Life expectancy in the 19th century in the world. Life expectancy in the Russian Empire (excluding infant mortality). Jeanne Louise Calment - the oldest person in the world
One way or another, all the data presented indicate that the population of Western Europe in the 17th-18th centuries had a high marriageable age and marriages in early adolescence were rare (nobles and nobles are not counted), but marriages after 25 were a common phenomenon (among the ruling nobility too). It is believed that ordinary European women often married at a late age in order to have fewer children (source 5).
Now let’s compare it with Russia. If, due to low life expectancy, people had to get married equally early, then the indicators would be close or equal. But the thing is that in late 18th century in Ryazan, the average age at first marriage was only 17.5 years(source 6), which is significantly less than European indicators. I did not find data for other regions in the 18th century, however, back in the 19th century, Russia had one of the lowest marriageable ages in Europe. IN 1815-1861 V village of Vykhino the average age of the bride was from 19.3 to 20.1 years(source 7) . IN Petrovsky(Tambov province) in 1813-1856 this figure was 18.9 years. For comparison: V 1800-1850. woman's marriageable age England amounted to 23.4 years(source 5) . IN Omelanden (Groningen, Netherlands) average age of the bride between 1801 and 1820 ranged from 23 to 26.7 years(source 8).
There is such a thing as "The Hajnal/Hajnala Line". The Hajnal Line separates regions characterized by early marriage and complex family structures from a zone to the west dominated by late marriage and the nuclear family. (See, for example: Burguiere A., Klapisch-Zuber S.I., Segalen M., Zonabend F. Histoire de la Famille. - Paris: Stock, 1994.). For the reasons given above and below, Russia belonged to the first. They were accepted there universal early marriage immediately upon reaching the minimum acceptable age. Marriages of teenagers aged 13-16 were common among serfs, which were encouraged by landowners who wanted to get more offspring from the peasants. 90% Ryazan women in late XVIII been married for centuries 21 years old. Even in 1897 of people aged 45-49 years in Russia there were only 5-6% unmarried and unmarried. IN Western Europe(Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Germany) by 45-49 never married 10-19% women and 8-16% men (source 9).
Now concrete example that low life expectancy at birth does not guarantee a low marriageable age. Here is Russia, 1751-1800. Average life expectancy at birth - 30 years old(source 10), average age at first marriage 17.5 years(for Ryazan). Here is France, the same 1751-1800. Average life expectancy - 26-36 years old(source 10), average age at first marriage - 26 years or more.
This is also because in popular literature low life expectancy is often misinterpreted to mean that few people lived past 40. Life expectancy at birth was very low due to very high infant and child mortality rates. In England from 1580 to 1800 18 % babies died in the first year of life. Only 69 % newborns lived to see their fifteenth birthday. But those lucky enough to celebrate their 15th birthday could expect to celebrate their birthday 37 more times (source 5), i.e., live about 52 years old. Taking into account the fact that there were almost no marriages under 15 in England during that period, the life expectancy of the married population was most likely more than 52. In some other countries, infant mortality was even higher, in France at the end of the 18th century, only people lived to be 15 49% born. (source 4) This explains why the average life expectancy and the average age at first marriage in this country were almost equal during the same period.
So, we come to the conclusion that the widespread opinion that not only in Russia, but also in Western Europe in the 17th-18th centuries, the age of marriage was equally low is erroneous. The difference was colossal. In addition, low life expectancy at birth did not guarantee a low marriageable age.
Sources of data on marriageable age in different countries:
1. English Population History from Family Reconstitution 1580-1837", EA Wrigley, RS Davies, JE Oppen, RS Schofield (Cambridge, 1997)
2. POPULATION GROWTH IN EUROPE, B.C. URLANIS (calculus experience) (M., OGIZ-Gospolitizdat, 1941, 436 pages)
3. Hurwich, Judith J. Noble Strategies: Marriage and Sexuality in the Zimmern Chronicle. Vol. 75
4. L. M. Bacci: Demographic history of Europe
5. Gregory Clark. Goodbye poverty! Brief economic history of the world / Transl. from English Nikolai Edelman. - M.: Gaidar Institute Publishing House, 2012. - 304 p.
