The social consequences of economic cycles on nineteenth-century households and family life

This article investigates the consequences of rapid economic changes on the lives of the nineteenth-century people of Moncton Parish. First of all, the impact of changing economic conditions on critical socio-demographic variables is illustrated by changes in the composition of the foreigh-born population, the tendency to postpone marriage, and most dramatically, the postponement and limiting of child-birth. Secondly, a detailed examination of household and family structure further illustrates the effects of these major economic fluctuations on people's lives. In particular, the malleability of the boundaries of the household as it responds to the demands of the larger economy demonstrates that adaptation to these economic forces is necessary even at the most basic of social institutions — the household and family. For the people of Moncton Parish, the volatility of the economic life of the larger community fundamentally affected their personal lives.