The Great Britain Historical GIS

Although the first censuses were the only practical means of surveying a nation’s population, the development of sample survey methodologies means censuses are increasingly justified by the specifically geographical detail they uniquely provide. The same is arguably true of historical census studies: a two per cent sample taken from many millions is quite sufficient to study national class or household structure. Once sample sizes reach ten per cent, local detail starts to emerge, and arguably the only sensible reason to work with a complete census is to study the fine geographical structure of past societies. Whether we look at the published reports or the individual-level returns, much of the information in every census is geographical: tables of national totals are a mere preface to endless tables at state, province, county, district,