Crime In Elizabethan England
Crime and Punishment
During the Elizabethan Era crime was a major problem, and the main contributor was the issue with poverty. Due to the fact that there were no social services, many people had to steal money or food just to stay alive. Elizabethans liked a calm way of life, and to maintain that meant that everyone had to behave themselves, be satisfied, and stay in their proper place. If there was anyone who disturbed the peace, they would be considered a threat to society, and they were to be punished.
Crimes
Crimes were divided into misdemeanors and felonies. Misdemeanors were minor crimes that were normally committed by commoners. They included offenses such as stealing bread, disturbing the peace, or even being drunk in public. Felonies …show more content…
They were normally punishable by death, usually by hanging, removal of the internal organs, beheading, or dismemberment. Treason was like committing a sin against God since the monarch was said to be God’s representative down on earth. The only hope someone convicted of murder or treason had was to beg for a royal pardon, which were rarely ever granted.
Due to poverty, begging was a crime that was often committed. Vagrants and rogues were people who had no home, or job, and survived only by begging for money or food. People were generally afraid of them because they often traveled in large groups and became violent. The punishment for begging was to be put in the stocks, be tied up to the back of a cart, then be whipped out of town. The people who were thought to be ‘helpless poor’ were old, sick, or disabled. They generally received a license to beg since the government knew it was not their fault that they were in that position.
Thieves and robbers had their own language they called, “Peddlar’s French.” A ‘nipper’ was a person who cut off purses from peoples belts, ‘priggeres of prancers’ were horse thieves, and ‘coney-catchers’ were swindlers who tricked people out of their
During the Elizabethan Era crime was a major problem, and the main contributor was the issue with poverty. Due to the fact that there were no social services, many people had to steal money or food just to stay alive. Elizabethans liked a calm way of life, and to maintain that meant that everyone had to behave themselves, be satisfied, and stay in their proper place. If there was anyone who disturbed the peace, they would be considered a threat to society, and they were to be punished.
Crimes
Crimes were divided into misdemeanors and felonies. Misdemeanors were minor crimes that were normally committed by commoners. They included offenses such as stealing bread, disturbing the peace, or even being drunk in public. Felonies …show more content…
They were normally punishable by death, usually by hanging, removal of the internal organs, beheading, or dismemberment. Treason was like committing a sin against God since the monarch was said to be God’s representative down on earth. The only hope someone convicted of murder or treason had was to beg for a royal pardon, which were rarely ever granted.
Due to poverty, begging was a crime that was often committed. Vagrants and rogues were people who had no home, or job, and survived only by begging for money or food. People were generally afraid of them because they often traveled in large groups and became violent. The punishment for begging was to be put in the stocks, be tied up to the back of a cart, then be whipped out of town. The people who were thought to be ‘helpless poor’ were old, sick, or disabled. They generally received a license to beg since the government knew it was not their fault that they were in that position.
Thieves and robbers had their own language they called, “Peddlar’s French.” A ‘nipper’ was a person who cut off purses from peoples belts, ‘priggeres of prancers’ were horse thieves, and ‘coney-catchers’ were swindlers who tricked people out of their