>A History of Mail-Order Brides: 4 Fascinating Facts
By Jamie Polster
The Mail Order Bride business started in the early 17th century. Back then, American men enjoyed great financial breakthroughs in the West they migrated to. With all of this money came the ever-increasing need for a partner, and so, having a mate became a pressing concern. These men wrote letters to churches, did publications in advertisements, and used other means to express their need for mates.
This first experience of the legit mail order bride system can be traced back to 1607. The leaders of the Jamestown Colony of Virginia called upon women from Britain interested in settling in the new world. These women were drawn in by the potential for prosperity and the abundance of land in the new colony, and so they came in their numbers. Almost 150 women answered the call to move from Britain to the new world to marry strangers.
These women wrote and attached pictures in their letters. To them, this was their one chance to escape their pitiable living conditions. Notably, some single ladies, widows and divorcees embraced the platform. These were essentially the very first mail order brides.
Fascinating Mail Order Bride Facts
1. A French king was in charge of France's first mail-order platform
Shortly after the Jamestown colony was repopulated with British women, schemes were put in place to attract women from all around. Unlike today when you can easily buy a mail order bride, back then, King Louis XIV himself had to sanction the transporting of women to New France. These women were known as Les filles du roi - The King's Daughters.
Many of these women were orphans and the rest were not rich. King Louis XIV took care of the cost of transporting these ladies. The men in New France needed comforting companions and women capable of bearing children. This initiated the journey of many 'King's daughters' to meet with men they had never seen before.
2 They were once called 'Casket brides'
In the 1720s, New Orleans was a French outpost. Early explorers to that region were mostly single men and this raised concerns for the future of Christian evangelism in that French territory. They needed women to keep the men in check.
King Louis IV and the Bishops of Quebec were able to contract women in convents and orphanages in France to marry these New Orleans explorers. The brides were called the "Casket Brides." This moniker was rooted in the fact that these women would usually come to town with a single suitcase that they were permitted to carry with them to their new homes.
3 Canadian mail order brides were called 'picture brides
The Mail Order Bride business continued to boom and grew popular with the Asian settlers as well. The Asians, like the Americans, worked overseas. The early 20th century had new entries aside from Americans and Asian settlers - they were the Canadians.
The Canadians embraced the growing platform of getting brides through mails. Publications of catalogs were made in newspapers. These catalogs reeled out convincing pictorial descriptions of preferred brides, and thus the term "picture brides" was introduced.
4 Mail-order bride platforms are successful even today
The Mail Order Bride business has long moved on from the times when kings supplied colonies with women for marriage. Today, you can choose your mail order bride based on any criteria you want. What is interesting is that it has remained relevant and even booms in the present day. According to Statistics Solutions Inc., in the US, marriages arranged through the mail order platforms are less likely to end in divorce than 'normal' marriages.
There are many mail-order platforms with women from all over the world. You can find a wife online nowadays at the click of a mouse. This ease of use, success rate and the fact that you can find exotic women from continents away have made it a successful endeavor that is set to stick around for years to come.
Bio
Jamie Polster is an experienced and astute online-dating trainer. Riding on the crest of his 15 years of experience in the dating mentorship field, he has championed causes that brought men and women together to find, build and keep healthy relationships. Jamie has cemented his presence at YourMailOrderBride where he now works with a team of relationship experts.