The Fate of Rural Migrants in Early Modern Urban Centres: Soldiers, Servants, and Sailors

Abstract

The seventeenth century saw a mass migration from the countryside to urban centres in Europe. Did migrants of rural origin integrate into their new communities, or did they form a subgroup in the town? This article is based on marriage, baptismal and burial records from the German and Danish Churches in Elsinore (Helsingør) between 1637 and 1660, and on municipal sources, mainly probate inventories and tax records. In the Early Modern period, Elsinore was the second-largest town in Denmark and the seat of the Sound Toll. This article presents a comparative analysis of the fate of rural and urban migrants in the town. The study found that rural migrants, and especially the women among them, faced lives of high mobility, poverty and limited social support, whereas urban migrants established more robust social networks and entered into more advantageous marriages.