Hey Thoughty2 here.
I take you, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to
love and to cherish, til death us do part… or not.
What if death wasn’t the end of marriage, well for hundreds of French people every year,
it’s not.
Necrogamy is the act of marrying the dead.
It’s been legal to marry the deceased in France since 1959 and every year in France
hundreds of ceremonies are held to marry an individual with a deceased significant other.
Whilst not as common, posthumous marriage are also practiced in the US, Germany, Sudan,
Thailand, China, South Africa and South Korea.
It’s easy to see why people who have tragically lost their soul mate would want to do this,
it’s a beautiful symbolic gesture.
Very odd but beautiful.
But guys, what if quite the opposite happens, what if you get sick of your wife?
And I don’t mean like that time when you had to take a sabbatical in the garden shed
for two hours.
I’m taking about actually selling your wife.
Now before you go and list your beloved on eBay just hold on a minute because it’s
a little more complicated than that, not to mention illegal, and you’ll just end up
with a slap to the face and a few more hours in the shed.
Wife-selling is not just an urban myth, it’s a very real part of global history, particularly
in old England.
Although, it is frowned upon today and rightfully so, throughout some periods in history, wife-selling
was incredibly popular.
So then, let’s go shopping, at an 19th century market in Britain.
A Victorian-era English market was a feast for the senses.
The smell of freshly roasted ham and coffee beans tussled with the ghastly essence of
animal and even human sewage, running down the street.
The sound of cattle and squealing pigs, pervade the air, as did the chatter from the crowd,
brimming with vagabonds, thieves, the wealthy and the not-so-wealthy.
All of whom had to compete with street hawkers selling their once most-prized possession,
their wives.
“Roll up, roll up, she’s hard-working, deceptively strong, and younger than she looks.
Only 5 shillings, a real bargain folks.”
Men selling their wives was a common sight at markets in Britain.
Beginning in the late 17th century this common practice continued all the way until the early
20th century.
The first Court of Divorce was established in England in 1857, before this it was very
costly and difficult to detangle oneself from their wife.
If a man wanted rid of his wife, or visa-versa, the man would have to pay the present-day
equivalent of £15,000 for a private act of parliament and you had to obtain the blessing
of the church, which was about as easy as splitting an atom with a sledgehammer.
So unsurprisingly, poorer members of society, especially those who had large debts would
look to sell their wives instead.
Wife-selling was particularly popular in the West Midlands of England, but Yorkshire held
the crown with the most number of Wife sales between 1760 and 1880, and the only place
where a man would probably still trade his wife for a pie today.
Men would sell their wives usually to pay taxes they otherwise couldn’t afford, to
settle gambling debts or to simply buy food in times of famine.
Now obviously being sold as a chattel isn’t exactly nice but more often than not, the
decision wasn’t forced upon the wife and a lot of the time it would be the woman’s
idea to be sold in the first place.
If a marriage went sour and a couple were no longer happy together it often made more
sense for the woman to be sold and at least she could be with someone else, rather than
continue their deeply unhappy relationship, even if she didn’t see any of the profits
from her sale.
Regular divorce was just financially out of the question for the vast majority of people.
So the decision has been made, the wife’s gotta go.
But how exactly does a man go about selling a person?
His own wife nonetheless!
Well there was actually a semi-official system for doing so and it was surprisingly simple.
The man would take his wife to the market with a halter around her neck, just as he
would one of his animals.
Shocking, I know.
He would then have to pay a small “Market Toll” which would allow him to sell goods
at the market that day.
The rest was simply a matter of good sales chatter.
He would parade his misses around on a leash, bellowing her “benefits” and “features”
from the top of his lungs.
When he gathered a crowd of a few interested punters, the auction would begin.
Auctions usually started at a few pence but could rise all the way up to one pound, yes
a pound, depending on how desirable the auctioneer’s fair lady was.
There may still be small inequality issues in society today, but it’s fair to say we’ve
come a long, long way from the days when you could tie your wife up like a pig, take her
to market and flog her for a pound.
However, women weren’t simply offered to the highest bidder, she had the option to
veto offers at her will, if she didn’t like the look, or smell of the gentleman in question.
Once a winning bidder had been found the exchange would take place, which was basically a mini
marriage ceremony on the street, or often in the pub, right there and then.
Before the Marriage Act of 1753 in England a marriage did not require a formal ceremony
with a vicar.
Marriage was no more than an agreement between two people.
Even after the marriage act came into effect these quick street marriages still took place
but the church refused to recognise the couple’s union, but that didn’t stop people.
Astonishingly money wasn’t the only commodity exchanged for a man’s wife.
Here’s an actual snippet from the World newspaper on November 12, 1790…
“A man at Nimfield stocks in Sussex last week sold his wife to another man of the same
place for half a pint of gin; the purchaser being in liquor at the time the bargain was
concluded, the seller in order that he should not complain of any unfair advantage having
been taken of him took his dear spouse to bed and board until the next morning when
the buyer attended and claimed his lady who was delivered by the husband in due form,
having a halter round her neck, and two witnesses being present.
The woman appeared overjoyed at the change, nor did the man seem less happy at their lots.”
After an exchange the now ex-husband handed over a toll ticket, basically a receipt, to
the new husband as a proof of sale.
The act of wife-selling was slowly phased-out, until it became completely unheard of by the
mid 20th century.
As divorce courts became more prevalent and cheaper.
Well, in England at least, however wife-selling remained a thing for many years, in a few
other countries, even if most of the time it was illegal.
Today though, there is only one remaining country that commonly practices wife-selling,
India.
In rural India, particularly a region known as Bundelkhand, life rests on that year’s
harvest.
If the harvest is poor then a famine is guaranteed.
In times of desperation and starvation many families turn to the local Paisawalla, a wealthy
man who lends money.
The local Paisawalla will loan farmers money but the loans come with extremely high interest
rates.
If the years ahead are also drought filled and lead to poor harvests, then the farmer
may not be able to sell crops and pay off the expensive loan.
In such situations they have but one option, sell their wife.
The farmer will either sell his wife to another man and use the funds to pay off the Paisawalla,
or more often than not, the Paisawalla will themself, take ownership of the man’s wife
and keep her as payment.
Forcing her to live with him for as long as the debt remains unpaid, even if that is forever.
What’s even more sickening is that if the Paisawalla believes the farmer’s wife is
not valuable enough to settle the debt in full then he may take the farmer’s children
also.
Sadly, this part of India is renowned for its inhumane treatment of women.
But what about in the Western world?
Have there been any records of wife-selling in the modern day?
Well unbelievably, yes, and it takes us back to the historic home of wife-selling, Yorkshire.
In 2016 a man from Wakefield, Yorkshire, listed his long-term wife on eBay.
After a long day at work the 33-year-old man returned home to be subjected to his wife
moaning at him, to which he replied “right I’m going to put you up for sale.”
The listing was simply titled “Used Wife”.
The description included the following…
“Good points: Body work and paint work still in decent shape and has some skills in the
kitchen.
Bad points: Often makes this noise that cannot be silenced unless you order brand new shiny
parts of metal.”
And “Offers welcome, may consider a part exchange for a younger model.”
The auction reached £65,000 before it was removed by eBay.
Thankfully it was just a joke and the couple are still happily together.
After he bought her many many shiny things to say sorry.
Thanks for watching.