Why did more girls than boys die in Europe between 1700 and 1950?

“Missing Girls in Historical Europe” is a major research project at NTNU in which researchers investigated the number of girls and boys in European countries over a period of 250 years. They found that during periods of poverty and poor living conditions, some countries had higher numbers of boys.

Researchers noticed this trend in countries in southern and eastern Europe. It was most noticeable in Greece, but can also be found in Norway.

“We found a similar pattern in all these countries, to varying degrees. In other European countries, the problem was minimal,” says Francisco Beltrán Tapia. Tapia is a professor of history at NTNU and is leading the research project.

The results of this project have been published as articles in many magazines, including: cliometrica and Overview of economic history.

Spanish school statistics

Francisco Beltrán Tapia first noticed this phenomenon when he was researching the gender distribution of Spanish school-age children throughout history. He found that in some regions and in some eras there were significantly more boys than girls.

This piqued his interest, so researchers included all of Europe in the “Missing Girls” project.

This research project investigates whether discriminatory practices increased mortality rates for women in infancy and childhood in Europe between 1700 and 1950.

Girls have a biological advantage

Girls have an innate biological advantage for survival beyond fetal life. The majority of stillbirths and miscarriages are boys. Also, baby boys are more susceptible to stress and more likely to get sick than baby girls.

Women are also better able to survive famine and epidemics. An international research team established this by studying historical data from seven different crises in her that have occurred over the past 250 years.

Despite this, material collected in the case of missing girls shows that in some European countries and regions, more girls than boys died during a given period of time. .

but why?

Boys were given priority and more food

The reason is that during difficult times of poverty and hunger, boys experienced better living conditions and were given priority by their parents. Boys were given more food than girls, mothers tended to breastfeed boys longer, and boys received better care and living conditions.

In high-mortality environments, more girls die from the combined effects of malnutrition and disease due to the way girls are treated when they get sick and the amount of work they have to do. there is a possibility.

Of course, this doesn’t apply to all families, but the numbers speak for themselves. Researchers collected data by examining census, demographic, birth and death records.

They also investigated the number of abandoned infants who ended up in orphanages. It turns out that, especially in certain parts of Europe, during difficult times the majority were girls.

A phenomenon spreading across Asia

This is a known phenomenon in some Asian countries.

“Gender discrimination in the form of sex-selective abortions, the killing of female infants and the fatal neglect of girls is found in developing countries, especially in South and East Asia,” said Bertrand Tapia.

Indian economist, philosopher, and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen helped bring this issue to light 30 years ago.

“Economic and cultural factors have long influenced women’s values ​​in these regions, resulting in millions of ‘missing girls’. “We now know that the same phenomenon is much more prevalent in Europe, especially in southern and eastern Europe, than previously thought,” said Bertrand Tapia.

Girls were an economic burden

Boys were considered more valuable than girls. In recent European history, nowhere is this more clearly evident than in Greece.

Boys were able to get jobs and contribute to the household income. Girls and women’s work in the home was not valued or considered economically beneficial.

“In Greek folklore stories and songs, girls are often described as being of low value. They were often seen as a burden,” says Bertrand Tapia.

One important aspect was the traditional practice of marrying off girls, which meant that the girl’s family had to pay a dowry. In other words, girls were expensive.

“At least until the 1920s, a strong preference for sons in Greece clearly increased female mortality rates around childbirth, in infancy, and childhood. Our estimates indicate that between 1861 and 1920 “More than 5% of girls have ‘disappeared’,” says Bertrand Tapia.

strict patriarchy

PhD candidate and researcher Eftikia Karaitsidou focused on Greece, examining interviews with older people from the 1970s and 1980s. They said the birth of a baby girl was not greeted with much enthusiasm and usually had quite the opposite reaction.

“In Greece, we found that the family system is a clear source of sexist practices,” says Bertrand Tapia.

This was evident in various case studies.

“This view is supported by a large body of qualitative evidence, including contemporary accounts, folklore, and anthropological studies. All of this highlights the fact that girls have been neglected due to their low social status. ” says Bertrand Tapia.

“The Greek findings reflect the conditions associated with the marginalization of women in South and East Asia: strong patriarchal systems based on strict kinship and dowry systems,” he said.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many Greek men emigrated from Greece. This further reduced women’s position in the marriage market due to the scarcity of potential husbands.

“Women’s status was probably also weakened by the fear of conflict and blood feuds, reinforced by the concept of honor characteristic of Greek and other Mediterranean cultures,” says Bertrand-Tapia.

Also noticeable in Spain

Although less extreme, these practices are also evident in 19th century Spain.

“The church’s extensive records actually paint a more detailed picture. They show that not only did some families ignore girls, but that sexist practices continued throughout childhood. “This has also been confirmed,” says Bertrand Tapia.

However, this behavior was less pronounced during the first year of life. This is related to the fact that once the baby is accepted into the family, it is protected by breastfeeding. The gender difference in mortality rates clearly reappeared once children were weaned.

“Discriminatory practices appear to have been part of a generalized cultural system that favored boys in terms of access to food and care. It seems to be most prevalent among landless families,” Beltran said. Tapia.

spanish civil war

This phenomenon remained prominent in Spain until the 1940s, due to widespread poverty in the country due to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939).

Massive rationing in Spain during the first decade after the civil war devastated agriculture and led to severe food shortages. Fuel shortages made it difficult to distribute basic products.

Infanticide and child marriage

Information from the Mosaic Project on more than 300 historical European populations shows that where there are patrilineal norms, child gender differences tend to be greater. Here women married young and the couple lived near the husband’s parents or in the same house.

“The strength of patriarchal values ​​explains many of the regional differences,” said Bertrand-Tapia.

It was not unheard of for girls to be killed by their parents.

“Although this aspect has probably received the most attention, it is only a small part of the picture. It is other mechanisms that have had the greatest impact: girls are eating less and breastfeeding for longer. “They are more often shortened, receive less care, and generally have worse living conditions than boys,” says Bertrand Tapia.

What happened in Norway?

PhD candidate and researcher Marko Kovacevic looked at Norway’s demographics. Although this phenomenon is less widespread in Norway, the researchers found that the same trends were observed during times of severe food shortages in the 18th century, when boys were given priority and were more likely to be given more food than girls. are watching.

1741 was a terrible year for Norway. Grain and other crops failed. It was the beginning of the famine and many people starved to death. Those who survived suffered from severe malnutrition and many died of rubella.

From 1741 to 1743, deaths exceeded births by 50% and the population decreased by 3.5%. Despite girls’ biological advantage in terms of survival, more girls died than boys during this period.

Marko Kovacevic’s research on the situation in Norway will eventually be published in book form.

girls and education

In Europe, the patterns of discrimination that affected women’s early mortality disappeared in the first decades of the 20th century. As economic, social, and cultural changes improved living standards, overall mortality rates declined and sons were prioritized.

Long-term efforts to improve living standards and gender equality have made education more accessible to girls and women. This led to economic independence, knowledge, increased status, and better health. Women now make up the majority of people in higher education in many countries.