Crime and Punishment 1450-1750 (continued) - created from Mind Map

1 - SMUGGLERS smuggling is bringing goods into a country illegally without paying the necessary import tax on them. REAL LIFE EXAMPLE is the Hadleigh Gnag which had over 100 members each with 2 horses which meant they had a large force. this is shown to have prevented them being stopped because records of their activities were made but nothing done to stop them. it began because increased taxes from the government to get money for wars and expenses eg custom duties (as was no income tax) meant people became involved in smuggling. it was a quick and exciting way to make money and you could earn 6/7x daily wage of labour under the Bloody Code, smuggling was a capital offence usually punished by public hanging. punishments did not really deter criminals because they were disproportionate and inconsistent and many smugglers just wanted to succed. this desperation included killing pursuers. it happened alot during the 1700's, mainly at night to prevent being seen. they were not easy to catch as they often worked at night under the cover of dark. they could also evade the law by disguising crimes as everyday activities eg pretending to be sheep farmers not wool smugglers. the relative newness of overseas transportation meant lots of ports were left unmonitored and so smugglers weren't caught. smuggling was also reduced by customs men as well as punishments. they were initially employed only to collect taxes, but soon they began enforcing book rates. official ports were also made which were the only areas of coastline goods could be landed. at each, two custom officials collected customs dues and made it harder to smuggle goods successfully as overseas transactions were overseen however smuggling was never completely eradicated as smugglers are always coming up with new techniques, often ahead of the developments in security. this along with the fact that smugglers are always willing to take risks means that it is hard to identify all illegal produce that may be crossing the borders of a country and so the crime still exists today Frequently clashed with forces working agaisnt them but biggest was in 1735 when they fought to recovery captured cargo. the store house had been discovered and the cargo removed by military and customs authorities. however, after a battle, the gang got their cargo back. 17 smugglers were hung for firing pistols in battle and leader, John Harvey, was sent to Newgate prison and then transported for 7 years.

2- POACHERS poaching is an illegal practice of trespassing on land without the landowner's permission to hunt and steal game/animals. cause of poaching was that the common land in england was shared and initially where people could hunt to make up for the lack of food they could afford. however, poaching was made illegal as the number of wealthy landowners increased and theywanted to stop people hunting on their land. even though there was a law against poaching people still did it because they could not afford to buy meat. land owners employed gamekeepers to try and stop them but people began to hunt in groups as it was easier to get away with. first LAW against poaching was put in place in the 14th century and then many other laws were introduced over time. in 1671, it was made illegal to hunt many animals including hares, deer, fish, pheasants and ducks. alternative punishments to hanging included fines, trabnsportation and going to prison criminals were hard to catch as they often hunted in gangs and could hide in the land, but gamekeepers often had successes in catching criminals. this struggle to catch criminals made conviction hard as if you couldn't catch them, you couldn't convict them REAL LIFE EXAMPLE is Geoffrey Sewale who was a poacher in the years around 1450 and caught ferrets and rabbits which he then sold. poaching decreased possibly because of a reduction in game (especially rabbits) available to hunt as there were so many poachers around.however, it was never fully eradicated as there was always poor people who needed food regardless of laws against the action. was considered to be a social crime because it was considered socially acceptably even though it was illegal. this may be because poor people hunted for animals when they could not afford to buy meat. was a crime against property as would be taking the animals from someone else and off their land. MOTIVES = need for food and money (could eat/sell animals they killed) most commonly comitted in countryside as that was where there was most land to hunt on, where the animals lived and where the large estates owned by rich landowners were most common in the mid-19th century despite there being laws against it 1723 Black Act made poaching an offence that could be punishable by execution (hanging) didn't really deter people and so poaching continued and the highest number of poachers was in the mid 19th century, not long after the main law had been put it place. another is the Walberswick men and the 'Canons' who would either hunt rabbits or take them from their warrens.

3- HIGHWAYMEN a highwayman was a thief and brigand who preyed on travellers, usually travelled by horse and robbed those passing by in coaches. they were outlaws if highwaymen were caught, they were punished under THE BLOODY CODE which meant death. Having execution as a punishment did work as there was a decline in the amount of highway robberies. Highway robberies were most common in the 17th and 18th century REAL LIFE EXAMPLE was Dick Turpin and his horse Black Bess another reason the number of highway robberies fell was better policing and guards being put on coaches for security. also, as banks grew, travellers carried less money and so robbing them was less worthwhile. land was being built on and so more houses were built in the countryside so it was harder for a robbery to go unnoticed and harder to be conducted due to new modes of transport that developed. however, it was hard to catch and convict the criminals who did carry out robberies as they had horses on which they could quickly escape and good knowledge of their surroundings. mounted patrols were used in the london area from 1805 some of the factors that led people to becoming involved was that there were areas that were quiet and had sparse populations but still had roads which meant it was easy for highwaymen to get away with crimes. there was also many places they could hide. there was a growth in roads in the 18th century and few banks so most travellers carried money with them

overview of the new crimeschallenged authority = 1,2,3 posed a threat to safety = 2 (partially 1,2) local people likely to get involved in = 1,2 benefitted local community = 1,2 hard to stop = 1,2,3 totally eradicated= (partially 3) common decreasing factors = laws/policing (officials) common causation factors = poverty and want/need for money

