Focusing in particular on the residence patterns of women over the life course,
the study explores the impact of a predominantly male pattern of migration on the formation
and structure of households in the parish of Lanheses in northwestern Portugal between
1850 and 1920. Households adjusted to the absence of men in ways that demonstrate several
characteristics of matrifocality. The female-headed and patriuxorilocal households in
Lanheses during the period are the result of centuries of coping, both demographically and
socially, with the absence of men. Male migration has affected household structure in this
area not only directly, but also indirectly through its impact on female spinsterhood and
illegitimacy.
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