Watch Out for the Children! Differential Infant Mortality of Jews and Catholics in Nineteenth-Century Venice

HISTORICAL METHODS, Summer 2003, Volume 36, Number 3 >- ::::t: c.. < a:: C!S O :2: Watch Out for the Children! W C Differential Infant Mortality "C c: ~ of Jews and Catholics >- t- in Nineteenth-Century Venice t= :z W C RENZO DEROSAS Department oJ History Ca' Foscari University, Venice Abstract In the past, infant mortality rates in Jewish communities in fall1861, but soon the group was so disgusted by the filth throughout the world were dramatically lower than those of their and stench everywhere that they decided to return as quick- host populations. Nineteenth-century Venice was no exception: ly as possible to the gondola that had taken them there, as whereas the Catholic rates were about 25-30 percent, the Jewish rate was as low as 14 percent or even lesso Several factors have to the safe harbor of civilization: been put forward to explain such differentials, including genetic makeup, religious prescriptions, personal hygiene, austere habits, There was not a touch of anything wholesome, or pleasant, corntnunity welfare institutions and social cohesion, higher cultur- or attractive, to re lieve the noisomeness of the Ghetto to its al level, fertility control, prolonged breastfeeding, and the like. A visitors; and they applauded, with a common voice, the comparison between a sample of the Jewish population and two neatness which had prompted Andrea the gondolier to roll parishes with similar social composition shows that, in the Venet- up the carpet from the floor of his gondola, and not to spread ian case at least, most of the factors cannot account for such a it again within the limits of that quarter. (Howells [1866] striking difference. Furthermore, both descriptive and hazard 2001, 159) analyses clearly indicate that, although levels were dramatically different, infant mortality patterns were remarkably similar)illlong Howells wondered how people could stilI endure living Venetian Jews and Catholics, who had almost everything in com- in such a place.2 Indeed, soon after 1797, when aH anti- mon but their culture, particularly cultural attitudes toward life, Jewish discrimination had been abolished by the new rev- death, health, and well-being. This article advances the hypothesis olutionary regime,3 the richest members of the Jewish that such attitudes were reflected in childcare or child neglect, jus- tifying Catholic overmortality rather than Jewish undermortality. It community left the Ghetto and moved to magnificent also argues that the subsequent declining mortality rate might have palaces located in the city center or along the Grand Canal, been based on the spread of similar attitudes to the rest of the pop- rapidly unifying the city elite (Calabi 2001), ulation, which could represent a key for interpreting mortality decline on a wider scale. but many others clung to the spot where their temples still remain, and which was hallowed by long suffering, and Keywords: Catholics, event-history analysis, infant mortality, soaked with the blood of innumerable generations of geese. Jews, nineteenth-century Venice ... I do not understand why any class of Jews should still remain in the Ghetto, but it is certain ... that they do remain Prologue: A Visit to the Venetian Ghetto in 1861 there in great numbers. It may be that the impurity of the pIace and the atmosphere is conducive to purity of race; but Among the innumerable reports written by foreign visi- I question if the Jews buried on the sandy slope of the Lido, and blown over by the sweet sea wind-it must needs blow tors to Venice, William Dean Howells's Venetian Life many centuries to cleanse them of the Ghetto-are not rather ([1866] 2001) is certainly one of the most outstanding, truly to be envied by the inhabitants of those high dirty houses and deserving of its long-lasting success.l Amusing and sympa- low dirty lanes .... (Howells [1866] 2001,154-55,159) thetic at the same time, the lively account of the four years the American writer spent in the city as U.S. con sul is Notwithstanding his ironic tone, Howells's feelings enjoyable to this day. A few pages of the book are also toward the Venetian Jews were sympathetic. He was well devoted to the Jewish Ghetto, then as now one of the aware of the "long suffering" they had had to endure in past favorite attractions for tourists and foreigners (Ravid 1997). times and pleased by the social and economic success they Howells went there with some friends, on a bright morning had recently enjoyed, "flourishing upon the waste and 109  110 HISTORICAL METHODS wickedness of their oppressors," the Venetian aristocracy, At the age of 20, life expectancy in the two groups was then a prey to a disastrous financial crisis (Derosas much closer: 45 years for the Jews and 37 for the city. But 1989/90). He even fancied a kind of retrospective revenge whereas three-quarters of Jewish newborns could expect to for the past: reach that age, only a half of city residents did the same.5 As In the good old times when pestilence avenged the poor and one would expect, such a gap was almost exclusively due to oppressed upon their oppressors, what grim and dismal differences in infant and childhood mortaIity rates. In the plagues may not have stalked by night and noonday out of years 1850-69, 197 Jewish babies died during their infan- those hideous streets, and passed the marble bounds of patri- cy-14 percent out of 1,409 live births. The corresponding cian palaces, and brought to the bedsides of the rich and figure for Venice in 1874-80 was 22.5 percent. Howells proud the filthy misery of the Ghetto turned to poison! (Howells [1866] 2001,159) would surely have been amazed to find that the children he had seen intent on plucking geese and thus surrounded by Background: Jewish and Catholic Mortality in Venice clouds of feathers, had survived a challenging selection process in the early stage of their life, but one that was not Indeed, even if true, imagining that the aristocracy even comparable to that experienced by their Catholic coun- should suffer widespread affliction would have been a terparts, who lived in much cleaner and healthier areas. The meager consolation. Whether aware or not, Howells dealt life prospects of Jews, at least from a demographic point of with a very delicate topic. The charge of voluntarily view, were indeed much rosier. spreading epidemics among Christian populations had rep- I will try to explain the differences in infant mortality resented one of the pillars of anti-Semitism since the four- between Jews and Catholics in mid-nineteenth-century teenth century (Ginzburg 1991; Poliakov 1955). Anyway, it Venice. Because such differentials were common to most is also true that such a "scientific" version of the ancient other locations where Jews and non-Jews lived in close accusation was obviously as groundless as the infamous promixity, the results of this analysis can probably be gener- one. As a matter of fact, there is no evidence that in the alized. I also argue that the peculiarity of the Jewish case has great plagues of the past, as well as in the more recent wider implications for an interpretation of mortality decline cholera epidemics, infections had first developed in the in demographic transition, highlighting the primacy of Ghetto. The mortaIity crises caused by such epidemics behavioral, culturally determined factors in such a processo were more prevalent among Catholics than among Jews, This article is organized as follows: (1) it presents a raising the suspicion that the latter might have enjoyed review of the literature available on Jewish infant and child- some kind of mysterious immunity (Roth [1933] 1991, hood mortality, (2) it tests some current explanations of the 109-11). In the disastrous plague of 1630-31, around one- Jewish advantage with reference to empirical data regarding third of the inhabitants of the city died, whereas the pro- the Venetian Jews, (3) it carries out a comparison of the portion for the Venetian Jews was about l out of 7, mortality patterns in the Jewish sample and in two other although one would expect that the population density of Venetian samples with a similar soci al composition, using the Ghetto surely should have increased exposure to conta- both descriptive and multivariate event-history analysis, and gion (Beltrami 1954; Harris 1967; Della Pergola 1987). As (4) it considers the results obtained in the framework of the for the cholera epidemic of 1849, when 3,839 persons (3 different cultural backgrounds characterizing Jewish and percent of the total population) died in less than three Catholic attitudes toward health and childcare. months, the toll paid by the Jews was only 39 deaths, around 1.7 percent of the community. Similar conclusions Evidence of the Jewish Advantage in Infant and can be reached about the cholera epidemics of 1855, 1866, Childhood Mortality and 1867 (Duodo 1874; Namias 1856). More important, such differences were not limited to The gap between Jewish and Catholic mortality rates was periods of acute demographic crises but rather concerned not peculiar to the Venetian situation. Wherever such a com- the mortality regime in ordinary times as well. In the second parison has been carried out, the Jewish communities have half of the nineteenth century, life expectancy at birth was shown similar or even more pronounced differentials from 48 years for the inhabitants of the Ghetto, whereas in the their host populations, with a remarkable regularity across whole city it did not pass 30 years. The difference is even time and space that is quite unprecedented in historical more striking if one considers that life expectancy for the demography. Uziel Schmelz's (1971) impressive study pro- Jews was concerned with only the poorest members of the vides the most extensive collection of evidence on this community, as we shall see later, and is computed in a peri- issue. He gathered some 160 observations, spanning from od (1850-69) that was marked by several epidemic out- 1819 to 1967, that covered different nations or wide region- breaks and by two severe economic crises (1854/55 and al areas, such as Russia, Poland, Prussia, Bavaria, West- 1867). Data on Venice include a wider social range and phalia, Serbia, Bohemia, Moravia, Italy, Switzerland, the refer to a much more positive period (1874-80) from both Netherlands, the United States, and Canada, as well as the the economic and demographic points of view.4 cities of Vilna, Lvov, Krakow, Warsaw, Lodz, Budapest, Summer 2003, Volume 36, Number 3 111 Berlin, Hessen, Munich, Vienna, Florence, Trieste, Rome, Indeed, Toaldo found that whereas "only" one-fifth of the Turin, Milan, Amsterdam, London, New York, St. Louis, Jewish newborns died in the first year of life, "notwithstand- Providence, Detroit, and Montreal. With no more than two ing the painful operation of circumcision," the proportion for or three exceptions, Jewish rates were systematically lower the mountain parishes was more than two-fifths. He found as by 30 to 80 percent than those of the corresponding host well that at older ages, life expectancy for Jews was higher populations. Since then, further confirmation has come