It appears that I have been missing the boat on how to respond to postings from others. So I will try this approach. Hope I have not incovenienced anyone with my misdirected responses in the past. And I would be glad to hear whether I am sending this message to the proper location or not. I fully agree with Karen Hobbs' suggestion that in pursuing one's 17th century ancestors it is of utmost importance to become familiar with some of the historical background. The Thirty Years' War has been described by some historians as "the first world war," and it brought with it all the dislocations and stresses of any other world war. Understanding that might lead a family historian to look about for possiblities which s/he might not otherwise have considered. For example, some of our ancestors undoubtedly became camp followers during the war. That became a way of life and when the war ended many may have felt as did one individual in Olmutz, Moravia that "I was born in war, I have no home, no country and no friends, war is all my wealth and now whither shall I go? For some of our ancestors this meant wandering the roads as some of the freed American slaves did following the end of the Civil War. Eventually they had to settle somewhere. We may never know wher! e they were born. Or who their parents were. Or if it really matters - many young girls were de-flowered by soldiers and outlaws during this war. To assist those who may not know a great deal about this recently-rediscovered war, I have spent a little time with my books and can respond to some of Karen's comments concerning population loss during the Thirty Years' War. Specifially, she stated that "The new settlers were there because the 30 years war and the expulsions of protestants who were unwilling to convert at the wars end left Bohemia / Moravia with a population of less than 1, 000,000. Count von Lutzow (Czech historian) says in his book "Bohemia, an Historical Sketch" that the population before the war was 3,000,.000 and after it ended only 800.000." Now, it is true that the Count was, for very many years, the often-quoted authority on the subject of population loss during the Thirty Years' War. However, modern scholars have come to question his numbers. As early as 1961, C.V. Wedgwood stated in her classic, and extremely readable, study The Thirty Years' War that "The incredible decrease in population claimed for so many districts was to some extent the outcome of temporary emigration, and a careful consideration of conditions in Germany both before and after the war reveals the fact that society was dislocated rather than destroyed. But the marks of that dislocation remained long after the limbs had been re-integrated....The old legend that the population dropped from sixteen to four million people (these figures represent all of Germany (with the exceptions which follow in her quotation), i.e. all of the German principalities of the time as well as the Habsburg Crown Lands), rests on imagination: both figures are incorrect. The German Empire, including Alsace but excluding the Netherlands and Bohemia, probably numbered about twenty-one millions in 1618, and rather less than thirteen and a half millions in 1648. Ce! rtain authorities believe that the loss was less, but the figures, which have been confused over the generations by propaganda of different kinds, are extremely difficult to establish with any certainty." In his book, serf, seigneur, and sovereign, William E. Wright notes, as Karen also has said, that "During the war many peasants had taken flight before marauding armies, leaving their land and forsaking their rights to it....To the already generous grants from Ferdinand II, his creatures added even more by seizure of untended, previously serf-held acreage....Fugitive serfs and discharged soldiers, torn from their social moorings and lacking employment, roamed the land....Because of the general feeling of insecurity in the kingdom and the conduct of some of the fugitives, the Bohemian serf was considered a lawless, or potentially lawless, churl who should be closely bound to the land and strictly controlled by the lord of the area.... In other words, many people were displaced (rather than killed) during the war, and while some certainly returned to their villages after the war, others took to roaming the countryside, often as outlaws (my own ancestor is shown in The Tax! Rolls of 1654 as a schutz [shooter, guard, protector] which means his job was to protect against such individuals) leading the authorities to pass laws confining the serf's movement and tying him tightly to the land - whether it was the land he had been on at the start of the war or not. In his more recent (1984) study of the war (The Thirty Years' War) Geoffrey Parker cites the example of Linden, a village near Rothenburg, which "in 1618...had a total of nine taxable peasant households, plus four landless peasants....By 1641...the village was uninhabited--and it remained so for the rest of the war. But Linden did not become a permanent ghost village. In