Marriage And Courtship Essay Research Paper During

Marriage And Courtship Essay, Research Paper

During the 18th century, marriage and courtship was changing and new laws and regulations were being formed. Many of the traditions and ceremonies of the 18th century are still being used in the 21st century. Traditions such as wedding vows, marriage in churches, and the wedding ring all began in the 1700 s and are still prevalent today. The laws of the 1700 s laid the foundation for future centuries. When two individuals agreed to get married they had to determine what kind of marriage they would be having. There were three kinds of marriages during the 1700 s: Clandestine, common-law, and fleet marriages. The most common and controversial marriage, however, was Clandestine. It is fascinating to understand the development of marriage and courtship in 18th century.

During the 18th century the major movement regarding marriage and courtship was the change from church to state regulations. In the early 1700 s, the church governed marriage laws and customs; as problems arose, such as legality and promiscuousness, legislators began to pass laws and restrictions on marriages. The shift from common law to clandestine marriages took place in the middle of the 1700 s (Outhwaite, 1995). The majority of the laws that were passed protected the wants and interests of the wealthy. The lower social classes were not included in the new laws. People felt that lower class individuals should not get married. England s population began to grow rapidly and the upper class feared that the lower class would take over England. It is important to note that women and men were not seen as equals. Women were perceived as simpletons, inferior to men, and their sole purpose was to meet the needs of the husbands (Lasch, 1997).

In the 1700 s it was rare for anyone to be forced into marriage. Lower class young men always had the choice of picking the partner themselves. Most children of lower class were away from home, in service or working, therefore away from parental influence. Young men of higher classes had to choose a partner who would not degrade the family name. Choosing a wife had become an easier task because by the time the young men and women were ready to declare marriage, one, if not both parents had been deceased. Parents were often deceased by the time their children got married, this occurred because of the old marriage age which was 25-26 for women and men 27-28 for men (Cressy, 1997).

England courtship was known for being very long, usually lasting anywhere from nine months to two years. Courtship was very long because men wanted to be sure that they had found the perfect mate. Divorce was extremely difficult to get, in order to obtain a divorce the couple must first request permission to part, often these wishes were not granted. Divorce was also extremely expensive, only the higher classes were able to afford them. Instead of the typical divorce, private separations were used. Private separation was a written agreement between the man and the women stating that they no longer wanted to be together. In the written statement, it would explain where the woman would live and how much money and assets the man would leave her. Men of upper class who were unhappy would often abandon the wife. When a man abandoned his wife, he left her with no money and the woman would have to rely on her family for income support. When a man and woman of lower class wanted to separate they would use something called wife sale (Stone, 1990). The husband and wife would have to agree that there was no salvaging the marriage. The wife would be auctioned off to the highest bidder. If there was going to be a wife sale the husband would try to find a mate for his wife before the auction began, this was to insure the woman that the new husband would not be abusive (Bermudez, 1997).

Young men and woman met each other during work, at dances, alehouses and during church. Often the gatherings of young men and women were done without the influence of parents; however, friends would try and find mates for each other. Courtship was followed by certain rules. When courting a woman fondling and kissing was acceptable, sexual intercourse was not. In the 1700 s sexual intercourse was used as a way to trap young women into marriage. According to the cannon law of engagements to engage in sexual intercourse was as strong as getting married. Intercourse was as binding as marriage itself. Men would talk young women into having sex by declaring that they wanted to marry the woman (Outhwaite, 1995). Telling a female that you wanted to marry her, followed by sexual relations was called a pre-contract. In the early 18th century pre-contracts were considered valid declares of courtship and marriage. Pre-contracts became a problem for men because they could later invalidate a future marriage (Adair, 1996). If two people had sex without getting married the woman would have the option, years later, to declare that there was a pre-contract. The declaration of a pre-contracts would have to be proved by the woman, if proven, the man would be forced into marrying her and would have to leave his present wife. The exchange of binding promises and the physical union of sex were basic elements of marriages in the early 1700 s (Macfarlane, 1986).

In 1653 the civil marriage act was passed. The civil marriage act was the first step in changing the laws of marriage. T