Evolution of the stature in a backward region of Spain: Castile and Leon, 1830-1960

Abstract

This article contributes to the field of anthropometric history, recently of great interest to social and economic historians. An analysis of the height of adult males in Spain’s interior provides a reflection of the nutritional state and biological wellbeing of the society of that region during Spain’s industrialization. Some 29,000 registers relating to military drafts between 1830 and 1940 provide a series of samples of the rural and urban populations of Castilla-León which allow for an analysis of territorial, environmental, and social inequalities, as well as cyclical changes. This analysis reveals that height in this region developed according to a cyclical model determined by environmental and economic factors, diminishing during the second half of the nineteenth century, when malnutrition and under-nutrition were more prevalent in Castilla-León than in other Spanish regions, and not picking up again before the early twentieth century. This reduction in height was more evident in urban environments and among day-labourers. The nutritional status of this region’s population improved significantly during the first half of the twentieth century. Although it was affected during the Civil War and post-war period, this decline was not as great as that experienced in other regions of Spain.