the decades following the war, settlers returned, and by 1690 the village had eleven peasant holdings--bringing it, in short, back to its pre-war size." Parker does not relate, or probably know, where the new settlers came from. Were they new inhabitants or former villagers returning to their homes? Or a combination? He does note, however, that "Historians can pinpoint hundreds of depopulated villages and reduced cities -- along with hundreds of towns and villages which survived the war almost intact." He goes on to explain that "There is no doubt, however, that central Europe did experience a gen! eration of substantial demographic decline. The exact causes of the population loss cannot always be determined, but one thing is certain: deaths due to military action represented only a minor element in the total picture (study their weapons: are you kidding me? How could they hit anything?!). War-related food shortages and outbreaks of epidemic disease were much greater killers. The most spectacular episodes of mortality were due to the bubonic plague, which broke out in many parts of central Europe during the war....Many epidemic diseases were spread by the movement of infected soldiers or civilians (a well-known cry concerning the army of one general in the war was "God help those where Mansfield comes!"), but the plague was not among them. For bubonic plague is actually a disease of rats, transmitted to humans beings by fleas...the old notion that infected rats and fleas travelled in army baggage is now discounted by demographers. In addition, plague epidemics ! were of relatively short duration in any one place, and were often followed by a year or two of rapid demographic revovery. In fact the long-term population losses associated with the war were generally due to less spectacular but more persistent diseases spread by human contact --typhus, influenza, dysentery and other illnesses which recurred, year after year, in communities whose inhabitants were already weakened by war-induced malnutrition and stress." So, as with most things, the facts are not as straight-forward as we would like for them to be. Consider yourself blessed if you can push your family tree back beyond the Thirty Years' War. So far, I cannot. Many parish records were lost when churches were burned (by both sides) and this presents a major challenge for genealogical research. Beyond the language differences, the general chaos which occured during the war and in the period immediately afterwards is another reason for the confusion over misspellings of names in the Tax List of 1654. Living in the Habsburg Lands were people from many places: Scots, Italians, Irish, English, Austrians, Czechs, Germans, German-Bohemians, Hungarians, etc., etc. The census takers were not always equipped to understand the names being spoken by these various nationalities. This was the Emperor's attempt to find out who his subjects were, mainly - but not only - for tax purposes. A generation had passed and things were no ! longer as they had been in 1618. Hope I haven't put everyone to sleep. Bob Ullman ullman@easystreet.com

----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Ullman" <ullman@easystreet.com> To: <GERMAN-BOHEMIAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 12:31 PM Subject: [GERMAN-BOHEMIAN] Thirty Years' War depopulation figures > It appears that I have been missing the boat on how to respond to > postings from others. So I will try this approach. Hope I have not > incovenienced anyone with my misdirected responses in the past. And I > would be glad to hear whether I am sending this message to the proper > location or not. > > I fully agree with Karen Hobbs' suggestion that in pursuing one's 17th > century ancestors it is of utmost importance to become familiar with some > of the historical background. The Thirty Years' War has been described by > some historians as "the first world war," and it brought with it all the > dislocations and stresses of any other world war. Understanding that > might lead a family historian to look about for possiblities which s/he > might not otherwise have considered. For example, some of our ancestors > undoubtedly became camp followers during the war. That became a way of > life and when the war ended many may have felt as did one individual in > Olmutz, Moravia that "I was born in war, I have no home, no country and no > friends, war is all my wealth and now whither shall I go? For some of our > ancestors this meant wandering the roads as some of the freed American > slaves did following the end of the Civil War. Eventually they had to > settle somewhere. We may never know wher! > e they were born. Or who their parents were. Or if it really matters - > many young girls were de-flowered by soldiers and outlaws during this war. > To assist those who may not know a great deal about this > recently-rediscovered war, I have spent a little time with my books and > can respond to some of Karen's comments concerning population loss during > the Thirty Years' War. Specifially, she