Industrial Urban Life and Death: Social and Environmental Influences on Mortality in 19th-Century Lodz

The aim of this paper is to analyse mortality in the city of Lodz in the second half of the 19th century and to capture the impact of socio-economic factors, such as profession, and environmental conditions related to the level of hygiene in the place of residence, on the age at death. Due to its industrial character, Lodz was referred to as the “Polish Manchester.” Infant mortality was higher in places characterized by poor sanitation than in those with better ecological conditions (329 and 259 per 1000 live births, respectively), and also higher among working class members than in more affluent occupational groups (350 and 259 per 1000 live births, respectively). Life expectancy of a newly born child (e0) in the group of “workers” ranged 25.7–29.2 years, while in the group of “others” 30.3–33.3 years. There were no differences between e0 values for females and males among workers. In the case of “others” e0 for women was 7 years lower than for men. The impact of social status and environmental factors in the urban space on the age at death was confirmed by MANOVA. In 19th-century industrial urban space, living conditions among workers, especially those employed in the textile ind