Historical demography aims to uncover the generative structures of a society and their changes. Particularly in the early modern society with its limited resources, population development was a crucial parameter, the understanding of which is essential for historians. Using key concepts such as marriage patterns, illegitimacy, fertility, mortality, and migration, Christian Pfister outlines the trends in population development at a regional level and relates them to local life worlds (confession, work rhythm, social relationships, norms) through examples of regional and ecotypical case studies (urban areas, mountainous regions, coastal areas, proto-industrial areas).