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[–]Aquadog 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I never knew about dowries in Northern Europe, that's really interesting!

I would assume that dowries would offer an extra layer of protection to the woman? I have heard that in some smaller African cultures that the village kind of collectively pays for the bride-to-be's dowry. If the husband mistreats his wife (cheating, abuse) they take the dowry and sometimes his wife back, leading to a greater incentive to treat her well. I don't know how well this actually works in practice but it's always interesting to learn about marital practices in different cultures.