The 18th and 19th Centuries

Question 1

What was the population of England and Wales in 1750? 1900? How did the distribution of the population change?

Answer 1

• 9.5 million
• 41.5 million
• During the 1700s, most people did farm work
• By the late 1800s, most people worked in towns/cities

Question 2

Give 5 examples of how life had improved during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Answer 2

• In the 1700s, literacy rates were low, but by 1900, 95% of the population were literate as a 1880 law said all children had to attend school until 13
• By 1885 almost all men were allowed to vote, so the government had to improve living conditions to be popular
• Britain was a wealthier country due to trade and industrial growth
• Importing food was quick and cheap, so there was less starvation
• People started to think that improving living and working conditions would reduce crime

Question 3

How did the 3 biggest crimes from early modern England die down?

Answer 3

Heresy:
- The uncertainty from the Reformation passed
- The final execution for it was in 1612
Vagabondage:
- Wealth generally increased
- The fear of vagrancy decreased
Witchcraft:
- Although a lot of people were still superstitious, more educated people did not tend to believe witchcraft accusations
- It was decriminalised in 1736
- After that people claiming to be witches were fined/imprisoned for being tricksters

Question 4

How did the severity of poaching increase?

Answer 4

• Poaching gangs were on the rise as poaching was still widespread, as most people did it for food or money (some did do it for sport)
• The 1723 Black Act made poaching a capital crime- only landowners with land worth more than £100 a year were allowed to hunt
• Blackening your face or having dogs that could be used for hunting were also criminalised
• The Black Act was repealed in 1823, but poaching was still illegal

Question 5

What were 2 reasons why smuggling increased? What eventually caused it to die down?

Answer 5

• In the 18th century more goods were taxed
• More smugglers worked in gangs of 50 - 100
• PM William Pitt lowered import duties in the 1780s, and they were lowered again by 1850
• Profit that could be made from smuggling decreased dramatically

Question 6

Who were the Hawkhurst gang and what happened to them?

Answer 6

• Large and organised smuggling gang
• Operated from 1735 until their 2 leaders were hanged, in 1748 and 1749

Question 7

Give 5 reasons why was smuggling was hard to to stop.

Answer 7

• Locals helped the smugglers and even joined in to make money, especially while unemployed
• Upper-class people also bought smuggled luxury goods
• There were very few custom officers
• There were many miles of unpoliced coastline
• Smugglers used the cover of night

Question 8

Give 6 reasons why highway robbery became more common in the 1700s, although it had existed in the Middle Ages?

Answer 8

• Trade increased so more goods and money had to be moved around
• A lot of roads near the countryside were isolated
• More people used roads for travel as they were improved
• Horses and guns were easier to obtain
• Local constables didn’t track criminals across counties
• Highwaymen hid and sold their loot in taverns

Question 9

Give 2 reasons why highway robbery was taken seriously, and proof of this.

Answer 9

• It was done on the King’s highway
• It could disrupt the postal service
• In 1772 the death penalty was introduced for people disguised and armed on a high road

Question 10

When was the final case of highway robbery reported? Give 4 reasons why.

Answer 10

• 1831
• In the 1800s mounted patrols were used on major roads
• As the banking system became more sophisticated, fewer people carried large sums of money
• Improved roads allowed people to travel at higher speeds
• JPs didn’t license taverns that highwaymen went to

Question 11

Why was the government fearful of protests in the late 18th century?

Answer 11

• The French revolution of 1789 resulted in the overthrow of the French monarchy
• Thousands of nobles were also guillotined

Question 12

Around the year 1800, were trade unions legal?

Answer 12

• They were
• The main one was the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union (GNCTU)

Question 13

What caused the Tolpuddle Martyrs to join together, and when?

Answer 13

• Farm labourers in Tolpuddle (Dorset) formed a friendly society (an early trade union) as they were paid 60% of the average for their job
• They all swore an oath of secrecy to join
• 1833

Question 14

How were the Tolpuddle Martyrs stopped?

Answer 14

• The local farm owners heard about their friendly society and wanted to stop them
• In February 1834 George Loveless (their leader) and the 5 others were arrested
• The landowners used a law that prevented sailors from taking secret oaths (to prevent mutinies)
• They were sentenced to 7 years’ transportation to Australia

Question 15

How did the public react to the Tolpuddle Martyrs’ punishment?

Answer 15

• Up to 100,000 people protested in London against their punishment
• 200,000 people signed a petition
• They were pardoned in 1836

Question 16

What happened as a result of what happened to the Tolpuddle Martyrs?

Answer 16

• The GNCTU was broken up when they were punished
• It took more than 20 years for the trade union movement to recover

Question 17

List 3 main events linked to the Bow Street Runners.

Answer 17

• 1748: The Fielding Brothers set up the Bow Street Runners, who were a reformed and monitored group of thief takers
• They caught criminals, patrolled major roads and started a crime intelligence network
• 1785: The government started to pay for the Bow Street Runners
• 1792: The Bow Street Runners’ success lead to the Middlesex Justices Act; further stations were set up with 6 constables

Question 18

List 3 important events prior to the setting up of the Metropolitan Police.

Answer 18

• 1798: The River Thames Police was set up
• c.1819: Large protests like the Peterloo massacre made clear that relying on the army to put down protests didn’t work well
  (- There were many large protests after 1815 due to unemployment and high food prices.)
• 1822: Robert Peel became Home Secretary and wanted a centralised law enforcement system that didn’t rely on lethal weapons

Question 19

List the 4 acts that resulted in all of the country having a professional police force.

