4.1 - 4.5 Crime And Punishment In 18th And 19th Century Britain

Question 1

What were the main crimes and punishments in the 1840s

Answer 1

crimes:

• Pick pocketing
• Petty theft
• Stealing food

Punishments:

• Prisons
• Transportation
• Fines

Question 2

Why were crimes such as vagabondage and witchcraft less feared/ less important

Answer 2

Vagabondage:
- there was a general increase in wealth between 1700-1900 so the fear of vagabondage decreased

Witchcraft:

• educated people who judged cases of witchcraft were less likely to believe these accusations
• 1736 witchcraft laws were replaced

Question 3

What types of crimes were focused on during the 18th + 19th century

Answer 3

Crimes that disrupted trade

Activities that threatened the interests of landowners

Question 4

Reasons for growth of highway robbery

Answer 4

Horses became cheaper to buy

There was no police force. Local constables didn’t track criminals across the country

After wars ended, some demobilised soldiers struggled to find ways to make a living

Highwaymen could sell their stolen loot in taverns

There were lots of lonely areas outside of towns and rough roads where coaches had to slow down

More people were travelling in their own coaches

Question 5

Reasons for the decline of highway robbery

Answer 5

• JPs refused to license taverns that highwaymen frequently visited (making it harder for highwaymen to find sanctuary or a place to stay)

Open land around London and other towns was built on as the population expanded

Mounted patrols were set up around London

Question 6

Poaching - who were poachers? was the law too harsh on poachers?

Answer 6

poaching is usually described as a social crime as many people didn’t really regard it as a crime and so it was widely tolerated by people in society

The 1723 black act made hunting deer hare or rabbit a capital crime.

The law:

• only landowners whose land was worth more than £100 a year could hunt
• landowners with land worth less than £100 a year could not hunt at all (even on their land)

Who were poachers:
- they were mostly ordinary people who were quite poor and has low-paid jobs

Why did they poach?

• they poached to get food to cook
• to sell to supplement their low wages

Question 7

Why reasons did people use to defend poaching

Answer 7

• the law is only there to protect the interests of wealthy landowners
• poaching is a harmless sport
• the public has sympathy for poachers and see the death penalty as too harsh

Question 8

The tolpuddle martyrs - who were they? What happened to them?

Answer 8

• local farmers asked their employers for their wages to be increased
• employers refused
• 1883- the labourers set up a trade Union - the friendly society of agricultural labourers - and swore an oath of support for the union
• farm owners (employers) heard of the union and used a law (originally meant for the navy), changing the definition of crime for its own purpose
• 6 of the farmers were arrested and transported to Australia
• in Britain there was widespread outcry at sentence. Many people signed a petition demanding their release
• eventually, they were granted a pardon