Week 3 Flashcards
(85 cards)
What does the term Bloody Code refer to?
- The Draconian British law code of the period
- Many crimes have the death penalty (many property rights crimes)
What punishments existed apart from the death penalty?
- Stocks
- Penitentiary
- Transportation (i.e. to a penal colony)
What was the 1718 Transportation Act?
- Declares that criminals are to be brought to overseas territories
- The sentence is usually for 4–17 years
- But, by the time the sentence term is over, many of the prisoners cannot afford to return to Britain
What were prison hulks?
- Old, rotting ships that would be moored in the Thames
- Prisoners would serve terms here
- Brutal conditions
In what year is the slave trade outlawed in Britain?
1807
In what year is the act of slavery itself outlawed in Britain?
1833
What was the 1781 Zong Case?
- A slave ship named the Zong
- Many of the slaves got sick, so the captain threw many of them overboard
- After selling the slaves who hadn’t been sick in Jamaica, the captain filed for an insurance claim upon returning to London
- The insurance company refused to pay the claims, so the shipowner took them to court
- The jury goes in favor of the shipowner, and the insurance company is forced to pay insurance
Why is the 1781 Zong Case important?
- It exposed to the British public the inhumanity of the commercialization of slavery
Which English king lost the American colonies?
George III
Which English king becomes the symbol for royal tyranny?
George III
Why did George III need a regency from 1811-1820?
Because of his mental difficulties
Who is the first British-born Hanoverian dynasty monarch?
George III
Who was George IIIs PM, who was his childhood tutor?
The Earl of Bute
Why did people dislike the Earl of Bute?
- He was Scottish
- He didn’t have any qualifications to be PM
Define: Boroughs
- Boroughs were administrative units in urban areas that elected an MP
What was a Rotten Borough?
- A borough that contained so few people that it shouldn’t be able to elect an MP
What was a notable example of a Rotten Borough?
Auld Saram
What was a Pocket Borough?
A borough that was fully controlled by a landowning family (ex. whoever the landowning family voted for, the borough followed suit)
What was the Catholic Relief Act, 1793
-Irish parliament partially lifts some of the restrictions on Catholics
Who was the Earl of Bute’s most notable critic, famous for his political attacks?
John Wilkes
What is Parliamentary Privilege?
- The loosened restrictions on freedom of speech within parliament
True or False: John Wilkes was brought to court many times for directly slandering the King
TRUE
By which century does an attempt at British (ie Anglo-Scottish) unity and identity emerge?
19th century
What is central to the Anglo-Scottish British unity?
Not being French