The concept of mail-order brides is a rather old one. It has been used since the 16th century in numerous American colonies as a way of matchmaking landowners with single ladies. Although technology and, specifically, the Internet have changed the process, the basic premise remains the same.
In this article, we want to share the top 10 facts about these beautiful ladies. Also, if you want to take action and find a foreign wife online, you should visit BridesUniverse where you can easily get a mail order bride for marriage. Here, you can get in touch with your future mail-order bride and start a bright, new future.
1. Not Financially Driven
In popular media, Russian and Asian brides are portrayed as women looking to marry rich guys from the US and Western Europe. While finances are a big consideration for mail-order brides, they are rarely the main factor.
Most ladies resort to this dating model because they have limited dating opportunities in their country. They might live in a rural area whose men have gone abroad looking for work. Mail-order brides might also be searching for guys who have a different mindset compared to the locals.
2. Best Countries
The term mail-order bride can be referred to women from just about any country. Although we mainly connect it to Filipinas, Ukrainians, Russians, and Colombians, these women can come from anywhere, including the US. Still, the three regions that “produce” most of these women are East Europe, North South America, and Southeast Asia.
3. Reduced Divorce Rates
Perhaps the best thing about the mail-order bride concept is that it rarely ends up in divorce. Mail-order brides generally originate from conservative countries, where divorce is considered shameful. As such, they’ll do everything in their power to keep their relationship alive.
If you delve into the data a bit deeper, you’ll realize that 80% of these marriages lasted for at least one year, which is significantly above the US average. Furthermore, many of these arrangements have led to healthy offspring and joy for both sides.
4. Very Dangerous
These brave trailblazers incur numerous risks when dating US men. Living with a person after a brief correspondence is never easy, as there are various things you need to iron out. Of course, cultural factors can also be a hindrance to a healthy relationship.
Unfortunately, all these communication issues, as well as character and cultural differences, can lead to violence. Although this isn’t common, there were cases where mail-order brides were brutally murdered by their spouses. Then again, there were also situations where a bride killed her husband.
Even dating can be risky. Men can get hustled by dating websites, being charged enormous sums for their basic service. Mail-order brides might also con them out of their money, whether via the Internet or when they meet in person.
5. Old Roots
Most people don’t realize how old the concept of a mail-order bride is. It was introduced by the Virginia Company in the 1620s as a measure of improving the living conditions of its workers in Jamestown Colony. Specifically, they wanted to prevent desertion and workers from marrying Indians. The project was a massive success, after which other colonies implemented it.
The first mail-order brides mostly came from Europe, but later on, interstate migrations became much more common. Ladies would move from region to region, looking for better opportunities and, specifically, men with large farmlands. Even the US government got into it at one point, providing subsidies and other rewards to mail-order brides.
6. Unusual Course
Perhaps the most interesting tidbit revolving around mail-order brides has to do with Johns Hopkins University. This educational institution has a course named “Mail Order Brides: Understanding the Philippines in Southeast Asian Context,” which examines this type of marriage as well as how it affects Filipinos.
7. Hawaii Brides
Even before online dating, men used the concept of images and correspondence to learn more about their future wives. During the period from 1908 to 1924, a large number of ladies settled in Hawaii as a way of meeting the needs of local men. In a short time, most of the singles on the island were able to raise a family.
During this period, ladies would introduce themselves by sending pictures to the guys (mail-order brides sent over 20,000 photos to Hawaii). The majority of brides were from Japan, with a small percentage from Korea, forever changing the identity of the local population.
Interestingly enough, there was a lot of catfishing even back then. As many guys were 15 to 20 years older than their brides, many of them sent photos of their younger, better-looking colleagues. As if that wasn’t enough, many brides also had to live in rundown homes and tend to plantations.
8. Reverse Process
The Philippines is known as one of the biggest “exporters” of mail-order brides. After public pressure in the late 1980s, their government enacted a law in 1990 that would prohibit the practice of mail-order brides and distributing catalogs to single women. However, resourceful Filipinos found a workaround by creating catalogs that only featured husbands.
9. Australians Against Brides
According to Australian officials, mail-order brides represent unwanted immigration. Since 2003, their government has introduced measures that would fight this phenomenon. However, the public was split on this decision. NGOs believe that many brides are, in fact, victims of trafficking and other unlawful practices and, as such, should be protected, not persecuted.
10. Massive Profits
There’s a good reason why mail-order brides are popular to this day. Besides fulfilling a specific market need for both men and women, the process is extremely profitable for intermediaries. Perhaps the best example of this is the mail-order bride industry in Taiwan.
Local companies “import” women from Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and China and offer them to foreign men. Most of the girls are between 20 and 28 years old, and guys spend about $10,000 for this arrangement. However, the bride’s family will only get a small fraction of that, $500 to $1,000, while the rest goes into the pockets of the intermediary company.
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