Exploring the Uses of Bills of Mortality: A Historical Analysis

This essay examines the historical significance of bills of mortality, focusing on their uses as both qualitative and quantitative data sources in England, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries. As a qualitative source, bills of mortality provided insights into mortality rates, common causes of death, population trends, and demographic information such as gender and age. This information was crucial for government policy-making, resource allocation, and understanding public health crises like smallpox. As a quantitative source, the bills were used to calculate population growth and track the prevalence of specific diseases. However, the essay also acknowledges the limitations of these records, including inaccuracies due to incomplete reporting, challenges in diagnosing causes of death, and the lack of advanced healthcare systems. Despite these problems, bills of mortality remain a valuable historical resource for understanding life and death in early modern England.

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Bill of Mortality
Name:
Course
Professor’s name
University name
City, State
Date of submission

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Bills of mortality
Introduction
This was a document made by compiling the number of deaths that occurred every week
and annually. A bill of mortality was a document that was used in England in the 16th century
and was a precursor to the modern death certificate. 1 This allowed the diseased estate to be
disposed of and a legal burial to be carried out. In many parishes of England, they recorded the
cause of death, the age of the diseased was recorded in the bills.2 The information collected
became more precise over the years and it became useful to scholars who were interested in
information about the lives and deaths of English people.
As a source of qualitative source
In those days, bills of mortality was the only source of data for mortality. As we know
mortality is a standard measure of human wellbeing. Parishes that registered a low mortality rate
were generally more wealthy and so by this fact the government channeled a lot of resources to
the parishes that had higher mortality to improve the wellbeing of the people living in those
parishes.3 This is on example where bills of mortality was used as a quantitative data source to
change low income areas by allocating resources to them. The bills of mortality provided
accurate statistics for causes of death and all other details about the deceased in that parish.
1Barbour, Rosaline. 2013. Introducing Qualitative Research: A Student's Guide. New York: SAGE
2 Baker, Charles Arnold. 2015. The Companion to British History. Manchester: Routledge
3 Cannon, John , and Robert Crowcroft. 2015. The Oxford Companion to British History. London: Oxford
University Press.

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Scholars and the government were able to identify the most common source of death and
deal with the issue. This information was important as it was used to make policies within the
parish to mitigate against a certain disease causing death, these documents were sent to the
mayor and the king who were the head of parish and country respectively. One of the major
epidemics in the turn of the 17th century was small pox, this was a disease that killed so many
people and was discovered after a careful analysis of the bills of mortality.4After a careful
analysis of the sysmptoms of the disease that was killing so many people the disease was
discovered and they started searching for a cure.
The bill was also used to record information on which months deaths occurred at a high rate,
this helped the government to assist the citizens in the parishes with requisite help needed in
those months.5 They were also a source of information on the population size in a particular
region. As a qualitative source the government would use the information provided by this
document to determine whether population was increasing or decreasing. In 1625, the death
rates were higher than in 1606, which meant that the population was increasing. Also, this
document was used to document the number of deaths for each gender, age group and household.
6As a qualitative data source, this information helped the local governments to estimate the
number of still born babies, age at which death occurred most and the number of men or women
4 Bauder, Julia. 2014. The Reference Guide to Data Sources. Chicago: American Library Association.
51603. True report of all the burials and christenings within the city of London and the liberties thereof, from the 23.
of December, 1602. to the 22. of December, 1603. London: John Windet.
6 Wasson, Ellis . 2012. Sources and Debates in Modern British History: 1714 to the Present. Chicago: John
Wiley & Sons.

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who died in that particular year. 7 Bill of mortality was also used to record patterns of diseases
and the geographical spread of the disease. It was also printed as a source of news to the people.
As a source of quantitative source
Quantitative data analysis was not well developed during that period. However, there were
instances where the bill of mortality was used to generate data that would help the government in
making policies. 8For example, in the 17th century, data from this document was used to calculate
the population growth and also the number of deaths recorded for a particular disease. It also
showed the reduction in death of a particular disease.
What are the problems?
The healthcare system was not advanced in those days. 9The information relayed to the registrar
of deaths was not accurate because there were so many challenges when relaying information.
For example, for a person living in the rural areas to report a death that occurred in those areas
7 Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks. 1603. A True Bill of the Vvhole Number that Hath Died: In the
Cittie of London, the Citty of VVestminster, the Citty of Norwich, and Diuers Other Places, Since the Time
this Last Sicknes of the Plague Began in Either of Them, to this Present Month of October th. London: I.
Roberts.
8 Slauter, Will. 2011. Write up your dead: The bills of mortality and the London plague of 1665’, Media
History vol. London: Routledge.
9 Robertson, J C. 1996. "Reckoning with London: interpreting the Bills of Mortality before John Graunt."
Urban History 225-250.

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was a challenge. 10They opted to bury their dead without notifying the authorities. Therefore
most of the information or data that was recorded in the bill of mortality was not accurate but the
government still used it. Without a certified doctor it was difficult to know the disease that killed
a person, hence most of the time, the disease reported was not the one that killed a person. 11
Numerous factors play a role in the outcome, including the underlying condition of a patient.
Those were some of the problems while recording the bill of mortality.
10 Mitchell, Sally. 2012. Victorian Britain (Routledge Revivals): An Encyclopedia. London: Routledge.
11 Gilman, E B, and Rebecca Torato. 2010. Physical and Spiritual Illness: Narrative Appropriations of the
Bills of Mortality. New York: Sage.

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Bibliography
Barbour, Rosaline. 2013. Introducing Qualitative Research: A Student's Guide. New York:
SAGE.
Baker, Charles Arnold. 2015. The Companion to British History. Manchester: Routledge.
Bauder, Julia. 2014. The Reference Guide to Data Sources. Chicago: American Library
Association.
Cannon, John , and Robert Crowcroft. 2015. The Oxford Companion to British History. London:
Oxford University Press.
Gilman, E B, and Rebecca Torato. 2010. Physical and Spiritual Illness: Narrative
Appropriations of the Bills of Mortality. New York: Sage.
Mitchell, Sally. 2012. Victorian Britain (Routledge Revivals): An Encyclopedia. London:
Routledge.
Robertson, J C. 1996. "Reckoning with London: interpreting the Bills of Mortality before John
Graunt." Urban History 225-250.
Slauter, Will. 2011. Write up your dead: The bills of mortality and the London plague of 1665’,
Media History vol. London: Routledge.
Wasson, Ellis . 2012. Sources and Debates in Modern British History: 1714 to the Present.
Chicago: John Wiley & Sons.
Worshipful Company of Parish Clerks. 1603. A True Bill of the Vvhole Number that Hath Died:
In the Cittie of London, the Citty of VVestminster, the Citty of Norwich, and Diuers Other

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Places, Since the Time this Last Sicknes of the Plague Began in Either of Them, to this
Present Month of October th. London: I. Roberts.
—. 1603. True report of all the burials and christenings within the city of London and the
liberties thereof, from the 23. of December, 1602. to the 22. of December, 1603. London:
John Windet.