The above theories do not explain how and why sati practice resumed during the colonial era, particularly in significant numbers in colonial Bengal Presidency. Three theories have been proposed: first that sati was believed to be supported by Hindu scriptures by the 19th century, second that sati was encouraged by unscrupulous neighbors because it was a means of property annexation from a widow who had the right to inherit her dead husband's property under Hindu law and sati helped eliminate the inheritor, and the third theory being that poverty was so extreme during the 19th century that sati was a means of escape for a woman with no means or hope of survival.