Marriage and the Kin Network: Evidence from a 19th-Century Italian Community

Abstract

This chapter deals with the role and influence of kinship on the decision to marry in a rural population of mid nineteenth century Italy. The reason for this choice lies in the particular social structure of that commnunity. where the two most important social groups, sharecroppers and day laborers, had almost antithetic marriage pattcrns and fàmily formation systems. Our study demonstrates thc key rolc of kin, especially coresident ones, in modifying the risk of marriage. This situation was particularly pronounced within the large and complex sharecropping households. Constraincd by the absolute necessity to maintain not only a balance bctween farm size and houschold size, but also an adequate supply of labor within the household, sharecroppers posed limits and restrictions on marriages of mernbers, especially men. Gcndcr, age. and marital status were chief factors determining who could marry and when. On the other hand, day laborers were less sensitive to household structure as thcir activity depended neither on the household labor force nor on the characteristics of the farm. In this casc. the access to marriage, ruled only by birth order, was lcss controlled fbr both rnen ancl women. As for the role of kin outside the household, difficulties in the rcconstruction of the entire kin network made the results less conclusive. However, it was only effective in moditying the risk of rnarriage tirr wttmcn living in sharccropping houscholds. Large and deep-rooted networks ill rclations t'avored a wotnan's access to marriage. especially when a lclcal man was involved. suggesting the usc of tnatria-rc to cstablish and reinfbrce local family allianccs.