SumRando on Nostr: From what I could find, it seems that age of majority and age of consent were very ...
From what I could find, it seems that age of majority and age of consent were very different things for most of history. Age of majority primarily had to do with the age a young man could be drafted for military service. It was intentionally higher than the age for marriage so he would have a chance to produce heirs before being shipped off to get killed in war.
Meanwhile, age of sexual consent was historically between 10-13 or coinciding with menstruation in girls in most places until the 1800s, when some sensationalized investigative journalism showed that young girls were being sold as prostitutes, and countries influenced by this writing were subsequently pressured to enact laws raising the age of consent to 13, 16, and eventually 18 in many places.
Meanwhile, age of sexual consent was historically between 10-13 or coinciding with menstruation in girls in most places until the 1800s, when some sensationalized investigative journalism showed that young girls were being sold as prostitutes, and countries influenced by this writing were subsequently pressured to enact laws raising the age of consent to 13, 16, and eventually 18 in many places.