Gabriel Brea-Martinez
Researcher
Which did most to encourage secularisation: politics, economy or family? Shifting seasonality of marriages in the Barcelona Area, 1715–1880
Author
Summary, in English
This article aims to analyse how the intertwining of politics and religion, economic transformation due to industrialisation, and family influence each contributed to the abandonment of the traditional, religious marriage calendar during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the Barcelona Area or the Oficialitat de Barcelona, the most populated deanery among the four that comprised the Diocese of Barcelona. We make use of the Barcelona Historical Marriage Database, covering the period 1715–1880, to calculate descriptive statistics and linear probability models. Our main findings indicate a progressive change in marriage seasonality; with an increasing number of marriages taking place during Lent across the nineteenth century, as well as the emergence of a December peak in marriages in the first third of that century. Although the primary occupational sector was declining, farmers tended to adhere to the traditional marriage calendar, while the upper classes and artisans were increasingly likely to marry during Lent. During periods of Liberal political influence, which were marked by steps toward secularization, the proportion of marriages taking place during Lent increased. However, independent of the political period, Lenten marriages tended to be passed from one generation to the next, confirming the continuing influence of the family on the timing of marriages in Spain.
Department/s
- Centre for Economic Demography
- Department of Economic History
Publishing year
2024
Language
English
Pages
167-202
Publication/Series
Continuity and Change
Volume
39
Issue
2
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Topic
- Economic History
Status
Published
Project
- The long reach of the neighborhood: Health, education and earnings in Landskrona, Sweden, 1904-2015
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1469-218X