than that of friars and nuns, which he explained by referring from new research, mainly related to the nineteenth and to the austerity of the Jewish lifestyle. Toaldo recommended early twentieth centuries, concerning several samples of the that his readers seriously consider this aspect when lending or U.S. urban population (Preston and Haines 1991; Preston, borrowing money "on the life of a Jew." Ewbank, and Hereward 1994; Condran and Kramarow 1991); poor immigrants in East London slums (Marks The Jewish Advantage 1994); the working class in Manchester (Johansson 1987, quoting Ashby 1915); Warsaw (Corrsin 1989); the Nether- In Livi Bacci's (1978) study on Pitigliano, the author lands (van Poppe11992; van Poppel, Schellekens, and Lief- stressed that comparing Jewish and Catholic demographic broer 2002); Germany (Str6der and Schuster 1982); Gibral- behavior would highlight the effect of the "very peculiar" tar (Sawchuk, Herring, and Waks 1985; Sawchuk 1993). conditions that characterized the life of the Jews in many Even in eighteenth-century Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) respects. Although such a consideration is indisputable in the Jews enjoyed a remarkable advantage in infant mortali- itself, it also contains an opposite or rather complementary ty (Cohen 1989). viewpoint. Because at the same time, and to an increasing The above is also true for Italy. For the Jewish commu- degree-as long as contacts and integration with other eth- nity of the Tuscan country town of Pitigliano, Massimo nic groups grew in frequency and intensity-Jews and non- Livi Bacci (1978) found infant mortality rates declining Jews also shared many fundamental aspects of their daily from 21 to 17 percent in the nineteenth century, whereas life. Climatic conditions, economic conjuncture, family those concerning the Catholic population remained around structure, as well as socioprofessional composition, were 24 percent. Even lower rates, ranging from 12 to 17 per- the same. Under certain circumstances, as we have seen for cent, were found for Florence in the first half of the nine- the hygienic conditions of the Venetian Ghetto, the situation teenth century (Sardi Bucci 1976) and for Rome, Florence, of the Jews could have been even worse than that of their Turin, and Milan in the second half (Della Pergola 1983; non-Jewish counterparts. Thus, alI such factors, usually 1997; Bachi and Della Pergola 1984), with an astonishing considered to affect infant mortality, cannot explain the dif- minimum as low as 8 percent in Trieste in 1821-25 (Gatti ferent behavior of the two groups. Indeed, such factors 1991). But similar conclusions had already been reached could have played a relevant role in determining mortality about Verona in the pioneering works of Cesare Lombroso differentials within the Jewish and non-Jewish populations (1894), about Padua by Corrado Gini (1916), and by Livio but cannot explain the huge gap observed between the two Livi (1918-20) in a much wider framework of internation- mortality levels overall. al comparisons. Interestingly enough, Lombroso's inquiry The relevance of such a point of view is more evident if we was clearly motivated by the fear that the existence of such consider it in the framework of the debate on the causes of demographic differentials might encourage new forms of mortality decline. If a given combination of economic, social, anti-Semitism. Therefore, he tried to demonstrate, and hygienic conditions were compatible with mortality rates although not very convincingly, that the lower mortality so dramaticalIy different, one could reasonably doubt that the rates of the Jews of Verona were the result of a statistical decline process was mainly related to a generai improvement artifact, hiding an alleged systematic recourse to abandon- in any of such factors, whether in nutrition (McKeown 1976), ment. in public health (Szreter 1988), or in pathogenic virulence However, the awareness of a Jewish advantage in mor- (Chambers 1972). Alternatively, or at least in association tality rates is much older, going at least as far back as the with such interpretations, one could suggest extending the eighteenth century. In 1787, the meteorologist Giuseppe study to include increasingly large strata of non-Jewish pop- Toaldo (1787), a professor at the University of Padua, pub- ulations concerning those conditions that allowed Jews to lished a series of life tables comparing urban, country, and keep their mortality levels at much lower rates. mountain populations as well as friars, nuns, and Jews of the In a famous essay, Livi Bacci (1986) included the Jews Venetian state to highlight the climatic, hygienic, and social among the social groups that were "forerunners" of demo- factors that most influenced demographic behavior. Specifi- graphic behavior the rest of the population would adopt cally, Toaldo included the Jews to test the hypothesis that had only several decades later. Although he referred to fertility been advanced a few years before by Gianverardo Zeviani control, the same label could rightly be used for infant (1775), chief physician in Verona, that neonatal overrnortali- mortality, as Sergio Della Pergola (1983) has shown by re- ty in wintertime was due to the custom of exposing newborns elaborating Schmelz's (1971) data. In the large European to cold and harsh weather when they were being baptized. and American sample he analyzed, when Jewish infant  112 mSTORICAL METHODS mortality rates were about 16 percent (c. 1860), the corre- Lifestyle. Other aspects typical of the Jewish lifestyle were sponding rates for non-Jews were about 24 percent. The lat- only indirectly related to religious rules; rather, they reflect- ter would have reached the level of the former only around ed a widespread cultural attitude. For instance, although 1910; at that time, however, the Jewish rates were already careful housec1eaning was required only before Passover, it below IO percent. As time passed and rates converged seems that Jewish women usually kept their houses rather toward lower levels, the Jewish advance reduced progres- clean, in sharp contrast with the filthy conditions that pre- sively, though never completely disappearing. vailed in streets and common areas, which frequently raised the apprehension of local authorities (Condran and Kra- Genetic features. What were the reasons for the Jewish marow 1991,230-32). In addition, as Toaldo (1787) himself advantage? A large array of factors has been put forward to had suggested, the Jewish lifestyle was supposed to be more explain such a phenomenon, including racial and genetic sober than that of other ethnic groups and host populations. differences. As Lombroso had somehow foreseen, the pecu- Alcoholism was almost unknown among Jews, even among liarities of Jewish demography were used in Nazi Germany immigrants to the United States (Condran and Karamarow as an argument in favor of the aberrant pretension of a Jew- 1991, 230). Illegitimacy rates, usually connected with high- ish racial specificity, as opposed to the Aryan race, whose er infant mortality, were systematically lower among Jews tragic outcome was to be the extermination of an entire peo- (Schmelz 1971, 37), whose strong attachment to domestic pIe (Della Pergola 1983,149-54, where the genetic features values and duties was largely acknowledged (Marks 1994, of different Jewish populations are also discussed). The 67-70). Even sexual practices, forbidding intercourse during genetic argument, although from a transitional point of "impure days," not only improved personal hygiene but also view, was also used to explain a supposed resistance to made fertility contro l easier, with positive consequences on infectious diseases, especially to tuberculosis, hypothesiz- the well-being of mothers and children (Rumyaneck 1933; ing that both isolation in Ghettos and endogamy had Della Pergola 1983, 208-15; Livi Bacci 1986; van Poppel favored a mechanism of hereditary immunization through 1992,244; Watkins and Danzi 1995). the selection of the most resistant individuals (Fishberg 1902, 1911; Sanarelli 19l3; Livi 1918-20; Bachi 1932; Childcare. The subject of childcare is especially significant Rumyaneck 1933). However, recent research has cast seri- to our study. Even beyond the traditional stereotype of the ous doubt on the reliability of data demonstrating such an Jewish mother, which has little to do with the Sephardic alleged immunity as well as on the scientific foundation of culture prevailing in the Italian Diaspora, contemporaries such a theory (Sawchuk and Herring 1984). frequently stressed the particular concern of Jewish mothers for their children's health and well-being. Prolonged breast- Religious prescriptions. Nonetheless, many scholars prefer to feeding is certainly the most relevant of such attitudes, underline the importance of several aspects connected to the largely confirmed from a statistical viewpoint by Robert peculiarity of the Jewish lifestyle (Della Pergola 1983, Woodbury's (1926, 75-120) inquiry on eight American 138-48; Condran and Kramarow 1991,229-35; Dorff 1986). cities between 1911 and 1915 (Alter 1997, 99-101), and Most aspects are directly related to religious prescriptions: repeated by other authors for European communities as just consider, for instance, the rules about personal hygiene, well (Sanders 1918, 69-70; Marks 1994, 67-70). Breast- such as frequent hand washing especially before and after feeding itself was just an aspect of a wider solicitude of meals, nail cutting, and ritual baths for purification that Jewish mothers for their children. According to Alice Gold- women were expected to take at least once a month. Indeed, stein, Susan C. Watkins, and Ann R. Spector (1994), who the importance of such minimal rules of hygiene should not interviewed several elderly Jewish and Italian women be underestimated. Recent research has shown that in devel- whose families had immigrated to the United States in the oping countries maternai hand washing reduces episodes of early twentieth century, the behavior of mothers regarding childhood diarrhea by up to 90 percent, whereas the avail- their children's healthcare and prevention of sickness were ability of running water in itself has no significant effect radically different, although their soci al and economic con- (Alam and Wai 1991).6 Furthermore, the body of Jewish ditions were very similar. Whereas Italians were quite reluc- dietary law known as Kashrut guaranteed against the inges- tant to seek the advice of doctors except in cases of extreme tion of contaminated or unhealthy food. Certain cuts of beef gravity, preferring to adopt the remedies of traditional med- that did not receive rabbinical sanction, as well as alI pork icine, Jewish mothers anxiously called for a doctor at the and shellfish, were strictly forbidden. The separation of milk slightest symptom and carefully followed the advice re- and meat offered children further protection from contami- ceived (see also O'Connell 1986). nated food. Because eating insects and worms was prohibit- ed, Jews were obliged to carefully inspect their food and Welfare institutions. Several factors were at work here: a table. As Frans van Poppel (1992, 244) put