All my ancestors up to 6 generations back were born in the same 200 kilometer radius circle. Most of them did not die in the town where they were born.
People move. They are displaced by war and natural disaster, they go on pilgrimages, they go to the city to get rare goods, they migrate to places with more prosperity and more jobs, they learn trade skills from schools or from experts, they find causes they believe in or causes that pay well, they go to festivals and plays and celebrity performances, and they marry.
This was true in the 19th century, but also in the 15th and the 6th and the 40th BCE. Migration is normal. People live rich and complicated lives. For a peasant, one of the sons might inherit the farm, but his wife is from out of town and the other siblings find other things to do that take them elsewhere. Serfs may be bound to the land, but a lord will usually offer dispensation if it is in his interest, and arrange for festivals to keep his stock fresh. And slaves were traded often to prevent them from forming attachments. And burghers, clergy, and nobility naturally tended to travel far.
All my ancestors up to 6 generations back were born in the same 200 kilometer radius circle. Most of them did not die in the town where they were born.
People move. They are displaced by war and natural disaster, they go on pilgrimages, they go to the city to get rare goods, they migrate to places with more prosperity and more jobs, they learn trade skills from schools or from experts, they find causes they believe in or causes that pay well, they go to festivals and plays and celebrity performances, and they marry.
This was true in the 19th century, but also in the 15th and the 6th and the 40th BCE. Migration is normal. People live rich and complicated lives. For a peasant, one of the sons might inherit the farm, but his wife is from out of town and the other siblings find other things to do that take them elsewhere. Serfs may be bound to the land, but a lord will usually offer dispensation if it is in his interest, and arrange for festivals to keep his stock fresh. And slaves were traded often to prevent them from forming attachments. And burghers, clergy, and nobility naturally tended to travel far.