Tabella Miast, Wsi, Osad Królestwa Polskiego z wyrażeniem ich położenia i ludności alfabetycznie ułożona w Biórze Kommissyi Rządowey Spraw Wewnętrznych i Policyi z 1827 r. Znane źródło w nowej postaci

Abstract

A vast, two-volume list of all the towns and villages of the Kingdom of Poland was published in 1827, with the number of houses and residents, and the type of ownership specified in it. It was the only official publication issued by the then central statistical body of the state – The Statistical Office of the Government Commission for the Internal Affairs and Police. Due to the alphabetical order of the entries, with the absence of any territorial grouping or partial summaries, this potentially valuable source for historical and demographic studies has been of only marginal use to historians. An attempt was made at its digitisation and at entering the data into the database system in 2020. This paper presents the historical background of creating this list and uses selected examples to present new, previously unavailable data exploration and analysis opportunities that are offered by an electronic form.

Keywords

• Polish Kingdom
• criticism of historical sources
• historical demography
• data-bases
• Benford’s law