Death and Life in a Colonial Immigrant City: A Demographic Analysis of Philadelphia

Billy G. Smith

The Journal of Economic History, 1977, vol. 37, issue 4, 863-889

Abstract: This study analyzes the demographic characteristics of a previously neglected area in colonial America—the urban center. Growth, birth, and death rates in Philadelphia between 1720 and 1775 are estimated using a variety of sources. Immigration, smallpox, economic vacillations, and a skewed age structure are attributed primary responsibility in determining the level of and changes in Philadelphia's vital rates. The elevated level of these rates is evident in a comparison with vital rates in Andover and Boston, Massachusetts, and Nottingham, England.

Date: 1977
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