Common Crimes in the 19th Century (WJEC Eduqas GCSE History): Revision Note

How did the Industrial Revolution lead to crime and protest in the 19th century? -Summary 

The Industrial Revolution brought huge change to life in 19th-century Britain. New machinery and factories created jobs for some but left many others unemployed, especially traditional craftspeople and farm labourers. Poor harvests, rising food prices, and overcrowded living conditions made life harder, while few working people could vote or influence government decisions.

Frustration led to violent protests such as the Luddite attacks on factory machines, the Swing Riots in the countryside, and the Chartist movement, which demanded political reform. The government feared a revolution like the one in France and responded harshly by using troops, executions, imprisonment, and transportation to crush unrest. These events showed the growing tensions between workers demanding change and a government determined to maintain order.

Urbanisation & Crime 

• As urbanisation increased and the population grew in the nineteenth century, so did new crimes 

• Highway robbery was soon replaced by railway crimes 

• Crime against property increased by over 90% 

  • Small-scale theft increased

    • Pickpocketing was the most common 

  • In 1876, it was estimated that 30,000 children were sleeping rough and committing crimes to survive 

• Henry Mayhew identified a new criminal class

  • These individuals lived in criminal areas of cities called ‘rookeries’ 

    • For example, St Giles's on Oxford Street in London

  • Mayhew identified 100 different types of criminals, such as 

    • Snoozers who stole passengers’ luggage from railway hotels 

    • Till-friskers who stole cash from tills while the shopkeepers were busy 

    • Drag-sneaks who stole luggage from coaches and carts 

Industrial & Agrian Disorder 

The Luddites 

• In 1812, cloth workers in Nottingham were angry about a new machine called a stocking frame 

  • The stocking frame produced cloth at a cheaper rate than cloth made by hand 

    • In 1797, a roll of hand-woven cloth was 27 shillings; by 1827, it was 3 shillings 

• Cloth workers who lost their jobs to these new machines protested by 

  • Breaking into factories and smashing stocking frames 

  • Writing to mill owners asking them to destroy the machines 

    • Protestors signed these letters ‘Ned Lud’, where they gained their nickname ‘Luddites’ 

• These protests spread to Lancashire and Yorkshire

  • In 1812, 150 armed protestors attacked Rawford Mill near Huddersfield 

  • In Yorkshire, a mill owner, William Horsfall, was murdered 

• The government responded to these protests by

  • Sending 12,000 troops into areas where protests were happening 

  • Passed laws making frame-breaking illegal 

    • The punishment was death 

• In 1813, 17 Luddites were executed, others were fined, or transported to the colonies for their role in the protests 

  • Some Luddites were executed for the murder of the mill owner in Yorkshire who was murdered, William Horsfall 

  • Others were executed for their attack on Rawford Mills 

• These harsh punishments resulted in a decrease in Luddite protests against machines 

Chartists 

• Britain’s working classes in the 19th century wanted reform:

  • They had been ignored by the reforms introduced by the Great Reform Act of 1832 

  • Many of their jobs were being replaced by machines 

  • Wages were low 

  • Living conditions were poor 

  • Poor harvests resulted in higher food prices 

• In 1838, the London Working Men’s Association created the ‘People’s Charter’ 

  • They had six main demands: 

    • Every man over 21 should be able to vote

    • All voting to take place in secret

    • Equal-sized constituencies (voting districts)

    • Members of Parliament (MPs) should be paid

    • MPs should not have to own property

    • Elections should be held every year

• Those who supported the charter became known as ‘Chartists’ and were led by a devout Christian called William Lovett 

  • Lovett believed in peaceful protests and heavily encouraged non-violent forms of protest 

  • By 1839, the first Chartists' petition was presented to Parliament 

    • It had over a million signatures supporting their six main demands

    • Parliament rejected the ‘People’s Charter’ 

• Some Charitists did not agree with Lovett's peaceful strategies and argued that they should use physical force to encourage the government to introduce reforms 

  • When the second charter was rejected by Parliament in 1842, the new leader of the Chartists, Feargus O’Connor, encouraged more violent forms of protest  

• Newport, Wales, saw the most violence from Chartists 

  • Approximately 20,000 men marched from Blackwood, Ebbw Vale, and Pontypool to Newport 

    • They were protesting for the vote and to improve working conditions 

  • When the protestors gathered outside the Westgate Hotel in Newport, soldiers inside the hotel shot at the crowd 

    • This resulted in the death of eight Charitsts, and several others were wounded 

  • The leaders were arrested, put on trial, and found guilty 

The Swing Riots

• From 1830 to 1831, agricultural labourers protested across Southern and Eastern England 

• They were frustrated about: 

  • The use of machinery 

    • Threshing machines replaced agricultural workers who relied upon this work in the winter months 

  • Poverty 

  • Low wages 

  • High food prices 

    • The harvests of 1828 and 1829 were very poor 

• These agricultural labourers protested by attacking rich farms; they 

  • Smashed farm machinery 

    • There were 390 reported attacks on threshing machines 

  • Set fire to hayricks 

    • There were 316 reported cases of arson 

• Those people who were caught faced harsh penalties 

  • Hundreds were sent ot prison 

  • At least 481 people were transported to the colonies 

  • Nineteen people were hanged