Whitechapel (c.1870 - c.1900) Flashcards
1
Q
List 3 problems with records of the police’s work.
A
- Police memoirs could be biased
- Statistics do not always lead to the correct conclusion
- Newspapers were often sensationalist and anti-police
2
Q
List 3 facts about accommodation in Whitechapel, and associated problems.
A
- Majority of houses were in ‘rookeries’; overcrowded slum areas, known for dirt, disease and crime
- Could be up to 30 people in one apartment
- 1877: one rookery contained 123 rooms where 757 people lived
- 1881 Census: total population of Whitechapel district was 30,709 but only 4069 homes were occupied
- Lodging houses were known as ‘doss houses’ and only provided beds in 3 8-hour shifts a day
- More than 8000 people in Whitechapel (over 25%) lived in doss houses
- Flower and Dean Street contained a rookery and 31 doss houses, which attracted thieves, drunkards and prostitutes
- Overcrowding caused theft and domestic abuse
3
Q
Describe 2 attempts to improve accommodation in Whitechapel, and 4 details relating to the second attempt.
A
- 1875 Artisans’ Dwellings Act: London’s earliest slum clearance programme
- Rookery near Royal Mint Street replaced with 11 blocks of flats- ‘The Peabody Estate’- in 1881
- All 287 flats were of a good standard and cheaper than the usual price
- Failure to pay rent would result in immediate eviction
- The poorest still could not afford this, which caused overcrowding elsewhere
4
Q
List 2 places the residents of Whitechapel went when they couldn’t afford to stay in a doss house, and give 5 details.
A
- Workhouses had been set up in the early 1800s as part of the poor relief system to offer food and shelter to the poor
- The elderly, sick, disabled, orphans and unmarried mothers were the types of people who went there
- Conditions were made harsh to make the workhouse a last resort
- Inmates had to do tough manual labour, wear a uniform and were separated from their families
- The Casual Ward offered beds for the night to 60 people and required inmates to earn it
- In 1870 Dr Barnardo set up an orphanage after learning about children’s desperation to avoid the workhouse
- By 1905 (when he died) there were nearly 100 orphanages under his name
5
Q
List 3 common types of employment in Whitechapel, and 2 associated problems.
A
- Working in the Bell Foundry, the factory where Big Ben was made
- Working a ‘sweated’ trade: tailoring, shoe-making and making matches in cramped, dusty and dark conditions for 20 hours and low wages
- Day to day employment in the London docks and railway construction, which left people with an uncertain income
- There was a severe economic depression in the 1870s, and unemployment was widespread, leading to stealing and disruptive behaviour
6
Q
Explain when the Irish migrated to Whitechapel, why, and 6 arising issues.
A
- Irish men migrated from the 1840s as to most London was a stop on the way to America
- However they ended up settling and working as ‘navvies’; worked on canals, roads and railways or worked as dockers
- They were often violent, especially when drunk, which made them unpopular
- In the mid and late 1800s Irish nationalists wanted freedom from the UK
- Fenians (a Catholic group) were at the front of this and were seen as terrorists
- They organised a bomb attack on Clerkenwell Prison in 1867, causing an increase in anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment
- The Special Branch was set up in 1883 to stop Irish terrorism
- Dynamite Sunday- 24/01/1885: Fenians launched a bomb campaign on London Bridge, the House of Commons and the Tower of London
7
Q
List when Jews migrated to Whitechapel, why, and 8 arising issues.
A
- After 1881 Russian Jews left Russia, Poland and Germany as they were persecuted for the assassination of Tsar Alexander II
- 30,000 arrived between 1881 and 1891
- They were isolated due to a language barrier, differences in culture (e.g. observing the Sabbath and eating kosher food) and the fact that Jews often worked for Jewish employers
- Migrants desperate for work worked in sweatshops which were competition for factories, making Jews unpopular as they were scapegoats
- Sweatshop conditions were illegal, but the language barrier prevented much from being done as mostly Jews worked in sweatshops
- The Jewish themselves were suspicious of the police due to their treatment at the hands of the Polish and Russian police, and so were more likely to deal with their own issues
- Jews from Eastern Europe were blamed for the spreading of ideas such as socialism and anarchism due to a minority of them actually being involved
- By 1881 less than 1% of Britain’s population was Jewish, but in some areas of Whitechapel they made up 95% of the population
- Areas where the Irish and Jews clashed were known to be especially violent
- Jews could be attacked because of their religion but also in general robberies/ thefts as well
8
Q
Describe what socialists and anarchists did in Whitechapel.
