Perhaps it's no coincidence that when these impotence tests are being carried out all over Europe, a completely different way of divorce suddenly appears in Britain-putting a sling on your wife, taking her to the local market like an animal, praising her virtues loudly like a farm animal, including occasionally listing her weight, and then making an open bid to anyone who wants to buy her. In addition, it is not uncommon for children to be put into prison as a package deal. ...
Although you may think that such a thing must have happened in the very distant past, it was actually a practice that lasted until the beginning of the 20th century. So how did all this start, and why is it considered as a completely legal way for couples to divorce? "
As it turns out, no one knows exactly how the wife auction started. There is a saying that can be traced back at least to 1302, when a man sold his wife to another man, but the following example did not appear until the end of 17. The first time happened in 1692. A man named john Whitehouse sold his wife to a man named "Mr. Blaise Gidel" four years later. When a man named George Fuller sold his wife to Thomas Heath Most, Thomas was later fined and ordered to repent for living with the wife he bought. Although all parties have reached an agreement on this transaction, it seems that this practice has not been widely accepted at present. In fact,
In this regard, the popularity of this divorce method appeared after the adoption of the Marriage Law of 1753, which, among other things, required the priest to hold a wedding to make the marriage legally binding. Before that, although this is of course a common choice, in Britain, two people can just agree to the fact that they are married, and then they get married without formal registration. Therefore, without any official registration, if neither husband nor wife complained about the separation to the authorities, it would be easier to cancel this behavior more or less and strike up a conversation with others without any smarter officials. At this point, clergy and other officials often don't know the current marital status of the two, which is more or less all. "If someone can prove the legitimate reason why the couple can't get married legally, let them talk now or keep peace forever." At this point, this is not a meaningless part of the wedding ceremony. At that time, the minister was really asking if anyone knew that, for example, one or two couples he was going to get married might be married, or he should not get married for other legal reasons. For more information about all this, please refer to our article: What happens if someone raises an objection at the wedding? Where did this practice come from? Anyway, after the marriage law of 1753 was passed, your wife's auction seems to be more and more popular among ordinary people, especially those who have no actual legal means of separation. But interestingly, this is actually not a legal way of divorce. But as people seem to generally believe, with some exceptions, clergy and government officials mostly turn a blind eye to the whole thing for the time being.
Illustrates the two sides of this point. 18 18, a sheriff in Ashbourne and Derby sent police to sabotage a wife auction. René Martin Pilette, who witnessed this event, recorded this event and described it in his book "The View of England", in which he wrote:
With regard to the sale in Ashbourne, I would like to point out that the magistrate, after learning that this incident will happen, wants to prevent it from happening. The police were sent to drive away sellers, buyers and women who sell things. At this time, they should appear in the market to hold a ceremony, but the people covered the police with mud and dispersed them with stones. I know the sheriff, and I want to know his strong opposition to the ceremony and his rights at the ceremony. I can only come to the conclusion: "Although the real purpose of sending the police is to prevent this scandal from happening, the apparent motive is to maintain peace. People who come to the market in a muddle often disturb public order. As for selling yourself, I don't think I have the right to stop or even oppose any obstacles that hinder it, because it is based on the customs reserved by the people. To this end, any law depriving them of their customs may be dangerous. "
Pilette went on to say, "I don't promise to decide. I can only notice that this notorious custom has never been interrupted and has been implemented; If the sheriff of any county tries to interrupt this custom by sending police or other officials to the selling place when he learns that someone is proposing to sell drugs, the people will always disperse them and safeguard their rights, as I saw in Ashbourne.
That is to say, generally speaking, judging from the way they talk about this practice, the press seems to be almost unanimous in condemning it. For example, in the July Times, 1797 pointed out: "Last Friday, a butcher asked his wife to sell it at Smithfield Market near Ram Hotel. She wore a sling around her neck and a sling around her waist, and tied her to the railing. At that time, a pig farmer was a happy buyer. He gave his husband three guineas and a crown as his dead ribs. Regrettably, this kind of low-level degeneration cannot be stopped.
