and more than 260,000 individuals. Venice, another Italian city, also produced detailed censuses. The first complete survey of the city's population was taken in 1338. In 1440 Venetians designed a census project to classify people by age, gender, profession, social condition, and nationality. Although this seemingly modern census was not carried out, Venice continued to take surveys. In 1607 its census takers received the first printed forms on which to record information.

Interesting and valuable as they are, Renaissance urban censuses fall short of providing full information. Not only do they cover limited areas, but they also tend to exclude certain groups, especially those that did not pay taxes. Young children, single widows, vagabonds and poor people, patients in welfare institutions, and members of the clergy or religious orders are probably undercounted. For example, the 1427 catasto lists 37,246 inhabitants for the city of Florence, but historians believe that the city's population was larger.

Demographic Patterns. Demography helps historians fill in gaps and expand the population picture. In addition to census counts, demographers study a variety of written records, such as registers of marriages, births, and deaths. They also use archaeological information. For example, the cultivation of new fields and the enlargement of city walls indicate population growth, while deserted villages or large empty areas within cities can be signs of a major drop in population.

From a.d. 1000 to 1300, the population of Europe grew slowly but steadily. Then, in the mid-1300s, Europe was struck by the Black Death, the first and deadliest of the many waves of the plague that swept across

the continent over the next several centuries. The Black Death killed large numbers of people at once. It also launched a era in which periods of zero population growth, or even of population decline, alternated with periods of rapid growth. Europe's overall population was an estimated 74 million in 1340, just before the outbreak of the plague. By 1400 it had fallen to 52 million. During the next century it rose to 67 million, still lower than before the Black Death. Only in the late 1500s did the continent's population surpass the level it had reached before the plague.

Europeans reacted to large-scale population decline in a variety of ways. People who had lost spouses remarried. Those who had lost children had more children. Marriage customs changed—women married younger and bore their first children at a younger age. Cities encouraged skilled laborers and productive workers to come from other areas.

Aside from the effects of the plague cycle, two overall, long-term trends shaped demographic patterns in the Renaissance. One was a shift toward greater population density in northern Europe, probably as a result of new agricultural techniques that made farmlands more productive. In 1200, northern Europe had only 12 million people, compared with 33 million in southern Europe. By 1500, northern Europe's population had nearly doubled to 23 million, while southern Europe's had reached only 39 million. Over the next 150 years, European population continued to expand at a faster rate in the north than in the south.

The other major demographic trend of the age was the growth of cities. The cities earned the nickname "man eaters," a reference to the floods of people migrating from the countryside to the urban centers. Cities welcomed skilled and qualified workers as immigrants. During times of famine and hardship, however, many immigrants were poor people in search of food and help.

Urban growth had limits. For example, cities could not outgrow the ability of the surrounding countryside to feed them. Even in Italy, where urbanization began, only about 10 percent of the population lived in cities by 1500. The century that followed brought increasing urbanization, especially as the new centralized states of Europe developed their capital cities. In some places, however, the rate of urban growth slowed when the cities encountered economic problems. In Italy, for example, manufacturing shifted from some of the cities to smaller towns. No population trend of the Renaissance applied equally to all parts of Europe.

(See alsoAgriculture; Plague. )

* demography

statistical study of characteristics of population, such as size, distribution, growth, birthrates, and death rates

* plague

highly contagious and often fatal disease that wiped out much of Europe's population in the mid-1300s and reappeared periodically over the next three centuries; also known as the Black Death