6. The Russian Peasantry, 1600-1930: The World the Peasants Made. By David Moon. London: Longman, 1999. Pp. xiii+396.
7. Peasant Marriage in Nineteenth-Century Russia. A. Avdeev, A. Blum, I. Troitskaia. Population (English edition), 2004, Vol.59, No. 6, pages 721-764
8. Explaining individual ages at first marriage in a 18th century rural market economy. Richard Paping. University of Groningen
9. Patterns of First Marriage: Timing and Prevalence. N.Y.: United Nations, 1990. P.7-18.
10. Zubets A. N. Quantitative assessments in history (tools for cliometrics). Financial University, 2014.
The life expectancy of people was different in different times historical periods and depended on socio-economic conditions.
Scientists who studied ancient tombstone inscriptions, as well as the remains of burials, came to the conclusion that in ancient times people lived on average 22 years.
In the XIV-XV centuries there was a slight increase in life expectancy. English scientists believe that it was minimal (17 years) during the era of the “Black Death” plague, which raged in England in the 14th century. And in other periods, the maximum level did not exceed 24-26 years.
IN XIX century According to statistics, the Belgians lived on average 32 years, the Dutch - 33 years. In India, during the rule of the British, the average life expectancy of Hindus was 30 years, while the British in this country at that time lived up to 65 years. IN Tsarist Russia in 1897, the average life expectancy of men was recorded as 31.4 years, in 1913 – 32 years. Today in the Soviet Union, according to the Central Statistics Service, men live on average 65 years, and women - 74 years.
In many countries, there is a difference in life expectancy between men and women of 5-7 years. Some researchers explain this by the fact that the male population drinks alcohol, others - by a decrease in women's mortality from childbirth, others - by the fact that men do more difficult work, and others - by the biological adaptability of women to changing living conditions. These questions are currently being studied.
Historical data shows that at different periods in almost all nations there were individuals who managed to live very long lives.
Academician A. A. Bogomolets in his book “Life Extension” gives examples of longevity. In 1724, P. Kzarten, 185 years old, died in Hungary. His son was 95 years old at the time; in 1670, Disenkins died in Yorkshire, aged 169. Thomas Parr lived a working peasant life for 152 years. At the age of 120, he remarried a widow, with whom he lived for 12 years, and was so cheerful that, as contemporaries say, his wife did not notice his old age. In Norway, Joseph Surrington died in 1797 at the age of 160, leaving a young widow and many children from several marriages, the eldest son being 103 years old and the youngest son 9 years old.
Hungarians John Rovel and his wife Sarah have been married for 147 years. John died at 172 years old, and his wife 164 years old.
The Norwegian sailor Drakenberg lived 146 years, and his life was difficult: at the age of 68 he was captured by the Arabs and remained in slavery until he was 83 years old. At the age of 90 he still led the life of a sailor, and at 111 he got married. Having lost his wife at the age of 130, he wooed a young peasant woman, but was refused. The painter Kramer left a portrait of Drakenberg at the age of 139, in which he looks like a strong old man.
In 1927, Henri Barbusse visited the peasant Shapkovsky, who was then 140 years old, in the village of Laty near Sukhumi. Barbusse was surprised by the cheerfulness, vivacity of movements, and sonorous voice of this man. His third wife was 82 years old, his youngest daughter was 26 years old. Thus, at the age of 110, Shapkovsky had not yet stopped having sex.
Women are not inferior to men in their longevity. Mechnikov reports that in 1904 there lived an Ossetian woman whose age was 180 years old. Despite this, she was engaged in sewing and housekeeping. Not long ago, 169-year-old Turkish woman Hacer Issek Nine died in Ankara after a heart attack. Her last words were: “I haven’t lived enough in this world yet.” The life of the Ossetian Taiabad Anieva was even longer: she died at the age of 182.
