Demographic Change and the Family

The 19(th) century was a century of enormous changes for the Habsburg Monarchy, and these changes intensified in its second half. There were not only changes in the fields of politics, economy, engineering, science and art, but also within the population. This demographic change in the second half of the 19(th), century and the beginning of the 20(th) century has been termed "demographic transition." It consists of a decline in fertility and mortality from a high level to a much lower level. The earlier onset of mortality decline leads to a higher population increase than before for some decades and massive migrations occurred also during this time. The population of the Habsburg Monarchy lived in families, which differed strongly in structure, size and function. These differences come from distinct cultural patterns, economic conditions, housing situations, the urban-rural contrast and the social classes. The cultural patterns were regionally oriented, while the urban patterns flourished in the rapidly growing cities. The economic conditions, the housing situation and the social class influenced the families in the whole territory of the Habsburg Monarchy. These families were also altered by the demographic changes occurring and these effects should be analysed in this paper. We should also not forget, that most people experienced different family constellations over their life course.