Suchergebnisse

SummaryEstimates of fertility in Protestant Barra and Catholic Harris, islands in the Outer Hebrides, over the period 1856–1985, show that in both islands fertility declined, although marital fertility was generally greater than in Scotland as a whole, and illegitimate fertility was less. However, in Barra during 1966–75 there were pronounced rises in all the indices; illegitimate fertility showed the smallest rise. The publication of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae may have played a part in this change in fertility, although other, probably local, factors must have been acting, as the first rise in numbers of births occurred before the publication of the encyclical. Other than this transient rise, the religious difference between Harris and Barra had little effect on changes in fertility over the whole period.Indices of proportions married showed declines until after World War 2, followed by steep increases. The marked decline in fertility in both islands may be due in part to this low nuptiality. In addition, a trend of occupation away from traditional crofting and fishing towards more skilled mercantile and professional employment may have played a role.

SummaryNeonatal death (mainly due to tetanus) was common in St Kilda until 1891. Two aspects of this phenomenon are studied; factors which pre-dicted death, and the impact of neonatal death on family building. Maternal age appeared to be a predictive factor for death of the first child, but only in children of high birth order were other factors, particularly the number of previous neonatal deaths, important. The first birth interval appeared to be determined mainly by the date of the first birth, independent of neonatal mortality levels. For later intervals, the neonatal death of the previous child appeared to be the main determining factor.

Some factors affecting marital distances have been studied in two Outer Hebridean islands, Harris (843 marriages) and Barra (444 marriages), over the period 1855-1990. In each island marital distances fell before 1900, but then rose to their greatest values after the 1950s. Fishermen generally married at the shortest distances and men in land-based occupations at the longest. The depression in the fishing industry during the 1880s and early 1890s was associated with reductions in marital distances, especially among fishermen. In the different regions of Harris, marital distances were least in the south-east, where settlement was most dense, and greatest in the south-west where it was most sparse.When the association between marital frequencies and inter-settlement distances was studied, it was found that for Harris there was, overall, a trend to endogamous and short-distance marriage. However, this trend was only slight during 1955-90. For Barra a similar trend was found before 1955, but thereafter there appeared to be virtually no connection between marital frequency and inter-settlement distance. Thus the only constraint on marriage was the spatial distribution of settlements. In this situation the chances of random mating with respect to distance are maximised.Application of 'Central Place' theory suggested that only since 1946 can any tendency be detected to regard Tarbert in Harris or Castlebay in Barra as Central Places, at least as far as marriage is concerned. In each island the tendency appears to be limited to the settlements closest to the Central Place.