HOUSEHOLD FORMATION IN BOHEMIA 1700-1850: INHERITANCE PRACTICE AND FAMILY STRATEGY

The article deals with the influence of inheritance law on the setting up and formation of rural households in western Bohemia in the 18th and in the first half of the 19th centuries. It focuses on possible differences in the three areas: 1) as regards the ratio of transfers between relatives and non-relatives, 2) in relation to wedding and property transfer, 3) in relation to the percentage of women as heads of household. The author shows that family strategies reacted sensitively to the changing framework such as altered legal practices.