The shaping of a settler fertility transition: eighteenth- and nineteenth-century South African demographic history reconsidered

Abstract

Using South African Families (SAF), a new database of settler genealogies, we provide for the first time, a description of female marital fertility in South Africa from 1700 to 1909. We find high and stable levels of fertility up to the mid-nineteenth century, typical of a pre-transition population, after which fertility declines. The usual correlates of a decline in fertility, namely, later starting and earlier stopping of childbearing, together with increased spacing between births, can be seen from the second half of the nineteenth century. The South African fertility transition mirrors to a large extent the pattern found in other settler communities, as well as the European experience despite the somewhat different economic and social circumstances of the country, in particular relative to Europe.

Stop! Go! What Can We Learn About Family Planning From Birth Timing in Settler South Africa, 1835–1950?

“…Industrialization began late in the nine teenth cen tury, tak ing off in the early twen ti eth cen tury. The fer til ity tran si tion among the set tlers in South Africa began in the late 1870s to women born in the 1850s, a tim ing sim i lar to other set tler fer til ity tran si tions as well as sev eral Euro pean tran si tions (Cilliers and Mariotti 2019).…”

“…However, some remain because of the miss ing or incom plete entries we detailed descrip tion of the ori gins of these data. See Cilliers and Fourie (2012) and Cilliers and Mariotti (2019) for a full account of the tran scrip tion of the SAF into a data base fit for use in demo graphic anal y sis. 6 Although the data con tain all known fam i lies, they do not always con tain all mem bers of these fam i lies.…”

“…The chil dren of A1B2 will appear in her hus band's lin e age. See Cilliers and Mariotti (2019) for details on our con struc tion of a data set of moth ers from these patrilineages. 8 See Cilliers and Mariotti (2019) for an exten sive dis cus sion of the impli ca tions of miss ing data on SAF sam ple rep re sen ta tive ness when study ing fer til ity behav ior in this pop u la tion.…”

“…See Cilliers and Mariotti (2019) for details on our con struc tion of a data set of moth ers from these patrilineages. 8 See Cilliers and Mariotti (2019) for an exten sive dis cus sion of the impli ca tions of miss ing data on SAF sam ple rep re sen ta tive ness when study ing fer til ity behav ior in this pop u la tion. 9 Simkins and Van Heyningen (1989), how ever, suggested White infant mor tal ity rates that were sub stan tially higher than in Australia dur ing the fer til ity tran si tion.…”

Cliometrics in South Africa

“…The European population at the Cape was initially augmented by migration, but high fertility rates soon took over and became the main reason for the territorial expansion. Using genealogical data, Cilliers and Mariotti (2017) plot these rates for the first time over the entire eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. While the average settler was relatively affluent, at least by the standards of the day, the averages mask high levels of inequality, even within settler society (Fourie & Von Fintel, 2010;Fourie & Von Fintel, 2011).…”