stated that "The new settlers > were there because the 30 years war and the expulsions of protestants who > were unwilling to convert at the wars end left Bohemia / Moravia with a > population of less than 1, 000,000. Count von Lutzow (Czech historian) > says in his book "Bohemia, an Historical Sketch" that the population > before the war was 3,000,.000 and after it ended only 800.000." Now, it > is true that the Count was, for very many years, the often-quoted > authority on the subject of population loss during the Thirty Years' War. > However, modern scholars have come to question his numbers. > As early as 1961, C.V. Wedgwood stated in her classic, and extremely > readable, study The Thirty Years' War that "The incredible decrease in > population claimed for so many districts was to some extent the outcome of > temporary emigration, and a careful consideration of conditions in Germany > both before and after the war reveals the fact that society was dislocated > rather than destroyed. But the marks of that dislocation remained long > after the limbs had been re-integrated....The old legend that the > population dropped from sixteen to four million people (these figures > represent all of Germany (with the exceptions which follow in her > quotation), i.e. all of the German principalities of the time as well as > the Habsburg Crown Lands), rests on imagination: both figures are > incorrect. The German Empire, including Alsace but excluding the > Netherlands and Bohemia, probably numbered about twenty-one millions in > 1618, and rather less than thirteen and a half millions in 1648. Ce! > rtain authorities believe that the loss was less, but the figures, which > have been confused over the generations by propaganda of different kinds, > are extremely difficult to establish with any certainty." > In his book, serf, seigneur, and sovereign, William E. Wright notes, as > Karen also has said, that "During the war many peasants had taken flight > before marauding armies, leaving their land and forsaking their rights to > it....To the already generous grants from Ferdinand II, his creatures > added even more by seizure of untended, previously serf-held > acreage....Fugitive serfs and discharged soldiers, torn from their social > moorings and lacking employment, roamed the land....Because of the general > feeling of insecurity in the kingdom and the conduct of some of the > fugitives, the Bohemian serf was considered a lawless, or potentially > lawless, churl who should be closely bound to the land and strictly > controlled by the lord of the area.... In other words, many people were > displaced (rather than killed) during the war, and while some certainly > returned to their villages after the war, others took to roaming the > countryside, often as outlaws (my own ancestor is shown in The Tax! > Rolls of 1654 as a schutz [shooter, guard, protector] which means his job > was to protect against such individuals) leading the authorities to pass > laws confining the serf's movement and tying him tightly to the land - > whether it was the land he had been on at the start of the war or not. > In his more recent (1984) study of the war (The Thirty Years' War) > Geoffrey Parker cites the example of Linden, a village near Rothenburg, > which "in 1618...had a total of nine taxable peasant households, plus four > landless peasants....By 1641...the village was uninhabited--and it > remained so for the rest of the war. But Linden did not become a > permanent ghost village. In the decades following the war, settlers > returned, and by 1690 the village had eleven peasant holdings--bringing > it, in short, back to its pre-war size." Parker does not relate, or > probably know, where the new settlers came from. Were they new > inhabitants or former villagers returning to their homes? Or a > combination? He does note, however, that "Historians can pinpoint > hundreds of depopulated villages and reduced cities -- along with hundreds > of towns and villages which survived the war almost intact." He goes on > to explain that "There is no doubt, however, that central Europe did > experience a gen! > eration of substantial demographic decline. The exact causes of the > population loss cannot always be determined, but one thing is certain: > deaths due to military action represented only a minor element in the > total picture (study their weapons: are you kidding me? How could they > hit anything?!). War-related food shortages and outbreaks of epidemic > disease were much greater killers. The most spectacular episodes of > mortality were due to the bubonic plague, which broke out in many parts of > central Europe during the war....Many epidemic diseases were spread by the > movement of infected soldiers or civilians (a well-known cry concerning > the army of one general in the war was "God help those where Mansfield > comes!"), but the plague was not among them. For bubonic plague is > actually a disease of rats, transmitted to humans beings by fleas...the > old notion that infected rats and fleas travelled in army baggage is now > discounted by demographers. In addition, plague epidemics ! > were of relatively short duration in any one place, and were often > followed by a year or two of rapid demographic revovery. In fact the > long-term population losses associated with the war were generally due to > less spectacular but more persistent diseases spread by human > contact --typhus, influenza, dysentery and other illnesses which recurred, > year after year, in communities whose inhabitants were already weakened by > war-induced malnutrition and stress." > So, as with most things, the facts are not as straight-forward as we > would like for them to be. Consider yourself blessed if you can push your > family tree back beyond the Thirty Years' War. So far, I cannot. Many > parish records were lost when churches were burned (by both sides) and > this presents a major challenge for genealogical research. Beyond the > language differences, the general chaos which occured during the war and > in the period immediately afterwards is another reason for the confusion > over misspellings of names in the Tax List of 1654. Living in the > Habsburg Lands were people from many places: Scots, Italians, Irish, > English, Austrians, Czechs, Germans, German-Bohemians, Hungarians, etc., > etc. The census takers were not always equipped to understand the names > being spoken by these various nationalities. This was the Emperor's > attempt to find out who his subjects were, mainly - but not only - for tax > purposes. A generation had passed and things were no ! > longer as they had been in 1618. > > Hope I haven't put everyone to sleep. > > Bob Ullman > ullman@easystreet.com > > > ==== GERMAN-BOHEMIAN Mailing List ==== > Forgotten how to UNSUBSCRIBE? > Visit http://www.rootsweb.com/~gbhs/mailinglist/mailinglist.html >

Good stuff; good interpretation too! Many thanks, Bob ... Happy to have your comments, and, no, you didn't "put me to sleep" ;-) Jo Davis ----- Original Message ----- From: "randy mathes" <RANDALMATHES@peoplepc.com> To: <GERMAN-BOHEMIAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 2:12 PM Subject: Re: [GERMAN-BOHEMIAN] Thirty Years' War depopulation figures > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Bob Ullman" <ullman@easystreet.com> > To: <GERMAN-BOHEMIAN-L@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 12:31 PM > Subject: [GERMAN-BOHEMIAN] Thirty Years' War depopulation figures > > >> It appears that I have been missing the boat on how to respond to >> postings from others. So I will try this approach. Hope I have not >> incovenienced anyone with my misdirected responses in the past. And I >> would be glad to hear whether I am sending this message to the proper >> location or not. >> >> I fully agree with Karen Hobbs' suggestion that in pursuing one's 17th >> century ancestors it is of utmost importance to become familiar with some >> of the historical background. The Thirty Years' War has been described >> by some historians as "the first world war," and it brought with it all >> the dislocations and stresses of any other world war. Understanding that >> might lead a family historian to look about for possiblities which s/he >> might not otherwise have considered. For example, some of our ancestors >> undoubtedly became camp followers during the war. That became a way of >> life and when the war ended many may have felt as did one individual in >> Olmutz, Moravia that "I was born in war, I have no home, no country and >> no friends, war is all my wealth and now whither shall I go? For some of >> our ancestors this meant wandering the roads as some of the freed >> American slaves did following the end of the Civil War. Eventually they >> had to settle somewhere. We may never know wher! >> e they were born. Or who their parents were. Or if it really matters - >> many young girls were de-flowered by soldiers and outlaws during this >> war. >> To assist those who may not know a great deal about this >> recently-rediscovered war, I have spent a little time with my books and >> can respond to some of Karen's comments concerning population loss during >> the Thirty Years' War. Specifially, she stated that "The new settlers >> were there because the 30 years war and the expulsions of protestants who >> were unwilling to convert at the wars end left Bohemia / Moravia with a >> population of less than 1, 000,000. Count von Lutzow (Czech historian) >> says in his book "Bohemia, an Historical Sketch" that the population >> before the war was 3,000,.000 and after it ended only 800.000." Now, it >> is true that the Count was, for very many years, the often-quoted >> authority on the subject of population loss during the Thirty Years' War. >> However, modern scholars have come to question his numbers. >> As early as 1961, C.V. Wedgwood stated in her classic, and extremely >> readable, study The Thirty Years' War that "The incredible decrease in >> population claimed for so many districts was to some extent the outcome >> of temporary emigration, and a careful consideration of