Changes In Crime And Punishment - Nature Of Crime Flashcards
After the Norman Conquest, what was a criminal defined as?
Someone who had ‘disturbed the King’s Peace’. Norman Laws highlighted offences against authority such as treason, revolt, sheltering criminals, blasphemy and heresy. The most common crime was theft
What happened in 1275?
King Edward I passed a law saying that anyone who stole more than 12d worth of goods could be hanged for their crimes
What were crimes specific to the medieval era?
The Forest Laws - trees could no longer be cut down for fuel or for building and deer could not be hunted
Scolding - offensive and abusive speech in public
Treason - defying authority
Outlaw gangs - ambushed travellers
Heresy
What were the 3 serious rebellions of the medieval era?
The Peasants’ Revolt 1381
Jack Cade’s Revolt 1450
Cornish Rebellion 1497
How did the nature of crime change to the eighteenth century?
Vagrancy
Heresy/ Treason
Who was an angler?
Used a hooked stick to reach through windows and steal goods
Who was a counterfeit crank?
dressed in tatty clothes and pretended to suffer from falling sickness
Who was a clapper dudgeon?
Tied arsenic to their skin in order to make it bleed and tract sympathy while begging
What was an Abraham man?
Pretend to be mad to attract donations through pity
How did Tudor governments deal with vagrancy?
Flooding or branding
Making towns tackle the problem
Making it the duty of each local parish to provide air for its poor but also punish vagabonds
When did Religious disputes become more important?
After the Protestant Reformation
What did Henry VIII do?
Split with the Catholic Church and made himself Head of the Church of England
Those refusing to accept were executed
What did Edward VI do?
Widened the split with the Catholic Church
Made laws requiring the people to worship in a more Protestant way
What did Mary do?
Wanted to make England Catholic
Burned Protestants for heresy
What did Elizabeth I do?
Made compromises towards Catholics but remained firmly Protestant
Catholics fined for not attending Church
Those plotting to kill her were executed for treason
What did those who disagreed with the religion of the country do?
Went into exile abroad
Willing to die for what they believed in
Learned to keep quiet and pretended to conform
What was the Treason Law in 1534 issued by Henry VIII?
Anyone who displayed support for the Pope, said or wrote things against him, his wife or his heirs, said the beliefs of the King went against the teachings of the Church, said that he asking was using his power unjustly, kept silent when questioned, was guilty of treason
What were some of the plots between 1536 and 1685?
Pilgrimage of Grace 1536 Robert Aske
Gunpowder Plot 1605 Robert Catesby
Popish Plot 1678 Titus Oates
Monmouth Rebellion 1685 Duke of Monmouth
What was the Gunpowder Plot?
Religiously motivated attempt by Catholic men to assassinate King James I by blowing up Parliament
The plan failed when Guy Fawkes was caught with the gunpowder beneath Parliament
What was a venturer?
The investor
What was a spotsman?
Responsible for directing the ship to shore
What was a lander?
Arranging the unload of the smuggled cargo
What was the tubsman?
Carried the smuggled goods
What was the batsman?
Protected the tubsman
What was smuggling?
Smuggling goods illegally into the country and selling them unofficially on the black market
Gangs employed 50 to 100 individuals each with specific tasks
It declined after reduced duties made smuggling unprofitable
What was highway robbery?
Robbers who attacked pedestrians were known as footpads
Mounted highwaymen on horseback
Armed and worked in pairs
Dick Turpin glamorised by the papers
Why did the amount of highway robbery decline?
Roads became much busier
Banknotes had to be cashed in and could be traced
A horse patrol was set up in London in 1805 to guard main roads
How did the Industrial Revolution affect the nature of crime?
Thimble screwers stole pocket watches
Prop nailers stole pins and brooches
Drag sneaks stole goods or luggage from carts and coaches
Why was there a real threat of revolution?
Between 1790 and 1840 poor living and low wages combined with demands for political reform
What is car crime?
Speed limits
Breathalyser
Banning of mobile phones while driving
What are common car crimes?
Dangerous and careless driving
Parking violations
Speeding
Car theft
Driving without a license
No car insurance
No tax
No MOT
Drunk driving
Not wearing a seatbelt