Page 211 - Upland Families, Elites and Communities

Urban Opportunities

the nineteenth century, the number of deaths in this age group represent-
ed more than 60 percent of all deaths. These instances coincided with the
aforementioned peaks in total mortality, but also with periods of acceler-
ated population growth, such as in the 1820s when child mortality declined
less than overall mortality. It did not drop significantly until the 1890s, and
more markedly in the 1920s.
A large proportion of child mortality in the first five years of life affected
babies up to one year of age when young lives are at greatest risk of death
due to poor nutrition, hygiene and other factors. This age group, as shown
in the first column, accounted for up to one third of all deaths in some pe-
riods and 46 percent of deaths in the 0−5age groupoverthe entire period
under consideration. In the 1890s, infant mortality (the 0−1agegroup)
also began to decline, but at a slower rate, so that its share within the 0−5
age group rose to 64 and 73.5 percent, respectively, during these decades.
The age group 71−80 years was the second most notable with 10.8 percent
of all deaths over the whole period. This class shows a more pronounced
variability up to the 1860s, but from then on it indicates that mortality
began to shift slowly from the youngest to the oldest segments of society.

Migration: From a Subordinate to a Systemic Factor
Throughout the period under observation, migration accompanied the de-
mographic development of the Tomaj and the wider Karst area, albeit with
varying intensity and demographic effects in different historical phases.
Migratorymovementsareevidencedbyvariousindicesinearliercenturies,
allowing deductions about the departures and arrivals of inhabitants. For
instance, the emergence of new surnames at the end of the seventeenth
and beginning of the eighteenth centuries indicates immigration, likely
contributing to the rapid population growth during that period. In the lat-
er eighteenth century, vital statistics with natural balances surpassing the
most optimistic estimates of the population’s actual size suggest that the
natural population increase was partly offset by emigration. However, mi-
gration did not have as pronounced an impact on population development
as natural factors during this historical stage.
The situation considerably changed in the nineteenth and twentieth cen-
turies, as evidenced in table 7.2. Throughout this period, a largely positive
natural balance, often surpassing an annual rate of 10 per thousand, en-
sured sustained positive natural population growth. However, from the
mid-nineteenth century onwards, such demographic vitality translated to
actual population increase to a lesser extent, as a significant portion of the

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