it, "continuous higher educational attainment, a culture traditionally more vigilance was required. A meal could never be prepared open to medicai science-especially the availability of Jew- absent-mindedly." ish physicians who probably offered their services at lower Summer 2003, Volume 36, Number 3 113 prices than Italian doctors if not for free. On the other hand, tion on the cause of death. The city sanitary officer also all Jewish communities developed a variety of welfare insti- kept registers of each death taking pIace in the city, togeth- tutions and services, providing assistance and help with er with the length of sickness. money, clothing, food, education, work, and medicaI care. As previously mentioned, the Jews of the Ghetto were by As Rainer Liedtke (1998, 165-84) underlined, such com- far the poorest members of the community. According to munity welfare systems were also maintained after Jewish the census of 1869 (Rilievo degli abitanti di Venezia 1869 emancipation and were a fundamental factor in keeping 1871), of 2,415 Jews living in Venice, one-third lived in the Jewish identity alive and in preserving social relations with- centraI parishes of San Marco. Around 1,700 lived in the in communities, by making the existing sharp social sestiere of Cannaregio, which inc1uded the Ghetto. Indeed, inequalities more acceptable. The role of women was par- those who could afford to do so preferred to move out, ticularly important, both as organizers and objects of as- though they did not go too far from their ancient seat (Calabi sistance, especially during and after childbirth, when their 2001; Levis Sullam 2001). The sample for this analysis need for help was greater and physical and psychological comprises a group of about 700 persons. In the same year, stress more pronounced. In London's East End, for in- the parish of Santa Eufemia, covering the whole island of stance, the Jewish Board of Guardians provided medicai the Giudecca, had 2,795 inhabitants, while the parish of care and financial support to pregnant women and young Angelo Raffaele reached 4,427 inhabitants. mothers. In 1891, a Home Help Scheme was developed, If one considers the urban environment, the three areas specifically focused on assistance in housekeeping, cook- were quite dissimilar. The residents of both Angelo Raffaele ing, shopping, and childcare. It is most interesting that help and Santa Eufemia lived mainly in small one-story houses; was provided by other poor women, usually widows, who however, the population density was much higher in the for- understood only too well the actual hardships that had to be mer (around 170 inhabitants per hectare) than in the latter faced, whereas the Catholic charitable organizations active (around 30), because a large part of the island was covered in the same neighborhood were based on the voluntary by orchards. On the other hand, the Ghetto was character- activity of middle-class women, inspired by an interclass ized by big buildings-some as tall as eight stories-that soci al ideology that inevitably reduced the effectiveness of the Jews had been obliged to build so as to house a growing their intervention (Marks 1994, 108-16). population forced to live within a restricted area. Here, the population density was the highest in the city, reaching The Venetian Case: Poor Jews and Poor Catholics 1,000 inhabitants per hectare, about four times the average density of the city (Municipio di Venezia 1881, 35; Calabi Indeed, all these aspects could have been significant in 1991,235). lowering Jewish children's mortality, both reducing their Nevertheless, the overall social composition of the three exposure and improving their resistance to disease. Howev- samples was rather similar and equally depressed. The large er, the generai picture outlined above sounds too idyllic to majority of the Jews in the Ghetto were day laborers, appear fully persuasive, as well as too difficult to be rele- porters, peddlers, small artisans, and shopkeepers. Inhabi- vant to so many different situations in time and space. To tants of the two parishes were mainly fishermen, boatmen, evaluate more precisely the impact on infant and early porters, and day laborers. In Giudecca, there were also a childhood mortality of some of the above-mentioned fac- fairly large number of hemp workers, both male and female. tors, I will focus here on the concrete historical experience Women worked as bead stringers, seamstresses, and hat- of the Jewish community in mid-nineteenth-century Venice. and glove-makers, and many were employed in a tobacco In particular, I will refer to those Jews who stilllived in the factory. In contrast, Jewish women, especially married Ghetto at that time, although I shall also extend some analy- ones, did not usually work. In 1869, 82 percent ofthe inhab- ses to the whole community. For this purpose, I will carry itants of the parish of Angelo Raffaele were illiterate, by far out a comparison with two other samples of the Venetian the highest percentage in the city. In Giudecca, the illiter- population: the residents of the parishes of Angelo Raffaele ates accounted for 56 percent of the total population. and Santa Eufemia. Although these were the poorest neighborhoods of the The data for this analysis will be drawn from the Venet- city, Venice itself was characterized by widespread poverty. ian population register, which was established in 1850 and After the fall of the aristocrati c regime in 1797, Venice had updated until 1869 (Derosas 1989). Population registers experienced a prolonged economie and demographic crisis provide longitudinal information on individuals as well as (Zalin 1969). In a few years, its population fell from about on the family, the household and, to some extent, the wider 140,000 to fewer than 100,000 inhabitants, mainly as a con- community (van de Walle and Blanc 1975; Alter 1988; sequence of massive outmigration. A slow recovery started Alter and Gutmann 1999). Furthermore, parish or commu- in the late 1830s, but it was interrupted by the revolution of nity registers of births (baptisms), marriages, and deaths 1848, which ended up in the long siege by the Austrian (burials) are used to integrate or control the data from the army and the disastrous cholera epidemie of 1849. The population register. Death registers also provide informa- 1850s were probably the worst period in the whole century,  114 HISTORICAL METHODS marked by repeated cholera and measles epidemics and by wealthiest families with adequately educated servants, it the severe economie crisis of 1854/55, when com prices ended up enabling Jewish women to become considerably almost tripled. It was only in the late 1860s, when Venice more literate than Catholic women. joined the Kingdom of Italy, that we can see some evidence Considering their social organization and institutional of generai improvement (Derosas 2002a). Nonetheless, in welfare, there is little doubt that the Venetian Jews, espe- 1865, Venice stilI appeared to Howells's ([1866] 2001) eyes cially the poorest ones, were in a much better position than as a "gloomy and dejected city." their Catholic counterparts. This is not at alI surprising, Such hardships were directly mirrored by infant mortal- when one considers a small highly integrated community of ity. From 1850 to 1869, the parish registers of Santa two thousand, striking social inequalities notwithstanding, Eufemia recorded 1,923 live births and 607 infant in a frequently hostile setting and in perpetuaI struggle for deaths-31.6 percent. In the same period, Angelo Raffaele its own survival. However, when it comes to other aspects recorded 3,224 live births and 1,030 infant deaths-32 of the Jewish lifestyle, especially demographic behavior, percent. The period 1853-1855 was particularly dramatic, most differences between Jews and Catholics disappear. when almost one newborn out of two died in the first year For example, Jewish and Catholic sexual behavior was of life. Overall, infant deaths accounted for about 40 per- very similar. Illegitimacy rates, for instance, were even cent of ali deaths registered in the two parishes. In the higher among Jews than Catholics: 4.9 percent of the births Jewish community, there were 197 infant deaths out of recorded in the population registers were illegitimate, 1,409 live births (14 percent), and the former did not reach whereas the corresponding percentage for Angelo Raffaele 20 percent of alI deaths. and Santa Eufemia was 3.9. If we extend the count to the Some factors that explain the Jewish advantage were also whole Jewish community, the figure drops to 3.5, as one present in the Venetian case. For instance, although the would expect, but it is not a big change. In both cases, such city's welfare institutions were numerous and widespread proportions appear quite low: according to official statistics, (Bembo 1859; Bertoli 1977), in many respects poor Jews during the same period in Venice 7.3 percent of alI births enjoyed a more favorable condition than their Catholic were illegitimate, but such a figure probably also inc1udes counterparts. Periodically, the community board provided children abandoned at the city foundling hospital (Munici- them with money, clothing, blankets, new straw mattresses, pio di Venezia 1881), a large number of whom were legiti- fuel, and medicines. Jews also received free medicaI care mate (Federigo 1832; Grandi 1991). Indeed, for many rea- (Pardo 1965). As Howells ([1866] 2001) stated, in Venice sons, unmarried Catholic women were probably much more "the doctors are very numerous, and a considerable number inclined to abandon their children than were their Jewish of them are Hebrews," including the pioneers of pediatrics counterparts, but this fact should not significantly bias the and public hygiene, such as Cesare Musatti (1876, 1877), results. On the other hand, illegitimacy itself was related to Giacinto Namias (1856), and Raffaele Vivante (1904; see premarital sexual relations. Also from this point of view, the also Somma 1981). Jewish and Catholic samples give very similar results: 29.4 After 1844, a poorhouse and retirement home guaranteed percent of first-born children in the Ghetto were fruit of a some earning to the unemployed and offered a shelter to the premarital conception, whereas the share in the two parishes elderly poor: the retirement home is stili a working concept. was 27.1 percent. It wasn't until 1886 that specific assistance to women after Even more unexpected are the results concerning fertility. childbirth was offered. However, a kindergarten with a large As mentioned above, the Jews have been included among the garden was available in the first half of the century, which "forerunners" of fertility control (Livi Bacci 1986), a behav- contrasted sharply with the dreary places where Catholic ior directly connected to lower infant mortality, although pri- children were kept while their mothers were at work- ority in the process and direction of causality are still under indeed, they were "waiting rooms of death," according to a debate (Taylor, Newman, and Kelly 1976; Scrimshaw 1978; Jewish doctor who urged the municipality to open and fund van de Walle 1986; Woods, Watterson, and Woodward 1988, new and healthier