In the past it was OK to marry girls in their early teens, what social forces lead to this becoming frowned upon and illegal?

by [deleted]

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mimicofmodes

Girls being married in their early teens has only been common in specific historical cultures and subcultures - this isn't a thing that happened overwhelmingly throughout "the past". So if there's a specific context you're thinking of, it would be really helpful as far as getting a comprehensive and in-depth answer goes. Here are a few past answers that might help you narrow it down:

Why did large age gaps in marriage go from being common to being unpopular? (about royal medieval/early modern weddings, and the Mediterranean marriage pattern), by me

A girl today looks at marriage and says "its about love"; but given that the concept of marriage for love wasn't invented until late medieval times, what would a Roman girl say about marriage? What would marriage mean to her?, also by me

Are you living in Ptolemaic Egypt? Click here to meet land-owning soldiers looking for love in your village, by /u/cleopatra_philopater

What was the average marriage age for people living in the Middle Ages?, by /u/sunagainstgold

In the American South of the 1950s-1970s, was it typical for older men (in their 20s or older) to 'court' teenage girls? What were typical marriage ages and age gaps?

Do any of these bring up more questions about early-teen marriage for you, or help you refine the question?

RealisticBox1

If anybody can answer this with respect to the 1800s west and specifically Mormon polygamous culture, that would be outstanding. It is often argued among LDS apologists the that 56-year-old men regularly married teens in the 1800s, and I'd love to know exactly how inaccurate that is