conditions in >> Germany both before and after the war reveals the fact that society was >> dislocated rather than destroyed. But the marks of that dislocation >> remained long after the limbs had been re-integrated....The old legend >> that the population dropped from sixteen to four million people (these >> figures represent all of Germany (with the exceptions which follow in her >> quotation), i.e. all of the German principalities of the time as well as >> the Habsburg Crown Lands), rests on imagination: both figures are >> incorrect. The German Empire, including Alsace but excluding the >> Netherlands and Bohemia, probably numbered about twenty-one millions in >> 1618, and rather less than thirteen and a half millions in 1648. Ce! >> rtain authorities believe that the loss was less, but the figures, which >> have been confused over the generations by propaganda of different kinds, >> are extremely difficult to establish with any certainty." >> In his book, serf, seigneur, and sovereign, William E. Wright notes, >> as Karen also has said, that "During the war many peasants had taken >> flight before marauding armies, leaving their land and forsaking their >> rights to it....To the already generous grants from Ferdinand II, his >> creatures added even more by seizure of untended, previously serf-held >> acreage....Fugitive serfs and discharged soldiers, torn from their social >> moorings and lacking employment, roamed the land....Because of the >> general feeling of insecurity in the kingdom and the conduct of some of >> the fugitives, the Bohemian serf was considered a lawless, or potentially >> lawless, churl who should be closely bound to the land and strictly >> controlled by the lord of the area.... In other words, many people were >> displaced (rather than killed) during the war, and while some certainly >> returned to their villages after the war, others took to roaming the >> countryside, often as outlaws (my own ancestor is shown in The Tax! >> Rolls of 1654 as a schutz [shooter, guard, protector] which means his job >> was to protect against such individuals) leading the authorities to pass >> laws confining the serf's movement and tying him tightly to the land - >> whether it was the land he had been on at the start of the war or not. >> In his more recent (1984) study of the war (The Thirty Years' War) >> Geoffrey Parker cites the example of Linden, a village near Rothenburg, >> which "in 1618...had a total of nine taxable peasant households, plus >> four landless peasants....By 1641...the village was uninhabited--and it >> remained so for the rest of the war. But Linden did not become a >> permanent ghost village. In the decades following the war, settlers >> returned, and by 1690 the village had eleven peasant holdings--bringing >> it, in short, back to its pre-war size." Parker does not relate, or >> probably know, where the new settlers came from. Were they new >> inhabitants or former villagers returning to their homes? Or a >> combination? He does note, however, that "Historians can pinpoint >> hundreds of depopulated villages and reduced cities -- along with >> hundreds of towns and villages which survived the war almost intact." He >> goes on to explain that "There is no doubt, however, that central Europe >> did experience a gen! >> eration of substantial demographic decline. The exact causes of the >> population loss cannot always be determined, but one thing is certain: >> deaths due to military action represented only a minor element in the >> total picture (study their weapons: are you kidding me? How could they >> hit anything?!). War-related food shortages and outbreaks of epidemic >> disease were much greater killers. The most spectacular episodes of >> mortality were due to the bubonic plague, which broke out in many parts >> of central Europe during the war....Many epidemic diseases were spread by >> the movement of infected soldiers or civilians (a well-known cry >> concerning the army of one general in the war was "God help those where >> Mansfield comes!"), but the plague was not among them. For bubonic >> plague is actually a disease of rats, transmitted to humans beings by >> fleas...the old notion that infected rats and fleas travelled in army >> baggage is now discounted by demographers. In addition, plague epidemics >> ! >> were of relatively short duration in any one place, and were often >> followed by a year or two of rapid demographic revovery. In fact the >> long-term population losses associated with the war were generally due to >> less spectacular but more persistent diseases spread by human >> contact --typhus, influenza, dysentery and other illnesses which >> recurred, year after year, in communities whose inhabitants were already >> weakened by war-induced malnutrition and stress." >> So, as with most things, the facts are not as straight-forward as we >> would like for them to be. Consider yourself blessed if you can push >> your family tree back beyond the Thirty Years' War. So far, I cannot. >> Many parish records were lost when