A
- From the middle of the 19th century onwards, revolutionary ideas grew in Europe due to social and economic problems
- Anarchism- opposing all forms of organised government- was a popular movement
- In 1871 anarchists took over Paris, but their revolution failed and they fled
- Anarchists fleeing European nations often came to Britain as it was more politically tolerant, and so the East End was seen as a refuge for terrorists
- The Special Branch then started to monitor their activities
- The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was the first socialist party in Britain and was formed in 1881
- They led the Trafalgar Square demonstration in 1887 that led to Bloody Sunday (13th November)
9
Q
Describe 3 issues relating to alcohol in Whitechapel.
A
- Alcohol was seen by the residents of Whitechapel as a way of coping with their tough lives as most could afford it
- In 1 mile of Whitechapel Road there were at least 45 pubs, gin palaces and opium dens
- Alcohol addiction was a reason for many crimes, such as causing arguments to escalate
- Alcoholism also made victims, such as all of Jack the Ripper’s victims
- Pubs were seen (along with lodging houses) as places that spread criminal behaviour
10
Q
Describe issues relating to prostitution in Whitechapel.
A
- Prostitution wasn’t illegal, but the need to monitor it was recognised
- After 1885 keeping a brothel became illegal
- Women in Whitechapel relied on it during times of desperation for lodgings or due to alcoholism, not necessarily as a job
- For example, Jack the Ripper’s victims had jobs before and sometimes after becoming prostitutes
- Prostitutes walking the streets were vulnerable to rape and assault
- Abortions were common, which the police turned a blind eye to, and many women died from infection or surgical shock
- Middle-class thoughts were that prostitutes dying were them getting what they deserved
- In 1880 there were predicted to be 1200 prostitutes and 62 brothels in Whitechapel
11
Q
Describe 5 issues relating to gangs in Whitechapel.
A
- Gangs such as the Bessarabian Tigers and Odessians (both Eastern European) caused more violence
- Gangs often fought each other
- They ran protection rackets; they took money from small business owners (usually Jewish) in return for not damaging their shop/ market stall, or the owners
- People were too afraid to report gangs, which left very little evidence for gang members to be accused with
- Well-organised gangs also ran illegal pubs and unlicensed boxing matches
12
Q
List 6 events demonstrating attitudes towards the police in London.
A
- 1835: quick response by police to fire at Millbank Prison, which prevented inmates from escaping
- 1842: the Detective Branch was formed, which caused people to think of them as spies, although plain-clothed policemen had to reveal their identities when confronting members of the public
- 1867: Fenians plant a bomb in Clerkenwell Prison, which police ignore warnings of
- 1877 Trial of the Detectives: senior officers at the Detective Branch were revealed to have taken part in an international gambling scam
- 1885: two years after the Special Irish Branch was set up, Fenian bombs exploded at the Houses of Parliament and Tower of London
- 1888-9: Jack the Ripper murders are carried out and the suspect is not caught
13
Q
Describe Sir Edmund Henderson’s time in the Metropolitan Police.
A
- Appointed as Commissioner in 1869 and resigned after many scandals in 1886
- He raised the standard of reading and writing in the police and expanded the Detective Branch
- He was criticised for relaxing discipline, such as reducing the amount of military drill officers had to do
- The Trial of the Detectives, Irish terrorism, and an out of control riot at Trafalgar Square were all factors that led to his resignation in 1886
14
Q
Describe Sir Charles Warren’s time in the Metropolitan Police.
A
- Appointed as Commissioner in 1886 and resigned in 1888
- 6 months after his appointment, a new Home Secretary (the only government position in charge of a police force- the Metropolitan Police), Henry Matthews, was also appointed
- Matthews disliked Warren and preferred his deputy James Munro, who undermined Warren
- Warren raised standards, brought more ex-soldiers into the force and had a protest put down with excessive force, all of which made it seem like the police was becoming an army to control the people
- He then issued criticism of the government for allowing protests to continue, before offering his resignation
15
Q
Describe 3 things that caused the detective department to be reformed, and 2 changes that were made afterwards.
A
- The detective department set up in 1842 was originally small, ineffective and it was not clear whether it was meant to prevent or detect crime
- Along with the scandal of the Trial of the Detectives in 1877, there had been multiple cases of detectives arresting the wrong person
- In 1878 the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was set up, with Howard Vincent in charge
- He increased the pay of detectives to attract the best constables and encouraged detectives to do more plain-clothes operations to investigate crimes they thought would happen
- However, detection standards didn’t improve and corruption continued
