Continuation & Change

Poaching

• Some of the most unpopular laws regarding poaching came about in the 18th century. Moreover, there was growth in the number of gangs operating to poach. Growth in poaching prompted the development of stricter anti-poaching laws.
• Black Act 1723: poaching became a capital offence; illegal to blacken your face to try and hide your identity in a hunting area
• Hunting deer, hare or rabbits was a capital crime punishable by death
• Owning a dog or snare that could be suitable for poaching was punished with a fine for five pounds or three months in prison
• Only landowners whose land was worth £100 a year could hunt without restriction. Poaching became a trade, most people who committed to it were very poor and hunting became of great economic importance. Robert Peel repealed the Black Act in 1823 and poaching was no longer punishable by death.
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Witchcraft

• Moving into the 18th century, more people were educated and the onset of the Enlightenment resulted in people thinking more rationally about the world around them. Thus, people were less likely to believe in accusations of witchcraft.
• Further, George II passed a new Witchcraft Act in 1736. This led to the decriminalisation of witchcraft. This highlighted the idea that people no longer believed in witches and witchcraft, rather that those who were claimed to be 'witches' were people trying to trick and take advantages of others. This act introduced much less severe punishments for people accused of witchcraft; fines and imprisonments.
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Smuggling

• Why did people smuggle goods into England?
• In the 17th century, the government put taxes on imported goods and these import duties became very unpopular. Moreover, the government had a problem of enforcing these import duty laws. The British coastline was impossible to guard at every point and it became easy for people to smuggle goods in. Smuggling was seen as a social crime and became a capital offence under the Bloody Code.
• In the 18th century, large smuggler gangs developed. For example, the Hawkhurst Gang controlled much of the smuggling activities that occurred on the south coast of England (1735-49). The leaders of the gang were caught and hung in 1748 and 1749. Eventually, smuggling became less popular because as the profits one could make reduced when Prime Minister, William Pitt, lowered import duties in the 1780s. import duties lowered even more in the 19th century.
• Smuggling - How? Who? Why?
• How?
• Gangs of roughly 40-50 people worked through the night loading teas and various other goods on to a ship. They would arrive in London in the early hours of the morning (2-3a.m.) and could sell a couple thousand pounds weight of tea and be gone by 6a.m. It is estimated that around three million pounds of tea was smuggled into Britain each year in the 1700's. There were not enough Customs Officers to deal with the problem of smugglers.

Smuggling

• Who?
• Majority of the smugglers were labourers, a small percentage were small farmers and the rest tended to be tradesmen. In some cases, wealthy people took part in smuggling too, for goods such as wine.
• Why?
• For the farm labourer, smuggling was a much quicker means to making six or seven times the daily wage in one night. The attraction of smuggling lay mainly in the financial incentive it offered for those on poor wages.
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Highway Robbery

• Highway robbery was one of the most popular and frequent crimes in the early 18th century. In short, it involved threatening and attacking people on the open road and forcing them into handing over any possessions they had. Highway robbery existed during the Middle Ages but only became more common around this time.
• Why did Highway Robbery develop?
• Highway robbery grew because of increased travel and wealth amongst the English population
• There were many isolated areas outside towns where travellers could be held up and robbed
• Highwaymen could hide and sell their goods
• Travellers often carried large sums of money
• Horses became cheaper to buy and own
• Many wealthy people travelled in coaches
• No police force or local constables meant highwaymen were not tracked after committing crimes
• After the Civil War, demobilised soldiers became highway robbers because they had no other way of making a living
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Highway Robbery

• Highwaymen were often viewed in a glamorous light - daring, well-dressed men of the road. They were seen as polite to their victims and non-violent. In reality, many of them were cruel and violent men. They were feared by travellers and traders. The worst areas of highway robbery were around the main routes heading into London city. Highway robbers who operated on foot were known as footpads and those on horseback were termed highwaymen. Highway robbery was a serious crime and in 1772 the death penalty was introduced for any individual found armed and disguised on the high road.
• Highway robbery began to decrease into the 19th century. Some of the factors that reduced this crime were the establishment of mounted patrols on major roads. Moreover, the expansion of the banking system meant that people were less likely to carry around large sums of cash on their person.
• Mini Case Study: Dick Turpin
• Born in 1705, Turpin was involved in the smuggling scene before becoming a highwayman
• He joined with another highwayman - Tom King; the two worked together successfully
• A bounty of £100 was offered for their capture
• Turpin was a ruthless, violent highwayman (robbed lonely women and killed one man who tried to capture him)
• In May 1737, Turpin and King were cornered
• Turpin escaped but King was killed by a bullet from Turpin's gun
• Turpin was eventually executed in 1739 for horse-stealing

Rapid Change

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• At the end of the 18th century and the start of the 19th century, Britain went through a period of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. This meant that there were many workers around the country working for low wages, living in poor conditions with no legal protection.
• Workers began to call for changes in the political system, including the right to strike and right to vote. Workers formed trade unions at this time in order to campaign for better working conditions and more rights.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs

• Revolution and uprising in France made British authorities feel vulnerable to the chances of revolt, therefore, authorities treated anyone calling for political change as a criminal. The story of the Tolpuddle martyrs (a person who suffers for their beliefs, often people admire them) was a prime example of how British authorities dealt with threats to their power.
• In 1834, in Toldpuddle village in Dorset, a farm labourer George Loveless was arrested after leaving his work. Himself and five others were accused of 'administering an illegal oath'. Supposedly, they broke an old law that intended to stop sailors of the Navy organising a mutiny. However, the motive behind the arrest of these men related to their political beliefs. These men formed a 'friendly society', a precursor to a trade union (an organisation that strives to protect the rights of the worker) to protest about their low wages.
• Loveless and his friends were sentenced to seven years' transportation to the Australian colony. After the sentence passed, mass protests were held in support of Loveless and his friends. A demonstration of 100,000 people occurred in London and a petition of 200,000 signatures was handed to parliament. The Home Secretary (minister responsible for law and order) refused to accept the actions of the public and the men were sent to Australia.
• Four years into the Tolpuddle martyrs sentence and the government pardoned their punishment. The men returned home as heroes.