EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT
Crime and Punishment in the Industrial Period
c1700-c1900 · Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900 · Lesson 1 of 4
Teacher copy - includes the notes for whoever is teaching from it.
What Do You Already Think?
Answer before the lesson, then check your ideas at the end.
1. Why might crime rise when people move to towns?
Towns were crowded and anonymous - it was easier to steal and harder to be recognised.
2. Would making more crimes punishable by death stop crime?
Not necessarily - juries often refused to convict, and many people were pardoned.
3. What could be done with criminals instead of hanging them?
Transport them abroad, or send them to prison.
Learning Objectives
1. Explain how industrialisation and the growth of towns changed crime.
2. Describe the Bloody Code and explain why it was introduced.
3. Explain why the Bloody Code ended, and describe the use of transportation.
Setting the Scene
Between 1700 and 1900 Britain became the world's first industrial nation. Millions of people moved from villages to fast-growing towns to work in factories and mills. Towns were crowded, poor and anonymous, and the rich had more property than ever to protect. Parliament, made up of landowners, passed harsh laws to protect that property.
1723 - The Black Act makes over 50 offences, including poaching in disguise, punishable by death. | 1776 - Transportation to America ends when the colonies rebel. | 1787 - The First Fleet sets sail to transport convicts to Australia. | 1820s - Robert Peel, as Home Secretary, begins removing crimes from the Bloody Code. | 1861 - Only four crimes remain punishable by death. | 1868 - Public executions end; the last convict ship sails to Australia.
Why Crime Changed in Industrial Britain
The industrial revolution created new opportunities for crime.
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Growing towns Towns such as Manchester grew very fast, packing people into crowded slums. |
Anonymity In a town nobody knew you, so it was easier to steal and escape. |
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Poverty Low wages, unemployment and high food prices pushed people to steal to survive. |
More to steal Shops, warehouses and factories held more goods than ever before. |
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Drink Cheap gin and beer were blamed for violence and disorder. |
Fear Newspapers reported crime widely, making people feel it was rising fast. |
The Bloody Code
The name historians give to the huge number of crimes punishable by death.
▸ The numbers. The number of capital crimes rose from around 50 at the start of the 1700s to over 200 by 1815.
▸ Minor crimes. Many were property crimes, such as stealing goods worth more than five shillings, or cutting down trees in an avenue.
▸ Why. Parliament was made up of wealthy landowners who wanted to protect their property, and they believed the threat of hanging would deter crime.
▸ Deterrence. Executions were public, so that the crowd would see what happened to criminals.
Did the Bloody Code Work?
In practice, far fewer people were hanged than the law allowed.
▸ Juries. Juries often refused to convict for minor thefts, or valued stolen goods below the amount that carried the death penalty.
▸ Pardons. Many convicted criminals were pardoned, and their sentences were changed to transportation.
▸ Crowds. Public executions became rowdy events, and some people sympathised with the condemned.
▸ Crime continued. Crime did not fall, which suggested the harsh laws were not deterring anyone.
Transportation
A way of removing criminals without executing them.
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Destination |
When |
What happened |
|---|---|---|
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American colonies |
Until 1776 |
Convicts worked on plantations; ended when the colonies won independence |
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Australia |
1787-1868 |
Around 160,000 convicts were sent on a journey that took eight months |
|
Work |
On arrival |
Convicts worked for settlers or on public projects; good behaviour could earn a ticket of leave |
|
The end |
1868 |
Transportation ended as it was seen as too expensive and not a deterrent |
Why the Bloody Code Ended
By the 1860s the death penalty was used almost only for murder.
▸ Peel's reforms. In the 1820s Home Secretary Robert Peel removed the death penalty from over 100 crimes.
▸ New ideas. Reformers argued that punishments should fit the crime and try to reform criminals.
▸ Alternatives. Transportation and new prisons offered other ways to punish.
▸ 1861. Only four crimes remained capital: murder, treason, piracy with violence and arson in royal dockyards. Public executions ended in 1868.
Key Terms
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Industrialisation The growth of factories and industry, and the move of people into towns. |
Bloody Code The name for the large number of crimes punishable by death in the 1700s and early 1800s. |
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Capital crime A crime punishable by death. |
Transportation Sending convicts to work in a colony, such as Australia. |
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Pardon Being let off a sentence, often changed to a lesser punishment. |
Deterrence Punishing people to put others off committing crime. |
Summary
✓ Industrialisation and growing towns created new opportunities for crime.
✓ The Bloody Code made over 200 crimes punishable by death by 1815.
✓ Juries and pardons meant far fewer people were hanged than the law allowed.
✓ Peel's reforms ended the Bloody Code; public executions ended in 1868.