kindergartens (Musatti 1877; Luzzatto 1989; Nault, Desjardins, and Légaré 1990; Langner 1996). Voghera, Finzi, and Szabados 1999; Filippini 1999). Anyway, although Jewish fertility was generally lower, this is Finally, the scholastic system was particularly well devel- not the case in Venice. The total maritai fertility rate at 25 oped. Although the Jews had been admitted to public (TMFR25) is 5.4 children for the Jews, versus 5.2 for the schools since 1820 (Berengo 1987), they preferred to attend Catholics (Breschi, Derosas, and Manfredini 2000): a num- either the community religious school (Beit Midrash) or any ber that is considerably higher than those computed for the of the 24 small private schools in the Ghetto, while the rich- Jewish communities of Pitigliano (Livi Bacci 1978) and Flor- est families provided tutors for their children (Luzzatto ence (Sardi Bucci 1976) in the fll'st half of the nineteenth cen- Voghera 1999; Luzzatto Voghera, Finzi, and Szabados tury, when an average of 3.7 children was expected from a 1999). Furthermore, after 1822 the community board woman marrying at 25. Age at first marriage was also the financed a school offering free education to poor girls. same: the average marrying age for women was 25.4 in the Although the school's explicit purpose was to provi de the two parishes and 25 in the Ghetto. Summer 2003, Volume 36, Number 3 115 Such a similarity between Venetian Jews and Catholics is To reach a more satisfying explanation of such differen- confirmed by the length of birth intervals. U sing births of tials, a closer look at mortality patterns is necessary. I will parity 2 to 5, the median length for both is 23.5 months, a first present some descriptive measures and turn later to relatively short one, typical of a high-pressure demographic more complex models. regime and positively correlated to high infant mortality. One should also consider that here only live-births spacing Age-specific infant and childhood mortality. Table l con- is taken into account. Because Jewish mothers were appar- trasts the probabilities of death (q) by religion and sex at ently subject to much higher miscarriage rates, as we shall different ages, using population register data. The gap see, the actual frequency of their pregnancies was even between the two groups is indeed remarkable, the death higher than that. It is also worth noting that while for the probabilities of the Catholics being twice or more those of Catholics the death of the previous child sensibly shortened the Jews up to age 15, and then dec1ining with age. The num- such an interval, that was not so for the Jews. In fact, for ber of events after age 5 for the Jewish subgroup is so small, Catholics such an event reduced the median interval from however, that any computation should be taken cautiously. 25.3 months to 20.3 months, whereas for Jews the differ- ence was only one month, from 23.9 to 22.9. The effect of Neonatal mortality. Further focusing on the first year of life the interruption of breastfeeding is quite c1ear, although it allows us to highlight both the components of infant mor- seems difficult to draw evidence about the length of time tality and the possible biases introduced by different regis- spent breastfeeding. tration procedures. Let us first consider perinatal and neonatal mortality. These should reflect the endogenous component of infant mortality, although, as John Landers Descriptive Measures of Infant Mortality (1993, 139-41) has shown and as we shall also see later, Overall, the Venetian case only partly fits the generai their pattern of variability appears too sensitive to environ- framework suggested to explain the Jewish advantage in mental factors to be entirely related to purely endogenous infant and childhood mortality. Indeed, in comparison with causes. Table 2 compares data on the Jewish community as Catholics, the cultural level of the Jews was higher, espe- a whole, the parish of Santa Eufemia from 1859 to 1869, cially among the poor and the female population. The assis- and the entire city of Venice from 1884 to 1893. Such a tance provided by the community was more effective and selection reflects data availability. The population register widespread, and the respect for hygienic and nutritional does not report stillbirths or miscarriages, which are quite rules was guaranteed by social control. On the other hand, carefully recorded in the Jewish community registers-in as far as demographic behavior is concerned, hardly any Santa Eufemia registers since 1859 but none at all for Angelo difference exists between Jews and Catholics. In particular, Raffaele. Communal statistics report such data only since fertility and possibly the duration of breastfeeding are 1884. In alI cases, the completeness and reliability of infor- exactly the same in the two groups. Thus, these factors can- mation are rather difficult to evaluate. not be used to explain mortality differentials as large as These results are quite surprising and require cautious those we have previously noted. interpretation. The number of miscarriages among Jews- TABLE 1. Probabilities or Death (q.) and Survivors to 15th Anniversary by Religion, Sex, and Age: Venice, 1850-69 Age (years) Survivors Sex O 1-4 5-9 10-14 to 15 Catholics Male 290.3 247.0 57.0 25.5 491 Female 253.8 235.1 50.2 23.0 530 Total 272.8 241.2 53.6 24.2 510 Jews Male 94.5 146.5 [22.7] [8.0] 749 Female 138.7 140.6 [17.3] [19.0] 714 Total 116.6 143.7 [20.2] [13.1] 731 Source. Population register. Va1ues in square brackets computed with fewer than IO events. 116 HISTORICAL METHODS recorded as "fetuses"-is remarkably high: l out of 10 live one-third in comparison with that computed for Santa births, twice the proportion of Santa Eufemia and nine Eufemia. times that of the whole city. However, such a result is also Such results should suggest some caution in comparing very close to that found by Israel Zoller (1924) for the Jews infant mortality rates. Consider that in the two parishes, of Trieste in the late nineteenth century. On the other hand, deaths on the first day of life represent 10 percent of all the number of stillbirths-only 3 cases in 20 years-seems infant deaths, whereas such deaths make up only 0.7 per- too low to be reliable. cent in the Jewish sample. Nonetheless, the gap is suffi- Registration criteri a probably played a much greater role ciently relevant that it cannot be merely derived from a than substantial differences here. It is well known that reli- registration bias. On the other hand, such cleavage holds gious reasons encouraged Catholic parents to pretend that even in the days following the first. Also excluding the first their children had been baptized, notwithstanding their day of life, mortality rates in the first month are 40.7 per "dubious" vitality, because baptized children would have thousand for the Jews and 96.7 for Santa Eufemia, reach- been granted a pIace in heaven.7 As a result, stillbirths and, ing 135 per thousand in Angelo Raffaele. From the very in some cases, even fetal deaths were improperly recorded beginning of life, a sharp inequality characterizes the two in parish registers as infant deaths. On the other hand, for samples. the Jews, the full acknowledgment of a child's individuali- ty, at least for males, took piace only at circumcision, when Postneonatal mortality. The same inequality, although the infant received his Hebrew name. One might wonder attenuated, is maintained throughout the first year of life. therefore whether deaths that took piace before circumci- Figure l shows the age-specific mortality rates by complet- sion could have simply been record ed as "fetal deaths," that ed month, based on the population register as well as on is, as miscarriages at a late gestational age. As a matter of linked vital records data (for the whole Jewish community). fact, in the Jewish community registers, only 2 deaths took To make reading easier, the first month is omitted. pIace on the very first day of life, whereas for Santa As one would expect, the fairly small number of events Eufemia the ratio was 52 per thousand. If one considers for the Ghetto sample makes the rates quite unstable. mortality only in the first week, ratios appear at least com- Nonetheless, the three series follow the same pattern. Over- parable-12.8 per thousand for the Jews and 86.1 for Santa all, the Jewish advantage is kept at all ages, although it is Eufemia-though they are still extremely far apart. Perina- sensibly reduced after the first month. The gap seems to tal mortality, including late fetal deaths, stillbirths, and shorten from the sixth to the eighth month only. A tentative deaths in the first week, somehow balances such sources of explanation might be that Jewish mothers wean their chil- bias: the Jewish ratio is nonetheless still lower by about dren earlier, which would contradict unanimous witnesses TABLE 2. Perinatal and Neonatal Mortality: Jews and Catholics Jewish Santa community, Eufemia, Jews/ Venice, 1850-69 1859-69 Catholics 1884-93 Absolute values Live births 1,410 1,080 41,551 Miscarriages 136 55 474 Stillbirths 3 30 1,812 Deaths, 1st day 2 56 Deaths, 2d-7th day 16 37 Deaths, 1st week 18 93 Ratios (%) Miscarriages/live births 96.45 50.93 1.89 11.41 N atimortali ty 2.13 27.78 0.08 43.61 Fetal mortality 89.74 72.96 1.23 52.15 Perinatal mortality 101.36 152.79 0.66 Source. Parish and Jewish community death registers; Rassegna statistica trimestrale del Comune di Venezia, 1884-93. Summer 2003, Volume 36, Number 3 117 25 'C ; 20 VI ::l o ~ 15 \ Ali Jews :;; Ghetto Jews c. \ A I g 10 " "-" Two parishes c :l: 5 " " --" , ~ " I ",.- " ~V 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Age in Monlhs FIGURE 1. Age-specific mortality rates, by completed month (first not included). about a Jewish preference for prolonged breastfeeding. This is particularly true for the two main causes indicated Anyway, notwithstanding the differences in levels, the age- in table 3. Convulsions clearly cannot be considered a cause specific mortality patterns are quite similar in all the sam- of death but rather a symptom of another underlying cause, ples considered. ranging from trauma to infection. If one considers the improper feeding practices then commonly used, frequently Causes of infant deaths. Jews and Catholics show unex- including opiates, intoxication should not be ruled out. pected similarities concerning the causes of death. Table 3 However, deaths by (or with) convulsions were mainly con- displays the distribution of the main causes of infant deaths centrated in the first month of life and had a very quick for the two parishes and the Jewish community as a whole. course, lasting one or two days at most, perhaps indicating Deaths in the first day of life, for congenital malformations, the outcome of some infection. A large share was undoubt- difficulties during delivery, prematurity, or immaturity are edly due to tetanus, frequently transmitted when the umbil- omitted. For the reasons mentioned above, they would have ical cord was cut with dirty tools (Boerma and Stroh 1993; introduced some bias in the results. Needless to say, such Smucker et al. 1980). data must be considered cautiously. As George Alter and As for chronic malnutrition, it is indeed a cause of death Ann Carmichael (1996, 1997) stressed, translating causes and is stili the most important cause of infant death in the of death drawn from historical sources into contemporary world today. However, it represents the final outcome of a c1assifications can be highly misleading. The limits of diag- process of progressive organic debilitation and increased nostic capacity and medicaI knowledge, a mainly sympto- immunodeficiency, caused by a large number of reasons, and matic approach, and obscure terminology make interpreta- slow degeneration for lack of adequate and effective treat- tion uncertain and hazardous. ment (van Norren and van Vianen 1986). In the Venetian case, death by malnutrition carne after a long illness, usual- ly lasting a couple of months. It seems that death occurred TABLE 3. Causes of Infant Death (%) almost exclusively during the second semester of life, clear- ly showing a relationship with weaning and improper feed- ing practices as was the case with gastrointestinal diseases. Jewish Santa Eufemia! Malady community Angelo Raffaele Together, these afflictions represented about 40 percent of all infant deaths both for the Jews and the Catholics and the Convulsions large majority of deaths in the second semester. 