JOHNATHON WILD came to london as a servant but was sent to prison in 1710 for debt. he learnt from prisoners when he was released he became a city official and pledged to track down and arrest criminals at the time of Johnathon Wild there was no police force abnd it was very easy to get away with crime. there was great opposition to a professional paid police force because; at same time he paid thieves to burgle house and bring him details of loot Wild then visited houses and told them he could get their belongings back for a fee. he was trusted because of his official position and never handled the stolen goods so could not be charged with recieving stolen property 1716 became known as thieftaker general after using informers to break up gangs of footpads and burguars and arresting a number of highwaymen allowed wild to increase power over london's criminals and take control of remaining gangs who robbed under his orders. he still seemed a respectable official. 1724 wild captured Jack Sheppard a famous house breaker. he escaped four times, once through six bolted doors. Sheppard became popular hero for his escapes but was caught by wild every time. he was executed and wild's popularity fell wild was eventually trapped by authorities on a charge of receiving stolen property. the usual punishment was transportation but he was hung in 1725 after his death there was a surge in robberies and other crime many people feared a police force would END THEIR FREEDOM and that the government would use it to stamp out political opposition many FEARED THE EXPENSE and so preferred thief-takers and constables even though they were clearly unable to deal with the amount of crime others didn't see the need for a police force as they didn't think it would work. they thought it was better to tackle crime by MAKING PUNISHMENTS EVEN BLOODIER. criminals were not afraid of constables so they had to be afraid of punsihment

what does the story of JW show was good/bad about policing methods after 1450 Good Bad he was able to be captured and sent to prison him becoming a city official was good because his time in prison had taught him how criminals operated and he had learnt from them so was better equipped to stop them his authority and knowledge meant he could stop burglars and highwaymen amoungst other criminals the fact criminals were caught by wild shows this type of policing was effective and so beneficial to the public wild was able to capture sheppard repeatedly and then have him executed wild was punished for his crimes which shows, no matter who the criminal was, punishments were consistent and crimes could be discovered. burglaries could easily take place shown by the fact wild paid people to carry them out he lied to victims of organised theft which shows policing was not honest and truthful police officials such as wild abused their positions in order to carry out crime and gain eg in property captured criminals eg sheppard were able to escape showing police couldn't keep people locked up the fact wild got away with his illegal practises for so long shows how many crimes went undeteceted and unprevented without wild, policing failed to stop theft and robberies showing its weakness at the loss of one offiicial

how effective was law enforcement in this period? POLICING TRIALS HUE AND CRY = if it was raised people were expected to come out and search for and try to catch criminal. local constable led hue and cry and local posse comitatus could be called on to help search for criminals CONSTABLES = still the main defence against crime. two men chosen from wealthier citizens of towns and villages to be constables for a year at a time. dealt mostly with everyday matters eg begging without a licence, breaking sunday laws. also inflicted some punishments eg whipping of vagabonds. took charge of suspects and made sure they were in prison until their trial. WATCHMEN AND SERGEANTS = watchmen employed in larger towns to patrol streets day and night. poorly paid and of little use. meant to arrest drunks and vagabonds and could peer through windows to check laws weren't being broken. in towns, sergeants were employed to enforce market regulations by weighing goods and collecting fines CITIZENS = expected to deal with crimes themselves eg if robbed had to get an arrest warrant from a magistrate, track down and deliver the criminal to the constable. REWARDS = were offered for arrest of certain criminal eg if arrested a highwayman got £40 (years income for middle class family) THIEF-TAKERS = made their living tracking down criminals and collecting rewards. often former criminals who set up innocent victims, tricking them into crime for rewards. ARMY = was used to put down protests, riots, capture gangs particularly of violent smugglers. use of army in dealing with protests was unpopular as seemed gov was overpowering people and ignoring concerns COURTS = variety of courts. royal judges visited counties to hear serious cases in assizes. JP's (aka magistrates) mainstay of court system and held quarter sessions 4x a year. church courts dealt with churchmen and anyone could claim benefit of clergy. maor courts dealt with local minor crimes eg selling underweight bread, failing to mend roads, drunkeness of fathering an illegitimate child. HABEAS CORPUS = meaning you have the body. the Habeas Corpus Act was passed by parliamnt in 1679 and stopped authorities keeping a person in prison indefinitely without charging them. anyone arrested had to appear in court within a certain time or released. the act allowed people to criticise the king a monarch without fear of being arrested and locked up forever without trial. it didnt stop governments manufacturing evidence at trials to keep critics quiet. BENEFIT OF CLERGY = still possible for accused peopl to claim this and be tried ina church court. but as so many people could read by 1600s the law changed it so people accused of serious crimes could not claim benefit of clergy LAWYERS = from 1720s lawyers were used more often to prosecute cases but not regularly. the development of prosecuting lawyers led, from the 1730s, to the appearance of defence lawyers. until then, accused people had not had defence lawyers as it was thought an innocent person did not need one to create ancy clever excuses. lawyers were only used in the highest courts. JURIES = in early 1600's, juries dealt with numerous cases at a time rather than giving verdicts on individual cases. by early 1700's juries were deciding one case at a time as it was thought this would give fairer verdicts SPEED OF CASES = each case took 10-15 mins at the most

