Reproductive success and occupational class in eighteenth‐century lancashire, England

Abstract

Data from parish registers on 182 couples married between 1754 and 1772 in Lancashire, England, were used to compare lifetime reproductive success of farmers and craftsmen. Farmers were expected to be of higher average status and wealth than craftsmen; thus, these data were used to test the hypothesis that status and reproductive success were positively correlated in this society. Fanners raised a significantly higher mean number of children to age 21 than did craftsmen, although mean numbers of children bom to farmers and craftsmen were not significantly different. The proportion of children surviving to age 21 was significantly higher for fanners than for craftsmen.