The Types of Criminal Activity in Early Modern England (Edexcel GCSE History): Revision Note

The Types of Criminal Activity in Early Modern England - Timeline

The Types of Criminal Activity in Early Modern England - Summary

Huge social changes created tensions and divisions in early modern society. Many landowners and smugglers became wealthier, while farmers and vagabonds became poorer. Feudalism declined, while urbanisation increased. This led to more crimes against the person and against property, as many struggled to survive.

Important religious changes created a split between Catholic and Protestant Christians. People also became more superstitious. They worried more about crimes like witchcraft.

This period also saw two different ruling families in England. The Tudors ruled between 1485 and 1603, followed by the Stuarts between 1603 and 1714. Apart from Mary I, these monarchs were also head of the Church. This led to an increase in crimes against authority, particularly heresy and treason.

Social and Religious Changes in Early Modern England

Social changes

• Farming became more efficient

  • Land enclosure increased

  • This meant that all farmland, including common land, was fully used

  • By 1700, most of the country’s land was enclosed

• The population increased

  • Towns and cities expanded

  • Trade flourished

  • More people moved to urban areas to look for work

Social Challenges in Early Modern England

Religious changes

• The English Reformation began with Henry VIII, who

  • Broke away from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church

  • Became the head of the Church of England

• It was unpopular with the mostly Catholic population

  • The following years were full of religious confusion, unrest and extremism

  • England’s official religion swung back and forth between Catholicism and Protestantism

    • This depended on the religious beliefs of the different monarchs

What Activities Were Considered Crimes in Early Modern England?

• Medieval crimes were still considered crimes in the early modern era

• Important social and religious changes led to the creation of some ‘new’ crimes

Vagabondage

• Also known as vagrancy

• Became a crime as a result of pressure the general population put on the government

  • Vagabonds often wandered in search of work

  • This made them strangers to the community

  • Many relied on begging and charity to survive

  • The settled population hated, feared and resented them

• Community members shared pamphlets listing the different types of vagabonds

• The number of vagabonds increased in the 15th and 16th centuries

  • There were roughly 30,000 vagabonds in the Tudor era

• In the reign of Elizabeth I, the law split vagabonds into two categories:

  • ‘Deserving’

    • Elderly

    • Disabled

  • ‘Undeserving’

    • Able-bodied

    • Fit for work

Smuggling

• Dramatically increased in the 16th and 17th centuries

  • English explorers started to discover more of the New World

  • They returned to England with luxury goods

  • They wanted to make their own money from these goods

  • They sold them without paying import taxes

  • The illustration below shows some of the luxury goods smugglers sold

• Like poaching, smuggling was what historians call a ‘social’ crime 

  • Many did not view it as threatening or serious

    • They were happy to buy cheaper goods from smugglers

• This made smuggling very difficult to enforce

Witchcraft

• In the medieval era, witchcraft was 

  • A minor crime

  • Tried in church courts

• In the early modern era, witchcraft became 

  • A very serious crime 

  • Tried in secular courts

• The table below lists different reasons for the increase in witchcraft accusations in early modern England

  
  Table of reasons for the increase in witchcraft accusations in early modern England

• Witch-hunts further increased between 1645 and 1647

Why did Crimes Against the Person Increase in Early Modern England?

• Urbanisation led to an increase in crimes against the person

  • Vagabonds started to move to towns and cities

    • Many committed crimes like assault and murder

• Urban areas became a lot more busy

  • This made it easy for street criminals to avoid being seen or caught

• Criminals had greater anonymity

Why did Crimes Against Property Increase in Early Modern England?

• Increased unemployment and poverty led to an increase in crimes against property

• People started to commit 'survival' crimes

Why did Crimes Against Authority Increase in Early Modern England?

• Religious and political changes led to an increase in crimes against authority

  • Heresy

    • Increased after the English Reformation

    • Involved having the wrong religious beliefs at the wrong time

    • Important clergymen played a role in charging and judging cases

  • Treason

    • Increased due to there being more disputes about who should rule

    • Involved not accepting the monarch’s authority (political or religious)

    • The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 is an example of treason