A demographic crisis in southern india during the 19th century the famine of 1876 1878
Lardinois, R.
Population 37(2): 371-404
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0032-4663 Document Number: 408391
The famine of 1876-1878 provides an example of the subsistence crises which occurred on the Indian sub-continent from time to time during the 19th century. It was triggered by a drought which lasted for several years and during which there was deficiency of rainfall amounting to between 50 and 60%. Prices of staple foods rose to between 3-5 times their former level. The number of deaths increased within a period of a few months to between 5-10 times the pre-famine level and the number of conceptions dropped by 1/2. An examination of the relative effects of famine and epidemics shows the complexity of these phenomena. At the outset of the crisis, a peak in prices and in general mortality coincided with a peak in the number of cases of cholera; during subsequent months, smallpox and diseases of the digestive system became important. The recovery in fertility was brought about by a large number of marriages, which occurred at early ages. The mean age at marriage remained unchanged. When marriage takes place at puberty, as is the case in India, changes in the marriage rate cannot be used as a mechanism to restore demographic equilibrium. The study raises the problem of the relationship between population and subsistence in India during the colonial period.