31.5 41.5 Chronic malnutrition 23.2 25.5 In addition to the problems related to the quality of infor- Gastrointestinal disease 19.3 13.6 mation on causes of death, the substantial overlapping of Respiratory disease 8.3 3.5 the two distributions is nonetheless astonishing. Because Infectious disease 6.6 5.5 the gap between Jewish and Catholic infant mortality was Tuberculosis 6.1 4.0 Others, unidentified so dramatic, one might expect that the causes of death were 5.0 6.4 Total 100 100 also different. Gretchen Condran (1987) proposed to aban- don the idea of a single process of mortality decline taking Source. Parish and Jewish community death registers; death regis- pIace in the demographic transition as too simplistic, sug- ters of the city sanitary officer. gesting that, on the contrary, there were several transitions in time and space, each connected to specific causes and 118 HISTORICAL METHODS factors. Apparently, this was not the case for Venice. The I estimate the effects of these covariates in three differ- Venetian Jews were some 40 years in advance in the ent phases of infancy: the first month of life; lO from the process of mortality decline, but their mortality patterns second to the sixth month, and from the seventh month to were mostly the same as those of the Catholics. Although the second year completed. The adoption of such a seg- Jewish infants died much less frequently than did Catholic mentation is required by the very different nature of the infants, the causes of death were the same. Even chronic risks a child is exposed to in the early phases of life, relat- malnutrition, typical of social environments characterized ing, respectively, to those criticai moments immediately by deprivation, ignorance, and poor hygiene (van Norren after birth, to the peri od of breastfeeding, and, finally, to and van Vianen 1986), as well as gastrointestinal disease, weaning and the introduction to ordinary food when con- were as significant in the Jewish disease profile as they tacts with the external environment become more intense. were for the Catholics. Contemporary physicians witnessed that Venetian mothers tended to wean their children rather early, frequently Comparing Infant Mortality Patterns: before the sixth month, adopting some inappropriate An Event-History Approach method of mixed feeding (see Valatelli 1803, 140-44; Fed- erigo 1832, 132-34; Musatti 1876,40-41,64-65, 110-11). The search for explanations of the Jewish advantage has Whereas some covariates will keep their effect unchanged generated poor results thus far. Besides some aspects in the throughout the whole period, other results will be relevant welfare system and literacy, for alI other factors, and espe- only at certain ages. I also expect that some covariates, the cially for demographic behavior, we hardly found any dif- current season in particular, will change their effect dra- ference at alI between Catholics and Jews. We will now take matically at different ages. Overall, it should emerge that into account a variety of factors that could affect mortality, the protection provided by the mother and the family pro- such as climate, social standing, economie conjuncture, gressively disappears with a child's growth, whereas the family composition, and the like. influence of social and economic conditions becomes pro- For the following analysis, I will estimate several hazards gressively more important (see Derosas 2002b for a more models, adopting the semiparametric approach of the Cox detailed argument). regression. In this approach, the instantaneous risk of dying Two kinds of complementary questions interest us: Did at any age t is the product of a function of t and a function the Jews maintain their advantage even after controlling for of the explanatory variables and unknown parameters. The all such factors? Did such factors have the same effect for effect of the covariates is to act multiplicatively on the risk both ethnic groupS?11 To answer these questions, I will esti- of dying. Such covariates can be either fixed or time- mate the three models-one for each age span-first omit- invariant, like sex, or subject to changes through time, or ting the covariate concerning ethnicity and then including it. time-varying, such as c1imate, prices, and the like. The A chi-square test of the difference of the log-likelihood sta- event-history approach is designed to take such variations tistic in the nested models allows us to test the null hypoth- through time into proper account. esis that the coefficient of the ethnicity covariate in the full The generai form of the models is the following: model is zero. Furthermore, a comparison of the two sets of r(t, X) = h(t) * exp(bX) estimates should highlight a possible interaction between ethnicity and any other covariate, suggesting a confounding where r(t, X) is the instantaneous risk of dying at age t for effect related to the former. children with covariate vector X, h(t) is the so-called base- Table 4 displays the results of the estimations, reporting line rate at age t, and X is a vector of covariates. A peculiar- the average value or the percentage distribution for each ity of Cox models is that the shape of the baseline hazard is covariate, the exponentiated coefficients, and the p value left unspecified (hence the semiparametric qualification). associated with each estimate. The coefficients for each Furthermore, they require that the effects of the covariates covariate measure the relative risks of childhood death in a do not change through time (Cox 1972; Blossfeld and given category as a proportion of the risk run by the chil- Rohwer 1995). dren in the reference category, which is set to 1. A relative The first set of models pools together the two parishes risk of 0.605 for middle-c1ass infants means that their risk and the population of the Ghetto, using data drawn from of a neonatal death was 60.5 percent, or 39.5 percent lower the population register. The covariates included in the than the risk run by children of day laborers. models are sex; mother's age at birth; birth spacing and A detailed discussion of the results has already been vitality of the previous born at conception of the index given elsewhere (Derosas 1999; Breschi and Derosas 2000; child; presence of parents; head's soci al status;8 current Derosas 2002b; Oris, Derosas, and Breschi 2004) so I shall season as a proxy of the prevailing climatic conditions;9 limit myself to emphasizing a few points. the average price of wheat in the three previous months Conditions at birth have a relevant effect on the risk of (logged), as a proxy of short-term economic stress; and, dying, especially, as one would expect, for neonatal mortal- finally, religion. ity. Children born to mothers over the age of 35 run a risk Summer 2003, Volume 36, Number 3 119 TABLE 4. Hazards Models or the Risk or Dying, 0-730 Days Exp. p Exp. p Avg. coeff. value coeff. value 0-30 days Sex Male 0.52 l l Female 0.48 0.859 0.090 0.869 0.117 Mother's age 25-30 0.22 l l < 25 0.19 0.919 0.587 0.936 0.669 30-35 0.20 1.128 0.408 1.141 0.365 > 35 0.37 1.489 0.001 1.512 0.001 Unknown 0.01 1.924 0.084 1.953 0.078 Previous birth interval and vitality > 24 mos., alive 0.21 l l > 24 mos., dead 0.12 1.000 0.998 0.951 0.775 < 24 mos., alive 0.24 1.084 0.585 1.105 0.497 < 24 mos., dead 0.22 1.779 0.000 1.687 0.000 First birth 0.16 1.536 0.009 1.495 0.015 Unknown 0.06 0.731 0.264 0.788 0.397 Mother N.I. N.I. Present Absent Father Present 0.96 l l Absent 0.04 0.873 0.614 0.889 0.664 Head's social status Day laborer 0.40 l l Wage earner 0.30 0.848 0.120 0.838 0.096 Artisan, shopkeeper 0.24 0.744 0.013 0.803 0.067 Middle, upper class 0.06 0.605 0.028 0.636 0.048 Season Winter 0.24 l l Spring 0.26 0.742 0.005 0.744 0.006 Summer 0.27 0.256 0.000 0.253 0.000 Fal1 0.22 0.491 0.000 0.492 0.000 Religion N.I. Catholic 0.91 l Jew 0.09 0.269 0.000 Logged wheat price 2.76 0.971 0.798 0.968 0.777 Events 504 504 Person-years 282.37 282.37 Partial MLL -4035.16 -4018.66 X 2 177.94 0.000 210.96 0.000 df 18 19 -2* diff(MLL) 33 0.000 31-180 days Sex Male 0.51 l l Female 0.49 0.892 0.378 0.896 0.395 Mother's age 25-30 0.22 l l < 25 0.20 0.632 0.048 0.642 0.056 (table continues) 120 HISTORICAL METHODS TABLE 4. Continued Exp. p Exp. p Avg. coeff. value coeff. value 31-180 days Mother's age 30-35 0.21 0.924 0.693 0.935 0.736 > 35 0.36 1.202 0.274 1.217 0.243 Unknown 0.01 0.585 0.455 0.616 0.500 Previous birth interval and vitality > 24 mos., alive 0.21 1 1 > 24 mos., dead 0.11 1.237 0.362 1.208 0.418 < 24 mos., alive 0.24 1.118 0.592 1.144 0.517 < 24 mos., dead 0.20 1.652 0.010 1.612 0.015 First birth 0.15 1.179 0.508 1.174 0.519 Unknown 0.08 0.988 0.969 1.023 0.942 Mother Present 0.98 l l Absent 0.02 2.162 0.068 2.068 0.086 Father Present 0.97 l l Absent 0.03 1.312 0.420 1.333 0.394 Head's social status Day laborer 0.40 1 1 Wage earner 0.29 0.918 0.576 0.912 0.543 Artisan, shopkeeper 0.24 0.758 0.109 0.798 0.195 Middle, upper class 0.07 0.519 0.059 0.537 0.075 Season Winter 0.25 l l Spring 0.23 0.780 0.187 0.784 0.194 Summer 0.26 0.853 0.372 0.853 0.372 Fall 0.26 0.777 0.162 0.774 0.156 Religion N.I. Catholic 0.90 1 Jew 0.10 0.508 0.024 Logged wheat price 2.76 0.992 0.959 0.983 0.914 Events 241 241 Person-years 1315.99 1315.99 Partial MLL -1930.29 -1927.2 X2 32.18 0.030 38.36 0.008 di 19 20 -2* diff(MLL) 6.18 0.013 181-730 days Sex Male 0.51 1 l Female 0.49 0.918 0.276 0.918 0.279 Mother's age 25-30 0.23 l 1 < 25 0.20 0.907 0.430 0.927 0.542 30-35 0.21 0.947 0.645 0.957 0.708 > 35 0.36 0.908 0.361 0.916 0.407 Unknown 0.01 1.230 0.666 1.284 0.601 Previous birth interva1 and vitality > 24 mos., alive 0.20 (table continues) Summer 2003, Volume 36, Number 3 121 TABLE 4. Continued Exp. p Exp. p Avg. coeff. value coeff. value 181-730 days Previous birth interval and vitality > 24 mos., dead 0.11 1.048 0.757 1.025 0.872 < 24 mos., alive 0.24 1.148 0.270 1.171 0.209 < 24 mos., dead 0.19 1.423 0.005 1.392 0.008 First birth 0.15 1.072 0.645 