British Stepfamily Relationships, 1500-1800

Bibliographic Data

ID6079992
AuthorsStephen Collins (0000-0002-0160-7934, corresponding author)
Year1991
Volume16
Issue4
Pages331-344
Publication date1991-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Family History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0363-1990 • E-ISSN: 1552-5473
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/036319909101600401
OpenAlexW1924482555
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited11

The evidence about relationships in British stepfamilies between 1500 and 1800 deals mostly with relationships between adults, not between adults and young children. A dominant theme is the threat posed to inheritance by a parent's remarriage, which had three possibilities: that an heir would be disinherited in favour of the children of the new marriage, that a parent and stepparent would squander their wealth during the biological parent's lifetime, and that a stepparent might acquire a life interest in an estate after a spouse's death. It seems that these fears were in many cases groundless. The possibility that domestic harmony might result from a parent's remarriage was also often exaggerated, and the general picture is of stepfamily relationships that were mixed in quality

Art · Criminology · Demographic economics · Economics · Estate · Political science · Remarriage · Sociology · Spouse · Stepfamily · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology

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