Marital fertility and wealth during the fertility transition: ruralFrance, 1750–1850

It has been long established that the demographic transition began in eighteenth‐century F rance, yet there is no consensus on exactly why fertility declined. This analysis links fertility life histories to wealth at death data for four rural villages in F rance, 1750–1850. For the first time, the wealth–fertility relationship during the onset of the F rench fertility decline can be analysed. Where fertility is declining, wealth is a powerful predictor of smaller family size. This article argues that fertility decline in F rance was a result of changing levels of economic inequality, associated with the 1789 R evolution. In cross‐section, the data support this hypothesis: where fertility is declining, economic inequality is lower than where fertility is high.