1.059 0.703 Unknown 0.10 1.010 0.954 1.005 0.975 Mother Present 0.98 l l Absent 0.02 1.413 0.225 1.363 0.278 Father Present 0.97 l l Absent 0.03 1.118 0.599 1.144 0.527 Head's soci al status Day laborer 0.39 l l Wage earner 0.30 0.692 0.000 0.685 0.000 Artisan, shopkeeper 0.24 0.690 0.000 0.721 0.002 Middle, upper c1ass 0.07 0.634 0.009 0.653 0.015 Season Winter 0.26 l l Spring 0.26 0.942 0.639 0.941 0.633 Summer 0.25 1.923 0.000 1.924 0.000 Fall 0.23 1.324 0.018 1.327 0.017 Religion Catholic 0.89 l Jew 0.11 0.591 0.001 Logged wheat price 2.76 1.473 0.000 1.474 0.000 Events 647 647 Person-years 4165.37 4165.37 Parti al MLL -5052.82 -5046.89 X2 106.5 0.000 118.37 0.000 df 19 20 -2* diff(MLL) 11.86 0.000 Note. N.I. = not included. MLL = Maximum Log Likelihood. of dying in their first month 50 percent higher than those fact that the mother's absence after the sixth month has no born to mothers aged 25 to 30. Birth spacing also has a negative consequences on the child's well-being indicates strong impact on survival chances. When the birth interval that the mother's care declined abruptly after weaning, leav- is shorter than two years and the preceding child is dead at ing such a charge to, or sharing it with, other members of the conception of the index one, the risk of dying rises by the family. Indeed, as shown elsewhere (Derosas 1999; 70-80 percent. Interestingly enough, the negative influence Breschi and Derosas 2000; Derosas 2002c), in the second of the previous child's death persists throughout late infan- semester of life, an older sister's presence is more important cy. As for the f1rstborns, they are also exposed to greater than that of the mother herself. This finding is consistent risks of dying but only during the first month of life. Final- with evidence from contemporary and historical popula- ly, there is a clear advantage for females in the first semes- tions in Asia (Skinner 1997) but has not yet received much ter, although p values are on the borderline. attention in the European context. Older sisters were usual- The absence of the mother has a strong negative effect, ly responsible for the care of their younger siblings, while which is not at all unexpected. However, the effect is true their mothers were busy cooking or doing piecework at only for the breastfeeding peri od. One might argue that the home. When the first public nurseries were established in 122 HISTORICAL METHODS Venice in 1853, one of the main reasons given by the member of the Jewish group is clearly protective: the rela- municipal authority was the need to relieve young girls of tive risk is only 27 percent that of Catholic children in the the burden of caring for their younger siblings, a situation first month, 50 percent up to the sixth month, and 59 per- that often caused them serious health problems (Filippini cent in late infancy, confirming the results of descriptive 1999, 103). As for fathers, their presence is apparently analysis. On the other hand, none of the other coefficients is ineffective. However, the coefficients show an increase in affected by the introduction of religion as a covariate, clear- the probability of death in the hazards models of the risk ly indicating the absence of interactions between religion of dying from 30-180 days and from 180-730 days and the other covariates. The Jewish advantage does not (although p values are not significant), suggesting that the result from favorite social conditions, or from better coping presence of a breadwinner became more important as the with climatic harshness, or from better management of child grew up. As shown elsewhere (Derosas 2002d), the intense fertili ty. lower the socioeconomic status of the household, the A second set of estimations, whose purpose is to test more dramatic the consequences of the father's death for whether the two ethnic groups were affected in the same his children. way by the same factors, provides further confirmation. Differential mortality caused by social status is also Thus, Iran the same models separately for the two ethnic quite strong (Derosas 2003). However, estimates are statis- groups, and to make the analysis more consistent, I also tically significant only in the first month and in late infan- included the Jewish community as a whole, using linked cy. The effects of social environment are evident in child- vital records from the community registers to obtain longi- birth as well as during and after weaning, when the tudinal information at the individuaI level. In this case, protection provided by the mother is not yet as, or no more information at the household level is not reliable and has effective than, it is during breastfeeding. Indeed, in the sec- consequently been dropped from the analysis. The only co- ond age bracket only children of middle and upper classes variates kept were sex, soci al status, current season, and enjoy a remarkable advantage, with a relative hazard of current wheat price. Results are displayed in table 5. dying that is about half that of children from the lowest Most results concerning the Ghetto obviously suffer from soci al stratum (p value is very close to .05). The other the small sample size and should be interpreted very cau- social groups also have smaller advantages, although they tiously. For instance, the disadvantaged position of females are statistically nonsignificant. It seems that short-term in the first semester, confirming descriptive analysis, is con- economie stresses, as expressed here by changes in the tradicted by the corresponding estimate about the Jewish logged price of wheat, have a remarkable repercussion on community, where males and females are on the same level; child well-being only in late infancy (hazards mode l on the on the other hand, a clear female advantage is only peculiar risk of dying from 180-730 days), an increase by one unit to the Catholic sample. raising the risk of dying by 47 percent. As for the role of social status, it is worth stressing that its Climatic conditions-as proxied here by the current sea- relative weight in differentiating mortality is even stronger son-also have a heavy impact on mortality. Furthermore, among Jews than among Catholics, both in the fll'st month they change dramatically in the different age groups. As far and in late infancy. In both cases, the relative hazard of the as neonatal mortality is concerned, the hazards characteris- children of the Jewish elite is 40 to 50 percent that of their tic of children born in the summertime are only 25 percent poorest counterparts, whereas for the Catholics such a haz- those of children born in winter.12 The advantage is also ard is about two-thirds. This difference can be c1early appre- very strong for those born in the fall (50 percent) and the ciated in figure 2, which contrasts the relative risks of the spring (75 percent). Again, during breastfeeding, external Jewish and Catholic elites.l4 In a way, the gap between the factors lose their importance; no season appears to clearly paired histograms is a direct measure of differenti al social favor infants' survival, although coefficients stili work inequality in the two groups. On the other hand, it is worth against winter. In late infancy, the effect of environmental noting that in the breastfeeding period only the children of conditions becomes preeminent again, although the season- the Catholic elite keep their advantage, whereas soci al status al pattern is now reversed. Winter becomes, in fact, the most does not make any difference in Jewish mortality. favorable season, whereas the greatest dangers, related to When it comes to seasonality, the behavior of the three exposure to gastroenteric diseases, are concentrated in sum- samples is again very similar, as long as the first month mer and fallo The relative hazard for summer is more than and late infancy are considered, with winter being extreme- twice that of winter.13 ly dangerous at first and then extremely beneficiaI, ac- We can now turn to our main questiono Is the Jewish cording to the pattern shown above (figure 3). Further- advantage a kind of by-product of any of such factors, or more, in both Jewish samples, winter is also extremely does it keep its relevance even after controlling for all of dangerous during the breastfeeding period, whereas for them? Indeed, as the likelihood ratio test shows, in all mod- the Catholics such an effect is much smaller and non- els the inclusion of the covariate concerning religion signif- significant. Although it is difficult to give a clear-cut icantly improves the overall fit. On the one hand, being a explanation, such a result is consistent with the greater Summer 2003, Volume 36, Number 3 123 TABLE 5. Hazards Models of the Risk or Dying, 0-730 Days Santa Eufemia! Angelo Raffaele Ghetto Jews Jewish community Exp. p Exp. p Exp. p Avg. coeff. value Avg. coeff. value Avg. coeff. value 0-30 days Sex Male 0.52 l 0.51 l 0.51 l Female 0.48 0.856 0.087 0.49 2.345 0.158 0.49 1.042 0.883 Head's social status Day laborer 0.41 1 0.38 l 0.14 l Wage earner 0.31 0.819 0.060 0.19 0.326 0.302 0.09 0.496 0.231 Artisan, shopkeeper 0.22 0.770 0.032 0.43 0.954 0.935 0.54 0.615 0.173 Middle, upper class 0.06 0.644 0.054 N.I. 0.23 0.389 0.043 Season Winter 0.24 1 0.24 l 0.25 l Spring 0.26 0.733 0.004 0.27 0.835 0.777 0.23 0.394 0.017 Summer 0.27 0.253 0.000 0.26 0.186 0.126 0.26 0.207 0.001 Fall 0.22 0.488 0.000 0.23 0.442 0.334 0.26 0.489 0.043 Logged wheat price 2.76 0.973 0.809 2.76 1.360 0.691 2.76 1.505 0.320 Events 491 13 51 Person-years 253.98 28.39 113.01 Partial MLL -3906.35 -72.25 -358.04 X2 122.62 0.000 7.62 0.367 21.38 0.006 df 8 7 8 31-180 days Sex Male 0.51 l 0.50 1 0.50 l Fema1e 0.49 0.842 0.194 0.50 3.143 0.089 0.50 1.054 0.842 Head' s social status Day laborer 0.41 l 0.28 1 0.14 1 Wage earner 0.31 0.830 0.230 0.19 3.980 0.104 0.10 1.188 0.776 Artisan, shopkeeper 0.22 0.765 0.130 0.42 1.606 0.585 0.53 1.410 0.438 Middle, upper class 0.06 0.487 0.050 0.10 1.388 0.790 0.24 1.046 0.928 Season Winter 0.25 1 0.25 1 0.26 l Spring 0.23 0.881 0.517 0.24 0.195 0.041 0.24 0.303 0.002 Summer 0.26 0.982 0.920 0.26 0.091 0.025 0.25 0.360 0.006 Fall 0.26 0.879 0.491 0.25 0.091 0.024 0.25 0.256 0.001 Logged wheat price 2.76 1.035 0.839 2.76 0.737 0.658 2.76 1.406 0.376 Events 229 12 57 Person-years 1177.42 138.57 534.25 Parti al MLL -1819.65 -60.45 -397.98 X2 8.75 0.364 18.9 0.015 22.73 0.004 df 8 8 8 181-730 days Sex Male 51.00 l 52.10 l 50.40 l Female 49.00 0.909 0.243 47.90 1.011 0.972 49.60 1.109 0.587 Head's socia1 status Day laborer 38.70 l 27.80 1 25.50 l Wage earner 31.90 0.647 0.000 18.10 1.517 0.308 24.50 1.067 0.848 Artisan, shopkeeper 22.70 0.717 0.002 43.50 0.785 0.534 25.30 0.630 0.072 Middle, upper class 6.70 0.688 0.037 10.70 0.425 0.264 24.80 0.504 0.029 (table continues)  124 HISTORICAL METHODS TABLE S. Continued Santa Eufemia/Angelo Raffaele Ghetto Jews Jewish community Exp. p Exp. p Exp. p Avg. coeff. value Avg. coeff. value Avg. coeff. value 181-730 days Season Winter 25.80 l 26.10 l 13.30 l Spring 25.10 0.945 0.665 24.30 0.882 0.797 8.80 0.898 0.728 Summer 25.10 1.945 0.000 24.80 1.675 0.224 53.40 1.947 0.012 Fall 24.00 1.357 0.013 24.80 0.984 0.973 24.50 1.119 0.701 Logged wheat price 2.76 1.539 0.000 2.76 1.222 0.615 2.76 1.397 0.198 Events 606 41 110 Person -years 3717.82 447.55 1738.96 Partial MLL -4675.00 -232.02 -774.41 X2 88.15 0.000 7.52 0.482 19.77 0.011 di 8 8 8 Note. MLL = Maximum Log Likelihood. associated with a Jewish advantage. Indeed, ethnicity itself is a most powerful factor of differentiation but has no inter- action with any other covariate included in the models. In other words, although the scale of Jewish infant mortality is half that of Catholics, the patterns of mortality are sur- Cl Two parishes prisingly similar. So are the distributions of age-specific • Jewish rates, with the somewhat dubious exception of neonatal community mortality and of causes of death as well as the effects of climatic conditions and of social inequality. Whereas a modern evolution of infant mortality should result in an attenuation of such factors, it is surprising to find that their effects were relatively stronger for Jews than for Catholics. 