It is only in the past two centuries where demographics and the development of human populations has emerged as a subject in its own right, as industrialization and improvements in medicine gave way to exponential growth of the world's population. There are very few known demographic studies conducted before the 1800s, which means that modern scholars have had to use a variety of documents from centuries gone by, along with archeological and anthropological studies, to try and gain a better understanding of the world's demographic development.
Genealogical records
One such method is the study of genealogical records from the past; luckily, there are many genealogies relating to European families that date back as far as medieval times. Unfortunately, however, all of these studies relate to families in the upper and elite classes; this is not entirely representative of the overall population as these families had a much higher standard of living and were less susceptible to famine or malnutrition than the average person (although elites were more likely to die during times of war). Nonetheless, there is much to be learned from this data.
Impact of the Black Death
In the centuries between 1200 and 1745, English male aristocrats who made it to their 21st birthday were generally expected to live to an age between 62 and 72 years old. The only century where life expectancy among this group was much lower was in the 1300s, where the Black Death caused life expectancy among adult English noblemen to drop to just 45 years. Experts assume that the pre-plague population of England was somewhere between four and seven million people in the thirteenth century, and just two million in the fourteenth century, meaning that Britain lost at least half of its population due to the plague. Although the plague only peaked in England for approximately eighteen months, between 1348 and 1350, it devastated the entire population, and further outbreaks in the following decades caused life expectancy in the decade to drop further. The bubonic plague did return to England sporadically until the mid-seventeenth century, although life expectancy among English male aristocrats rose again in the centuries following the worst outbreak, and even peaked at more than 71 years in the first half of the sixteenth century.
Life expectancy among males in the English aristocracy, who had already reached the age of 21, between 1200 and 1745
Number of males observed for each entry were as follows:
1200-1300: 7
1300-1400: 9
1400-1500: 23
1500-1550: 52
1550-1600: 100
1600-1650: 192
1650-1700: 346
1700-1745: 812
The samples include only those who died naturally, and omits those who died by accident, battle, poison or violence.
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Springer Science+Business Media. (April 26, 1990). Life expectancy among males in the English aristocracy, who had already reached the age of 21, between 1200 and 1745 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 12, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1102957/life-expectancy-english-aristocracy/
Springer Science+Business Media. "Life expectancy among males in the English aristocracy, who had already reached the age of 21, between 1200 and 1745." Chart. April 26, 1990. Statista. Accessed December 12, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1102957/life-expectancy-english-aristocracy/
Springer Science+Business Media. (1990). Life expectancy among males in the English aristocracy, who had already reached the age of 21, between 1200 and 1745. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 12, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1102957/life-expectancy-english-aristocracy/
Springer Science+Business Media. "Life Expectancy among Males in The English Aristocracy, Who Had Already Reached The Age of 21, between 1200 and 1745." Statista, Statista Inc., 26 Apr 1990, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1102957/life-expectancy-english-aristocracy/
Springer Science+Business Media, Life expectancy among males in the English aristocracy, who had already reached the age of 21, between 1200 and 1745 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1102957/life-expectancy-english-aristocracy/ (last visited December 12, 2024)
Life expectancy among males in the English aristocracy, who had already reached the age of 21, between 1200 and 1745 [Graph], Springer Science+Business Media, April 26, 1990. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1102957/life-expectancy-english-aristocracy/