View in EDS HTML Full Text PDF Full Text

Did Premodern Wars Impact Sex Ratios at Birth? The Case of 19th-Century Basque Country.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Did Premodern Wars Impact Sex Ratios at Birth? The Case of 19th-Century Basque Country.
Authors: Marco-Gracia, Francisco J. (AUTHOR), Beltrán Tapia, Francisco J. (AUTHOR), Liczbińska, Grażyna (AUTHOR)
Source: Human Nature. Jun2025, Vol. 36 Issue 2, p281-306. 26p.
Subjects: Sex ratio, War, Demographic change, Pregnant women, Nineteenth century
Geographic Terms: País Vasco (Spain)
Abstract: This study examines the impact of pre-moder wars on sex ratios at birth. Specifically, it investigates whether wars involving premodern weaponry and more limited destruction increased stress for pregnant women such that the resulting hormonal changes in their bodies may have led to a decrease in the ratio of live-born boys to girls. To address this question, we analyzed all baptismal records from the Basque Country during the 19th century, encompassing nearly 1.2 million individuals. Our findings confirm that the First Carlist War (1833–1840) exercised the most significant demographic impact on the region. However, all wars resulted in variations in demographic behavior, reducing in sex ratios at birth by around 1%. This effect is even more pronounced when focusing on the main conflict zones, where sieges and major battles took place, leading to an impact of 3.2%. The effect was not only immediately visible in sex ratios at birth but became particularly evident during the first three months after the events. Furthermore, prolonged battles were found to have the most substantial influence, with an average effect during the three months after the battle of almost 7% on sex ratios at birth. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that premodern wars reduced sex ratios at birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Human Nature is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
Full text is not displayed to guests.
FullText Links:
  – Type: pdflink
Text:
  Availability: 1
Header DbId: pbh
DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
An: 187808025
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Did Premodern Wars Impact Sex Ratios at Birth? The Case of 19th-Century Basque Country.
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marco-Gracia%2C+Francisco+J%2E%22">Marco-Gracia, Francisco J.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Beltrán+Tapia%2C+Francisco+J%2E%22">Beltrán Tapia, Francisco J.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Liczbińska%2C+Grażyna%22">Liczbińska, Grażyna</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Human+Nature%22">Human Nature</searchLink>. Jun2025, Vol. 36 Issue 2, p281-306. 26p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subjects
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Sex+ratio%22">Sex ratio</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22War%22">War</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Demographic+change%22">Demographic change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pregnant+women%22">Pregnant women</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nineteenth+century%22">Nineteenth century</searchLink>
– Name: SubjectGeographic
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22País+Vasco+%28Spain%29%22">País Vasco (Spain)</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This study examines the impact of pre-moder wars on sex ratios at birth. Specifically, it investigates whether wars involving premodern weaponry and more limited destruction increased stress for pregnant women such that the resulting hormonal changes in their bodies may have led to a decrease in the ratio of live-born boys to girls. To address this question, we analyzed all baptismal records from the Basque Country during the 19th century, encompassing nearly 1.2 million individuals. Our findings confirm that the First Carlist War (1833–1840) exercised the most significant demographic impact on the region. However, all wars resulted in variations in demographic behavior, reducing in sex ratios at birth by around 1%. This effect is even more pronounced when focusing on the main conflict zones, where sieges and major battles took place, leading to an impact of 3.2%. The effect was not only immediately visible in sex ratios at birth but became particularly evident during the first three months after the events. Furthermore, prolonged battles were found to have the most substantial influence, with an average effect during the three months after the battle of almost 7% on sex ratios at birth. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that premodern wars reduced sex ratios at birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Human Nature is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=pbh&AN=187808025
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1007/s12110-025-09496-8
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 26
        StartPage: 281
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Sex ratio
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: War
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Demographic change
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pregnant women
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nineteenth century
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: País Vasco (Spain)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Did Premodern Wars Impact Sex Ratios at Birth? The Case of 19th-Century Basque Country.
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Marco-Gracia, Francisco J.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Beltrán Tapia, Francisco J.
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Liczbińska, Grażyna
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2025
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 10456767
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 36
            – Type: issue
              Value: 2
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Human Nature
              Type: main
ResultId 1