Evolution Of Illegitimate Persons

EVOLUTION OF ILLEGITIMATE PERSONS All these demographic data exposed so far serve to insert the illegitimate of La Vega in their demographic context, trying to outline the causes and consequences of their socioeconomic behaviors. Let us now analyze the evolution of illegitimate persons during the period: In view of the evolution described in the graph of illegitimate, we must first point out the existence of numerous periods of alternation in the registrations, although in general terms we can speak of an initial stage that goes from 1592 to 1664 that is governed by the scarcity of registrations of illegitimate births; and a new stage from 1664 until the end of the eighteenth century, where the volume of cases found increased significantly, but which in turn was part of a great instability, with pronounced ups and downs. In the first stage, 1592-1664, the average annual conception of illegitimate was 0.472, thanks to the high number of years in which the presence of illegitimate persons is not even confirmed: 53 out of a total of 72 years. This reflects the scarcity in the records that we used to mention. The years 1604 and 1638 stand out positively, although the indices are scarce and they are also punctual data. However, from 1664 onwards the number of children born to unknown parents increased significantly, with 281 illegitimate children for this period, which represents an average of more than two conceptions per year. This is due, among other causes, to a lower observance of the religious guidelines of the time, as the population becomes more secular, to the population growth in both rural and urban centers and to the existence of unfavorable economic conditions that motivate the separation of couples who were going to marry – although they do not directly originate the conception of children that a priori are illegitimate. for, as we know, in these times of famine, conceptions are diminishing, both legitimate and non-legitimate. If we look at the periods in which mortality rates in La Vega increase, we see that they coincide with the years in which the conceptions of illegitimacy decrease or are null: 1703, 1704, 1741, 1750, 1772 and 1779. This shows the link between economic scarcity, famine, crop failures... with the decrease in the number of births, illegitimate or not. However, the negative economic situation means that some of the children conceived are considered illegitimate, thanks to the fact that the couples are not prepared for the marital adventure. Thus, economic hardship is shown to us as an element that slows down births, even of children of unknown parents, and not the other way around. We must pay attention to the nuptial and compare it with the evolution of the births described above. If we take into account the increase in marriage, we see that it is a phenomenon that is often intertwined with times of economic prosperity. The same goes for births, which are generally related to moments of economic stability within the family. The volume of marriages increased slowly from 1625 onwards as a logical effect of the increase in population experienced at this time. As for marriages, the trends in marriages show how these, as well as the number of illegitimate births, increase with the passing of the years. It's quite logical considering population growth. Thus, both marriages sanctified by the Church and extramarital relations are steadily increasing. We can observe two clearly distinguishable phases. In the first, which runs from 1635 to 1645, there seems to be some relationship between the increase in the rate of illegitimate persons and the decrease in the number of marriages; Illegitimate relationships can be an escape valve for those who are not married. However, from 1645 onwards both parameters appear stable thanks to the continuous increase in population. The general increase in the number of illegitimate persons is therefore due to the arrival of foreign contingents that increase the number of nuptial relationships, but also to the rise and development of illicit relations among those who had married.