The largest number of centenarians is noted in Georgia, but people 100 years and older also live in harsh Yakutia, Altai, Krasnodar region and in all regions of the RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR and other republics.
If we compare data for the USSR with data from capitalist countries, then in the USSR there are 10 centenarians per 100 thousand population, in the USA - 3 people, in France - 0.7 people, in Great Britain - 0.6.
The socialist system, with its concern for the welfare of the people, creates all the conditions for longevity. The Soviet government gave citizens a secure, peaceful old age. Despite their material security, many of them continue to work to the best of their ability and benefit society. Typically, old age develops gradually, and different people it proceeds in different ways. For some, the aging process begins at 35-40 years old: vision decreases, signs of sclerosis appear. The concepts of youth and old age are relative. Currently, it is generally accepted that there is a passport age and a biological age, so retirement (55-60 years) is sometimes ahead of the age at which a person actually is.
The average life expectancy in the USSR, scientists believe, will soon increase to 80 years, and by 2000 - to 150 years. Of course, not all people will be able to reach this age. Life expectancy depends not only on conditions external environment, in which a person is located, but also on the genetic characteristics of a person.
Scientists studying the ancient world claim that our ancestors lived much shorter than modern humans. No wonder, because before there was no such developed medicine, there was no knowledge in the field of our health that allows a person today to take care of himself and predict dangerous diseases.
However, there is another opinion that our ancestors, on the contrary, lived much longer than you and I. They ate organic food and used natural medicines (herbs, decoctions, ointments). And the atmosphere of our planet was much better than it is now.
The truth, as always, is somewhere in the middle. This article will help to better understand what was the life expectancy of people in different eras.
The ancient world and the first people
Science has proven that the first people appeared in Africa. Human communities did not appear immediately, but in the process of a long and painstaking formation of a special system of relationships, which today are called “public” or “social.” Gradually, ancient people moved from place to place and occupied new territories of our planet. And around the end of the 4th millennium BC, the first civilizations began to appear. This moment became a turning point in the history of mankind.
The times of the primitive communal system still occupy most of the history of our species. This was the era of the formation of man as a social being and as a biological species. It was during this period that methods of communication and interaction were formed. Languages and cultures were created. A person learned to think and make reasonable decisions. The first rudiments of medicine and healing appeared.
This primary knowledge became a catalyst for the development of humanity, thanks to which we live in the world that we have now.
Ancient human anatomy
There is such a science - paleopathology. She studies the structure of ancient people from remains found during archaeological excavations. And according to the data obtained during the research of these finds, scientists found that ancient people were sick just like us, although before the advent of this science everything was completely different. Scientists believed that prehistoric man was not sick at all and was completely healthy, and diseases appeared as a result of the advent of civilization. Thanks to knowledge in this area, modern scientists have found that diseases appeared formerly man A.
It turns out that our ancestors were also exposed to danger from harmful bacteria and various diseases. Based on the remains, it was determined that tuberculosis, caries, tumors and other diseases were not uncommon among ancient people.
Lifestyle of ancient people
But it was not only diseases that created difficulties for our ancestors. Constant struggle for food, for territory with other tribes, non-compliance with any hygiene rules. Only during the hunt for a mammoth, out of a group of 20 people, about 5-6 could return.
Ancient man completely relied on himself and his abilities. Every day he fought for survival. There was no talk of mental development. The ancestors hunted and defended the territory in which they lived.
Only later did people learn to collect berries, roots, and grow some grain crops. But from hunting and gathering to the agrarian society that marked the beginning new era, humanity has been walking for a very long time.
Lifespan of primitive man
But how did our ancestors cope with these diseases in the absence of any medications or knowledge in the field of medicine? The very first people had a hard time. The maximum they lived to was 26-30 years old. However, over time, people learned to adapt to certain environmental conditions and understand the nature of certain changes occurring in the body. Gradually, the life expectancy of ancient people began to increase. But this happened very slowly as healing skills developed.