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EXAM FOCUS Explain why the Bloody Code came to an end in the nineteenth century. (12 marks) Explain several reasons - it did not work, new ideas, alternatives such as prison - and support each with a specific example. |
Exam Practice - The Industrial Period
Answer all questions. Use specific names, dates and examples in every answer. · 35 minutes
▸ Question 1 · 4 marks · Explain one way. Explain one way in which punishment in the period c1700-c1800 was different from punishment in the period c1800-c1900.
▸ Question 2 · 12 marks · Explain why. Explain why the Bloody Code came to an end in the nineteenth century. You may use the following in your answer: juries; Robert Peel. You…
▸ Question 3 · 16 marks · How far do you agree?. "The growth of towns was the main reason for changes in crime in the period c1700-c1900." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. You…
Question 1 · 4 marks · Explain one way
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“Explain one way in which punishment in the period c1700-c1800 was different from punishment in the period c1800-c1900.” |
HOW TO ANSWER IT Command word: Explain one way. Worth 4 marks, so plan before writing.
Question 1 · mark scheme
4 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
▸ A valid difference identified. 1-2 marks
▸ Supported with specific knowledge of both periods. 3-4 marks
▸ Model answer. In the eighteenth century the main punishment for serious crime was the death penalty: under the Bloody Code the number of capital crimes rose from around 50 at the start of the 1700s to over 200 by 1815, and executions were carried out in public. In the nineteenth century the death penalty was used far less - Peel removed it from over 100 crimes in the 1820s, and by 1861 only four crimes were capital - while prisons became the main punishment. So the difference is that punishment shifted from execution towards imprisonment.
Question 2 · 12 marks · Explain why
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“Explain why the Bloody Code came to an end in the nineteenth century. You may use the following in your answer: juries; Robert Peel. You must also use information of your own.” |
HOW TO ANSWER IT Command word: Explain why. Worth 12 marks, so plan before writing.
Question 2 · mark scheme
12 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
▸ Level 1 (1-3). A simple or general answer
▸ Level 2 (4-6). Some explanation of one or more reasons, with some knowledge
▸ Level 3 (7-9). A developed explanation linked to the question, with accurate knowledge
▸ Level 4 (10-12). An analytical explanation of several reasons, with knowledge that goes beyond the stimulus points
▸ Model answer. One reason was that the Bloody Code did not work. Juries often refused to convict people of minor thefts that carried the death penalty, or valued stolen goods below the amount that made the crime capital. Many of those who were convicted were then pardoned. Crime did not fall, so the harsh laws were clearly not deterring criminals. A second reason was the work of reformers in government. In the 1820s the Home Secretary Robert Peel removed the death penalty from over 100 crimes, arguing that punishment should fit the crime. By 1861 only four crimes - murder, treason, piracy with violence and arson in royal dockyards - remained punishable by death. A third reason, beyond the stimulus, was that there were now alternatives. Transportation to Australia from 1787 and the building of new prisons, such as Pentonville in 1842, gave judges other ways to punish serious criminals. New ideas also encouraged the idea that criminals could be reformed rather than simply killed.
Question 3 · 16 marks · How far do you agree?
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“"The growth of towns was the main reason for changes in crime in the period c1700-c1900." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. You may use the following in your answer: industrialisation; smuggling. You must also use information of your own. (16 marks, plus 4 for spelling, punctuation…” |
HOW TO ANSWER IT Command word: How far do you agree?. Worth 16 marks, so plan before writing.
Question 3 · mark scheme
16 marks available. Award a mark for each point made.
▸ Level 1 (1-4). A simple or generalised answer
▸ Level 2 (5-8). Some analysis, with a judgement that is asserted
▸ Level 3 (9-12). Analysis of both sides with accurate knowledge and a supported judgement
▸ Level 4 (13-16). Sustained analysis, knowledge beyond the stimulus, and a clear, justified judgement
▸ SPaG (4). Accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar, with specialist terms such as industrialisation and Bloody Code
▸ Model answer. On the one hand, the growth of towns was very important. Industrialisation drew millions of people into crowded towns such as Manchester, where poverty was widespread and people were anonymous. This made theft easier and escape more likely, and shops, warehouses and factories held more goods to steal. Crowded slums and cheap drink were also blamed for violence and disorder. On the other hand, other factors changed crime too. Some of the most important crimes of the period were rural or linked to trade rather than towns. Smuggling grew because of high taxes on imported goods such as tea and brandy, and it declined when the government cut those taxes. Poaching was driven by rural poverty and harsh Game Laws. The law itself also changed crime: the Black Act of 1723 turned many activities into capital crimes, and the Tolpuddle Martyrs were punished in 1834 for joining a trade union and swearing a secret oath. Overall, the growth of towns was the main reason for the rise in everyday theft and violence, but changes in taxation and in the law explain many of the other crimes of the period. So it was the most important factor for urban crime, but not for crime as a whole.