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Civilisations of every era have
recognised the need to collect information on their most valuable
asset - their people. While the modern population census began to
evolve only in the 17th century, before that time inventories of
people or taxpayers were made. The methods and purposes of these
inventories were very different from modern ones.
The Babylonians and the Chinese held
censuses mainly f or military and taxation purposes (i.e. identifying
who should be inducted into military service and those who should be
taxed). The Egyptians collected information on the population so
that they could plan armies of people to build their giant pyramids
and to redistribute land following the annual flooding of the Nile.
These inventories were highly inaccurate as it was generally not in
an individuals best interest to provide correct information.
Additionally only people falling into particular categories such as
family heads were counted, thereby resulting in a non-representative
sample of the population.
The Greeks and Romans held censuses of
population many years before the birth of Christ. The Romans
enumerated their citizens and property every five years to determine
their liabilities. Initially this was conducted only in Rome but was
extended to the entire Roman Empire in 5 BC. It was the five-yearly
census ordered by Caesar Augustus which required every man in the
Roman Empire to return to his place of origin, thus ensuring that
Joseph and Mary travelled to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus.
Upon the collapse of the Roman Empire
the practice was discontinued in the West until the 17th century with
the exception of the completion of the Domesday Book. This detailed
inventory of land and property was completed in 1086 in the British
Isles when William the Conqueror ordered its production as a method
for acquainting him with the landowners and holdings of his new
domain. It was a massive undertaking at the time and took several
years to complete.
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