Economic expansion and the erosion of patriarchy
Economic expansion and the erosion of patriarchy
This chapter examines the expansion of the economy and how the development of equity law posed an increasing challenge to coverture and patriarchy in the eighteenth century. The legal regimes of England and the southern colonies gave women wide latitude to pursue investment and trade, and allowed married women greater financial independence than ever before. In urban areas of England and colonial America, married women were increasingly allowed to make contracts in their own names as feme sole traders. Equity law also expanded married women’s ability to retain control of their own property during marriage through the creation of new legal devices such as the simple agreement, equity to a settlement and restraint upon anticipation. Because of these economic and legal changes in the eighteenth century, family relationships came to be more defined by legal notions of contract rather than the mutual obligations that underpinned the patriarchal family.
Keywords: women, economy, patriarchy, eighteenth century, England, equity law, coverture, feme sole traders, colonial America, contracts
Manchester Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
