Early Modern England

Question 1

What time period is Early Modern England?

Answer 1

1500-1700

Question 2

Why was there an increase in crimes against the person?

Answer 2

Increase in population and decline of feudalism led to higher unemployment, which meant more people moved to urban areas in search of work, so towns and cities grew. So, there were more street criminals and petty thieves. Some people would steal food and household items that they were unable to buy. This was especially the case during bad harvests, when food became more expensive. Busy towns made it easier for people to commit petty theft because they were less likely to be seen and caught.

Question 3

Why was there an increase in crimes against property?

Answer 3

Early modern England saw an increase in the use of
enclosure.

Open land and fields were broken down into privately owned fenced fields for sheep and farming. The aim of enclosure was to ensure that the land was fully used, including common land. By 1700, most of England had been enclosed. In some areas, local people tried to resist the enclosures by pulling down new fences and hedges.

Enclosure affected the poorer people in early modern England as they could not afford to buy the land. Additionally, once it had been enclosed, they were unable to use it to farm and provide their families with food. As people struggled to ensure their families survived, this led to an increase in poaching of rabbits and hares, and more fishing in streams within private enclosures.

Question 4

Why was there an increase in crimes against authority?

Answer 4

In 1534, Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church and set up the Protestant Church of England with himself as the head. The changes that Henry VIII made were not popular among the English people because most were Catholics. This led to unrest and confusion. Following the reign of Henry VIII, there was a period when England switched from being a Protestant country to a Catholic country and back again, depending on who was the monarch.

Treason charges were more common as there were more disputes about who should rule. Heresy charges were more common due to the back and forth religions. Members of both churches accused the other of acting immorally and illegally

Question 5

Explain the new crime of vagabondage.

Answer 5

The population increased, wages fell, food prices rose and people moved around the country searching for work. As a result, people became concerned about vagabonds, or vagrants, who committed crimes such as theft, assault and murder. People in early modern England wanted to help poor people who lived in their community and were known to them. However, they viewed vagrants as suspicious, sinful and potential criminals because they were unfamiliar to the community.

Question 6

Explain the laws surrounding vagabondage.

Answer 6

1494 - vagabonds and beggars act - vagabonds were put in stocks for three days and nights, then sent back to where they were born or most well-known.

1547 - vagrancy act - the able-bodied without work for more than 3 days were branded with the letter ‘v’ and sold as a slave for 2 years . Repealed for being too harsh.

1597 - Act for the relief of the Poor - split vagrants into 2 categories. Deserving (elderly, disabled) and ‘undeserving’ (fit to work)

1601- Poor Laws - the deserving poor were given poor relief by the local parish; the undeserving could be branded, whipped or sent to a correction house.

Question 7

Explain the new crime of Witchcraft.

Answer 7

Religious changes during the reigns of the Tudors led to a period of uncertainty and unrest. There was an increase in accusations of witchcraft as:

Changes in religion alongside economic problems, including poor harvests and rising unemployment, led to distrust and tension among communities.
Poor harvests and deaths of livestock were often blamed on
witchcraft rather than poor conditions or bad luck.

Question 8

Explain the laws surrounding the new crime of witchcraft.

Answer 8

In 1542, during the reign of Henry VIII, a Witchcraft Act was passed. It made witchcraft a criminal offence and punishable by death. It was repealed five years later but then restored in 1563. It said that trials would be held in a common court, not the lenient Church court.In 1604, a further Witchcraft and Conjuration Act was passed during the reign of James I. This added the death penalty for anyone convicted of summoning evil spirits.

Question 9

Explain the crime of smuggling.

Answer 9

The English began to expand their knowledge of the world during the 16th and 17th centuries. As explorers discovered more of the
New World,
there was an increase in new luxury goods being imported into England, such as alcohol, tea and herbs. The government introduced
import duties on these goods.
However, there were some people who wanted to make their own money from these goods and smuggled them into the country without paying the tax. Smuggling was seen as a social crime because some people were happy to buy cheaper goods from smugglers and they did not see smuggling as a crime.

Question 10

What continued in terms of law enforcement in early modern England?

Answer 10

People were still expected to raise hue and cry to catch criminals when a crime took place. There was still no national police force and the methods and effectiveness of preventing crime and catching criminals varied widely across the country.

Question 11

What changed in law enforcement in the early modern England period?

Answer 11

Town constables and Watchmen.

Question 12

Explain the roles of the watchmen.

Answer 12

Larger towns employed watchmen to patrol the streets between 22:00 and dawn. Watchmen carried a lamp and rang a bell to warn people to go home or risk being identified as criminals. They were also expected to arrest vagabonds and drunks. All watchmen were volunteers and unpaid.

Question 13

Explain the role of the town constables.

Answer 13

The town constable was appointed and employed by the town authorities. The constable was expected to turn serious criminals over to the courts, break up fights, round up vagrants, and collect community payments for road maintenance and cleaning.

Question 14

Changes in the role of the church: sanctuary

Answer 14

Henry VIII stopped exile abroad to those claiming sanctuary. Instead they had to keep to designated sanctuaries In england. James I abolished sanctuary altogether in the early 1600’s.

Question 15

How did punishment continue in early modern England?

Answer 15

It stayed the same. Retribution and detrrence were still the main purpose of punishments at the time.

Question 16

How did punishment change in early modern England: the bloody code.

