MARRIAGE IN THE EARLY MODERN WORLD

Marriage is an ancient institution. In China, mythical stories about the beginnings of Chinese civilization maintain that the rites of marriage began with the primordial couple Fuxi and Nugun and that these rites actually preceded such discoveries as fire, farming, and medicine. In the early modern world, family and marriage were inseparable and at the center of all civilizations.

In the early modern period, the family was still at the heart of Europe’s social organization. For the most part, people still thought of the family in traditional terms, as a patriarchal institution with the husband dominating his wife and children. The upper classes in particular were still concerned for the family as a ‘‘house,’’ an association whose collective interests were more important than those of its individual members. Parents (especially the fathers) still generally selected marriage partners for their children, based on the interests of the family. One French noble responded to his son’s inquiry about his upcoming marriage, ‘‘Mind your own business.’’ Details were worked out well in advance, sometimes when children were only two or three years old, and reinforced by a legally binding contract. The important aspect of the contract was the size of the dowry, money presented by the wife’s family to the husband upon marriage. The dowry could involve large sums and was expected of all families.
Arranged marriages were not unique to Europe but were common throughout the world. In China, marriages were normally arranged for the benefit of the family, often by a go-between, and the groom and bride were usually not consulted. Frequently, they did not meet until the marriage ceremony. Love was obviously not a reason for marriage and in fact was often viewed as a distraction because it took the married couple’s attention away from their chief responsibility to the larger family unit. In Japan, marriages too were arranged, often by the heads of dominant families in rural areas, and the new wife moved in with the family of her husband.

In India, not only were marriages arranged, but it was not uncommon for women to be married before the age of ten. In colonial Latin America, parents also determined the choice of a spouse and often chose a dwelling for the couple as well. The process of selection was frequently complicated by the need for the lower classes to present gifts to powerful landlords who dominated their regions to gain their permission to marry.
These nobles often stopped unmarried women from marrying in order to keep them as servants. Arranged marriages were the logical result of a social system in which men dominated and women’s primary role was to bear children, manage the household, and work in the field. Not until the nineteenth century did a feminist movement emerge in Europe to improve the rights of women. By the beginning of the twentieth century, that movement had spread to other parts of the world. The New Culture Movement in China, for example, advocated the free choice of spouses. Despite the progress that has been made throughout the world in allowing people to choose their mates, there are still some places, especially in rural areas, where families remain active in choosing marriage partners.

By William J. Duiker & Jackson J. Spielvoger in the book "World History", Wadsworth (Cengage Learning) U.S.A, 2010, excerpts p.340-342. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.