In ancient Mesopotamia the family was the basic unit of society that was governed by specific patriarchal rules. Monogamy was the rule, even though the nobility could have concubines. The purchase of wives from their fathers was common, but the practice became less common after 3000 BC.
With the fall of the Mughal Empire, the British saw an opportunity to seize power in India, since the fragmentation of power, once centered on the Emperor, was now the necessary gap for the entry of the imperialists into that region of Asia. The British led, unlike the Mughal Empire, a policy of modernization, which established a firmer rule in the hands of the queen.
