The population of a parish in New Spain in the eighteenth century: Santa Maria de la Presentación de Chilapa

This paper discusses the demography of a parish of colonial Mexico, Santa Maria de la Presentación de Chilapa, during the last quarter of the eighteenth century, through an analysis of parish records of the time and the Bucareli census.First, an estimate is made of the population and of the breakdow...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Author: Chena Rivas, Rodolfo
Format: Article
Status:Published version
Publication date:1992
Country:México
Institution:COLMEX
Repository:Estudios Demográficos y Urbanos
Language:Spanish
OAI Identifier:oai:oai.estudiosdemograficosyurbanos.colmex.mx:article/840
Online Access:https://estudiosdemograficosyurbanos.colmex.mx/index.php/edu/article/view/840
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Chilapa
demografía histórica
población novohispana
Description
Summary:This paper discusses the demography of a parish of colonial Mexico, Santa Maria de la Presentación de Chilapa, during the last quarter of the eighteenth century, through an analysis of parish records of the time and the Bucareli census.First, an estimate is made of the population and of the breakdown of that population, by sex, age, and marital status. On the basis of those estimates and information from parish records, some indicators are calculated in order to describe the corresponding demographic profile. The demographic information obtained is then related to historical and anthropological data. The analysis adds to our understanding of the demographic behavior during the colonial era and confirms what has been pointed out in other studies about the slow but gradual recovery of the population of colonial Mexico, decidedly immersed in epidemics and famines that caused periods of high growth as well as other periods of no population growth.