Household composition and family structures of Ukrainian Cossacks in the second half of the eighteenth century

Abstract

One of the main problems faced by social historians of the Cossack Hetmanate (Cossacks' autonomous territory situated on the Left Bank of the Dnieper River) is a poor knowledge of population issues. This article therefore focuses on the history of the family and households in eighteenth-century Ukraine. Unlike the historiography of Western Europe, where active research in this field started in the 1960s, contemporary Ukrainian historiography includes only a few studies dedicated to these issues. Recently renewed interest in population issues is due to the widening scope of historical research and to changes in the methodological paradigm that started in the twenty-first century. Historical research of the Ukrainian family and population is thus in its infancy and reconsidering these aspects is crucial for a global scholarship.

Keywords::

• Cossack Hetmanate
• household
• confession records/ lists
• clergy
• burghers
• tradesmen
• family

Notes

^1. The legal system of Poltava during the study period was regulated by Lithuanian Statute, Magdeburg Law and norm of Russian legislation.

^2. Although the total number of parishes in Poltava in 1775 was six, we analyze five mentioned parishes as the lists of the sixth parish in Church of Assumption were preserved in a damaged condition and are not available for future research.