There are three stages in the formation of primitive medicine:
- Stage 1 – formation of primitive communities. People were just beginning to accumulate knowledge and experience in the field of healing. They used animal fats, applied various herbs to wounds, and prepared decoctions from ingredients that came to hand;
- Stage 2 – development of the primitive community and gradual transition to their collapse. Ancient man learned to observe the processes of the disease. I began to compare the changes that occurred during the healing process. The first “medicines” appeared;
- Stage 3 – collapse of primitive communities. At this stage of development, medical practice finally began to take shape. People have learned to cure certain ailments in effective ways. They realized that death can be deceived and avoided. The first doctors appeared;
In ancient times, people died from the most minor diseases, which today do not cause any concern and can be treated in one day. A person died in the prime of his strength before reaching old age. The average lifespan of a person in prehistoric times was extremely low. IN better side everything began to change in the Middle Ages, which will be discussed further.
Middle Ages
The first scourge of the Middle Ages was hunger and disease, which still migrated from ancient world. In the Middle Ages, people not only starved, but also satisfied their hunger with terrible food. Animals were killed on dirty farms in complete unsanitary conditions. There was no talk of sterile preparation methods. IN medieval Europe The swine flu epidemic claimed tens of thousands of lives. In the 14th century, a plague pandemic that broke out in Asia wiped out a quarter of Europe's population.
Lifestyle of a medieval man
What did people do in the Middle Ages? Eternal problems remained the same. Diseases, the struggle for food, for new territories, but to this were added more and more problems that a person had when he became smarter. Now people began to fight wars for ideology, for ideas, for religion. If earlier man fought with nature, now he fought with his fellow men.
But along with this, many other problems also disappeared. Now people have learned to make fire, build reliable and durable homes for themselves, and began to observe primitive rules of hygiene. Man learned to hunt skillfully and invented new methods to simplify everyday life.
Life expectancy in antiquity and the Middle Ages
The wretched state in which medicine was in ancient times and the Middle Ages, many diseases that were incurable at that time, meager and terrible nutrition - all these are signs that characterize the early Middle Ages. And this is not to mention the constant strife between people, the conduct of wars and crusades, which carried away hundreds of thousands human lives. The average life expectancy still did not exceed 30-33 years. Forty-year-old men were already called “mature husband”, and a man of fifty was even called “elderly”. Residents of Europe in the 20th century. lived to be 55 years old.
IN Ancient Greece people lived on average 29 years. This does not mean that in Greece a person lived to be twenty-nine years old and died, but this was considered old age. And this despite the fact that at that time the first so-called “hospitals” had already been formed in Greece.
The same can be said about Ancient Rome. Everyone knows about the powerful Roman soldiers who served in the empire. If you look at the ancient frescoes, in each of them you can recognize some god from Olympus. One immediately gets the impression that such a person will live a long time and remain healthy throughout his life. But statistics say otherwise. The life expectancy in Rome was barely 23 years old. The average duration throughout the Roman Empire was 32 years. So Roman wars weren't all that healthy? Or is it all our fault? incurable diseases, from which no one was insured? It is difficult to answer this question, but data taken from more than 25,000 epitaphs on the tombstones of cemeteries in Rome indicate precisely these numbers.
In the Egyptian empire, which existed before the beginning of our era, which is the cradle of civilization, the Siberian Front was no better. She was only 23 years old. What can we say about the less civilized states of antiquity, if life expectancy even in ancient Egypt was it negligible? It was in Egypt that people first learned to treat people with snake venom. Egypt was famous for its medicine. At that stage of human development, it was advanced.
Late Middle Ages
What about the later Middle Ages? In England, from the 16th to the 17th centuries, the plague raged. Average life expectancy in the 17th century. reached only 30 years of age. In 18th-century Holland and Germany, the situation was no better: people lived to an average of 31 years.
But life expectancy in the 19th century. began to slowly but surely increase. Russia XIX century was able to increase the figure to 34 years. In those days, people in England lived shorter lives: only 32 years.
As a result, we can conclude that life expectancy in the Middle Ages remained low and did not change over the centuries.
Modernity and our days
And only with the advent of the 20th century did humanity begin to equalize its average life expectancy. New technologies began to appear, people mastered new methods of curing diseases, the first medicines appeared in the form in which we are accustomed to seeing them now. The life expectancy rate began to increase sharply in the mid-twentieth century. Many countries began to develop rapidly and improve their economies, which made it possible to increase the standard of living of people. Infrastructure, medical equipment, everyday life, sanitary conditions, the emergence of more complex sciences. All this led to a sharp improvement in the demographic situation throughout the planet.
The twentieth century foreshadowed new era in the development of humanity. It was truly a revolution in the world of medicine and improving the quality of life of our species. Over the course of just half a century, life expectancy in Russia has almost doubled. From 34 years to 65. These numbers are amazing, because for several millennia a person could not increase his life expectancy by even a couple of years.
But the sharp rise was followed by the same stagnation. From the mid-twentieth century until the twenty-first century, no discoveries were made that radically changed ideas about medicine. Certain discoveries were made, but this was not enough. Life expectancy on the planet has not increased as rapidly as it did in the middle of the 20th century.
XXI century
Humanity is faced with an acute question about our connection with nature. The ecological situation on the planet began to deteriorate sharply against the backdrop of the twentieth century. And many were divided into two camps. Some believe that new diseases appear as a result of our disregard for nature and environment, others, on the contrary, believe that the more we move away from nature, the more we extend our stay in the world. Let's consider this issue in more detail.
Of course, it is foolish to deny that without special achievements in the field of medicine, humanity would remain at the same level of knowledge of itself, its body at the same level as in the Middle Ages, or even later centuries. Now humanity has learned to treat diseases that have destroyed millions of people. Entire cities were carried away. Advances in the field of various sciences such as biology, chemistry, physics allow us to open new horizons in improving our quality of life. Unfortunately, progress requires sacrifice. And as we accumulate knowledge and improve technology, we inexorably destroy our nature.
Medicine and healthcare in the 21st century
But this is the price we pay for progress. Modern man lives many times longer than him distant ancestors. Today medicine works wonders. We have learned how to transplant organs, rejuvenate skin, delay the aging of body cells, and identify pathologies at the stage of formation. And this is only a small part of what modern medicine can offer every person.
Doctors have been valued throughout human history. Tribes and communities with more experienced shamans and healers survived longer than others and were stronger. States in which medicine was developed suffered less from epidemics. And now in those countries where the healthcare system is developed, people can not only be treated for diseases, but also significantly prolong their lives.
Today, the vast majority of the world's population is free from the problems that people faced before. There is no need to hunt, no need to make fire, no need to be afraid of dying from a cold. Today man lives and accumulates wealth. Every day he does not survive, but makes his life more comfortable. Goes to work, rests on weekends, has the opportunity to choose. He has all the means for self-development. People today eat and drink as much as they want. They don't need to worry about getting food when everything is in the stores.
Life expectancy today
Average life expectancy today is approximately 83 years for women and 78 years for men. These figures cannot be compared with those in the Middle Ages and especially in antiquity. Scientists say that biologically a person has about 120 years. So why are older people who turn 90 still considered centenarians?
It's all about our attitude to health and lifestyle. After all, the increase in the average life expectancy of a modern person is associated not only with improved medicine. The knowledge that we have about ourselves and the structure of the body also plays a big role here. People have learned to follow the rules of hygiene and body care. A modern person who cares about his longevity, leads a correct and healthy lifestyle and does not abuse bad habits. He knows that it is better to live in places with a clean environment.
Statistics show that in different countries where culture healthy image life is instilled in citizens from childhood, the mortality rate is significantly lower than in states where due attention is not paid to this.
The Japanese are the longest living nation. People in this country have been accustomed to the right way of life since childhood. And how many examples of such countries are there: Sweden, Austria, China, Iceland, etc.