Answer 16

In 1688 there was a change to the law and the Bloody Code was introduced. This increased the number of capital crimes - crimes that were punished with the death penalty. In 1688 there were 50 capital crimes. Some of them seem minor today, such as poaching rabbit or fish to feed a family. The number increased to 160 by 1765 and 225 by 1815.

Question 17

How did punishment change in early modern England: transportation.

Answer 17

Transportation
was used as a punishment from the 1660s. It was an effective deterrent at a time when formal prisons did not exist. It was also a form of community retribution. Those convicted of murder escaped death but were sent to the new colony of America to help build settlements. Once their sentence was completed, they were forbidden to return to England. As many as 80,000 people were transported to America, including men, women and children. In 1618 James I gave permission for vagrant children to be transported because the homeless were seen as a source of plague and criminality. It was argued that these children, known as ‘duty boys’, could start a new life in America. However, many died as conditions on the ships and in the colonies were extremely harsh.

Question 18

Significance of transportation as a punishment.

Answer 18

It reflected new ideas on the aims of punishment - transportation was still a serious punishment but gave criminals a chance at rehabilitation. while still acting as a deterrent. It provided inhabitants and workers to establish the American colonies while removing criminas from England.

Question 19

Why did the gunpowder plot take place?

Answer 19

James I believed that having two religions in England would cause
disunity. Protestantism had been the official religion in England since the 1559 Act of Uniformity, passed by Elizabeth I, who had been excommunicated
by the Pope in 1570. The Pope had then called upon loyal Catholics to try and remove Elizabeth from the throne.

Question 20

Explain the gunpowder plot itself?

Answer 20

In 1605 a group of Catholics led by Robert Catesby planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament to kill the king and replace him with a Catholic monarch. Guy Fawkes, one of the 13 plotters, was given the job of filling the vault below the Houses of Parliament with about 36 barrels of gunpowder. However, an anonymous letter warning about the danger was shown to Robert Cecil, the king’s chief minister. The vaults below the Houses of Parliament were searched and Fawkes was found and arrested. He was then tortured at the Tower of London until he shared the names of the other plotters and forced to sign a confession. The other plotters managed to escape. However, they were later caught by government soldiers and some, including Catesby, were killed in the fighting that followed.

Question 21

Significance of the gunpowder plot.

Answer 21

Without a police force to help prevent crime, harsh punishment was thought to be the only way of deterring crime. A harsh message was thought necesarry to deter Catholics from rising up against the monarchy. They were hanged, drawn and quartered. After the Gunpowder Plot, James I passed stricter measures against Catholics. In 1606, the Popish Recusants Act required Catholics to swear an oath of allegiance to the monarch and they were forced to participate in Church services or pay a fine.

Question 22

Explain the witchhunts of 1645-47.

Answer 22

Witchcraft was taken very seriously. In 1542, the Witchcraft Act made it a criminal offence. Between 1645 and 1647, approximately 250 accusations of witchcraft came before the authorities in East Anglia. This was the largest number of accusations that England had experienced in one place over such a short time. It was described as a ‘witch hunt’.
At least 100 people were executed for witchcraft between 1645 and 1647 in East Anglia. In all, about 1,000 people were executed for witchcraft between 1542 and 1736.

Question 23

Explain Matthew Hopkins in the year 1645-47

Answer 23

Matthew Hopkins, a lawyer and the self-proclaimed Witchfinder General, was at the centre of these accusations. Hopkins began searching for witches in East Anglia in 1645 alongside his assistant, John Stearne. Hopkins named as many as 300 women as witches. He collected ‘evidence’ against them to prove they had used harmful magic against their neighbours or livestock. He used torture to extract confessions, which often included names of other witches to investigate.The fear of witches spread to other towns. Hopkins and Stearne were employed to continue their witch hunt and were paid for each witchcraft accusation that was proven. Between 1645 and 1647, around 112 of those accused of witchcraft were executed by hanging. In 1647, Matthew Hopkins disappeared from any records.

Question 24

Reasons for the intensity of the witchhunts : Matthew Hopkins

Answer 24

Hopkins was willing to find evidence and gain confessions to prove the accusations of witchcraft. He was paid for his work. Without him, there may not have been an increase in accusations.

Question 25

Reasons for the intensity of the witchhunts: James I

Answer 25

James I’s fear of witchcraft created panic throughout England. His book Daemonologie (1597) described what people thought of as the horrors of witchcraft, gave reasons for believing in witches and provided instructions on how to run witch trials. Readers were encouraged to find witches and put them on trial. He influenced wider belief that witchcraft was a crime against the monarch and God.

Question 26

Reasons for the intensity of witchhunts: civil war.

Answer 26

This was a period of political upheaval, as friends and family went to war against one another. This unsettled the country and caused an increase in fear and suspicion.The English Civil War led to a period of economic hardship, especially in villages. This increased tensions and distrust between the rich and poor. The wealthier villagers were unsettled when the poor asked for help. Elderly and vulnerable women were often blamed when things went wrong.

Question 27

Reasons for the intensity of the witch-hunts: Religious changes

Answer 27

It is believed that Protestants in the 17th century feared Catholics and the ‘old’ religion of Catholicism that was still practised throughout Europe. It has been argued that this fear led to them trying to cleanse society by accusing women of witchcraft. Many puritans, on the side of parliament, believed that witchcraft was being used by the Royalists, some of whom were Catholic.