0-30 days 180-730 days In sum, the reduction in infant mortality achieved by the Jews was generalized, neither selective nor specialized in FIGURE 2. Hazard ratios: Middle- and upper-c1ass any particular direction. Thus, from a statistical viewpoint, children (ref.: children of day laborers = l). we cannot find a better covariate than "religion" itself to fit into our models. Perhaps this conclusion is due to lack of relevant infor- weight of respiratory diseases among Jewish children (8.3 mation. Nevertheless, such an outcome should hardly be percent of ali infant deaths) than among Catholics (3.5 considered unexpected. Although many Venetian Jews lived percent). Clearly, even though free firewood was distrib- in their old neighborhood or somewhat nearby, they did not uted (Pardo 1965), it was neither sufficient nor effective in live in a world apart. The commonalities they shared with protecting against the harsh climate. the rest of the Venetian population were more numerous than the differences: social structure, economic conditions, What about Culture? A (Not So) "Residual" climate, environment, diseases, and medicaI knowledge Interpretation of the Jewish Advantage were the same for Jews and Catholics, and their variations and differences had similar repercussions on both. Sexual Event-history analysis confirms in much greater detail behavior and fertility were the same as well. None of these the results of descriptive analysis. Although the hazards factors can explain the differentials in infant mortality. models also highlight several interesting features of the Because it is usually argued-though never empirically demographic regime and of the factors underlying infant demonstrated-that the Jewish advantage was due to some mortality differentials, none of these can be specifically specific feature of their social organization or demographic Summer 2003, Volume 36, Number 3 125 2 -+- Cath.0-30 -e-- Ghetto 0-30 --*- Jewish comm. 0-30 ---+-- Cath.180-730 __ .. _ _ Ghetto 180-730 - - ... - - Jewish comm. 180-730 o Spring Summer Fall FIGURE 3. Hazard ratios: Season (ref.: winter = 1). behavior, the conclusion that the commonalities were more spared no effort to maXlmlze the welfare of their chil- numerous than the differences is an important achievement dren," granting them "high standards of c1eanliness or of this study. At the same time, the nonspecificity of Jewish medicai care" (Johansson 1987, 60; citing Ashby 1915). mortality patterns also makes any satisfying empirical On the contrary, no similar behavior could be observed explanation about the reasons for their advantage quite among non-Jewish working-c1ass families, whose earn- awkward. Indeed, such an explanation would need to be so ings were mostly dissipated in pubs and whose children generaI to get dangerously cio se to tautology: "Jews were generally neglected by their parents. enjoyed a lower infant mortality because they were Jews.',15 As a matter of fact, such an attitude toward childcare was Paraphrasing Marx's sarcastic criticism of Say's Law, deeply rooted in Jewish culture and often reported in litera- simply resorting to "Jewish culture" for an answer sounds ture. But if Jewish women were widely considered to be pretty much like using "a tautology, if not a residual," a "model mothers" (Marks 1994), what about Catholic mere substitution of "culture" for "religion" in the model, women? Were they wicked mothers, unmindful of the sur- which is exactly what anthropologists rightly warn demog- vivaI of their children? Once things are considered from this raphers to avoid. l7 However, because we have no better standpoint, the focus necessarily shifts from Jewish under- alternative, we can at least try to qualify the way Jewish mortality to Catholic overmortality. The question of pa- "culture" made possible so dramatic a reduction of infant rental attitude toward children is a time-honored one. His- mortality levels. torians such as P. Ariés (1973), F. Lebrun (1971), E. Le Roy My hypothesis is that even though Jewish children were Ladurie (1975), J. L. Flandrin (1973), E. Shorter (1976), exposed to the same risks as Catholics, the Jews were less and many others have widely discussed this issue, general- vulnerable because they enjoyed a certain careful atte n- ly adhering to the thesis of a poor affective involvement of tion, even dedication, to their health and well-being to a adults in children's fate. Generalizing a concept that was degree that was unusual in Catholic families. Such a originally proposed by Dr. Ashby himself, Sheila Johansson hypothesis is not new. As early as 1915, Dr. Henry Ashby, (1987) argued that in the past a large share of children's an English physician who practiced in Manchester, deaths were avoidable, owing to parental indifference. explained astonishing differences he observed in infant Accepting Johansson's line of reasoning, we might say, on mortality between Jewish and non-Jewish working-class the basis of the Venetian comparison, that up to 50 percent families. Using less-sophisticated methods and less infor- of all infant deaths were due to parental neglect and were mation, but with the decisive advantage of direct observa- therefore "technically" avoidable. tion, he attributed these differences to the full commitment But were they also "culturally" avoidable? In a recent arti- of Jewish parents to family welfare, the fathers turning cle, Katherine Lynch (2000) stressed that no child-rearing over "their entire income to their wives, who in turn practice can be understood without making reference to the  126 HISTORICAL METHODS social and institutional framework in which it takes piace exposed to exceedingly higher risks of death (see Reher and and which shapes cultural values themselves.17 As an exam- Gonzalez-Quifiones 2003, and several chapters in Derosas pie, she contrasted the maternal attitudes in a shantytown of and Oris 2002), but maternal health has also been argued to contemporary Brazil, as revealed by the illuminating be the key factor explaining differenti al infant mortality in inquiry of Nancy Scheper-Hughes (1992), with those pre- Victorian England and Wales (Millward and Bell 2001): sumably prevalent in European historical populations. maternal agency has been seen as paramount in preventing According to Scheper-Hughes, in Alto do Cruzeiro, in a diseases and enhancing survival among infants, especially context dominated by extreme deprivation, lack of welfare where overall conditions and environment are poor institutions, hyperfertility, and no breastfeeding, mothers (Hobcraft, McDonald, and Rutstein 1984, 220; Das Gupta decide by themselves about the destiny of their children. 1990; Reid 200 l, 2002, 2003). As a matter of fact, care pro- Adopting a conscious selection, they let die the children vided by Venetian mothers turned out to be both insufficient who are believed to be the weakest, those who are perceived and ineffective in ensuring their children's survival. to be unable to cope with the hardships of the external Parental care could span across a wide range of practices world. Such behavior is not fatalistic; rather, it is in its own and attitudes and vary greatly in intensity and quality, way a form of human agency, grounded in a peculiar culture reflecting among other things actual costs and future bene- of infancy. By contrast, in the European past, shared cultur- fits related to child rearing. For instance, such forms of care al values and widespread welfare institutions, such as could include giving babies opiates to make them stop cry- foundling hospitals, should have made that behavior ing (Federigo 1832; Musatti 1876). It is difficult to say, unthinkable. though, whether sue h practices were a mere consequence of Such a point of view seems, however, far too optimistic, ignorance, or if they actually reflected a lack of concern, especially in those Catholic Mediterranean countries where even by contemporary standards, a partial withdrawal of such welfare institutions were widespread. Whether life in maternal investment. nineteenth-century urban centers such as Venice, Milan, and While stressing the importance of childcare in differenti- Florence was as hard as it is in contemporary Brazil is a ating mortality outcomes, I certainly do not pretend to sub- question both difficult to answer and perhaps not really mit Venetian mothers to any kind of "sacrifice test." On the meaningful. Certainly, there are several impressive descrip- contrary, I suggest that our efforts should be directed to tions of the misery and destitution that characterized the acquiring a much deeper historical awareness of the cultur- poorest neighborhoods in nineteenth-century Venice. Peo- al context in which so many "avoidable" deaths occurred. pIe lived together in tiny houses-lO persons or more Unfortunately, we have largely neglected this "dark" side of crowded into a single room-without running water and the popular culture, and it is not possible to undertake such sanitation. Excrement was gathered in buckets that were an inquiry here. However, it is worth stressing the extent to periodically emptied on the ground nearby. Clergymen which the idea of death dominated the popular culture of described their parishioners as the prey of widespread that time. Death had an overwhelming role, and infant immorality, and the police carefully avoided patrolling such death, especially neonatal death, was of primary impor- neighborhoods (Derosas 2002a). Welfare institutions could tance. For instance, there were proverbs to the effect that if seldom afford to provide food and c10thing and care for the a woman fell during pregnancy, her child would die; if sick and the elderly. Maritai fertility was quite high, espe- childbirth was to take piace on Friday, her child would die; cially among the lowest social strata, with a TMFR of day if the child were to have a small sign (e.g., a jewel) on his laborers reaching 10.2 (Breschi et al. 2000). Abandonment or her head, the child would die; if his or her ears were was practiced by legitimate parents at least as much as by small, the child would die; if a window were left open near unwed mothers; as a contemporary observer put it, it was where a newborn was lying, a witch would come and kill the fruit of misery rather than sin (Federigo 1832, 