New Crimes and the Tolpuddle Martyrs.pptx

EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

New Crimes and the Tolpuddle Martyrs

c1700-c1900

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 2 of 4

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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Learning Objectives

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 2 of 4

1

Explain why smuggling, highway robbery and poaching increased, and why they declined.

2

Explain why some of these were seen as "social crimes".

3

Explain why the Tolpuddle Martyrs were punished so harshly, and why they were pardoned.

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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Setting the Scene

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 2 of 4

Some crimes of the 1700s and 1800s were not new actions, but they became far more common or were treated far more seriously. Many were seen by ordinary people as social crimes - illegal, but not really wrong. Others were created because the authorities feared that working people were becoming too organised.

1723

The Black Act makes poaching in disguise punishable by death.

1739

Highwayman Dick Turpin is hanged at York.

1740s

The Hawkhurst Gang of smugglers terrorises the south coast.

1784

The government cuts the tax on tea, making smuggling less profitable.

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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Setting the Scene (cont.)

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 2 of 4

1834

Six Dorset farm labourers - the Tolpuddle Martyrs - are transported.

1836

The Tolpuddle Martyrs are pardoned.

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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Three Crimes of the Period

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 2 of 4

Each rose for its own reasons - and fell for its own reasons.

Crime

Why it rose

Why it declined

Smuggling

High import taxes on tea, brandy and tobacco made smuggled goods very profitable

The government cut import taxes from the 1780s, so smuggling paid less

Highway robbery

Travellers carried cash on quiet, unlit roads out of towns

Better roads, more traffic, mounted patrols and the use of banknotes and banks

Poaching

Rural poverty, and harsh Game Laws that let only landowners hunt

Remained common; the Black Act and later laws kept punishments severe

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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Social Crimes

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 2 of 4

Crimes that many ordinary people did not see as really wrong.

Smuggling

Many people bought cheap smuggled tea and brandy, and whole communities helped hide goods from the customs men.

Poaching

Villagers believed wild animals belonged to everyone, and poached to feed their families.

Why it mattered

Because communities protected smugglers and poachers, they were hard to catch and harder to convict.

The authorities' view

Landowners and the government saw these as serious threats to property and tax income.

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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

The Black Act, 1723

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 2 of 4

One law added dozens of new capital crimes.

What it did

Made over 50 offences punishable by death, including poaching deer while in disguise.

The "Blacks"

It was aimed at gangs who blackened their faces to poach in royal forests.

Why

Landowners in Parliament wanted to protect their land, game and property.

Significance

It was a key part of the Bloody Code, and shows the law being used to protect the wealthy.

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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 2 of 4

CASE STUDY

The Tolpuddle Martyrs, 1834

In 1834 six farm labourers from Tolpuddle in Dorset, led by George Loveless, formed a union to protest against cuts to their wages. Trade unions were legal, but the men had sworn a secret oath, and they were convicted under the Unlawful Oaths Act of 1797. They were sentenced to seven years transportation to Australia. The harsh sentence caused huge protests: a petition with around 800,000 signatures and a mass march in London. In 1836 the men were pardoned, and they later returned home.

7 years

Their sentence of transportation

800,000

Signatures on the petition calling for their release

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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Why Were They Punished So Harshly?

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 2 of 4

The authorities wanted to send a message.

Fear of revolution

The French Revolution had shown what could happen when working people organised against the ruling class.

Unrest

The Swing Riots of 1830 had seen farm labourers smash machinery across southern England.

Deterrence

A harsh sentence was meant to stop other workers forming unions.

Why pardoned

Public protest showed the sentence was seen as unjust, and the government backed down.

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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Key Terms

Chapter 3: Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900, c1700-c1900

Lesson 2 of 4

Social crime

A crime many people do not see as really wrong, such as smuggling or poaching.

Smuggling

Bringing goods into the country secretly to avoid paying import taxes.

Highway robbery

Robbing travellers on the road, often at gunpoint.

Poaching

Hunting animals on someone else's land without permission.

Black Act

A 1723 law making over 50 offences, including poaching in disguise, punishable by death.

Tolpuddle Martyrs

Six Dorset labourers transported in 1834 for swearing a secret union oath.

Trade union

An organisation of workers that campaigns for better pay and conditions.

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EDEXCEL GCSE HISTORY · PAPER 1 · CRIME & PUNISHMENT

Summary & Exam Focus

Smuggling, highway robbery and poaching rose for different reasons.

Smuggling and poaching were social crimes, protected by communities.

Smuggling declined when taxes were cut; highway robbery when travel became safer.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs were transported in 1834 to deter unions, then pardoned in 1836.

EXAM FOCUS

Explain why the Tolpuddle Martyrs were punished so harshly in 1834. (12 marks)

Explain the authorities' fears - revolution, unrest, unions - not just what the men did.

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