GCSEHistoryEdexcelExam QuestionsCrime & Punishment in Britain, c1000-Presentc1700-c1900: Crime & Punishment in Eighteenth & Nineteenth-Century Britain

c1700-c1900: Crime & Punishment in Eighteenth & Nineteenth-Century Britain (Edexcel GCSE History): Exam Questions

Exam code: 1HI0

22 mins22 questions
Easy
Medium
Hard
1
1 mark

What is a ‘survival crime’?

  • When someone commits a crime, such as poaching, they want other animals to survive in an environment in which they are currently dying in.

  • When someone commits a crime, such as petty theft, as they can not afford the food which they need to survive.

  • When someone commits a crime, such as treason, as they want their religion to survive in England.

  • When someone commits a crime, such as murder, they have to kill another person to survive.

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2
1 mark

What was a penny dreadful?

  • A criminal highway robbery gang of the 17th century.

  • A nickname given to those who refuse to hand over their possessions to a highway robber.

  • A cheap, sensationalist publication which told tales of violent crimes such as highway robbery.

  • The name of a common punishment given to a convicted highwayman.

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3
1 mark

Who were the Waltham Blacks?

  • A group of Catholics who plotted to kill the king.

  • A group of poachers who carried out raids against wealthy landowners.

  • A group of highwaymen who attacked only wealthy travellers on roads.

  • A group of Puritans who were transported to North America for trying to start a Puritan revolution in England.

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4
1 mark

Why did the government in the 18th and 19th centuries see smuggling as a serious crime?

  • Smuggling was easy to prevent, so the government wanted it stopped immediately.

  • Smuggling was seen as a crime against a person.

  • Smuggling was causing social disorder in England.

  • Smuggling was disruptive to trade and tax revenue.

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5
1 mark

Why were the Tolpuddle Martyrs transported to Australia for seven years?

  • They were found guilty of taking oaths of secrecy.

  • They were found guilty of treason.

  • They were found guilty of murder.

  • They were found guilty of poaching.

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6
1 mark

Who were the Fielding brothers?

  • Henry and John Fielding were magistrates who wanted to stop poaching on wealthy landowners' land.

  • Henry and John Fielding were magistrates who wanted to end transportation to Australia.

  • Henry and John Fielding were magistrates who wanted to put more men on the streets of London to deter crime.

  • Henry and John Fielding were magistrates who wanted to end the ‘Bloody Code’ in England.

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7
1 mark

When was the Police Act introduced?

  • 1856

  • 1867

  • 1888

  • 1892

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8
1 mark

What does CID stand for? 

  • Criminal Inspection Department.

  • Criminal Impact Department.

  • Criminal Investigation Department.

  • Criminal Identification Department.

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9
1 mark

Why was Pentonville Prison made?

  • To keep criminals before they were transported to Australia.

  • To act as a model for new ideas and reforms for prisons.

  • As a prison for women and children.

  • To serve as a military detention centre.

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10
1 mark

Which of the following was not a key feature of Pentonville Prison?

  • Individual stalls during religious instruction.

  • Thick walls, to stop prisoners from talking to each other.

  • Looms in prison cells, for prisoners to weave.

  • Prison cells had large windows with bars on them.

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11
1 mark

Why did Robert Peel reform the penal code?

  • The expansion of the ‘Bloody Code’ created a decrease in the number of capital offences, meaning criminals were being given soft punishments for major crimes.

  • The death penalty could be legally used for minor crimes.

  • Judges thought the ‘Bloody Code’ was fair and was commonly used.

  • The use of transportation as a punishment was being used less, which affected the colonies.

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12
1 mark

When was the Gaols Act passed by Parliament?

  • 1820

  • 1821

  • 1822

  • 1823

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1
1 mark

What caused the increase in highway robbery in the 18th and 19th centuries? 

  • Trade decreased, meaning more people were travelling to find the goods they needed. This gave highwaymen more opportunities for crime.

  • More inns and taverns near roads, giving highwaymen more opportunities for crime.

