The height of Swiss mercenaries, c. 1725 – c. 1865

This paper traces the evolution of the biological standard of living in Switzerland using anthropometric evidence from approximately 22,000 Swiss mercenaries born between c. 1725 and c. 1865. The data reveal a marked decline in average height beginning in the 1770s and persisting throughout the first half of the nineteenth century, with no clear signs of recovery. Mercenaries born before 1800 were on average 2.5 cm taller than those born thereafter, pointing to a sustained deterioration in net nutritional status and health conditions. We account for variations in recruitment standards by estimating minimum height thresholds and potential selection effects across regiments. Although the mercenary sample represents a specific population group, the results are consistent with the economic difficulties of the late eighteenth century, the strains associated with early industrialization, and existing anthropometric evidence from Switzerland and other parts of Europe. Together, the findings suggest a prolonged decline in biological living standards during a critical phase of economic and social transformation.