Mate choice in Olivenza: influence of border change on Spanish-Portuguese lineages.

ROMÁN, J., FUSTER, V., COLANTONIO, S., ZULUAGA, P., BLANCO, M.J., GUARDADO-MOREIRA, M.J.

JOURNAL OF BIOSOCIAL SCIENCE

Cambridge University Press

Lugar: Cambridge; Año: 2009 vol. 42 p. 122 - 140

0021-9320

The mating pattern in a population determines the next generationgene pool and therefore its genetic structure. Besides socio-cultural andgeographic factors, political barriers may influence the formation of couples.The present paper studies how the change of national border affected themating pattern of Olivenza in Badajoz Province (Spain), which experienced achange of domain from Portugal to Spain in 1801. For the period analysed(1750–1850), 954 Catholic marriage records were transcribed. Data weresorted by decades in order to make a temporal study possible and analysedby means of diversity and repeated-pairs of surnames. Following the changeof border the mating pattern modified. Coinciding with a larger number ofmixed marriages with Spaniards, there was a progressive rise in the diversityof surnames. From 1811 to 1820 the analysis of repeated-pairs of surnamesindicates the existence of preferential matings within Spanish and Portugueselineages. After 1821 the above pattern became less clear due to thedisappearance of the Spanish–Portuguese restrictions on choice of mate.