The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in historical perspective. Epidemics and mortality crisis in the last three centuries in Castile and Spain

Authors

  • Enrique Llopis Agelán Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  • Vicente Pérez Moreda Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  • José Antonio Sebastián Amarilla Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  • Felipa Sánchez Salazar Universidad Complutense de Madrid
  • Ángel Luis Velasco Sánchez Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33231/j.ihe.2021.02.003

Keywords:

Epidemics, Mortality crisis, Castile, Spain, COVID-19, I12, J11, N01, N33, N34

Abstract

This article depicts Spain’s COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 in terms of the main mortality increases reported in Castile and/or the whole country between 1700 and 2019. Data are drawn from population censuses, parish records in 138 Castilian municipalities, and the Movimiento Natural de la Población de España, 1890-2018. Our findings suggest that: (1) Catastrophic mortality rates plummeted in Castile during the second half of the 18th century, but severely rebounded in the early 19th century. (2) Only four crises afflicted the region between 1815 and 1869, but their average intensities exceeded those of the previous century. (3) Between 1870 and 2019, there were only three mortality upturns in Spain, 1918, 1938, and 1941. (4) Due to the current pandemic, excess mortality in 2020 was relatively low compared to those registered in Castile or Spain before that date.

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Published

2021-04-09

How to Cite

Llopis Agelán, E., Pérez Moreda, V., Sebastián Amarilla, J. A., Sánchez Salazar, F., & Velasco Sánchez, Ángel L. (2021). The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 in historical perspective. Epidemics and mortality crisis in the last three centuries in Castile and Spain. Investigaciones De Historia Económica, 17(2), 19–31. https://doi.org/10.33231/j.ihe.2021.02.003

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