churches were burned (by both sides) >> and this presents a major challenge for genealogical research. Beyond >> the language differences, the general chaos which occured during the war >> and in the period immediately afterwards is another reason for the >> confusion over misspellings of names in the Tax List of 1654. Living in >> the Habsburg Lands were people from many places: Scots, Italians, Irish, >> English, Austrians, Czechs, Germans, German-Bohemians, Hungarians, etc., >> etc. The census takers were not always equipped to understand the names >> being spoken by these various nationalities. This was the Emperor's >> attempt to find out who his subjects were, mainly - but not only - for >> tax purposes. A generation had passed and things were no ! >> longer as they had been in 1618. >> >> Hope I haven't put everyone to sleep. >> >> Bob Ullman >> ullman@easystreet.com

Quite to the contrary of putting one to sleep, you stated the situation factually and as it was taught in our German schools. It is a fact that the Austrian Empire was - in fact - the first United States of Europe! A power like that in the middle of Europe posed great economic disadvantages to other progressive nations. Hence, the rises and falls of Empires. Aida ------------------------------------------- ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bob Ullman" <ullman@easystreet.com> To: <GERMAN-BOHEMIAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, May 10, 2006 10:31 AM Subject: [GERMAN-BOHEMIAN] Thirty Years' War depopulation figures > It appears that I have been missing the boat on how to respond to > postings from others. So I will try this approach. Hope I have not > incovenienced anyone with my misdirected responses in the past. And I > would be glad to hear whether I am sending this message to the proper > location or not. > > I fully agree with Karen Hobbs' suggestion that in pursuing one's 17th > century ancestors it is of utmost importance to become familiar with some > of the historical background. The Thirty Years' War has been described by > some historians as "the first world war," and it brought with it all the > dislocations and stresses of any other world war. Understanding that > might lead a family historian to look about for possiblities which s/he > might not otherwise have considered. For example, some of our ancestors > undoubtedly became camp followers during the war. That became a way of > life and when the war ended many may have felt as did one individual in > Olmutz, Moravia that "I was born in war, I have no home, no country and no > friends, war is all my wealth and now whither shall I go? For some of our > ancestors this meant wandering the roads as some of the freed American > slaves did following the end of the Civil War. Eventually they had to > settle somewhere. We may never know wher! > e they were born. Or who their parents were. Or if it really matters - > many young girls were de-flowered by soldiers and outlaws during this war. > To assist those who may not know a great deal about this > recently-rediscovered war, I have spent a little time with my books and > can respond to some of Karen's comments concerning population loss during > the Thirty Years' War. Specifially, she stated that "The new settlers > were there because the 30 years war and the expulsions of protestants who > were unwilling to convert at the wars end left Bohemia / Moravia with a > population of less than 1, 000,000. Count von Lutzow (Czech historian) > says in his book "Bohemia, an Historical Sketch" that the population > before the war was 3,000,.000 and after it ended only 800.000." Now, it > is true that the Count was, for very many years, the often-quoted > authority on the subject of population loss during the Thirty Years' War. > However, modern scholars have come to question his numbers. > As early as 1961, C.V. Wedgwood stated in her classic, and extremely > readable, study The Thirty Years' War that "The incredible decrease in > population claimed for so many districts was to some extent the outcome of > temporary emigration, and a careful consideration of conditions in Germany > both before and after the war reveals the fact that society was dislocated > rather than destroyed. But the marks of that dislocation remained long > after the limbs had been re-integrated....The old legend that the > population dropped from sixteen to four million people (these figures > represent all of Germany (with the exceptions which follow in her > quotation), i.e. all of the German principalities of the time as well as > the Habsburg Crown Lands), rests on imagination: both figures are > incorrect. The German Empire, including Alsace but excluding the > Netherlands and Bohemia, probably numbered about twenty-one millions in > 1618, and rather less than thirteen and a half millions in 1648. Ce! > rtain authorities believe that the loss was less, but the figures, which > have been confused over the generations by propaganda of different kinds, > are extremely difficult to establish with any