Paper short abstract:

In this paper, we will reconstruct the composition of Mozambique’s population in urban and rural spaces between 1750s and 1820s, using data samples from the collection of Portuguese Overseas Historical Archive, methods of historical demography.

Paper long abstract:

From the mid-18th century, demographic statistical production in Europe increased as a result of the expansion of governments' bureaucracy and a surge in topographic and cartographic knowledge. In recent years, important contributions have been made to improve our understanding of colonial populations and their history. Most of this scholarship has, however, focused on former British, French and German colonies in the late 19th and 20th centuries, paying little attention to the Portuguese empire and the early modern period.

In this paper, we partially fill this void in the literature by studying and comparing the composition of Mozambique's population in urban and rural spaces between 1750s and 1820s, using data samples from the collections of Portuguese Overseas Historical Archive.

Our study is divided in four sections. In section 1, we look at the types of primary sources available and discuss their potential and problems. In section 2, we discuss our preliminary estimates for the total urban and rural population in the areas controlled by the Portuguese, their geographical distribution and main over time changes. In section 3, we examine in detail the population composition in these two spaces. Here, we look in particular at ethnic composition, sex ratios, age groups structures, birth/death patterns, occupations, and social and juridical status. Special attention is given to free and enslaved population as well as to people living other forms of bondage in the territory. We will close our study by comparing Mozambican urban and rural population patterns and highlighting main differences and similarities.