The First Signs of Demographic Transition: The Population of Betina (1870-1880)

U razdoblju od 1870. do 1880. godine u Betini se očituju tek prvi znaci demografske tranzicije. Stope nataliteta i mortaliteta još uvijek su predtranzicijske. Visoka smrtnost dojenčadi i male djece također je predtranzicijska, kao i relativno niska ženidbena dob. No, prve naznake tranzicije osjećaju se u produljenju ljudskog vijeka. Stanovništvo Betine ima obilježja koja se mogu uočiti na otocima srednje Dalmacije. Ta obilježja očituju se u ritmu začeća, rađanja, vjenčanja (dva maksimuma s dominacijom zimskog nad jesenskim) i smrti (jači utjecaj ljetnih zaraza), u relativno malom udjelu ponovljenih brakova, a povećanom udjelu srodničkih brakova. Iznimno strogo poštivanje crkvenih pravila o izbjegavanju predbračnih spolnih odnosa, Betinu bitno razlikuje od južnodalmatinskih i dubrovačkih otoka.The population movement of Betina on the island of Murter shares the features and trends observed on the islands of central Dalmatia, which in many details deviate from the Dalmatian mainland. These differences are evident in the patterns of conception (an apparent fall during seasonal work in the fields), of births, marriage (two peaks, the winter peak predominating over that of autumn), and deaths (a more prominent impact of summer diseases), relatively small proportion of remarriages and an increase in consanguineous marriages. In the period 1870-1880, Betina experienced the first signs of demographic transition. The natality and mortality rates were still pre-transitional. High infant mortality rate and that of early childhood were also pre-transitional, as well as a relatively low age at marriage. Yet first signs of transition were observed in the longer life-span. The proportion of the elderly contingent was smaller than in southern Croatia, where the transition was already under way, yet considerably higher than in Slavonia, where a pre-transitional demographic picture still prevailed. The specific features of the Betina population in this time-frame demonstrate an increase in the births of female infants, most likely a coincidence (this is a micro case-study where gender oscillations in the birth structure can vary considerably), further, in the most strict observance of the church rules governing premarital sexual relations, and in this respect distinguishing Betina significantly from the islands of south Dalmatia