certainty." > In his book, serf, seigneur, and sovereign, William E. Wright notes, as > Karen also has said, that "During the war many peasants had taken flight > before marauding armies, leaving their land and forsaking their rights to > it....To the already generous grants from Ferdinand II, his creatures > added even more by seizure of untended, previously serf-held > acreage....Fugitive serfs and discharged soldiers, torn from their social > moorings and lacking employment, roamed the land....Because of the general > feeling of insecurity in the kingdom and the conduct of some of the > fugitives, the Bohemian serf was considered a lawless, or potentially > lawless, churl who should be closely bound to the land and strictly > controlled by the lord of the area.... In other words, many people were > displaced (rather than killed) during the war, and while some certainly > returned to their villages after the war, others took to roaming the > countryside, often as outlaws (my own ancestor is shown in The Tax! > Rolls of 1654 as a schutz [shooter, guard, protector] which means his job > was to protect against such individuals) leading the authorities to pass > laws confining the serf's movement and tying him tightly to the land - > whether it was the land he had been on at the start of the war or not. > In his more recent (1984) study of the war (The Thirty Years' War) > Geoffrey Parker cites the example of Linden, a village near Rothenburg, > which "in 1618...had a total of nine taxable peasant households, plus four > landless peasants....By 1641...the village was uninhabited--and it > remained so for the rest of the war. But Linden did not become a > permanent ghost village. In the decades following the war, settlers > returned, and by 1690 the village had eleven peasant holdings--bringing > it, in short, back to its pre-war size." Parker does not relate, or > probably know, where the new settlers came from. Were they new > inhabitants or former villagers returning to their homes? Or a > combination? He does note, however, that "Historians can pinpoint > hundreds of depopulated villages and reduced cities -- along with hundreds > of towns and villages which survived the war almost intact." He goes on > to explain that "There is no doubt, however, that central Europe did > experience a gen! > eration of substantial demographic decline. The exact causes of the > population loss cannot always be determined, but one thing is certain: > deaths due to military action represented only a minor element in the > total picture (study their weapons: are you kidding me? How could they > hit anything?!). War-related food shortages and outbreaks of epidemic > disease were much greater killers. The most spectacular episodes of > mortality were due to the bubonic plague, which broke out in many parts of > central Europe during the war....Many epidemic diseases were spread by the > movement of infected soldiers or civilians (a well-known cry concerning > the army of one general in the war was "God help those where Mansfield > comes!"), but the plague was not among them. For bubonic plague is > actually a disease of rats, transmitted to humans beings by fleas...the > old notion that infected rats and fleas travelled in army baggage is now > discounted by demographers. In addition, plague epidemics ! > were of relatively short duration in any one place, and were often > followed by a year or two of rapid demographic revovery. In fact the > long-term population losses associated with the war were generally due to > less spectacular but more persistent diseases spread by human > contact --typhus, influenza, dysentery and other illnesses which recurred, > year after year, in communities whose inhabitants were already weakened by > war-induced malnutrition and stress." > So, as with most things, the facts are not as straight-forward as we > would like for them to be. Consider yourself blessed if you can push your > family tree back beyond the Thirty Years' War. So far, I cannot. Many > parish records were lost when churches were burned (by both sides) and > this presents a major challenge for genealogical research. Beyond the > language differences, the general chaos which occured during the war and > in the period immediately afterwards is another reason for the confusion > over misspellings of names in the Tax List of 1654. Living in the > Habsburg Lands were people from many places: Scots, Italians, Irish, > English, Austrians, Czechs, Germans, German-Bohemians, Hungarians, etc., > etc. The census takers were not always equipped to understand the names > being spoken by these various nationalities. This was the Emperor's > attempt to find out who his subjects were, mainly - but not only - for tax > purposes. A generation had passed and things were no ! > longer as they had been in 1618. > > Hope I haven't put everyone to sleep. > > Bob Ullman > ullman@easystreet.com > > > ==== GERMAN-BOHEMIAN Mailing List ==== > Forgotten how to UNSUBSCRIBE? > Visit http://www.rootsweb.com/~gbhs/mailinglist/mailinglist.html >