Crime, Punishment, Law Enforcement (c1500-c1700) Flashcards
What was High Treason?
When heresy and treason became linked due to the Act of Supremacy in 1534 passed by Henry VIII
What was vagabondage?
Unemployed, homeless people - a common view is that they were lazy and they brought their troubles upon themselves
What was the 1495 Vagabonds and Beggars Act?
It stated that ‘idle’ people are put in stocks and sent back to their place of birth
What was the Vagrancy Act 1547?
It stated that an able-bodied vagabond without work for more than 3 days were branded the letter ‘V’ and sold as a slave
What was the 1597 Act for the Relief of the Poor?
harsh punishments such as whipping and burning ear with hot iron to act as deterrents to vagrants
What was the 1671 Game Act?
It made hunting rabbits, hares and fish in rivers/streams illegal.
How was poaching seen?
Poaching was seen as a social crime because the community saw it as unfair, so locals did not report. Poaching gangs made it harder for authorities to capture
What was smuggling?
The government introduced import duties on a range of goods so there was a profit available for those who wanted to smuggle goods into the country and avoid import duties.
Many were willing to buy these goods at lower prices from sellers who didn’t pay gov. tax
Smuggling- hard to enforce because people benefitted from the crime and didn’t view it as serious
What was the Puritan rule ?
Oliver Cromwell was a puritan and took the title of ‘Lord protector’. Thought people should strive to have pure souls and he decriminalised recusancy.
What were the changes Oliver Cromwell made?
Sunday- after church should be kept as a holy day
No drinking and feasting - leads to bad behaviour and people should control their appetites
Christmas - kept as a quiet day thinking about the birth of Jesus’s birth and reading Bible
What were the new law enforcement ?
Town constables and Night watchmen
What was the role of the Town Constable?
.Employed by town authorities
.Appointed by locals with good standing
.Some powers to arrest suspect with no warrant from JP
.Helps with local administrative issues
.Stop suspected criminals, break up fights and round up ‘sturdy beggars’
.Turn in serious criminals to court
What was the role of the Night Watchman?
. Work overseen by town constable
. All householders expected to serve as part as their male citizen duties
. Take turns to patrol between 10pm to dawn
. Unpaid
. Rings a bell to warn people
. Carries a lamp to help patrol in the dark
What were the different punishments?
. Fines
. Stocks and Pillory
. Corporal
. Hanging
. Hanged,drawn,quartered
. Burning
. Transportation
. Houses of Correction
What crimes were fines for?
. Fraud
. Selling goods for wrong price
. Breaking legal agreements
. Not attending church
What were stocks and pillory for?
. Begging and drunkenness
What type of corporal punishments were used and for what crimes?
. Whipping, branding, maiming
. Vagrancy/begging/theft (till late 17 cen)
What crimes were hanging for?
.Repeated begging
.Theft
.Highway robbery
.Poaching
.Smuggling
.Witchcraft
.Murder
What was being hanged, drawn, quartered a punishment for?
Treason
What was burning at the stake for?
Heresy in the 16th century
What crimes was transportation used for?
To North America - used for most crimes in the 17 century
What was the houses of correction used for?
1556 - Bridewells used to punish poor people who broke the law and poor, homeless children by hard labour
What were the key events of the Gunpowder plot?
. Catholics disappointed that James I didn’t give them more religious freedom
. Robert Catesby responsible for recruiting other plotters
. Aimed to set off explosion and replace James I with his daughter to influence+impose their religious+political aims
. 20th May 1604 - they rented a cellar under the House of Lords packed with 1 tonne of gunpowder
. 20th Oct 1605 - Lord Monteagle gets letter warning him to not attend
. Guy Fawkes and conspirators tortured to get confessions
. 17 November, they confessed after being tortured by the rack
What was Henry VIII 1542 Witchcraft Act?
Stated that witchcraft should be punished by death
What was Elizabeth I 1563 Act Against Conjurations, Enchantments and Witchcraft?
Witchcraft tried in common court and death penalty if harm caused to another person
What was James I 1604 Witchcraft and Conjuration Act ?
Death penalty given to anyone summoning evil spirits
What was George II 1735 Witchcraft Act?
Witches seen as ‘confidence tricksters’ - punished by fines and imprisonment
Who was Matthew Hopkins?
. 1645 - ‘Witchfinder general’
. His activities helped feed a mass panic about witches - made worse by lack of state authority during Civil Wars
. Hopkins stirred up panic
. Accusations of 117 in Sudbury alone
. 300 people investigated
. 112 executed by hanging
. Moles/birthmarks could be evidence of guilt
What were the religious changes Henry VIII?
1534 - declared himself head of church (ACT OF SUPREMACY)
Closed down catholic monasteries and seized their wealth and land
What were the religious changes Edward VI?
. Introduced prayer book in English
. Allowed priests to marry
. Made church interiors plainer
What were the religious changes Mary I ?
. Restored Catholic church
. Made Pope head of English church
What were the religious changes Elizabeth I?
. Act of Uniformity - everyone go to church on Sundays or pay a fine (seen as a recusant)
. Act of Supremacy re-introduced
. 1570 Pope excommunicated Elizabeth