It took a long time for a person to reach this level and life expectancy. He overcame all the challenges that nature threw at him. How much we suffered from illness, from cataclysms, from the awareness of the fate that was in store for all of us, but we still moved on. And we are still moving towards new achievements. Think about the path we have taken through the centuries-old history of our ancestors and that their legacy should not be wasted, that we must only continue to improve the quality and duration of our lives.
About life expectancy in different eras (video)
Found it very interesting book and there are few statistics on life expectancy and infant mortality in the second half of the 18th century.
Actually, this is probably, in principle, almost the first such statistical study in Russia. But the figures here are given mainly from European sources. How accurate they are is also a question. But trends are reflected. And very scary trends.
This is a description of one of the long-livers. Natural selection at its finest.
Only half of the people lived to be 15 years old.
I saw quite a lot of icons of various kinds, as well as ancient frescoes. So there is such a canon there, pay attention if necessary. All warriors are exclusively without beards. If you remember that the main growth of hair in young men occurs somewhere around the age of 17-18, then you can understand where this canon came from and who made up the bulk of any army. Not for nothing back in the 19th century. And according to my calculations, well, you know about Romeo and Juliet.
Women have always lived longer than men.
And people lived married for a long time back then. Even despite the short lifespan. Well, we got married at 15-16.
And then the centenarians lived mainly in the mountains.
But this is a very interesting passage that shows the standard of living of the population in various areas. Moreover, as you can see, the larger the city, the lower this standard of living. This seems to be a very important point in understanding the history of that time.
Because of all this, people in the cities didn’t get married or give birth very much. And the influx of people from the village was not very large. In my series of posts, I clearly show that the population and size of cities have grown little over the course of 200 or even 300 years. until the early 20th century and the explosive growth of cities.
Vitamin deficiency is a terrible thing.
And now the scariest part of my post. Infant mortality:
And again this is the curse of cities.
But at the same time, the city was still more advanced in the field of medicine.
Progress in medicine was slowly taking place.
This is another scary moment of that time. Mothers or nurses were often so tired that they fell asleep while feeding or simply in bed and crushed their babies with their whole bodies so that the babies simply died.
We now have a poor understanding of the realities of life at that time. Human life was short and worthless. Therefore, the mentality of people was different. And the realities of life. And you need to know all this in order to correctly understand history. Otherwise, it appears before us in the form of a distorting mirror, where everything is wrong and everything is different.
Addition :
I also found data on mortality in the second half of the 18th century.
Book: Kurganov, Nikolai Gavrilovich (1726-1796).
As you can see, at that time the birth rate sharply exceeded the death rate. It was then that the population of Europe and Russia increased at a very rapid pace. According to my data, in Russia this began somewhere in the late 17th, early 18th centuries. A single autocratic state was formed in Russia and the number of internal strife decreased sharply. Again, there was less fighting than before. The raids of the Tatars and other nomads were completely a thing of the past. Labor productivity increased, the common population had more money to feed their offspring, and they gave birth a lot back then.
But at the same time, the mortality rate in cities was very high. Let's, for example, compare it with the current one. I live in the city of Perm. The population of the city is about 1 million people. Mortality 12 thousand per year. The population of the rest of the Perm region is 1.6 million. people and the mortality rate is 22 thousand people per year. Of course, most of it still lives in cities, but they are not comparable to the city of Perm in many respects. I think this disproportion in mortality is due to the difference in the quality and availability of medical care. Because the ecology in Perm itself is much worse than in other cities of the region, not to mention the countryside.
If you multiply 12 thousand by 23, as it is written in the book, you get 276 thousand people. This should have been the population of the city of Perm, given the mortality rate that was in the second half of the 18th century. The almost complete absence of medicine, even for the rich, took its toll. And the environment was clearly not all right. The lack of water supply and sewerage, given the general overcrowding of the population, did its job.
Life has clearly become better and certainly more fun.
The post was written as part of the cycle -.
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