This study introduces prosopography, or collective biography, as an approach or methodology that can help historical research.

Prosopography studies the various shared characteristics of a group of historical actors belonging to a specific demographic and their life 6stories, gathering information about phenomena common to the collective life of these individuals. Prosopography began in the field of ancient history but is now used by social historians to study groups from medieval, modern and contemporary history. Use of this technique outside its original context has been very fruitful, particularly in cases where data is sparse and there are no written sources, or when the archive has been lost.