Nevertheless, especially in this era, marriage brings two people together more for practical problems than for common happiness, so there are many unhappy couples around. If two people are like this, it is better to agree to their separation, which requires a way. British civilians, who had almost no other feasible way to do this, invented it.
This may make you wonder what reasons are used to prove the exact method of divorce, and why people just don't split up and forget what the authorities think. As for the latter question, people do it in groups, but it has legal risks for all concerned.
You see, at this point, a wife is more or less regarded as her husband's property in many ways. As Judge Sir william blake Winston pointed out in 1753, "A woman's existence … is suspended during marriage, or at least consolidated and merged with her husband's existence …"
A husband should also do his duty to take care of his wife, no matter what debts she owes, and so on. Equally important, it is not uncommon for men to have mistresses. If a wife finds that her behavior is one-sided, then she may be with someone she really likes, which is totally unacceptable by the social standards at that time. That doesn't stop a woman. Of course, sometimes he even leaves her husband completely and lives with a new man. But it also brings a problem to the newcomer, because he actually just stole another person's property.
So there is a double problem, that is, the husband still has the legal obligation to be responsible for any debts owed by his wife and maintain her life. He may also be sued for dereliction of duty, regardless of whether his wife has lived with another man. As for the new prosecutor, he may be subject to criminal proceedings at any time, including the possibility of having to pay a huge fine to his husband, in essence stealing his property, and the potential imprisonment time.
Therefore, British civilians decided to bring their wives to the market like livestock, and auctioning her off was the legal way to solve these problems. After all, if a wife is more or less property, why can't a husband sell her and his obligations to her like a pig in the market? "
Although you may think that no woman will agree with this, in most of the hundreds of cases recorded, the wife seems to be happy to accept it. You see, according to tradition, although my wife technically didn't choose this way to auction, she does have the right to refuse the auction if the winning bidder doesn't meet her wishes. At this time, the auction seems to last until the right buyer is found. For example, a case in 1824 Manchester reported that "after several bids, she (wife) was knocked down for 5 seconds; But because I didn't like the buyer, I was fined for 3 seconds. 1 quart of beer. "
In addition, there are some known cases in which wives bought them themselves. For example, in Plymouth at 1822, a woman paid 3 pounds for herself. Although in this case, she obviously has a man who has been having an affair with her and should buy her, but he didn't show up … ouch …
In this regard, it turns out that in most recorded cases, the buyer is usually selected long before the actual auction, usually a woman's lover, or she wants to be with more men than her ex-husband. Moreover, since she has the right to refuse to sell, it is meaningless for others to bid. In fact, there is a saying that one party after marriage sometimes sees the husband who sells his wife taking the newlyweds out for a drink to celebrate. Because many divorced people are poor, and suitors are often chosen in advance, so
The price is usually very low, usually less than 5 shillings, even only 5 shillings 1 penny in some reported cases-just a symbolic figure, which makes the whole thing look more formal. For example, according to the report of 18 14 February 18,
Samuel Wallis, a post station, took his wife to the market, tied a halter around her neck, and tied her to a post station where cattle were kept. She was later auctioned by him. Another post, according to their previous agreement, appeared in front of a large audience for a gallon of beer and a shilling, and bought his wife, who was so exposed for sale. The seller married this woman who is only 19 years old for 6 months.
It is not always cheap, however, sometimes it is necessary to provide honor when richer people are involved. For example, 18 15 In July, Smithfield paid a wife as much as 50 guineas and a horse (this is one of the most expensive prices we can find personally). In her case, she was not thrown to the market like those who were not very rich, but arrived by bus. Later, it was reported that after the transaction was completed, "the lady and her new owner and new owner waited for them in a beautiful carriage and then drove away." There seems to be nothing they don't want to go. "
Perhaps the most famous case is that a rich man bought his last wife, Brades, Duke of Chandos, from another person connected with Henry. It is not clear how much aid he had, nor when the specific transaction took place, but at some point in the 1930s of 17, when the Duke went to London, he stopped at an inn called Pelican in newbury. Later, it was reported in the book Notes and Questions published by1870 in August.