Answer 19

• 1829 Metropolitan Police Act: set up Britain’s first professional police force in London. Local authorities could raise taxes to pay for these police forces. People were afraid that the police would limit their freedoms and invade their privacy.
• 1835 Municipal Corporations Act: borough councils could set up their own police forces, but only around half did
• 1839 Rural Constabulary Act: counties could set up their own police force, and two-thirds did
• 1856 Police Act: it became compulsory for all counties to set up a police force like the Metropolitan police

Question 20

State when 2 early branches of the police were set up, and what each did.

Answer 20

• 1842: first detective force set up by the Metropolitan police, who investigated and solved crimes after they’d been committed
• 1883: Special Branch set up to combat Irish terrorism

Question 21

Give 3 examples of the early police using new technology.

Answer 21

• 1869: National Police Records established
• Telegraphs and photography were used
• 1902: First conviction using fingerprint evidence

Question 22

What were 3 main problems with early police recruits, and what effect did this have?

Answer 22

• They were poorly-trained, immoral and from dubious backgrounds
• 2800 were originally employed, but only 600 stayed for a year or longer

Question 23

What was the Bloody Code?

Answer 23

• A series of laws (starting with the 1723 Waltham Black Act) that introduced the death penalty for many (petty) crimes

Question 24

What were the 2 huge problems with the Bloody Code?

Answer 24

• In the 1700s, 40% of criminals convicted of capital crimes were hanged
• In the 1800s only 10% of people who should have been hanged actually were, as juries were not willing find people guilty
• The Bloody Code was intended to act as a powerful deterrent, but public executions created a festive atmosphere
• Executions became inhumane and undignified as they were treated as entertainment
• They were an opportunity for more crime (e.g. pickpocketing), riots or offenders escaping when crowds felt that their sentence was unfair

Question 25

How was the Bloody Code abolished?

Answer 25

• In the 1820s to 30s almost all capital crimes were abolished
• By 1825 Peel had reduced them to 100
• By 1841 only treason and murder were capital crimes

Question 26

When was transportation at its peak, and why?

Answer 26

• The peak of transportation was to Australia (after America won its independence in 1783 and Australia was annexed in 1770) in the 1820s and 30s
• Juries were more willing to sentence people to transportation rather than death

Question 27

How severe of a punishment did transportation to Australia become, and give 3 reasons why.

Answer 27

• It became more positive
• By the 1830s Australian wages were higher than British ones
• In 1851 a gold rush started in Australia
• Convicts preferred staying in Australia as they led more peaceful and respectable lives there

Question 28

When did transportation come to an end, and what were 5 reasons why?

Answer 28

• 1857
• Mostly due to pressure from settlers, who the government needed to keep appeased in order to retain control over a distant colony
• In the 1830s transportation cost £0.5 million annually, and prisons were cheaper to run
• Australia was already established as a colony
• Britain’s crime rate was increasing instead of decreasing
• It was no longer a deterrent

Question 29

What replaced transportation, and give 4 reasons why it was effective.

Answer 29

• Prison
• It gave a chance for rehabilitation
• It was a good deterrent
• Sentences could include hard work
• Separation made society safer

Question 30

List 4 problems with prisons in the 19th century.

Answer 30

• Men, women and children and first-time offenders and hardened criminals were all mixed together, making prisons ‘schools for crime’
• Poorer prisons relied on local charities to pay for necessities, such as prison wardens and even a fee to be released
• Hygiene: many inmates died from ‘gaol fever’
• Overcrowding: in Newgate Gaol 275 prisoners shared a space meant for 150

Question 31

List 4 improvements made to prisons, and when each one was made.

Answer 31

• 1815: gaolers started to be paid out of taxes
• 1823: prisoners were suitably split up
• 1835: inspection of prisons introduced
• 1850: centralised control of the prison system

Question 32

Describe John Howard’s work.

Answer 32

• Was a reformer who published a report on prisons in 1777
• His main problem was that prisoners had to pay to be freed
• He also wanted healthier accommodation, separation of prisoners, better food and paid wardens
• He was criticised for being lenient

Question 33

Describe Elizabeth Fry’s work.

Answer 33

• She had a big influence on the 1823 Gaols Act, which was passed by Robert Peel
• She was concerned by the bad living conditions and exploitation of female prisoners by male guards at Newgate prison
• She set up prayer groups (she was a Quaker) and a school for the children to learn useful skills
• She was criticised for being lenient

Question 34

When was Pentonville Prion built, and for what purpose?

Answer 34

• 1842
• It was a prototype for the ‘separate’ system
• Prisoners were kept alone for 23 hours a day to create a powerful deterrent
• It was also intended to put an end to ‘schools of crime’, ensure retribution and to encourage self-reflection

Question 35

Describe conditions inside Pentonville.

Answer 35

• It had up-to-date technology, so living conditions were good
• However this negated the need for prisoners to leave their cells
• Inside each small cell there was a small window, thick walls and a useless task

Question 36

What were the 2 main issues at Pentonville?

Answer 36

• Prisoners were in solitary confinement
• In the first 8 years, 22 went mad, 26 had nervous breakdowns and 3 committed suicide
• Housing every inmate separately was also more expensive

Question 37

Why had the silent system been introduced?

Answer 37

• By the late 1800s the crime rate was falling
• However high-profile crimes (e.g. garrotting) increased fear in the 1860s
• This was blamed on prisons being poor deterrents, and so the tougher ‘silent’ system was introduced

Question 38

List 4 features of the silent system.

Answer 38

• Speaking at all would result in punishment
• Hard fare: boring although adequate food- same every single day for years
• Hard board: hammocks were replaced with deliberately uncomfortable wooden boards
• Hard labour: deliberately pointless work for hours a day