1700-1900- 18th And 19th Century Britain Flashcards
When were witchcraft laws repealed?
1736
Why did crime increase?
- people were travelling more into towns
- Larger towns meant it was easier to escape
- industrial revolution- most people worked in towns
Why did highway robbery increase in the 18th century?
- Improved roads led to more people travelling
- Increased trade between towns meant more goods transported by road
- Many roads were isolated so it was easy to get away with a highway robbery
- Horses became cheaper to buy
Who was Claude Duval?
- Famous highwayman
- Often referred to as the ‘gentlemen of the road’
- Was polite + charming
- Wore fancy clothes
- In 1670 was caught and hanged at Tyburn
Why did Highway Robbery decline?
- Fewer travellers carried large amounts of money
- Mounted patrols were rewarded to report on activities of a highwaymen
- Growth of railways
When did Highway robbery completely disappear?
1830
What was the Waltham black act?
- Made poaching a capital crime
- 1723
- Made it illegal to carry around snares or hunting dogs
What is the black market + why was it used?
- Used for poaching
- Cheaper food
- Easy to make high profits
What kind of goods did smugglers bring into the country?
Tea, cloth, wine, spirits
What kind of crime of smuggling?
A capital crime, came under the bloody code
Why did smuggling increase in this time period?
Tax on imported goods were high
How did smugglers make high profits?
They bought goods into the country without paying tax and selling them
Give a name if a famous smuggling gang?
- Hawkhurst gang
- Leaders: Arthur grey + Thomas Kingsmill
Name each of the smuggling gang members and explain their specific role
- The ‘Spotsman’ would direct the ship to the shore
- The lander would arrange the unloading of the cargo
- The tubsman carried the goods
- The batsman protected the tubsman
Why did smuggling continue to rise?
- Fear of smugglers: many used violence
- Nature of the custom officer job
- It was a social crime so many people did not regard it as a crime
Why did smuggling decrease?
- Government reduced tax on tea on tea and other goods
- Industries started to open
When was the French Revolution and what was it?
- 1789
- Monarchy was overthrown
- Britain was scared same thing was going to happen to them
What happened in 1833 in Tolpuddle, Dorset?
- A group of farm workers formed a ‘friendly society of agricultural labourers
- This was to protest about their low wages
- George loveless + 5 other workers ( 6 altogether)
What happens to George loveless and the Martys?
- Were sentenced to 7 years of transportation to Australia for taking secret oaths
- Were at sea for 111 days
- Government changed definition of crime for employer benefits
- Were forced to walk to the farms
What happened after the news of the Tolpuddle Martys spread?
- Mass protests
- Petition of 200,000 signatures demanding their release
When were the Martyrs pardoned?
- In 1836
- Protests continued for their release
What was the significance of the Tolpuddle Martys?
- Authorities used law to criminalise people they saw as a threat
- Government would protect employees at the expense of workers
- Inspired some to fight for workers rights
Why did witchcraft stop being a crime?
- Royal Society set up by Charles II, led to increase scientific experiments which explained things previously thought to be of witches
- More educated people
How did society change in the industrial period?
- Population increased
- More people worked in factories
- Railways had become major form of travel
- Higher taxes were collected
- More children were educated
When was bow street runners set up + what was their purpose?
- In 1749 by Henry Fielding
- Taken over by his half brother John Fielding
- Used to fight crime + a more organised system
- At first they charged fees but later were payed by the government
What was set up to end highway robbery?
- Horse patrol set up but the fielding brothers
- Ended highway robbery in London
- Became known as ‘Robin Readbreasts’ coz of their uniform
What did the Middlesex justice act state?
7 other JP’s were funded to extended Bow street runners to their areas
What did The Metropolitan police act do?
- Replaced watchmen and parish Constable’s + introduced police force.
- Robert Peel set it up
- Set up in 1829
- RP became Home Secretary in 182
What did the 1856 police act do?
- Made is compulsory to have a professional police force across the whole country
- Aim was to deter crime
Why was the Met successful in the long term?
- In 1829, first national records were set up
- CID set up in 1878
- Standardised training for all recruits
- Used photographs + telegraphs to find criminal
Why was the bloody code abolished?
- Juries would not convict: Juries were unwilling to find people guilty if they thought their punishment was unfair
- Public executions were not working : It ended up being a form of entertainment
- People thought that punishments should be equal to the crime committed
Why did public executions come to an end in 1868?
- Crowds were usually drunk + disorderly
- Large crowds provided opportunities for more crimes
- Was seen as cheap entertainment
Why did Transportation end to Australia in 1868?
- Australia no longer needed forced labourers
- It didn’t want ‘criminals’
- Gold was discovered through
- Some felt it was too harsh ( journey there was 18 months)
- More prisons built so used for than transportation
What were conditions in prisons like before they were reformed?
- Bridewell prison set up in Elizabethan times
- All inmates had to do hard labour ( picking Oakam, breaking rocks)
- Wealthy could afford their own rooms
- Poor relied on local charities
- Had to pay to see a doctor
What did John Howard do?
- Was outraged by the conditions in prisons
- In 1774 he campaigned to persuade parliament that prisoners who had finished their sentence were to be released
- His work led to the 1774 Gaol Act : health + sanitation of prisons
What did Elizabeth fry do?
- Visits Newgate prison in 1813=shocked
- 300 women + babies crammed into small rooms
- Set up association for reformation of female prisoners at Newgate
- Set up education classes to reform women
- Work influenced peel’s reforms
- In 1902 Holloway prison opens for women
When was the pentonville prison built?
1842, also called the separate system
Conditions in pentonville prison?
- Thick walls to prevent prisoners from talking to each other
- They were masked when they went outside
- Spent nearly all their time in the chapel
- Main idea was to keep them away from the wicked influence of others
Reasons for the separate system
- For rehabilitation = solitude best way to make prisoners reflect on their crime
- Fir retribution= isolation and boredom made criminal pay for their crime
- As a deterrent = serious punishment
Strengths of the separate system
- Was clean + less disease
- People thought it provided the right level of punishment/harsh but not too harsh
Weaknesses of the separate system?
- Continuous isolation led to mental illness and high suicide
- No education
What did the Gaol Act state?
- Chaplains should regularly visit prisons
- Gaolers should be paid
- prisoners should be paid
What was the ‘silent system’?
- Prisoners expected to be silent at all times
- Hard wood bunks=‘ Hard board’
- ‘Hard fare’=food, same menu
- ‘Hard labour’= pointless work for several hours a day