After dinner, there was a sensation and excitement in the inn yard. Someone explained, "A man wanted to sell his wife, and they took her to the yard with a sling." . "Let's go to the auction," said the duke.
As soon as he entered the yard, he was fascinated by the beauty and patience of a woman. She waited patiently to get rid of her sick husband, the owner of the inn, who bought her himself.
He didn't take her as his wife at first, because his wife was still alive. However, he did educate Anne Wells, a former maid, and took her as his mistress. Soon after, when his own wife and Anne's ex-husband died, he married Anne at 1744. Their marriage was obviously happy until her own death in 1759. An article in Gentleman magazine 1832 summed up this story:
Lying in the hospital bed, she gathered the whole family together and told them about her history, from which she learned the touching meaning of believing in God. As for the most tragic situation, she was suddenly raised as the richest person. ...
This is not always a completely happy torture. However, in some known cases, when the husband found out that his wife was unfaithful to him, she was betrayed. Later, she had an affair with a man, who just offered to buy her to avoid the whole thing being extremely unpleasant to all the people involved or the court involved.
Some people think this may be why the elements of the scene are quite humiliating to women. Perhaps in the early days of this tradition, some husbands' wives betrayed them, or just made their lives miserable. They seized the opportunity to punch her one last time before leaving.
Not only was he humiliated as an animal in front of the whole town, but sometimes he was insulted by words. Take Joseph Thomson as an example. According to reports, his little promotion to her is like this:
Gentlemen, I must tell you that my wife Marian Thomson, or Williams, is going to sell her to the highest and fairest bidder. Gentlemen, she and I both want to be apart forever. She is just a natural snake to me. I regard her as my comfort and the love of my family, but she has become my torturer, the curse of my family, the night invasion and the devil. Gentlemen, when I say, May God save us from annoying wives and frolicking women, I mean the truth from the heart! Avoid them, just like avoiding mad dogs, roaring lions, pistols, cholera germs, Mount Etna or any other plague in nature. Now that I've told you my wife's dark side and shortcomings, I'll introduce her bright side and show her qualifications and kindness. She can read novels and cows; She can laugh and cry, just like drinking a glass of beer when you are thirsty. Indeed, gentlemen, she reminds me of the poet's evaluation of ordinary women: "God has endowed women with unique elegance, making them laugh, cry and deceive mankind." She can make butter and scold the maid; She can sing Moore's melody, knit ruffles and hats; She can't mix rum, gin or whisky, but from long-term tasting experience, she is a good judge. Therefore, I offered her all her perfection and imperfection at a price of 50 shillings.
It is not an effective promotion, and no one bids for about an hour, which may be the motivation to further humiliate such a promotion. Anyway, he later lowered the price and finally got 20 shillings and a dog from a man named Henry Mills. Apparently, Mills broke up with his new wife. To quote Thomson, he is "good-natured".
Everyone says so, and any known narrative seems to be about people who both husband and wife agree to separate and use auction as a way of divorce, but this is not always the case. For example, we have a case of 1830 in Winlock market. It is reported that the woman's husband "became shy and tried to quit the industry, but Marty didn't insist." All right, put her newspaper in Earl Goodman's face and say, "Let this rascal go." . I'll be sold. "I want to change my taste." She was later sold for 2 shillings and 2 pence.
In another case, 1766, a drunk in Southwark decided to sell his wife, but later regretted the decision. When his wife refused to come back to him, he committed suicide ... more of a story with a happy ending. 1790, a man from Niffield was in a hotel and decided to sell his wife for half a pint of gin. However, he would regret losing her later, so he paid some unknown price to get her back. In order to complete this, she had to agree to this arrangement.
