Emigration and Household Structure in a Portuguese Parish, 1850-1920

Abstract

Focusing in particular on the residence patterns of women over the life course, the study explores the impact of a predominantly male pattern of migration on the formation and structure of households in the parish of Lanheses in northwestern Portugal between 1850 and 1920. Households adjusted to the absence of men in ways that demonstrate several characteristics of matrifocality. The female-headed and patriuxorilocal households in Lanheses during the period are the result of centuries of coping, both demographically and socially, with the absence of men. Male migration has affected household structure in this area not only directly, but also indirectly through its impact on female spinsterhood and illegitimacy.