Life, Death, and Migration in the Early Modern City - The Urban Historical Demography of Würzburg

In this rich study of early modern Würzburg, Jan de Vries reconstructs the demographic life of a pre-industrial city. Utilising modern demographic techniques, he analyses data about thousands of families between 1696-1711 and examines every stage of the life course from infancy, leaving home, marriage and fertility, to widowhood, remarriage, and mortality. Close study of a single German city allows for special attention to be paid to differences of social class and migrant status, and de Vries emphasises the critical role of migrants to the make-up of the urban community. This new interpretation allows for the Sharlin theory and other questions concerning marriage choice, fertility control, and mortality risks to be tested. At every stage, de Vries compares the findings for Würzburg to those of other cities in Germany and Europe, developing existing generalisations, and contributing to a better understanding of urban historical demography.

List of contents

1. Introduction; 2. Würzburg and its census; 3. The dynamics of an urban population; 4. Testing the Sharlin Thesis; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

About the author

Jan de Vries is Emeritus Professor of History and Economics at the University of California at Berkeley. He is author of The Industrious Revolution, The First Modern Economy (with Ad van der Woude), and European Urbanization, 1500–1800.

Product details

• Authors: Jan de Vries
• Publisher: Cambridge Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 30.04.2026
• EAN: 9781009641517
• ISBN: 978-1-009-64151-7
• Weight: 500 g
• Illustrations: 20 b/w illus., Zeichnungen, schwarz-weiss, Worked examples or Exercises
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Modern era up to 1918; Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, Würzburg, Germany, HISTORY / Europe / General, Social & cultural history, Migration, immigration & emigration, Social and cultural history, Migration, immigration and emigration, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, Population & demography, Population and Demography, Urban communities, C 1600 To C 1700, C 1700 To C 1800, c 1690 to c 1699, c 1700 to c 1709, c 1710 to c 1719, Urban communities / city life