why did singing, drinking and celebrating Christmas become crimes in the 7th century? in the middle of the 16th century, there were rapid changes in religion in the middle of the sixteenth century, which came to and end only when Elizabeth I decided that the church of England should be moderate. This pleased most people but angered the puritans who were extreme protestants and thought that the church under Elizabeth was too catholic. Elizabeth's church lay between puritans and catholics. After Elizabeth's death in 1603, the puritans grew inpower and controlled parliament by the 1640's and 50's. they believed that everyone should live according to the bible, that Sundays should only be used for worship and were anxious to control people's behaviour from sending them to hell. during the period that they controlled parliament, they challenged people to follow a strict puritan lifestyle by; 1) strictly enforcing existing laws on swearing and drunkenness 2) introducing new laws to supress horse-racing, cock-fighting and bear-baiting 3) closed brothels and reduced the number of alehouses 4) banned sport and games on sundays including walking (except for to church) laws introduced by the puritans include the puritans made many customs and traditions illegal as they believed they went against the bible. as well as banning celebrating christmas etc., they also introduced a new non-religious holiday on the second tuesday of every month 1642=theaters in London closed 1644=May Day celebrations forbidden 1647=illegal to celebrate christmas, easter and witsun 1650=adultery punishable by death 1650=anyone caught swearing was punished 1653=weddings in churches were banned 1657=law against weddings repealed 1657=betting and music in taverns and alehouses was made illegal these laws had impacts that were mixed. it was wuite easy to keep churches closed by using soldierrs, but much harder to stop people singing carols, having private services of feasting in there homes. indeed in 1654 the christmas celebrations went on for a week even though they were illegal. as well as this, shopkeepers didn't open their shops on christmas day although they were meant to as it was a 'normal day' they banned christmas and easter as they didnt believe they were true christian festivals. they said they had originally been pagan festivals before the time of jesus and had simply been taken over by the church and so believed anyone celebrating them would go to hell.

NEW CRIMES CONNECTED TO RELIGION there was another civil war in england in the 17th C (1600s), at the end of which the people got rid of the king (charles I). the country was then run by parliament which was made up of mostly puritans (strict christians). they thought they should stop activities to protect people's souls and prevent them going to hell. oliver cromwell was the leader of parliament and the puritans and was particularly fond of this idea. crimes included dancing, listening to music, chewing gum, not attending church, burping, swearing, telling tales, lying, rioting, spitting, being drunk or shopping/selling on a thursday we cant make rules like the puritans did now because we have a multicultural society with numerous races and beliefs, it is unreasonable to impose personal beliefs on others and religion cant be used to make laws. puritans regarded these as works of the dark. they also drew up a list of works of the light such as praying, reading and helping the poor

Women, crime and punishment most crimes of this period, as was typical of mos historical times, were comitted by men. women were only involved in 15-20% of crimes. most of these crimes were minor eg petty theft, not attending church or having an illegitimate child. if they committed major crimes, they usually had male accomplices. some however, achieved notoriety. women and the courts Mary Young pretended to be called Jenny Diver and invented the 'pregnant pickpocket' where she had a stomach and false hands made and then stole out of people's pockets in church. she was sentenced to transportation but returned to england and was caught and executed in 1740. Mary Blandy was executed in oxford for murder Mary Frith aka Moll Cutpurse was a london thief and gang leader in the early 1600's and was not typical of a women who appeared before the courts. women were punished more harshly than men and there was different punishments for men and women. men expected women to behave respectably and obediently and so punished them more harshly for committing crime contrary to this image in 1633 a husband and wife were accused of drunkenness and only the women was sent to the stocks. women were more likely to be punished for adultery than men (maybe because it could result it the village having to pay for the upkeep of an illegitimate child). cucking or ducking stool was used to punish women for brawling or arguing in public but there was no similar punishment for men. women convicted of murder of their husband was not just hanged; they were burned to deathh as a sign that it was the worst kind of murder as it was 'treason' against the 'ruler' of the household. they could not be JPs constables, lawyers, court clerks or members of normal juries. they could give evidence as witnesses and bring cases to court as a victim of crime if a women facing the death penalty claimed she was pregnant then a special jury of married women was created.

Crime and Punishment 1450-1750 (continued)