Bloody Code

Question 1

Who were night watchman and what were they expected to do ?

Answer 1

They are unpaid volunteers who also have to do their normal jobs to earn a living. They are expected to ring a bell at night to warn people to go home or risk being viewed as suspected criminals.

Question 2

Who were town constables and what were they expected to do?

Answer 2

They were employed by the town authorities and they are expected to stop suspected criminals, break up fights and round up sturdy beggars

Question 3

What crime had fines as the punishment?

Answer 3

fraud
selling goods for the wrong price
assault
breaking legal agreements
not going to the church (16th century)

Question 4

What was the common purpose for all the punishments?

Answer 4

All the punishments were believed to act as a deterrent

Question 5

What punishment was carried out for begging and drunkness? What was the purpose behind it?

Answer 5

Pillory or stocks

It acted as public humiliation and deterrent

Question 6

what crimes were corporal punishments like whipping and maiming used for and the purpose for it?

Answer 6

vagrancy
begging
theft
it acted as retribution and a deterrent

Question 7

what was the punishment and purpose for heresy?

Answer 7

burning at the stake

it reinforced the ruler’s authority and acted as a deterrent

Question 8

what crimes had hanging, drawing and quartering as a punishment?

Answer 8

repeated begging
theft
highway robbery 
poaching
smuggling
witchcraft
murder
treason

Question 9

What happened during the 17th century?

Answer 9

the number of crimes that carried the death penalty increased. By 1688, there were 50 capital crimes.

Question 10

What was plead for belly?

Answer 10

Pregnant women condemned to death asked to be allowed to live until the baby was born. If the baby was seen to be moving by a doctor, the punishment was delayed until after the birth. Many women escaped being hanged as they were often pardoned after the baby’s birth.

Question 11

What was the new form of punishment introduced during James I’s reign?

Answer 11

Transportation to the new English colonies in North America.

Question 12

What were the 3 reasons transportation was favoured by authorities?

Answer 12

• Effective deterrent
• England wanted to establish permanent colonies in North America- and convicts could be used to populte and provide manpower for these colonies
• Criminals were taken far from the people and places that might have drawn them into crime therefore they believed a change of scene might help them make a fresh start.

Question 13

Approximately how many people were believed to have been transported to America in the period up to c1770?

Answer 13

50,000-80,000

Question 14

What did transported prisoners do?

Answer 14

They would have to work for a fixed period of time doing tough manual labour
Those who were transported instead of executed served 14 years.
Those who were transported instead of having commited lesser crimes served 7 years
At the end, they would be free however they wouldn’t have any money to go back to their families

Question 15

Who were blamed for the plague?

Answer 15

homeless people were blamed for spreading the plague and authorities used this to search for ways to permanently get rid of them.

Question 16

Why was the system believed to be flawed and ineffective?

Answer 16

• Many crimes were commited out of desperation
• The penalties were so severe therefore execution was not always carried out . Criminals could receive a pardon if they could prove their previous good character.

Question 17

What was a pardon?

Answer 17

When a person is let off punishment for a crime they were convicted of.

Question 18

What was the common punishment for most crimes in the 17th century?

Answer 18

trasnportation to north america

Question 19

What were early prisons used for ?

Answer 19

they weren’t considered a punishment but rather a holding area for people waiting for their trials or for a punishment to be carried out

Question 20

What’s a gatehouse?

Answer 20

building forming a gateway at the entrance to a town or important house, with a room.

Question 21

Who was the most infamous thief taker and what title did he assume?

Answer 21

Londoner Jonathan Wilder. He took the title: ‘Thief Taker General’

Question 22

What happened to the ‘thief taker general’?

Answer 22

His criminal activities were discovered and he was executed in 1725

Question 23

What changes were there from 1000-1500 to 1500-1700?

Answer 23

• The role of town constables considerably expanded
• role of night watch also expanded
• emergence of thief takers

Question 24

What continuities were there from 1000-1500 to 1500-1700?

Answer 24

• witnesses to crime must step in to stop suspects or report them to the authorities
• locals had to join the hue and cry to chase the suspected criminal and bring them to justice

Question 25

What was population of England in 1500?

Answer 25

2.5 million

Question 26

What was population of England in 1700?

Answer 26

5-6 million

Question 27

What did it mean if night watchmen and town constables weren’t particulary effective at hunting down criminals?

Answer 27

Some victims resorted to using thief takers.

Question 28

What did thief takers get?

Answer 28

They were paid a reward for catching a criminal and delivering them to the law.

Question 29

Why was being a thief taker open to corruption?

Answer 29

Some criminals also operated as thief takers and informed on rival criminal gangs to make money.

Question 30

What would some wealthy householders do?

Answer 30

They joined together to hire armed guards to protect them and their property. These were the early steps towards a professional paid police force