Common Crimes in the 16th & 17th Century (WJEC Eduqas GCSE History): Revision Note

How did Economic and Religious Changes in the 16th and 17th Centuries Affect Crime in England and Wales? -Summary 

The 16th and 17th centuries were a period of significant change in England and Wales. This was caused by the continuous change in religious beliefs and growing economic hardships. The Tudor monarchs’ repeated changes between Catholicism and Protestantism created many social and religious problems. Crimes such as heresy, the refusal to follow the monarch’s religion, and treason, opposing or plotting against the crown, became common.

At the same time, rapid population growth, inflation, enclosure of land, and unemployment caused widespread poverty. Many people were forced to travel in search of work, leading to the crime ofvagrancy. These religious and economic pressures created social tension and uncertainty, shaping both the causes and nature of crime during this period.

Vagrancy 

• Vagrancy became more of a problem in the sixteenth century, during the reign of Elizabeth I, due to an increase in 

  • Unemployment 

  • Economic hardships 

• Between the 1560s and 1570s, London’s Bridewell Prison held approximately 200 vagrants each year 

  • By 1600, this had increased to over 550

• 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

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

  • ‘Deserving’

    • Elderly

    • Disabled

  • ‘Undeserving’

    • Able-bodied

    • Fit for work

• Vagrants were categorised into different categories, which was illustrated in the book A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors, vulgarly called vagabond, by William Harman in 1566 

  • Harman stated that there were 23 different types of vagabonds, such as: 

    • The Counterfeit crank 

    • The Baretop Trickster 

    • Tom O’Bedlam  

    • The Clapper Dudgeons

Heresy

• During the 16th and 17th centuries, freedom of religion did not exist 

  • People had to follow the religion of their monarch 

    • If they did not follow the monarch's chosen religion, they were accused of heresy 

• Those people accused of heresy would be put on trial 

  • They had the opportunity to recant 

    • If they did, they would receive a prison sentence 

    • If they did not recant, they were sentenced to death 

• During the reign of Mary I, people refused to recant their Protestant faith 

  • Approximately 280 people were burned to death in England and Wales 

    • Rawlins White, a fisherman from Cardiff, was burned at the stake in 1555

    • The bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley were burned at the stake in 1555 

• Although Elizabeth I adopted a ‘middle way’ in her religious settlement, there were still heretics 

  • Including Richard Gwyn, a schoolteacher from Llanidloes, who was executed for spreading Catholic ideas in 1584 

Treason

• Treason during this period was often linked to heresy 

  • When people did not agree with the chosen religion, they attempted to rebel or overthrow the monarch 

• During the reign of Elizabeth I, many Catholics plotted against her 

  • The Babington Plot of 1586 involved Mary, Queen of Scots, and Anthony Babington. Babington failed to kill Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary

    • Both Babington and Mary were placed on trial and found guilty of treason and executed