On the other hand, it seems that in some cases, women seem to be auctioned against her will. However, no matter how much it costs, according to tradition, in these cases, she can always choose to refuse to sell. Of course, in some cases, if it means going back to a husband who is eager to get rid of her, it is not entirely a good choice. Nevertheless, this may explain to some extent why few people know that women seem to be dissatisfied with the whole thing. If a man is not arranged in advance, the future may be uncertain, at least someone who really wants her and is more willing to bid than other bachelors in town (in these cases, this is a legal auction).
Back to the legitimacy of all this, at least in the eyes of the public, people seem to think that this matter must be very public, sometimes even published in local newspapers, or hired a small town salesman to walk around the town and announce the auction and the subsequent auction. This ensures that everyone around knows that the husband concerned is no longer responsible for his wife, nor for her debts or other obligations, and declares that the husband also agrees to cancel any rights he enjoyed with his wife before, at least in the public mind, and that the new suitor cannot be criminally prosecuted for marrying another man's wife.
In order to obtain further legal protection, at least in their view, some people even draft a contract, such as1766101October 24th:
This is the agreement reached by John Parsons of Norton parish in midsummer today. In Somerset, garment workers and Mr. John Tucker, people from the same place, Mr. and Mrs. John Parsons, sold John Tucker's wife, and Ann Parsons and John Parsons paid them to John Parsons at a price of 6 pounds and 6 shillings, and transferred them to John Tucker. John Parsons was called Ann. John Parsons said: "I have signed the date and year written on it as evidence." . John Parsons.
Witness: William Cheevers.
Although these are not legally binding at all, no matter how much they are worth, there is at least one case in which a state representative and a poor law Commissioner forced his wife to sell them. In this case, they forced a Henry Cook to sell his wife and children to prevent the Evanham workhouse from having to take in his family. The woman was finally sold for a shilling. At least, the wedding reception afterwards was paid for by the parish ... So only 99.9% people cruelly kicked the man when he fell. If you want to know more about the nightmare of the workhouse, you must watch our favorite brain food program podcast, an episode we once did-the sledgehammer of poor children.
In any case, there are also known court cases to support such divorce, although it always seems to be tried by jury. For example, in 1784, a husband tried to claim that his ex-wife became his wife again, but finally sided with the new couple on the jury, despite the fact that there was no law to support this position.
On the other hand, the courts handle more cases in reverse. For example, a woman in 1835 was auctioned by her husband and sold 15. The amount of the transaction indicates that this person may be quite rich. But after her ex-husband died, she continued to claim part of his inheritance as a wife. The court agreed. Although his family objected, they pointed out the previous auction and said that she had married a new husband.
Now, as you can imagine, it literally means holding your wife by the neck, waist or arm, taking her to the market and putting her on the auction table. Even if it looks like what both sides want on the surface, it looks very uncivilized and barbaric from the outside. Therefore, foreign entities, especially those in France, often laugh at their neighbors in Britain.
From this point of view, and the general aversion to the whole thing, even in Britain, the practice of auctioning wives began to become something that the authorities began to crack down on in the middle of the 19 th century. 1869 the sheriff pointed out: "It is obviously an indictable crime to buy and sell wives in public ... Recently, many people who sold their husbands and bought wives were prosecuted and sentenced to six months' imprisonment ..."