  • Town watchmen did not track highwaymen across counties, so criminals could easily escape.

  • Road surfaces had improved, resulting in more coaches on the road. This gave highwaymen more opportunities for crime.

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2
1 mark

Which of the following was not a cause of the decrease in highway robbery in the 19th century?

  • The increasing number of banks meant that fewer travellers carried large amounts of money on the road.

  • In 1773, highway robbery became punishable by death, which deterred people from becoming highwaymen.

  • Rewards encouraged people to identify highwaymen.

  • The population grew near the quiet and isolated roads making it harder for highwaymen to ambush travellers.

Choose your answer

3
1 mark

What caused the public to criticise the Met in its early days?

  • The public feared the police would become like an army.

  • The public wanted the police to spy on the public to stop serious crimes, but the Met openly rejected this idea.

  • The public in favour of ‘social crimes’ was worried that the Met would be too effective and crimes like smuggling would stop.

  • The public gave police officers derogatory nicknames such as ‘big hat’, due to their large police hats.

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4
1 mark

How were people’s opinions about punishment different in the early modern period and the 18th and 19th centuries?

  • Public executions were beginning to put people off committing crimes.

  • Juries were starting to overuse the punishments of the ‘Bloody Code.’

  • More people began to believe that punishment should aim at reforming criminals.

  • The public felt that the government was finally fulfilling the aims of punishment.

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5
1 mark

How was policing similar in the early modern period and the 18th and 19th centuries?

  • Watchmen, parish constables and soldiers were still used to police 18th and 19th-century Britain.

  • The Met were still the main source of policing in 18th and 19th century Britain.

  • Watchmen, parish constables and soldiers were still able to use fingerprinting to identify criminals.

  • The role of policing remained a well-respected profession by the public throughout both periods.

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1
1 mark

How did urbanisation continue to affect crime in the 18th and 19th centuries?

  • Urban areas were tightly-knit communities, however, it became harder for communities to know each other due to their size.

  • Urban areas were still underpopulated, causing an increase in petty theft due to poverty.

  • Urban areas were still overcrowded and were hard to catch due to the environment.

  • Urban areas were well controlled by local law enforcement, and ‘professional’ criminals continued to be caught easily by law enforcement.

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2
1 mark

Why had the crime of witchcraft changed in the 18th and 19th centuries?

  • The end of the English Civil War created political instability, judges were needed in London to deal with parliamentary issues rather than dealing with witch trials.

  • There was more political stability and scientific advancements which people relied upon.

  • Educated people started believing in magic, the lower classes started to rebel against their authority and stop witch trials.

  • Charles II wanted to restore the witch trials but was discouraged by Parliament.

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3
1 mark

Which of the following was not a change suggested by Elizabeth Fry to improve prison conditions?

  • Prisons should focus on reforming criminals and set up a prayer group.

  • Prisons should employ female warders to work with female and child prisoners.

  • Food and clothes for prisoners should be improved. She provided this to the inmates at Newgate prison.

  • To separate criminals in prison. To stop more experienced criminals from corrupting minor ones.

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4
1 mark

Why was the passing of the 1829 Metropolitan Police Act important in 19th-century Britain?

  • The government feared a British Revolution as high food prices and unemployment caused protests. A police force would be an effective method of dealing with protests.

  • Taxes could be lowered as local authorities no longer needed to employ town watchmen and could have a cheaper police force.

  • As towns became less populated, the role of a constable was no longer needed and a police force would save local authorities money.

  • The increase in unemployment in Britain caused an increase in crime. The government feared that people would accept violent crime as a ‘social crime’ and that a police force could prevent this.

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5
1 mark

Why did the punishment of transportation to Australia end in the 1840s?

  • The convicts were getting a holiday when they were transported. This was seen as an unethical use of taxpayers' money.

  • Due to the discovery of gold in Australia, they no longer needed forced labourers.

  • By the 1830s, transportation was costing the British government a million pounds every year.

  • Crime decreased in Britain. Therefore, transportation was no longer needed.

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