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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
  • All boards
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Teacher resources

The teacher copies: slides with the questions built in, the answers, and anything else attached to this lesson for whoever is teaching it.

Student handouts

The same files the students see, to print or hand out.

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

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

  1. 1723 The Black Act makes over 50 offences, including poaching in disguise, punishable by death.
  2. 1776 Transportation to America ends when the colonies rebel.
  3. 1787 The First Fleet sets sail to transport convicts to Australia.
  4. 1820s Robert Peel, as Home Secretary, begins removing crimes from the Bloody Code.
  5. 1861 Only four crimes remain punishable by death.
  6. 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.

Questions and answers

9 questions set on this lesson, with the mark schemes and model answers open.

1. Exam question Explain one way 4 marks Foundation

Explain one way in which punishment in the period c1700-c1800 was different from punishment in the period c1800-c1900.

Mark scheme — 4 marks available

  • 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.

2. Exam question Explain why 12 marks Stretch

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.

Mark scheme — 12 marks available

  • 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.

3. Exam question How far do you agree? 16 marks Stretch

"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, grammar and specialist terminology)

Mark scheme — 16 marks available

  • 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.

4. Multiple choice 1 mark Core

Roughly how many crimes were punishable by death by 1815?

  1. A 5
  2. B 50
  3. C Over 200 Correct
  4. D Over 1,000

Why: The number rose from around 50 at the start of the 1700s to over 200 by 1815 - the Bloody Code.

5. Multiple choice 1 mark Core

Why did juries often refuse to convict under the Bloody Code?

  1. A They thought hanging was too harsh for minor crimes Correct
  2. B They were paid not to convict
  3. C The law did not allow juries
  4. D Most defendants were rich

Why: They thought hanging was too harsh for minor thefts, so they refused to convict or undervalued the goods.

6. Multiple choice 1 mark Core

Where were convicts transported to between 1787 and 1868?

  1. A America
  2. B India
  3. C Canada
  4. D Australia Correct

Why: Around 160,000 convicts were transported to Australia in that period.

7. Multiple choice 1 mark Core

Who removed the death penalty from over 100 crimes in the 1820s?

  1. A John Howard
  2. B Robert Peel Correct
  3. C Elizabeth Fry
  4. D Henry Fielding

Why: Robert Peel, as Home Secretary, began dismantling the Bloody Code.

8. Multiple choice 1 mark Foundation

When did public executions end in Britain?

  1. A 1723
  2. B 1829
  3. C 1868 Correct
  4. D 1900

Why: Public executions ended in 1868; after that, hangings took place inside prisons.

9. Multiple choice 1 mark Stretch

Which crime was NOT one of the four still punishable by death after 1861?

  1. A Theft Correct
  2. B Murder
  3. C Treason
  4. D Piracy with violence

Why: Theft was no longer capital; only murder, treason, piracy with violence and arson in royal dockyards were.