90-91). the child; and so on (Bernoni 1874). It seems unrealistic to think that because abandonment was Perhaps such beliefs had a consolatory function to offer easily available couples simply got rid of excess children to some kind of explanation and make the heavy death toll better concentrate their love and attentions on those remain- more bearable. But it is also possible that such convictions ing. I am rather inclined to doubt that abandoning unwant- actually encouraged parents to neglect their children. The ed newborns, whether legitimate or not, ever increased Catholics believed death to be a liberation from suffering soli citu de toward infants in generaI. Furthermore, as I have and a promise of eternai beatitude and reward, especially argued elsewhere (Derosas 2002c), there is strong evidence for infants and the poor. For Catholic mothers, death was to suggest that parents resorted to some kind of overt or certainly a reason for them to think of their dead children as covert infanticide of female newborns, depending on the "angel babies," as do the mothers of Alto do Cruzeiro, who composition by sex and age of the surviving children. also consider the death of their children as a sacrifice, in A growing number of studies have stressed the impor- some religious terms, made for the sake of the surviving tane e of maternal care as a major determinant of infant mother and siblings (Scheper-Hughes 1997, 210-12). The health and survival. Not only were motherless children Jewish culture certainly does not embrace such concepts. Summer 2003, Volume 36, Number 3 127 Jews consider health and the preservation of life to be their 6. Several studies have cast doubts on the impact of public health expen- ditures, especially of investment in water supplies, in reducing infant mor- primary duty, coming before any other religious precepts. tality rates in nineteenth-century cities. See, for instance, George Alter Such values and ideas about the primacy of life and (1997, 102-3) and Frances Beli and Robert Millward (1998). health have now become part of our uni versaI culture. It 7. See, for instance, the entry for "Baptéme" in Dictionnaire (1812 [I]: 1-3). would be interesting to analyze the kind of cultural changes, 8. Social status is considered here as a household rather than an individ- along with those in social and institutional settings, that uaI feature and refers to the occupation of the household head. Because there have accompanied the decline of infant mortality since the is no information on the dates of changes of occupation, and hardly any such change is recorded in the population register, soci a! status is treated here as end of the nineteenth century. Whereas diffusionist inter- a time-invariant covariate. Households are distributed into four groups: (1) pretations of the fertility transition have raised increasing day laborers, who included all persons whose earnings were uncertain and criticism (Kreager 1998; Friedlander, Okur, and SegaI might change dai1y, according to job opportunities, such as fishermen, boat- men, porters, pedd1ers, and those simply defined as industrianti (unskilled 1999), a similar viewpoint has rarely been advanced to laborers); (2) wage earners, who relied upon more regular income or explain the parallel dec1ine in infant mortality, especially in salary-they included workers employed in hemp, leather, and tobacco fac- countries where such a process took pIace later.18 If the tories; (3) a crowd of artisans and shopkeepers of various kinds, then partic- ular1y numerous; and (4) the middle c1ass, comprising c1erks, directors, interpretation of this essay is correct, it might well be that it teachers, officers, and a few peop1e involved in commerce and banking. also retlects the wider progress in social and economic con- 9. The seasons are the following: winter (Dec.-Feb.), spring (Mar.- ditions, the dissemination of the practices and attitudes once May), summer (June-Aug.) and fall (Sept.-Nov.). 10.It is perhaps worth stressing that in ali mode1s concerning neonatal peculiar to this social or religious minority, a process in mortality, miscarriages and stillbirths are exc1uded, although for Catholics which Jewish doctors often played a leading role. All con- some cases of stillbirths could have been recorded as live births, as men- sidered, it would have been relatively easy to avoid the tioned above. lt seems, however, that differences in the reporting of deaths can only account for a small part of the neonata! mortality differentials. waste of so many lives. "Occhio ai bambini!" (Watch out 11. Indeed, these are just two different ways of considering the same for the children!): so Cesare Musatti (1876), a famous Jew- basic question, that is, the existence of interactions between religion and ish physician and the first pediatrician in Venice, titled a other covariates. For the sake of clarity, I prefer to deve10p both points of view. Interactions have been tested without resu1ts and are therefore omit- book of simple recommendations and instructions for moth- ted from the following analysis. The only exception regards, as we shall ers. These included washing the babies frequently and never see, the effect of season in the 30-180 days age group. using cold water; keeping them in warm rooms; avoiding 12. More precisely, I refer here to the current season, not to the season of birth. As far as the first month is concerned, however, season of birth and exposure to harsh weather, especially for baptism; never current season are largely overlapping. giving them opiates; never wrapping them tightly in swad- 13. For a more thorough discussion, see Breschi, Derosas, and Manfredi- dling clothes; breastfeeding them for at least six months; ni (2000). 14. Note that the reference value refers, respectively, to Jewish and and always consulting the doctor whenever necessary. Catholic day laborers and is omitted. Watch out for the children! The very title would sound like 15. Frans van Poppel, Jona Schellekens, and Aart Liefbroer (2002) a warning not to be taken too seriously if it were not for the advanced two explanations for the advantage of Jewish infants and chil- dren in late-nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century The Hague, fact that approximately one-third of the children born each which are generaI enough without falling into tauto10gy. As far as infant year-to mothers who were potential readers of the book- mortality is concerned, they resort to the time-honored argument of pro- died during their first year of life. longed breastfeeding, which unfortunately fails to explain the Jewish advantage in neonatal and postneonatal mortality (roughly the first semes- ter of life), which c1ustered the largest share of overall infant deaths, and NOTES when presumably ali chi1dren were breastfed. Prolonged breastfeeding does not explain 10wer mortality after weaning, either. As far as the latter This research is part of the project on "Componenti genetiche, condizioni is concerned, the authors use simulation models to argue that physical iso- nelle prime fasi di vita e fattori socio-economici: un'analisi della longevità 1ation preserved Jewish children, as well as other religious minorities, from in Italia" supported by a grant of the Ministero dell'Istruzione, Università exposure to infectious diseases: this is a kind of restatement of the argu- e Ricerca (COFIN 2001). Earlier versions of this article were given at the ment of genetic selection through isolation, quite popular among early- Nineteenth International Congress of Historical Sciences, OsIo (August twentieth-century scholars (see above for references and criticism). Unfor- 2000) and at the Quatorzièmes entretiens du Centre Jacques Cartier, Col- tunately, the iso1ation argument should a1so invo1ve different mortality 10que "La démographie des minorités-Regard croisés'," Lyon (December patterns and distribution in the causes of death, which is not the case, at 2001). I would 1ike to express my appreciation to the participants in these least for Venice. Furthermore, van Poppel and his colleagues did not pro- meetings. I am al so grateful to George Alter, Marco Breschi, J. Morgan vide any empirical evidence of the physical iso1ation of Jewish communi- Kousser, Frans van Poppel, David Reher, and especially to James Lee for ties as late as the end of the nineteenth century. As mentioned above, more their warm encouragement and he1pful suggestions. than two-thirds of the Venetian Jews were scattered throughout the city, l. In the 21 years between the originaI publication date and 1887, there whereas those who still dwelt in the Ghetto certainly did not spend most of were 13 editions. The most recent is a paperback edition published by their daily life there, as they notoriously did not centuries earlier, when Northwestern University Press in 2001. nightly sec1usion was strictly enforced. 2. Recent research (see Calabi 1991) has confirmed the awfu1 conditions 16. For criticism about the way demographers refer to culture, see Eugene of the Ghetto at that time. Hamme1 (1990) and severa1 essays in Susan Greenhalgh (1995a); David 3. The Austrian regime reintroduced parti al discrimination against Jews Kertzer and Tom Fricke (1997); Alaka Basu and Peter Aaby (1998); see after 1816, but it did not affect residentia1 freedom (Berengo 1987). also Ron Lesthaeghe's (1989, 3-4) remarks. 4. Data for the life tab1e of the Jews are drawn from the popu1ation reg- 17. By stressing the interplay of culture and socia1 and institutional set- isters of 1850-69. The life table of the city is based on official statistics, ting, Lynch's interpretation fits c10sely the approach proposed by anthro- availab1e since 1874 (Municipio di Venezia 1881). pologists such as Susan Greenhalgh (l995b), Anthony Carter (1995), and 5. These results are large1y consistent with those found by Sergio others. In their analysis of reproduction, these scholars argue that people Della Pergola (1970) in other ltalian Jewish communities in the nine- do not submit passive1y to dominant cultural values, nor act as conscious teenth century. decision makers, driven by principles of pure maximization and abstract  128 HISTORICAL METHODS rationality. Rather, human agency can be defined as the outcome of "a Calabi, D. 1991. Il Ghetto e la città. In La città degli Ebrei. il Ghetto di reflexive monitoring and rationalization of a continuous f10w of conduct, Venezia: Architettura e urbanistica, edited by E. Concina, U. Camerino, in which practice is constituted in dialectical relation between persons act- and D. Calabi, 284-91. Venice: Albrizzi. ing and the settings of their activities." Cultural concepts, or values ---.2001. Gli Ebrei veneziani dopo l'apertura delle porte del Ghetto: Le assigned to behaviors, and political economy, or the forces that create the dinamiche insediative. In Le metamoifosi di Venezia da capitale di Stato setting for action, are the two ingredients of human action. They are not a città del mondo, edited by G. Benzoni, 147-71. Florence: Olschki. external to it, nor can they be considered separately. The quotation is from Carter, A. T. 1995. Agency and fertility: For an ethnography of practice. 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