Another example is 1844, a person who auctioned his ex-wife was tried for remarriage, because in the eyes of the country, he was still considered married to his ex-wife. Sir willaim henley Moore, a seemingly rich judge, warned him about this fact and explained very clearly why many less wealthy people were forced to divorce by this method, even if their wives left and dated another man:
I will tell you what to do; ..... you should instruct your lawyer to institute criminal proceedings against the person who kidnapped your wife. That will cost you a hundred pounds. When you get his judgment of major damages (though it may not be), you should instruct your agent to sue for divorce in the church court. Then you'll have to spend 200 or 300 pounds more. When you divorce in the name of Mensa and Solo, you should appear in court with the help of the legal adviser of the House of Lords, so as to obtain a private bill of Parliament, namely the Winkulo Marriage Law, to divorce, which will enable you to marry the person you are married freely and legally without such approval. This bill may be opposed at all stages in both houses of parliament, and you will always spend 1,000 or 1,200 pounds. You may tell me that in this world, you never have your own thousand farts; But, prisoner, it makes no difference. As a British judge sitting here, it is my duty to tell you that in this country, there is no law for the rich and no law for the poor. You will be imprisoned for one day. Since you have been detained since the beginning of the circuit trial, you are free to leave.
Finally, I thank the public for having to take extreme measures, such as simply abandoning their spouses, illegally separating, auctioning their wives like animals, and the impotence trial mentioned above. With the adoption of the 1857 Marriage Litigation Law, the divorce law in Britain has finally been revised, and finally at least some divorce methods that ordinary people can afford are allowed, especially in the case of abandonment or abandonment. Coupled with the severe crackdown on wife auction by the court, this practice disappeared more or less completely at the end of 19, although there were some more famous cases in Britain that lasted until 1926, in which Horace Clayton bought a woman from her ex-husband at 10, and then he called his wife.
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Can I really book wives from other countries online? At that time, women could divorce their husbands by having sex in court. What happened when someone raised an objection at the wedding? Where did this practice come from? Can a captain really get married legally? "Fact or fiction?" The advantages of are:
If anyone wants to know, although there are only a few known cases, some husbands have been sold. Although as part of the whole thing, the husband has to publicly announce that he is no longer obligated to his wife, and the woman concerned has to agree to marry another man and have the right to transfer her to him, from a practical point of view, auctioning her husband is of little significance. Still, it happened. Consider, for example, the case 18 14 reported by The Politician in March:
On Saturday night, a rather unusual thing was presented to his nobleman, the mayor of Drogheda. A woman named Margaret Collins complained to her husband that he had left her with another woman. The husband claimed in his defense that his wife was very irritable, and her behavior in front of the magistrate fully proved this point; She angrily offered to sell him to his guardian at that time for two pence; She sold him for three and a half pence and gave him; After paying the money, it was bought; His wife, the seller, bit him angrily; Although he has not belonged to her for several months, he still left a terrible mark (he showed it). The woman who bought things was sent to testify, confirmed all the facts, confirmed the transaction, and claimed that she was satisfied with it every day; She doesn't believe that any law can order him to separate from her, because a wife's right to sell her dissatisfied husband to another woman who is willing to associate with him should be equal to her husband's right, and her husband's right to sell is recognized, especially under the circumstances agreed by both parties, such as the present situation. This kind of defense full of justice and sense of justice made the plaintiff so angry that she ignored her aristocratic status and flew to her opponent's face. If they don't separate, she will crush them with her teeth and nails. ...
It is also worth noting that at least some British colonists who came to the United States continued their local traditions. For example, the Boston Evening News reported in March 1736 that:
A rather strange and rare adventure happened in this town at the beginning of last week. Two men made an appointment with a woman. Everyone claims that she is his wife, but in fact, one of them has given up his right to her. The other is 15 shilling. This currency only paid a part of ten shillings, but refused to pay the other five shillings, preferring to leave the woman rather than lose his heart. But it happened that two gentlemen, who were friends of peace, generously gave him half a crown to enable him to fulfill his agreement. Creditors readily accepted, humbly saluted the woman and wished her happiness. My brother Sterling is also happy about his deal.
/Kloc-A Brief History of Wife Selling in the 0/9th Century: Research on Traditional Popular Culture, the Road to Divorce, Marriage Law 1857 Australian Act 19 A Brief History of Wife Selling, Wife Selling, Wife Selling, Long-term Struggle under British Law.