Demographic Transitions in a Sicilian Rural Town

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Abstract
Combining archival, ethnographic, vital, and oral historical data, this paper compares the experiences of population growth and demographic transi tion among different social classes of a Sicilian rural town from 1850 to the pres ent. Four locally named groups have dominated this town's social life during most of the period in question—gentry, artisans, landed, and landless peasants. Of particular concern are the contrasting patterns of demographic transition be tween the gentry and artisanry, and a consideration of why, in both cases, fertility decline occurred earlier than among landless peasants. Comparison underscores the theoretical advantage of disaggregating population change in relation to historical context and social class.