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The Demographic Crisis of the Late Middle Ages in the Greek Lands (14th-15th c.) : The Case Study of Southeastern Macedonia

Articles

• Μουστάκας, Κωνσταντίνος
• ΜΟΥΣΤΑΚΑΣ, ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΣ

There is no doubt that the demographic crisis of the late Middle Ages constitutes a basic feature of European and Mediterranean history. Yet, little attention has been paid to this major historic phenomenon in the contemporary historiography of late Byzantium or of the early stages of modern Greek history, especially at the level of general histories. Given the limited extent of research on this subject, a comprehensive historical reconstruction of the demographic crisis cannot be attempted before conducting a number of localized studies, as shown by the example of V. Panayotopoulos's pioneering work on the Morea. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to present the case study of the area of southeastern Macedonia. My own approach to the problem of the demographic crisis in southeastern Macedonia entails the investigation of the following two questions: a) the fluctuation of population figures, which in certain settlements of the region can be traced from the beginning of the 14th century to the first decades of the 16th century, b) the development of settlement networks, focusing mainly on the establishment, survival or abandonment of settlements. Special attention is given to the distinctive features of the individual successive phases of this rather long period. The discussion takes into consideration the conclusions of the earlier study by Lefort, which on certain occasions can be further developed or revised. To begin with, the present article investigates the contradiction between the attested establishment of new settlements and the decline in birth rates observed in the first decades of the 14th century by earlier studies. The establishment of new settlements can be explained by the expansion of great landed properties and the concomitant intensification in the mobility of local peasantry for economic reasons. In other words, the causes of this phenomenon are social and economic, not demographic. It is well known that the demographic crisis enters its intense phase in the period from the 1340's to the end of the 14th century. The evidence adduced in this study demonstrates that the effects of the crisis in the region were less dramatic than in other regions. This is indicated by the survival of most existing settlements and the absence of any apparent change in the composition of the region's population. It also becomes evident that the crisis continues for the greatest part of the 15th century, despite certain signs of recovery. The instability that characterizes population growth even after the middle of the 15th century, as evidenced by the comparison of the fiscal surveys of 1454/55 and 1478/79, demonstrates that recovery had not been achieved yet. It is only in the late 15th and the early 16th century that demographic expansion began, as attested by the later surveys of 1519 and 1526/27.

• History and Archaeology

• Ιστορία

• http://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/mnimon/article/view/8460
• http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/mnimon.766