Inbreeding in Escazú, Costa Rica (1800-1840, 1850-1899): isonymy and ecclesiastical dispensations.

We investigate the inbreeding levels in Escazú, Costa Rica, during 1800-1840 and 1850-1899. Inbreeding was researched through analysis of ecclesiastical dispensations and by two isonymy methods (Crow and Mange 1965; Pinto-Cisternas et al. 1985). As expected, the dispensation inbreeding coefficients were lower than those obtained through isonymy. However, the three methods indicate that consanguinity increased in the community during the second part of the nineteenth century.