Demographic Conditions in the En

Demographic Conditions in the English Colonies

Starving times: Crude death rate first winter
Jamestown	Plymouth
638 (per thousand)	490 (per thousand)

In 1607, the Susan Constant discharged l05 passengers; six months later, two-thirds were dead.

Between l607 and l624, 6,000-10,000 colonists arrived; but only l,275 remained alive.

Child Mortality in New England
180-200 of every l,000 died first year	35-40 percent failed to reach adulthood

Death rate for infants in Salem, Mass. (per thousand)
	17th century	18th century
Girls	313	178
Boys	202	105

Causes of Death in New England
Epidemic diseases:
smallpox
diphtheria
pneumonia
measles
scarlet fever		killed 30 per l,000 during mid-l8th century
tuberculosis		killed 20 percent

Maternal mortality

1.5-2 percent death rate per pregnancy

Average Life Expectancy at Age 20 During the Seventeenth Century
Married Women in Middlesex County, Virginia	39
Married Men in Middlesex County, Virginia	48
Women in Andover, Massachusetts	62
Men in Andover, Massachusetts	64
Women in Plymouth, Massachusetts	62
Men in Plymouth, Massachusetts	69

Growth of the Colonial Population
	South	Difference
1640	26,634	26,037	596
1670	111,935	107,400	4,535
1700	250,888	223,071	27,817
1740	905,563	755,539	150,024
1770	2,148,076	1,688,254	459,822

Declining Mortality, 1780-1820
	1780	1820
Northern states Total population	28 per thousand	20 per thousand
Infants	180-200 per thousand	140-160 per thousand

Population Statistics
Population growth rate	3.5 percent
Doubling time	20-25 years
Average number of children per family	7-8 surviving children

Marriage Rate
New England in the early 18th century
men		98 percent
women		93 percent
End of the l8th century
women		78 percent

Average age of marriage for women
New England	20
Maryland	18

Declining Fertility Proportion of families with 6 or more surviving children
pre-1700	75 percent
1700s	67
1800-30	40
1830-60	20
1860-1900	10