Britain's First Census

Published: March 10, 2022, 1 a.m.

b"How many eligible men can we send to fight France? Are there enough food supplies to feed the population for the next century? Until 10th March 1801, the British Parliament weren\\u2019t sure - which is why they commissioned the first national headcount since the Doomsday Book.\\xa0\\nUnlike a modern-day census - which harvests data on religion, education and even sexuality - their first efforts only totted up the numbers of men and women, and their engagement in certain employment, such as agricultural work. Despite this, they still managed to balls it up - with some parishes never bothering to return the paperwork properly.\\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why birthplace and employment came to be introduced in later surveys; consider the problem of dishonesty in self-declaration; and reveal how suffragettes used the census as a clever tactic for protest\\u2026\\xa0\\nFurther Reading:\\n\\u2022 \\u201810 March 1801: Britain conducts its first census\\u2019 (MoneyWeek, 2020): https://moneyweek.com/383334/10-march-1801-britain-conducts-its-first-census\\n\\u2022 \\u2018An Essay on the Principle of Population, as it Affects the Future Improvement of Society with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet, and Other Writers\\u2019 (Thomas Malthus, 1798):\\xa0\\nhttp://www.esp.org/books/malthus/population/malthus.pdf\\n\\u2022 \\u2018Who Had To Return To Their Birthplace For The Census?\\u2019 (QI, 2003): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWa7LEl36UY\\nPhoto courtesy of Essex University.\\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.\\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2022.\\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices"