Consent

A brief history lesson on the age of consent from Ai Gemini.

The statement "Early 18th Century: Many European countries, including England and Italy, had common law rules around the age of consent, often linked to marriage and puberty, with girls considered marriageable around 11 or 12 years old", is largely true, but with important nuances.

Here's a breakdown based on historical context:

- Common Law and the Age of Marriage: In England, common law had long established the minimum age for a girl to consent to marriage at 12 years old. For boys, it was 14. This was indeed linked to the idea of puberty and the ability to procreate.
- The Age of Consent (for Sexual Intercourse): This was a separate legal concept from the age of marriage. In England, the age of consent for sexual intercourse was set at 12 in the 13th century, then lowered to 10 in the 16th century, and remained there until it was raised again in the 19th century. So, while a girl could legally marry at 12, her age of consent for sexual acts was even younger in the 18th century.
- Italy and Other European Countries: In the 16th century, some Italian and German states set an age of consent at 12 years. By the late 18th century, other European nations, influenced by the Enlightenment and the Napoleonic Code, began to establish or formalize their own ages of consent, which were often around 10-12 years.
- Average vs. Legal Age: It's crucial to distinguish between the legal minimum age and the average age of marriage. While the law permitted marriage at very young ages, particularly for girls, the average age of first marriage in places like England was considerably higher, often in the mid-to-late twenties. Factors like the need to save money for a new household and social customs contributed to this later average age.

In summary, the statement is correct in that the legal minimum age for marriage and consent was very young in the early 18th century, often around 11 or 12 for girls, and was indeed tied to common law and the concept of puberty. However, it's an oversimplification to assume that this was the common age at which people actually married.