Marriage, Divorce and Violence in the early modern Basque Country

Early modern Basque records clearly reveal the close link between marital violence and women. Wives were typically portrayed as passive individuals who were frequently subjected to physical and verbal abuse by their husbands. Women of all social backgrounds experienced beatings with hands, sticks, daggers and other instruments, as well as insults and death threats. Many of them sought an ecclesiastical divorce on the grounds of cruelty, although bishops only exceptionally granted separation from bed and cohabitation. This article examines the violence experienced by married women in the early modern Basque Country, and how they sought protection from the ecclesiastical courts. Drawing primarily on diocesan divorce proceedings, as well as judicial and notarial records, the study analyses various forms of physical and psychological abuse, together with related grievances such as adultery, venereal disease, and public humiliation. It also considers the social, emotional, and economic factors underlying marital conflict.