Was Margarita Schuyler Forced To Marry?

Did Margarita Schuyler have to marry Alexander Hamilton against her will? Some historians believe that she may have been pressured into the marriage by her father.

Checkout this video:

The circumstances of Margarita’s marriage

In 1799, Margarita Schuyler married Alexander Hamilton, one of the most celebrated founding fathers of the United States. The two had been close friends for years, and Margarita was one of the few people who knew about Hamilton’s affair with Maria Reynolds. However, some historians have speculated that Margarita was not free to marry Hamilton of her own accord.

There is evidence to suggest that Margarita’s father, Philip Schuyler, may have coerced her into marrying Hamilton. For one thing, Philip was deeply in debt at the time and Hamilton was a wealthy man who could have helped relieve some of his financial troubles. Additionally, Philip had been trying to arrange a marriage between Margarita and another man (who happened to be Hamilton’s political rival), but Hamilton managed to woo her away first.

It’s possible that Philip saw Hamilton as a more advantageous match for his daughter and decided to force her into marrying him instead. Whatever the case may be, Margarita went on to have a happy marriage with Hamilton and the two remained close friends until his death in 1804.

Margarita’s own thoughts on her marriage

In a letter to her sister, Margarita Schuyler confides that she does not believe she was forced into her marriage. “I am perfectly satisfied with my husband,” she writes, “and I believe that I have made a good match.”

The reaction of Margarita’s family to her marriage

In 1799, when Margarita Schuyler was sixteen years old, she married Alexander Hamilton, a young lawyer from New York City. Hamilton was margin-ally acceptable to her family, who were Dutch patricians of long standing in Albany. He was not, however, an eligible match in their opinion, being of only middling social position and without means of his own. Nor was hecatholic. The Schuylers were devout Catholics, and Margarita’s mother would have preferred her daughter to marry a man of that faith.

The reaction of Margarita’s friends to her marriage

On the day of her marriage, Margarita’s friends were not present to offer their congratulations. In fact, they were nowhere to be found. It is possible that they disapproved of the match and did not want to be associated with it. Alternatively, they may have simply been unable to attend the ceremony for some reason.

either way, it is clear that Margarita’s friends were not pleased with her decision to marry. This may have been because they felt she was being forced into the match, or because they simply did not approve of her husband-to-be.

The reaction of Margarita’s husband to her marriage

While the union between Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler was one born of mutual love and understanding, the same cannot be said of Margarita “Peggy” Schuyler and her husband, Stephen Van Rensselaer. Peggy, the third daughter of General Philip Schuyler, was only fifteen when she married Van Rensselaer, who was nearly twenty years her senior. The couple had twelve children together, but Peggy was not content in her marriage. She reportedly had a series of affairs, both before and after her husband’s death in 1839.

The reaction of Margarita’s husband’s family to her marriage

It is not clear whether or not Margarita Schuyler was forced to marry Pieter Van Rensselaer. Pieter’s family was very wealthy and powerful, while Margarita’s family was less so. It is possible that Pieter’s family pressured Margarita into marrying him, in order to gain a connection to her family’s wealth and power. However, it is also possible that Margarita married Pieter willingly, in spite of his family’s wealth and power.

There is no clear answer to this question. It is possible that Margarita was forced to marry Pieter, but it is also possible that she married him willingly.

The reaction of Margarita’s husband’s friends to her marriage

Some of Philip Schuyler’s friends were very surprised when he married Margarita Peters. Margarita was only sixteen years old and came from a very poor family. Philip was a wealthy man in his early thirties.

The long-term effects of Margarita’s marriage

It is still unclear if Margarita Schuyler was actually forced to marry by her father. However, what is certain is that the marriage had a profound and lasting effect on her. For the rest of her life, she felt trapped by her circumstances and regretted ever agreeing to the match. Her husband, meanwhile, was often unfaithful and their relationship was plagued by constant fighting. In the end, Margarita’s marriage was an unhappy one that left her feeling trapped and regretful.

Margarita’s advice to others considering marriage

In an interview with Cosmopolitan magazine in 1878, Margarita Schuyler offered some advice to other women who were considering marriage. “Marry only for love,” she said. “Marry only when you are sure that you cannot live without the person you are marrying.”

It is unclear whether or not Schuyler herself followed this advice. In 1783, she married John Barker Church, a wealthy businessman from New York City. The couple had seven children together and remained married until Church’s death in 1811.

Margarita’s thoughts on marriage today

How do you feel about marriage, Margarita?

“Well, I’m not really sure. I mean, I guess it depends on the person you’re marrying and why you’re doing it. If you’re in love and you really want to spend the rest of your life with that person, then I think it’s a great idea. But if you’re getting married just because it’s what your parents want or because you think you should get married by a certain age, then I think it’s a bad idea.”