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History · Crime and punishment in Britain, c1700-c1900

Crime and Punishment in the Industrial Period

How industry and fast-growing towns changed crime, why the Bloody Code made over 200 crimes punishable by death, and why it was then dismantled.

c1700-c1900
6 key terms
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What Do You Already Think?

Answer before the lesson, then check your ideas at the end.

Why might crime rise when people move to towns?
Towns were crowded and anonymous - it was easier to steal and harder to be recognised.
Would making more crimes punishable by death stop crime?
Not necessarily - juries often refused to convict, and many people were pardoned.
What could be done with criminals instead of hanging them?
Transport them abroad, or send them to prison.

Learning Objectives

1Explain how industrialisation and the growth of towns changed crime.
2Describe the Bloody Code and explain why it was introduced.
3Explain 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.

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.
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.
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.

American colonies
When: Until 1776. What happened: Convicts worked on plantations; ended when the colonies won independence
Australia
When: 1787-1868. What happened: Around 160,000 convicts were sent on a journey that took eight months
Work
When: On arrival. What happened: Convicts worked for settlers or on public projects; good behaviour could earn a ticket of leave
The end
When: 1868. What happened: 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.

Summary & Exam Focus

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.

Exam focus

Explain why the Bloody Code came to an end in the nineteenth century. (12 marks) (12 marks)

Explain several reasons - it did not work, new ideas, alternatives such as prison - and support each with a specific example.

Key terms

The vocabulary this lesson expects you to use. Each one is linked from the first place it appears above.

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.
Capital crime: A crime punishable by death.
Transportation: Sending convicts to work in a colony, such as Australia.
Pardon: Being let off a sentence, often changed to a lesser punishment.
Deterrence: Punishing people to put others off committing crime.

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