Why did the British sell their wives for a beer

On June 2, 1828, at the George and the Dragon Pub in Tonbridge, England, John Savage paid George Skinner several shillings and bought two glasses of beer — one to him and the other to his wife, Mary. After that, making sure that there were no objections from John, George took Mary to him. They left, taking each other's hands. After that, the couple lived together all their lives in love and patience.

There was nothing unusual in this scene. In the 18th and 19th centuries, English wives were sold in different ways. Prices ranged from a quart (1.1 liter) of rum to fifty pounds and a delicious feast.

Engraving of 1797. The artist created it, inspired by the real case of the sale of his wife in London at the Smithfield Market. Husband tied it to the railing and sold it to Guinea Paddington

For half a gallon of beer, Mrs. Clayton bought twenty-year-old Mrs. Wells in 1877. So reported one English newspaper.
Clayton came to Mr. Wells, announced that he loved his wife Margot, and asked permission to marry her. Wells hesitated and answered: "Damn it! Take it. - Margo has been living with Clayton for two years. Mr. Wells did not care what was with her and what she was doing. - You can pick it up right now. " But Clayton insisted that Mr. Wells name his price: "I can't take her for nothing". To which Wells answered irritably that either he would pick her up now or not get anything.

Wells eventually agreed to a half gallon of beer (2.5 liters), and the three of them went to the nearest pub. They took a glass and Mr. Clayton asked: "Can I adopt your daughter with Margot?" Mrs. Wells loved her very much and could not imagine life without a girl. You won’t get anywhere - Wells agreed. For this, Clayton bought him another half gallon of beer. Mrs. Wells was so glad that she gave her ex-husband another half gallon of foam from herself. Afterwards, Mr. Wells asked hopefully:

“Maybe you can take me too?”

- No, - answered Clayton, - enough for me.

Not everyone sold fighting girlfriends for beer. Some are for gin. Another newspaper talks about a sand seller named Walter. It was in 1833. He sold his wife at the Cranbrook Market in Kent for a few glasses of gin and a pint (0.56 liters) of ale. Together with his wife he gave a ten-year-old son. She did not leave without a son. For the guy he got another quart (1.1 liters) of gin. Walter bailed out brandy, cider, homemade lunch and Newfoundland for selling sand that day. Left with his wife - returned with a dog.

When it comes to money, they are usually not given much for ex-wives. For example, in 1826, in Yorkshire, the husband sold his wife for one pound and a shilling, while in Somerset, the other half was given for two feet and ten shillings. Wives walked cheaper than the deceased, sold to the anatomical theaters of medical academies to study human anatomy by students. The dead were worth four feet and six shillings. That is two times more expensive than wives. But they rarely sold girlfriends for money. More often for beer, rum or whiskey.

Engraving "Wife for Sale"

The option of selling for alcohol did not arise at all because the men really wanted to drink, but rather because of the lack of other opportunities for divorce. Before the adoption of marriage legislation in 1753, the wedding ceremony in the church was not considered a legal act, marriages were not recorded anywhere. All that was needed was for the newlyweds to achieve a specific age: the girls should be at least 12 years old, and the boys should be 14. After that, the husband and wife became one family. From the point of view of law - one legal entity.

In 1857, the British Parliament passed a law on family relations, which allowed for divorce only under certain conditions. Husbands can get divorced if they have evidence of spouse's infidelity. If the wives want to leave the family, then they, in turn, must confirm the husband’s actions offensive to them. Before this law in England there were even less opportunities to officially divorce. A person should have asked the church or parliament for permission to leave the other half. Moreover, he did not have the right to remarry.

Official divorce was not affordable for everyone. The poor often came to a voluntary agreement, it was prescribed in a special act and certified by a notary. Selling a wife was an unlawful method of ending a marriage, but the Law of Respect for Women in Examining Their Natural Rights (1777) indicated that for the poor this was often just one opportunity to end a marriage. The spouses, having weary each other, agreed to break up with the world and reaffirmed their intentions by public disclosure.

"The practice of selling a wife in England was not really a sale, but a divorce in our usual sense and remarriage. The woman had already committed adultery, was divorced from her husband and went to her adultery partner," says Stanford University professor Matthew H. Sommer. The official divorce cost 40-90 feet. For comparison, governesses received 17 pounds per year. This agreement - the sale of his wife - was in the hands of all participants. The woman and her next husband received a chance for a happier relationship, and the previous one was freed from a marriage that did not bring him pleasure.

In those days, alcohol secured all transactions. Peasants, workers, merchants finished negotiations with a handshake and a pint of beer.

French engraving making fun of the English custom of selling a wife

In the journal The Law Quarterly Review in 1929, it was written that most of those who participated in the custom of selling wives never doubted that what they were doing was legal. They believed that this gives them even some rights. They did not understand that this transaction was legally void. Moreover, it can be interpreted as a crime.
Twenty-five-year-old Betsy Wardle understood this from her own experience. In 1882, her husband sold it to his lover George Chisnall for a quart of beer. They got married, but after a while Betsy charged with polytheism. She was detained and sent to the Liverpool Royal Court. The landlord, in whom the girl was renting an apartment, Alice Rosely, was a witness and spoke about the sale of Betsy, and also noted that she considered this transaction legal. The judge replied that no man has the right to sell a woman, much less his spouse, neither for beer, nor for rum, nor for anything else. Betsy was sentenced to hard labor.

Nowadays, this law looks like infringing on the dignity of women. But despite this, historian Edward Thompson points out that in many situations, women themselves initiated these divorces. He looked at 218 cases of spouse trafficking between 1760 and 1880 and concluded that in 40 episodes, women were given to their real lovers. In addition, the wife could refuse the buyer and stay with her husband. If they did not want, then no one could force them.

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