Protoindustria y población en una comarca textil valenciana (1600-1800)

Abstract

Proto-industrialisation theory originally combined the development of rural industry with a set of changes in demographic behaviour patterns. In Spain, with some exceptions, these changes have not been studied in the proto-industrial areas. There are contributions that analyse some population factors regarding the manufacturing activity, but in no case the analysis has been directed towards finding the set of hypotheses derived from the proto-industrialisation theories. The present work focuses on the verification of some of these assumptions. The issue is approached from the study of a relevant local case: the Valencian textile region of Alcoi. Using the aggregative method, an analysis is made of the changes in fertility and marriage to check whether they conform to those that Mendel, Medick and others attribute to the demographics of the proto-industrial areas.