Marriage

Hi all,

Mariage in every classes was arranged. At the highest ranks of society (see the twenty something Philip II of Spain marrying the Fifty something and about to die Queen of Englan) but as well as at the lowest ones peasants marrying peasants' daughters to unify a field.

All changed (slowly) with the emergence of the individual. Several factors were at stake:
�History of ideas: the rise of romantism from the mid 18th century. The setback of religiosity was also important.
�The industrial revolution: what you are (human capital, ie your skills) is more important that what you own (particularly significant when land was the fixed factor of production).
�Urbanization: migration to the cities broke the traditional social frameworks.
� The recognition by the law of the independence of the personal responsability.

I guess there were other things but it is all I can think of right now.

It is perhaps interesting to note that in Europe (and I imagine elsewhere to a certain extent) Marriage was a financial matter. Making sure a marriage was legal, recognsed and binding was vital for the rich and powerful because of inheritance and such. For the poor, with little posessions, marriage was a far more informal business.